Easiest slalom ski to get up on?

[BSBELL]

I’m building up my boat ‘kit’ to help teach beginners how to slalom ski. I’m new’ish’ myself skiing on a Radar Union in the course that isn’t too hard getting up.

So far I have a barefoot boom and the easy up handle. In your opinion, what ski should I have in my collection for getting new skiers up on 1 ski?

I’ve seen a HO hovercraft in person that looks like it has the surface area of a wakeboard. Open to other suggestions!

[Ski_Dad]

HO Hovercraft is nice for 16-20 mph.  If you are looking to pull people faster the Radar Session is the ticket - it's happy like 22-28 mph.  I have one that my son learned on a few years ago.   I have skied both of this skis.

[Drago]

Hovercraft, hands down. I've taught people to slalom without ever getting up on 2 prior.

No boom, no easy-up. Just point it away from the rope a bit. 🧨

[mike_mapple]

Without a doubt the hovercraft is the easiest to get up on, then the Session from Radar, is the easiest to learn the course on. 

[escmanaze]

I mean...let's put it this way.  HO has been SO successful with that Hovercraft, that they have now caused Connelly to re-introduce to the market, the Big Easy!  

But if those are just too far overboard for you, I suppose, I kinda understand.  Then you could look to the Connelly Big Daddy, or Outlaw, which are just less far down that same road.  And then the least far down that road would probably be the Radar Session.   

Just depends on how much you really meant to say "easiest".  

[Garn]

I think the easiest higher-end skis to get up on are HO Omni's.  Whether the regular Omni or the Carbon Omni, they just pop up.  Not like the Hovercraft (you almost don't have to be moving to stand up on it), but still it just comes up out of the water.

[BraceMaker]

To describe the hovercraft, on a 67" behind a 24' pontoon boat with a 75 horsepower engine at ~190 lbs I use a trick style handle with the braid and as the pontoon boat taking out the slack if I grab that braid and pull I'm up the driver then just goes.

Its not so much a deep water start as enough ski to just stand on.

[BSBELL]

It sounds like the hover craft is ridiculously easy to get up on. Maybe I'll look into something slightly more challenging that might act more like a traditional slalom ski.

[Rednucleus]

My HO CX Superlite (2017) is the easiest I have ever used. Starts pop right up with a dry face - very nice in winter; easy ski on the body.  I assume the Omnis are similar 

[mike_mapple]

On 1/4/2024 at 10:29 PM, BSBELL said:

It sounds like the hover craft is ridiculously easy to get up on. Maybe I'll look into something slightly more challenging that might act more like a traditional slalom ski.

That is one thing that the hovercraft is not, its great to get people up and pretty much go straight, I tell people in the shop all the time, Ive taught football linemen how to get up on it (never combos straight to this) but if you want to go more the course route, the Radar Session, or a little bit narrower the Terrain is the way to go. 

 

Then on the other hand if you just want to go with more of a course ski that is easy to get up on, Radar also does the union which is wider than the senate, but a more traditional construction (flex wise). 

Above that would be the Omni/Senate which are on paper comparable skis, Its like Nike/Adidas preference wise

 

I can go into way more detail if you want, Im here at the shop from 10am-5pm EST. 

 

 

[chrislandy]

On 1/5/2024 at 3:29 AM, BSBELL said:

It sounds like the hover craft is ridiculously easy to get up on. Maybe I'll look into something slightly more challenging that might act more like a traditional slalom ski.

The Hovercraft is a full edge to edge ski with a deep concave, and to say it's not challenging says you've not tried one through the course.

 

You can run the course on it, I have up to 24mph then slowing the thing down and turning it gets VERY interesting. 

 

It's a very good ski to have as part of your boat arsenal as you can use it to get beginners up, rehab skiing (bad back / shoulders etc), have some fun on it at the end of the day, hot-dogging etc 

[03RLXi]

Hovercraft very very easy to get up on. Saying that I fall far far more often on it than my Senate..........because I play on it, slash the wakes, try jumps, etc 🙂 

We've ditched our combos for beginners and they go straight onto Hovercraft on training boom. 

[savaiusini]

When we first brought the Hovercraft to market, during that first photoshoot with the team, we all tried to out-do each other with how slow and how short we could ski it in the course. Don't underestimate what it can do (not just go straight). It's a super playful, very fun ski that folks of any ability can have fun on.

[OldGuysRule]

2 different skiers on Hovercraft Ski behind a pontoon with 75 hp Mercury.  25 MPH.  New Years Day....water 38...air 38. 

[BraceMaker]

15 hours ago, savaiusini said:

When we first brought the Hovercraft to market, during that first photoshoot with the team, we all tried to out-do each other with how slow and how short we could ski it in the course. Don't underestimate what it can do (not just go straight). It's a super playful, very fun ski that folks of any ability can have fun on.

Its a tough ski to categorize I will swear up and down how stinking fun it is to ride.  But I don't use mine at all behind the ski boat.

And that's because if the lake is calm we have 2 ski boats we divide up and go skiing, if the lake is rough we have a pontoon and we load that up with people and go out on the lake.  In the first during the times of day that the lake is accessible I'm going to use the water to take a set and ski, and pull guests skiing (for which we use the hovercraft quite a bit) but once that wraps up for the day and the lake starts to get choppy the hovercraft goes on the pontoon and in ways it is just about as fun to rip back and forth behind the pontoon as it is to rip back and forth behind the ski boat.

If someone can ever make a pontoon track its a perfect choppy water event, and similar to slippery slalom on a trick ski something very unique about the hovercraft is that you do get forced into fundamental line management.

[03RLXi]

slightly off topic but on topic, has anyone had any structural issues with their Hovercraft? Ours has a slight flex crease appearing near the tail. Wondering if it's a bit too flexible. If it increases more I'll need to reinforce ands seal it before water gets into the core