whitem71

Joel howley surely…

Did anyone catch any of the jump? Specifically Tim Hazelwood’s awkward crash in the prelims - Iooked like he was unconscious in the water before the camera cut away….hope he’s ok?

@Horton I agree, and I think your onside looks smoother on stock (rears up slightly/stalls bit on the Rossi l/s settings) and offside less aggressive but I guess you’ll need more angle for 38 and beyond which the l/s gives? I also found (for me) that l/s favours warm / flat water but when I’m tired or move around too much and the water is rough the s/d just feels smoother and easier. Still stalls for me on my onside though unless I push on the tail so I might drop the fin back a bit.

Stock is short/deep was the only setting on the ‘22 but they added back in the l/s as an option for the ‘23. My 66 ‘22 Vapor felt instantly so much softer/smoother/longer than my 2017. I’ve experimented with l/s and s/d and found benefits to both but for me s/d suits me better (I was in l/s on my ‘17) as it’s less aggressive and doesn’t pull me out of position as much. But I’m light (150lbs) and run a rear kicker so have less weight over the fin. I’ve settled at 29.5, 6.870, 2.476, 0.765, 9 and the extra DFT helped my offside quite a bit.

How about fin and binding adjustments as the water gets colder towards the end of the season (especially in the UK!)

@C5Quest 66

I’m with @GMC - my ‘22 Vapor didn’t want to turn the offside so Rossi suggested these long/shallow settings: 29.50 6.940 2.463 0.750 9 These are what I ran on my 2017 Vapor and made it much more ‘point and go’. Have to be careful not to bury the tip on the offside though and it’s easier to get pulled out of alignment (well it is for me!) as the tip is lower. Short and deep feels epic on a flat lake when you are ahead and on a high line, but it feels to me like you really have to hustle the ski at shorter line lengths (especially on my harder passes as I’m clearly not Chris Rossi!) and feels slower in warm water.

D3 have been fantastic and changed my T Factor overlay twice now! (As goodwill as out of warranty). First was original after 2 years light use and it split both at the back (the ‘vent’ piece on the rear upper) and sides. Think these are known weak spot because my friends did the same, and: The new one is now a revised design (which I see Nate is using too) with the rear vents removed in favour of solid rubber and the little cut outs removed at the side. This makes it much stiffer forward and back! Unfortunately this new overlay failed after 3 months in the same place as that last picture - near toes at the side. I do wonder whether they revisions although welcome and give a stiffer binding have created a new area of stress…

This version 2 is way better than the first one Masterline produced, which featured neoprene wraps and so tended to rip and tear after light use. Especially so when the handle drags through the water if a skiers falls / on drop off to the dock. Btw I’m with @SlalomSteve with smaller diameter handles (I’m on a 1.00) but I guess it all depends how big your hands are. I use small HO Legend gloves.

??

Just came back from Orlando and skied around 8 sets on my new 22 Vapor. First impressions was it felt longer weirdly even tho it’s still a 66 like my ‘17. Also felt smoother, stickier, calmer and maybe a tad slower. It turned like a hot knife through butter, created lots of angle and held it strongly right up to the pre turn. Offside felt like I was on my back foot however and needed some tweaking and in the end I lengthened the fin slightly to give more tip. It was either that or move the bindings forward but the fin tweak seemed to help. So overall really liked it but it felt a whole lot more grown up and kind of sensible. Very unlike a Vapor tbh. Oh and the water out there was 28c!!

Sean….Ouch!

Don’t worry, all finished now. Womens tricks just finished.

Anyone know todays schedule? Tricks 2nd round I think?

Thanks all, I’m sticking with the 13 but I know what @Horton means about it feeling a little goofy compared to the 12. Adding a mesh handle guard makes it even clumsier but you get used to it I guess.

Just wonderful podcast, so enlightening ??

What are everyone’s thoughts on handle width? It seems most pros used a 11-12 (or even 10) back in the day- I wonder why? And what are the pros and cons of the ‘standard’ 12 inch vs the 13? Personally I have way less mis-grabs (with my pinkie hanging off the end) with the 13” handle especially with a radius bend as seems to make the handle feel narrower, but have heard people say the 12 helps to keep the elbows in? Is it height related? (as I’m only 5’9 and prefer 13) or maybe rushing too much to get back on the handle What are the majority of the pros using now?

Has anyone actually been injured by a spray guard? Trent was quite adamant that they are potentially dangerous if not designed or used correctly…wonder what masterline think about that?

He’s just so light on the line he doesn’t spike the ZO and after his early edge change just uses it to ride a tight line out to buoy line. Maintains lots of speed in the turn so no digs for the boat and driver to adjust to. I reckon his height, light body weight helps and the flexible rubber Binding lets him shift his weight forward and back more easily (and prevent tip rise at the back of the ball) as @Wish suggests.

Might be way off here but couldn’t help noticing the ‘trough’ or dip just after the wakes that caught many skiers out at the Miami pro last weekend. Looked worse at 38/39 and beyond and appeared to really throw people OTF, leading to a fair few nasty falls. Course it could be that everyone was going hell for leather at the last tourney and I’m also wondering if the deeper water was a factor?

@Killer Joel’s review https://www.instagram.com/tv/CSo-hzFDviD/?utm_medium=copy_link

@Ali thanks for that info, she did look really good on it! Have just bought a 22 Vapor in black (coming from a 2017), hoping to get it set up ASAP and really looking forward to it. Wonder how it will compare?

Looking at Witney’s ski at the Malibu last weekend, it looked to me like the 2022 shape with 21 graphics, but can’t be 100% sure. Same for Corey.

@jgills88 Robin Lake is not a purpose built (by modern standards) tournament lake thus conditions are not often optimal for high scores. There are walls and pavilions causing backwash and the slalom course is set on a wide part of the lake which means there are often rollers and unsettled water conditions. The large lake also means less shelter from the wind. The scores were about where I’d expect them to be at Callaway but in some events were best ever (junior slalom & tricks new course records) and men’s slalom Fred almost beat it. Interesting that in the men’s jump final they all stopped at the top for 2 minutes to let the water settle. Never noticed that before? Wonder if that is legal/world record capable rules?

@Deanoski thanks I might just try this. If I can find an old skate/boot or something! Do you have an extra Velcro strap at the top too? I’m guessing the stiffer front also helps to resists rear flex too..