pgmoore

No doubt! All the companies are undertaking R&D and testing all the time. The cycle never stops. Just haven't heard much about what D3 is up to for this coming year.

Lots of buzz out there around various 2016 skis (Mapple, Radar, Connelly, etc.), but I haven't heard much as to what D3 has in the hopper for slalom. Any insights? Obviously for trick there is the the Aira, which @EHorton95 reviewed.

Was it an imitation? Or did MB Sports buy the old Prostar molds?

@Than_Bogan For as long as this is your icon, I think you need to start every post with: "Good news, everyone..."

@schafer I also want you to buy this boat. Then I am going to come and ski behind it... a lot.

Have you guys seen this? @schafer brought this to my attention this morning. Ridiculously cool. https://instagram.com/p/7i-nBkoYo6/

And this, right here, is why I love this forum. Another example of an individual going on their own to create a product they are passionate about. And not only that, but when some people have questions, next thing you know @SteveMilano is signed up for BallofSpray and giving answers. I know nothing about this product. But I think the engagement is just awesome.

That was cool. Just enough information to get a person very interested. Awesome to see a couple guys doing their own thing and designing something unique. It's an exciting time for water skiing products.

I herniated a disc in my lower back at the very beginning of the season. For me, there were three things that made a big difference: 1) Find some boardshorts that are low drag for pulling out of the water. I realize this sounds ridiculous, but some shorts feel like absolute parachutes compared to others. It seems to have more to do with the type of material than the volume of material. I really like these Oakley Blade shorts for that reason. 2) Pull out with both palms facing down on the handle. Switch to baseball grip after that. 3) When pulling out, stay in the tightest crouched ball you can for as long as you can. Stay in that ball for longer than you think you should. Resist the urge to stand up. Practically eliminates the strain on your low back. 4) Insert obligatory "tons of core work and stretching" comment here. That stuff is all valid too :)

They even made it to Canada today!

The fact is, ski boats make better wakes with less weight in the boat. So anything you can do to reduce weight is really useful. Leaving family members behind sounds like a bad plan. So if you aren't really using the tower, I would remove it for sure. Every little bit helps.

Also, the fact that the 2016 Vapor is going to be different certainly does not mean that the 2015 Vapor is suddenly a bad ski!

I can't comment on the '92 vs '95 wake. No experience with that. But, I can say with confidence... EFI over carb. All day, every day. With EFI, you just turn the key and the engine starts every time. Just like your car. No worrying about throttle, choke, or any of that nonsense.

Ordered. I need this shirt in my life. Also ordered one for my wife as I assume she too needs this shirt in her life. Right?

@Horton - that's great news on a couple fronts: a) I really like that shirt (obviously biased :) ); and b) I already have a Wakeye. In lieu of a Wakeye, how about you send me one of those shirts instead? Men's small (in grey, if you're doing colours). Hey... doesn't hurt to ask :p

@Horton - thanks, man. I like it too; clean, simple. Obviously the colours would have to get inverted for a black shirt, but you get the idea. Straight text with no background would be cool too. Anyway, yeah... that's my actual entry. I would buy one of those shirts for sure.

You know what I'd really like? Just a simple BOS tee with the logo on the front. It would also be sweet if we could do this in a few colours: say, white, grey, and black.

@A_B @Glydon --> I like the idea of keeping the film under my plates. Thanks for that. Any ideas how to cleanly cut out in the shape of the plates? I would be afraid of using an exacto-knife as that might slice into the top sheet?

I recently acquired a new-to-me D3 Z7. There appears to be a protective film that someone applied at some point under the binding area. This is fine, except that the film is a mess at the front. Pictures below. What should I do about this? Peel it all the way off? Cut the flap off? Try to glue/tape it back down? Something else? Other than the messy part shown, the rest is in fine shape.

I'm not specifically aware of what other options might be available. But I'd say go with In-Tow... you won't be disappointed. My wife got me an In-Tow handle for Christmas last year and it has been awesome!

What you're looking at here is a D3 Z7. Is this wing on upside down? I've never noticed before, but I think it's mounted the wrong way. Am I crazy? What is the stock orientation for this ski? If it is upside down, as I suspect, should I change it? Will it matter? So many questions...

It's hard to go wrong with Radar Vector boots - http://radarskis.com/#!-/boots/-/VectorBoot --> comfortable, fit a wide range of foot sizes and shapes, safe and easy release, and reasonably priced. These boots will take you a long way.

This weekend's project is going to be to clean and then polish the hull. My normal favourite Starbrite Instant Hull Cleaner (noted above) wasn't available. So I picked up some Spray Nine Boat Bottom Cleaner. I'll be interested to see how it is similar/different.

Well, several days have passed and I'm starting to feel a lot better. Have had appointments both with physio and chiro. Fingers crossed (really, really crossed), I'm hoping to make a gradual return starting on Sunday. Assuming I'm totally pain free for the required number of days prior to that, of course... Based on the good advice above, the keys things are going to be: Improving technique - straight arms, stay squished up in a ball for longer, avoid standing so quickly Grip the handle both palms down on the start Shorts with reduced drag! We'll see what happens...