PerfectPass Star Gazer 3 Event OR Wake Edition S for 2000 Response?

[Gale K]

Help me spend my money! Been free skiing for many many years. Love the course but don't get to ski one very often. 2000 Response, been skiing it since new, gone from the Medallion gauges to Faria stand-alone with GPS speedo a few years ago. Through a series of life events, I've decided that I've gone too long without PerfectPass, so time to git er dun!

"Money is no object" (well it always is, but when you use the tools we buy frequently enough, the cost goes to zero).

I immediately thought Star Gazer 3 Event. But should I consider Wake Edition S? Why/why not? Ease of use, ease of setup, etc etc.  Boat gets used every once in a while to tow a kid around on a wakeboard. Beyond that, it's a dedicated ski and barefoot platform.

Thanks in advance for any thoughts you can throw at me.

[TallSkinnyGuy]

IIRC, the 3-event version adds some modes (e.g. trick) that will likely be irrelevant to you and then a slalom mode that uses both engine RPMs and GPS to control speed vs Wake Edition just using GPS. The 3-event will likely control speed better and can be further upgraded with Z-box if you get serious about course skiing, but both of these things will likely be unnoticeable when free skiing. It's easy to upgrade later, but if money isn't a big issue and you might want to upgrade later, then just go with 3-event IMO.

I found the most difficult part of installation was fishing the cable from the gauge area back to the engine, but everything else was easy. Setup and ease of use is a non-factor when comparing 3-event and Wake Edition. 3-event has a wakeboard mode that I also use to tow kids around on wakeboards or other toys at slower speeds. It has about 3 increments of speed for each mph. I haven't used wakeboard mode for barefoot speeds, but I have used trick mode for that and I assume wakeboard mode would be similar.

Don't overthink it at this point. Just get it and enjoy.

[buechsr]

All setup and installation is same for both.  it’s just additional software.
 

Get 3 event without a doubt.  Skiing in wakeboard mode is a disaster.  What feels good for a wakeboarder as to throttle timing sucks for skiing and you’ll get perpetually gassed late and have crazy slack in every turn.  
 

 

[ETskier]

Agreed , Stargazer 3 Event. You can board in trick mode.

[TallSkinnyGuy]

The 3-event version has everything the wakeboard version has, including wakeboard mode. I used to free ski with the GPS-only slalom mode in the wake edition and thought it worked just fine. But when I started skiing a course it was nice to be able to map the course and use the more precise slalom mode available in the 3-event version.

[Ski_Dad]

The main thing about 3-event version 9 is that it locks in a lot faster and you don't overshoot your set speed.  I had wake edition s (ver 😎 and have upgraded both of the Malibu's i ski with the latest.  Both are software's nice though.  

[UWSkier]

I've heard the slalom mode in Wake edition S is a great pull, but if you're course skiing, you want timing, which means 3 event.

[Gale K]

Thanks all! Sounds like 3 Event it is!

[WaterLoo]

On 10/9/2023 at 10:25 PM, TallSkinnyGuy said:

The 3-event version has everything the wakeboard version has, including wakeboard mode

Can the speed parameters on the 3 event version go as low as 8mph like the WakeS advertises? I'd rather have the 3 event but if it's limited to standard skiing speeds I'll have to go with WakeS. 

[TallSkinnyGuy]

2 hours ago, WaterLoo said:

Can the speed parameters on the 3 event version go as low as 8mph like the WakeS advertises? I'd rather have the 3 event but if it's limited to standard skiing speeds I'll have to go with WakeS. 

You can call Perfect Pass to confirm, but I think if you had a list of features and a column for the two versions being discussed, the 3-event would have a checkmark in every row (i.e. every feature) while the Wake version wouldn't. The 3-event has everything Wake has with some other features added. That means, if Wake version can do it, 3-event can do it.

The Wakeboard mode in my 3-event version allows speeds to be adjusted in about one-third increments for each mph, but I think I've only set the speed as low as around 10mph. In Trick mode you can adjust the speed by every tenth of a mph. I've used Trick mode for barefooting and set it to 40 mph, so I bet it goes down below 10 mph also.

[tru-jack]

Yep, 3 event goes down to 8mph. We use it for surfing on a regular basis. 

[Gale K]

Revisiting this thread, PerfectPass Star Gazer 3 Event went in after Christmas.  "most difficult part of installation was fishing the cable from the gauge area back to the engine" is indeed true.  Used a fish tape from the front back to the vent beside the motor, was able to then route the wire forward with the rest of the controls in the 'normal' spot.

Been enjoying it since the install.  Super cool tool!  🙂  Daughter has driven it, proclaimed it great.  Can't wait for the wife to give it a spin.

Shout out to @teammalibu for getting us hooked up with a deal!