Windsurfnut

My wife tried my Senate and never gave it back...

Traveled to FL a few times on Air Canada with skis in soft Radar bags - that usually have vests gloves and wherever else can get jammed in the bag. No issues so far.

@Mitzysman - 2011 Theory, 2015 Senate Alloy, 2017 Senate Graphite, 2017 Vapor Graphite are the model years I referenced in that post.

I learned Double Boot Slalom skiing on a Theory for a few years. Followed up with a Senate Alloy. My only regret with the Theory was not getting the Senate sooner. It was a great ski, but the Senate was better in every way and was in no way a compromise. I've since sold that Senate and picked up a Vapor Graphite and Senate Graphite. My only regret here was not getting the Senate Graphite at the time I got the Alloy, and not staying on the Senate shape longer. Vapor is too much ski for me currently - but since I have both now I can choose - and my wife uses the Senate - so win/win. Go with a Senate!

Both my boys, 9 and 11 are on TRA's. One on a 2015, the other on a 2017. They love them both in different ways. The 2015 is heavier and seems to handle the chop a bit better. The 2017 they say is light and faster when its calmer out. Either way, they are on the dock every morning they can ready to ski - and have tremendous pride of ownnership having their own skis.

Bought the 2002 SN. Pretty stoked.

We took kids to Eden Lake last year - thought didn't even cross their minds. They were super happy to escape the Canadian winter and ski their hearts out.

Thanks, lots of great boats made -just not lots of great boats available. Confirms my thoughts though - grabbing the SN

Just recently sold my 1988 Prostar 190. Awesome little boat for what we needed it for - getting a relatively new skiing family into the sport. But as luck would have it, we found ourselves using it far more then we ever expected!!! The interior was getting rough, and the decision to invest in a newer boat rather than the interior was made.. Boat selection at the moment is pretty sparse - but a few options exist. We are long line 15' off skiers - ranging from 26/28 mph for the kids to 32mph for me. Course and Open water. The selection currently that I have narrowed it too: 2000 MC PS 190 2000 Malibu Sportster 2002 Ski Nautique CB I'm leaning towards the SN. GT40, PP, TSC2 hull..and the seller returns calls. On the other 2, not much information - seller likes their boats too much to return calls. All 3 are within a couple bucks of each other. Our primary focus is long line/slower speed slalom wakes at the moment, with of course potential to move well past that. We have a lake runner boat for everything else besides skiing, this is a slalom only tug. So far reading forums and reviews, the SN is the winner.

Neither my wife or I have skied the Graphite Senate yet, I just ordered it and will have it for next week. I did not try any other brands, we are a Radar loyal family. My son has a TRA as well. I thought the same thing, Vapor =36mph.. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the Senate at 30-34 mph, but I too was shocked that the Vapor at 32 mph was every bit as stable as the Senate and gained in performance. I'm on a 67, that may help with some flotation as at 36 mph I would have probably bought a 66 for my weight. I also found I wanted to be running 33/34mph now with the Vapor versus the 30-32 I was running on the Senate, but I feel every bit as comfortable at that speed as I did previously

@HighAltitude - I was in a similar position as you, having skied a Theory for a number of years, upgraded to a Senate Alloy. No comparison against the Theory. The theory felt like a tug boat across the wakes, the Senate sliced through them, so much nicer and was far easier to roll on edge. I'm 42yrs old, 5'11, 170 lbs. I free ski at 32 mph and running the course at 15'off 30-32mph. I was looking to upgrade to the Senate Graphite, but also considered the Vapor as I already had the Senate Alloy as a backup and my wifes ski. I posted the question on the forum and to my friends at Radar, and on their recommendation I got bought a Vapor Graphite. I'll have to admit, the first few runs on the Vapor scared me. It was lighting fast compared to my Alloy Senate, and I was really nervous about skiing it. I liked the added reaction time of the graphite version, but the ski was just too fast for me. After about 5 sets, and some better water conditions, I absolutely love the Vapor. My offside pull through the wake has improved so much with the Vapor and I find myself looking for more boat speed now and stronger pulls. I also liked the Graphite build so much better then the Alloy that I sold the Senate Alloy and bought the Senate Graphite for my wife and my back up ski :smile: My point - Senate will be awesome, but perhaps consider a Vapor as well

I could not find a Lithium Senate anywhere, other then ordering 2018. My friends at Radar recommended the Vapor, so I picked up a 2017 vapor graphite. Vapor Lithiums were pretty scarce too. Huge change from the senate Alloy!! Going to take some getting use to, but already I love the graphite construction and after skiing some of our usual chop this morning I think a lithium would be just too stiff in our larger open lake conditions

Love our '89. Newer boats are much better in so many ways. But for $6000 you're running a flat wake. Adding Stargazer and you have GPS speed control. There are shortcomings versus newer boats (tracking, size, fit and finish) but at the end of the day you are skiing. They are sensitive to weight, make sure you have a spotter of similar weight as the driver or through in a bag of sand etc. If not the wake can be a bit sharp on the unweighted side. All said, we just keep using and enjoying ours for the skiing, and pull out the Baja when the tubers come out...

I already have the Alloy, its not on the list. Its going to the wife and is the right size for her, she just needs to put small boots on it. I think the Lithium makes sense.. Now does anyone know of a 2017 67 available. Most of the online places are sold out, or if showing available, when I call its actually not there.

Looking for some insight on purchasing a 2017 Radar ski. I currently ski on a Senate Alloy, at 15off 30-32mph and struggling through the course and open water skiing. I share the ski with my wife, which is not ideal. The boots are too big for her, and we are wearing out boots quickly with the 2 of us in and out of the ski so much. So she would like to take my 2015 Senate Alloy, as she loves the ski and put small boots on it. Therefore I need a new ski, and not sure what I should buy. I don't feel I'm a Vapor level skier, but also don't want to have 2 Senates in our arsenal. I had my mind set on a 2017 Senate Graphite, with the updated shape and better construction being enough of a difference to justify a second Senate. The reviews on the Lithium seem to be superb, and I've started leaning that way. The final choice would be a Vapor Graphite.. But really at 42 yrs old, I don't see myself going short line or 36mph any time soon. The course we ski at is on a fairly large lake, we get boat traffic and wind, so its not very often that we see glass. Similarly out open water skiing is pretty disturbed too with weekend traffic. Thoughts (Hope Horton chimes in here, as I really liked your review on the Lithium) Cheers

BTW, Great article Bruce. I hadn't seen that yet

He loved the TRA. I got him the Room38 Vector front boot and RTP. He thinks it looks super cool. Got up first time on it and skied the hell out of it. He then struggled a bunch of times to come up on it again..mostly tired I think, but got discouraged. Finally got him up once more and loving it. He just seems to struggle getting up on it. He was up 99% of the time on the other skis. I think the extra length may be floating him a bit as he bobbles to the side. Either way, very happy boy and looked good on the ski. He'll get up more consistent with some practice on it

My 10yr old 2 planker has been skiing for about 5years now. This year he finally was able to slalom and has been unstoppable. Quickly surpassed the O'Brien Vector Jr's I bought earlier this year and has been able to borrow some older slalom skis to progress on. He's making all 6 balls on the mini course, ready for the big course. His favorite ski so far has been a 60" O'Brien ITC (I think that's what it was called) and hes super comfortable on it. I was looking at 2 skis that are available to me. The O'Brien Jr Siege and the Radar TRA. the TRA was what I really want to see him on, and think its a better long term ski. He tried a TRA the other night that was set up with double boots. He had a hard time turning the ski. He's never skied with double boots though..so I'm kinda ruling that as the issue. The Siege was less money, and I thought that the 59" or the 61" was the right length, but only the 62" was available locally at the moment. The dealer gave me a decent deal on the TRA, making them very close in price, so I grabbed it, seeing that the Siege was almost the same length. I can't keep upgrading skis..so I think the TRA was a better choice long term. Thoughts?