vtmecheng

13 minutes ago, Wish said:

Mine is not InTow

I'll tuck my tail and say that I was wrong. The picture really looks like that rubber is blue and your wear is exactly what a lot of the blue bomb rubber ends up looking like. Sorry for the confusion.

13 minutes ago, Wish said:

Blue bomber??? 

The InTow handle that is blue was called the Blue Bomb handle.

2 minutes ago, dave2ball said:

@vtmecheng your correct about the question but it boils down to a cheaper handle has softer rubber quality may not be wear and will wear quicker and therefore cost more in the long run.    
your post says a lot.   

My handle, which I believe is the same as the one @Wish posted, cost me $200. That isn't a cheaper handle so I don't understand what you are getting at.

Just now, dave2ball said:

@vtmecheng you just answered the question. S line handle 135.00. ML handle 170.00. 35 dollar difference.  So in the long run which is the better deal?  

I didn't realize that I asked a question. What question did I answer?

Everyone is so touchy when it comes to a product wearing down fast or failing quickly.  I am fairly sure that I have the same handle as @Wish and it cost a lot more than $100. I use Amara gloves and mainly ski at 15 off 2-3 times per week. Mine is still okay after a year but the rubber has little tags from where it has started to separate just the smallest bit. All others in my ski group use the big name (I dare not say brands) that is the same price as mine and they ski as much or more than I do from 28 to 38 off. Those handles last multiple years with Kevlar gloves. I'm going to keep a close eye on mine and get a different brand once it gets to the point where @Wish is.

One thing I know from experience is don't mess with handle grip. I tried to push it on one a few years ago and injured my wrist from a loss of grip that I overlooked. That took 4 months, a brace, and lots of PT to recover from.

I’m fairly sure many will know the brand by the color. Mine is likely to start doing this within the next year. You could send it back to the company or get a new handle from a competitor. I’m not too happy about it considering the cost. It didn’t last as long as others I’ve seen at this price.

Back on topic: Crazy scores and insane heart from these skiers. They give so much!

19 minutes ago, BraceMaker said:

Few things to consider, S-Line's is also now the distributorship for KD Skis in the US.  So using those skis and that rope company is it really wrong to like masterline handles?  Might his ski school still use the S-Line product or might he just like the ski or might the ski come along with a rope sponsorship deal?

Famous examples would be CP riding skis "painted" like his sponsors skis despite clearly no being those skis.

But ya not great showing if your product fails even if the skier isn't your under your banner.  I can see how one could easily have a sponsorship by KD-Skis and S-Lines Ropes and still use a Masterline handle, we see countless skiers ride Goodes using Reflex or Radars while riding reflex bindings.  Seems like invented drama.

 

I've always hated the athletes who are clearly not enjoying their redbull.

I'm not trying to manufacture drama, just something I noticed. I know that Corey is enjoying his KD ski but have no idea if S-Lines is what he uses at his school. You are likely right about the sponsorship deal being a package thing. I always notice when an athlete is sponsored but doesn't use that product. Maybe this isn't the case but I assume (foolishly?) that a sponsored athlete likely gets the associated products for free or steep discounts. If so, choosing a different product doesn't show well. Again, not trying to drum up drama but found it to be an interesting observation and I do think you are right about the package deal.

Riding a competitor's ski is obviously a real egregious example. Riding different branded bindings I overlook without question. Binding changes are huge and it can be nearly impossible to get the same feel with a different setup. It does seem that most HO skiers go with their hardshell and other brand skiers use Reflex or T Factor. Again, probably sticking with what they are used to because of the huge change a binding makes.

On big scores, how about Corey Vaughn pulling out the 3.5 under the gun in round 2? Hell of a lot of heart (and willingness to sacrifice the body). Sucks that he had to because of a handle length but damn what determination. I found it interesting that his handle would be long considering he was using a Masterline super spectra. Spectra rope doesn't have much give after the initial set so maybe it was brand new and hadn't been loaded before initial measurement. I would have thought Masterline would have put some amount of load on it before testing length but maybe that isn't normal.

On a related side note, I couldn't help but notice that Corey is sponsored by S-Lines but uses a Masterline handle. In most other sports, using a competitor's product on the world stage is a big fopaux for a sponsored athlete.

7 hours ago, alex38 said:

@ColeGiacopuzzi

dp you think this 1/4 inch compensation applies to the difference in base shape between a 2021 Vapor carbitex and the 2022 new hard shell style Vapor? Thank you.

Just got the new Vapor. Before I removed my Vector from the MOB plate, I marked my ankle location on the ski with my fibula perpendicular to the ski top surface. Mounted the Vapor boot to the MOB plate and my ankle is at the same spot with the same plate location. Back of both boots also measured the same DFT at this location.

8 hours ago, RAWSki said:

You dont have to use the fuel management system we disabled it in the settings and it works pretty well as a plain ole fuel gauge but still use the visual inpection method at times.  

We tried that and it went way off fairly quickly. We tend to get gas from different stations and ethanol changes throughout the year here. That all means the ethanol in our tank can change a lot each with each fill.

I just did this a few weeks ago with our 2021. Pull the back center step and the tank has a left and right side (obviously connected). Place a tape measure on a side with the hook on the bottom. Mark the following with a sharpie. These are fairly close based on knowing the size of the tank, filling in known quantities and measuring at each, and fitting with a best fit line. Luckily the tank cross-sectional area is nearly constant with height. In reality the cross-section of the top of the tank gets smaller so the top bit goes down faster. Let me know if you have questions.

1/4 full = 1 7/8 in

1/2 full = 3 3/4 in

3/4 full = 5 5/8 in

Thank you @liquid d for the heads up on that. This is a worthy cause for sure.

Just trying to get the word out. This is a small circle of people who would ever use a competition adaptive ski so hopefully it turns up.

https://www.ksnt.com/news/local-news/handicapped-water-skier-pleads-for-stolen-skis-back/

@scoke I asked a couple of questions and am sorry that I made the 7th grade comment, I should have left it at the questions. You are spending so much energy trying to offend me that you still haven't provided answers. I assure you that my insecurities have no relation to this conversation but your haste in trying to find a nerve and avoid answers tells me a lot about yourself. 

@Horton that's it, I'll stop now.

@scoke Did I say that your values were wrong, that the representations require additional testing, or that you need peer reviews of the data? Nope. I said that the graphs do not provide labels of what the x-axis and y-axis are or provide a reference to what the extremes mean. I know that those are included in 7th grade science class because my wife teaches middle school science.  Does that mean you are a bad engineer? Nope. As an engineer in a national lab I peer and senior review many reports written by good engineers where I have to tell them the graph is inadequate or not understandable. I am blunt and have no problems saying the truth to someone in person so that products are improved.

You were so worried about trying to show me up that you didn't answer my questions. Most importantly, what is the x-axis and what are the left and right extremes?

39 minutes ago, Hockdog said:

This says that the x-axis start is at the time the skier begins to load the boat, what is the right most point of the x-axis? Is it the next ball, half way between the two balls, or some random point/time after the skier begins to load the boat? I am guessing that "RPM increase" is actually intended to be the label for the y-axis.

Whomever made this should take a 7th grade general science class again to learn how to make meaningful graphs.

I only ever ski ZO behind a Prostar and that is the boat used at local tournaments here. To-date I have only ever tried B2 but I'm far from short line. Every driver and observer says that I am on the smoother side, with soft pickups out of the turn and progressive leans. This discussion has me wondering if I'd be better at A2. Maybe I'll give it a try this afternoon for kicks.

Does anyone have the figure that shows differences between settings? I have not been able to find that and any reference to it on BOS was lost in the server transition.

53 minutes ago, B_S said:

I haven't had to break loose mounting screws on a ski yet, but this stuff has saved me in other seized screw situations

There is no way I would let PB Blaster touch my ski. That stuff is so strong, I’d be worried about what it is doing to the ski materials and how far into foam it could soak and damage.

This seems to make most phones work. Not going to get cinematic quality or anything but it isn’t wavy and I can easily see the hundreds of mistakes that I make.

The top and bottom are the ends of PVC pipe caps and the tubing vinyl. I had to play with the tubing length and number so that it stabilized enough but also didn’t shake at 35 off, for others I ski with not me.

@lpskier ask Matteo what he now thinks about using a Wylie rear, even if not tight. He publicly said that a release front and RTP rear would likely have kept him from his recent rear foot Achilles rupture.  Also, in my opinion both feet in is not super safe. I skied with two individuals who spiral fractured with both in during a twisting fall using dual rubber boot. No thanks!

I was on Xmax bindings years ago for a couple of seasons and am not a fan with respect to performance or safety. They have a lot of room throughout, meaning that you have to tighten the laces a lot to keep your foot in place. I injured my ankle one time in them because I had the laces tight enough that my foot wouldn't move around but that resulted in my foot staying half way in during a fall. The extra room also makes for too much lateral play, hindering performance. I tried the Xmax laced super tight on a MOB release system and the performance was limited by the boot. Switched to a Vector on the MOB and it was instant improvement. Point being, the binding makes a difference to more thank just safety.

I have no experience with the T Factor but a lot of people seem to like them. Definitely spend time early on learning how tight to make the laces so that your foot easily comes out. I hear that the rubber does soften a bit with a few sets, making it more comfortable and release a bit easier.

You never said what you use in the back. If you use the the rear toe plate that came with the Xmax, replace it too. I found more comfort and confidence trying both the Radar adjustable toe plate and a traditional rubber one. D3 makes a really nice one too.

@BraceMaker makes valid points. The big concern with a lace style binding is that how you release is dependent on how tight the laces are for that set. If you have a smaller length foot and a normal instep, this may never be a problem because your foot will come out more easily. If you are like me and have a longer foot with small instep, you have to crank the lace tight to hold your foot and foot length results in an angle during release that makes coming out more difficult (how I broke my ankle). That is why I mount the Vector to a MOB release. Whatever you get, make sure that you reliably can always pull your foot out just sitting in the water with a push from your back foot. When it comes to price, remember that all boot styles and release systems cost less than a trip to the ER or even an X-ray (if you live in the USA).

I have no experience with the Obrien options but currently run a Radar Vector BOA and previously used the 2018 Vector.  I like how they work and ski. Most find that they release okay when not over tight but my size 13 foot doesn't like to come out of any binding so I use it on a MOB release plate. That means I can run mine as tight as my foot will allow and it's still safe so take my opinion with that in mind.