Tbone71857

@Orlando76...I think I've followed your story on Facebook as we went "out" at about the same time. However, OMG, your injuries are horrific. I am so sorry to hear of your pain just after surgery - gut wrenching. My talus is fractured and so far, I'm very lucky. For me, it was a simple edge change from keeping on edge through both wakes and transitioning to slow down the ski before ball 2...then, plop. I guess my rear foot came out and my ski anchored down into the water the rest is snap...crackle and a pop. Rest up and I pray your recovery is strong and quick. I'm heading to FL in February for a "ski-cation"...

I'm a huge Stokes fan...purchased the Evo2 after I broke a rib skiing. Tom Asher called me back and walked me through the vest I'm 6'2", 168 lbs and I wear a medium. It's a compression vest and it really helps my rib cage. Several hard falls later and I'm a believer. Tom also helped me pick my new ski. Great guy and great company. I've purchased two sets of the Stokes gloves for my family and me. Love it

I moved to the Radar Senate Alloy a few weeks ago from an old KD 6500 ski. Night and day difference. I had a session at a ski school in Dallas and my instructor said this is the perfect ski for me as it is VERY forgiving. Basically, it was a funny back-handed "compliment" that basically said that my ski position and abilities have been saved more than enough times by the ski. The Radar is a great ski for a long-time open water skier and a non-course skier.

She's 12 and has been skiing for one month now. I thought, why not...I never see anyone ski, much less tandem skiing on the lake. She desperately wants to slalom but she has a little more to learn. Huge surprise for me was how easily our boat pulled us out. I'm on my Radar Senate and she's on an HO Combo set. Building the memories and her confidence. It was so cool skiing with her and talking to her while on the water.

@Woody74, I just purchased a Radar Senate Alloy 67 and find it perfect for free skiing. I came off of an older KD 6500 that kicked my @$$ each time on the water - I was exhausted early and my second wake balance was always not "good"...the Senate is more forgiving as I'm still working on my body position through the second wake - there were a few times where I could feel the forgiveness of the ski actually help me - I would have fallen on the old ski. I'm not a competitive skier but I am very aggressive and I can honestly say that I can ski for miles on the Senate Alloy (and I have) whereas I could only go for a few burst on the older KD 6500. BTW, Lake Grapevine is typically very rough so and this ski does really well in open, rough water. Obviously, the rough water hinders performance but the ski does very well in any condition.

Awesome videos. Yep, my boat can't do that and it's okay. I made a breakthrough today in terms of rope length. On my Chaparral, if I shorten the rope by five segments, then my wake is so negligible and I'm able to hold an edge. Now, today we had a moderate chop on the lake, less than a foot swell so aggressive skiing wasn't possible. I worked on my stack position and maintaining it through the wake...successful more than 70 percent of the time. The acceleration is still so new so it's slowly becoming more comfortable. Again, I absolutely love the Radar Senate ski.

Jordan, great advice and I'm working on rope length as well as speed. I think the lessons will help and will reach out to DFWski for a day lesson. I think the boat will be the biggest obstacle with the wake. However, I'll work through that as it's paid off... Position is key. By biggest issue is front loading my weight. For the longest time, I thought skiing was rear foot sport. Man, was I wrong all these years. This site has helped me to understand that form is crucial and getting into a stacked position is key. Last night while skiing, I was able to accelerate so fast to the right side and was actually even with my wife who was driving the boat. I've never been able to do this. This ski is unreal. Then, when taking the edge towards the wake, the acceleration was intense. I love it and will continue to work at it. At 32 MPH, it feels as if I'm going 60 MPH on the edge.

@skibug, you're exactly right. That's what I told my wife last night once we were out of the water. I've watched a lot of video and the wakes are so much differen behind a true ski boat.

Tonight was the first time I got to ski on my new Vapor Senate Alloy - OMG, it was amazing. It's amazing how technology can help versus using an older slalom ski. Since I was 10 years-old I've been on a slalom ski. However, with zero input from experts or those "who know how to ski". Now, at 45 years-old, I'm at a stage in life where I want to improve. "Today", I'm stronger and faster than before - also more aggressive. That being the case, the speed/acceleration that I'm experiencing on this ski is somewhat scary. Crossing the wake is hard - especially since I fractured a rib two weeks ago, so naturally, I'm cautious right now. I have a 19' Chaparral H2O and it has a moderate wake at 32 MPH, no trim. I'm at 15' off and free skiing. What is your best advice to make my turn/edge and accelerate into the wake to the opposite side? I'm working on my body weight on the forward foot and I'm trying to lean "away" from the boat but the speed is amazingly fast and I usually come out of my position and everything goes south very quickly... At 28 MPH, I feel it's very slow and I like the 32 MPH boat speed. I'll never compete but I do want "that wall of water", but most importantly, the confidence to pull through the wake at these new speeds. Thanks all in advance!

@dnewton, you're doing amazingly well for just two years. I appreciate your video as I'm "re-learning" the sport after 30 years of doing it incorrectly and as a "hobby". Thank you for sharing your success and motivation for a few of us "novices" on the water!

@ScottScott, when I did a Google search for rib protection, Stokes and a few other jackets came up. They don't claim protection on their site but when speaking to them directly, they said the EVO 2 will offer much better protection than a standard jacket. After wearing it, it is obvious that it does - A) the jacket doesn't move on you like a standard neoprene jacket would, it literally hugs your body like an Under Armor tight shirt and B) all of the floatation material is on the outside of the jacket and it's thick. By design, this is a more protective jacket than the standard jacket. Plus, as my wife said, I look like a "super-hero" wearing it - imagine if it was red - I could look like Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool.

@slow, sizing is tricky. I weigh 168 - 172 and am 6'2" with an athletic build. When I spoke to Tom Asher at Stokes, he suggested the Medium was the right fit as he mentioned he was 185 and 6'0" and wears a Medium. To be honest, I think the M is very tight on me but it's a "good" kind of tight. I have a muscular chest and a thin waist line (size 30-31) so Tom said the Medium...if you're 185, you're bigger than me and I would recommend the Large at least OR give them a call. I left a VM and they did call back.

@Krlee, I had a BodyGlove neoprene vest. Nothing special...wasn't cheap but didn't offer the upper body protection that I now need. More speed equals harder falls...

Thank you @BraceMaker - I've tried the RPM tactic with her...remember, babe, it's 3400 RPMs...she forgets to look, etc. She's new to pulling skiers so I'm very patient. She may do better with the phone showing a digital readout sitting in the cup-holder just starboard of the steering wheel. We shall see... And yes, speed is so hard. Pulling the girls today was challenging at such slow speeds - getting the boat to plane, then it accelerates, pulling back, it wants to come off of plane. I was able to do it so I'm hopeful she can as well.

Recently purchased a new Stokes EVO 2 jacket from June and Thomas Asher. Got to use it in the water today and I really like it. It's very form fitting - to the point of almost being too tight - but not too tight... I like the compression it offers for my rib cage as I fractured a rib a week and a half ago - hence, the need to buy this jacket. Wife thinks I look like a super-hero so that's a plus, too. I love the rib protection and I also like how it stays "put" on your body and doesn't creep upward into your neck and ears while in the water. Great product!

Great advice on the DigiHUB app for Android. Used it today to pull the teenagers across the lake. While it's a wakeboard for them, I was able to hold the boat at 19 MPH with more success than the speedometer. Now, need to get the wife trained on how to keep the boat at 31 MPH for my slalom runs.

Thank you, Scott. Too funny on the course boat as that would be me as well. Our lake doesn't have a course so it's free skiing and technique drills for me when the water is calm.

Your comments ARE spot on! Yes, I've been putting way too much weight on my back leg -luckily, a friend snapped a few photos of my turns and it showed a scary sight - ski tip elevated way too high with only my fin in the way during my turn, my alignment is askew, etc. Your comment about my hips turning towards the boat is so helpful - thank you! What the videos have shown me is to keep a solid posture and "pull" against the boat as I cross the wake. As for my wake - honestly, I've never had the "luxury" to ski behind a true ski boat. All of my skiing has been behind I/Os. My Chaparral has had the "best" wake and I've enjoyed "learning" how to become more aggressive without pushing the limit - until last week. I have my new EVO 2 Stokes jacket now and will try it this week. It's very tight and I like the compression it provides for my ribs. Question - for free skiing (non-course), should I maintain a 75' rope or go 12 to 15 off? It appears my wake is most narrow at 12 to 15 off - would that help at all?

Very good advice and thank you. Yes, I've had a lot of time this week to watch video and to read about technique. Here's my deal, I'm 45 and have skied casually with many years apart from season to season. Now, we have a boat and I'm really getting into the sport on a weekly basis. Compared to my 18 year old body, today, I am so much stronger, faster and more aggressive than I was back then. I'm reaching speeds that are simply exhilarating today compared to how I skied then. Therefore, my spine alagiment, weight and technique all need to improve as when I do fall, it hurts. My rib breaking fall occurred when I fell backwards after hitting the second wake, landing on my face and right chest side.

Our family is enjoying our new/used 2013 19' Chaparral H20 - I grew up on the water and my teenage girls have the chance to do so now! I purchased a used slalom ski, KD 6500, and it almost "killed me" - I'm really sure it's user error but I now understand why skiing on newer technology is important. I cracked a rib going over the second wake last weekend. I reached out to Tom Asher at Stokes and purchased the EVO-2 rib protector ski vest (it comes in today). He also recommended two newer slalom skis. Therefore, at the local Dallas boat show last night, I purchased the Radar Senate Alloy slalom ski. I will try it out next week once we return from a wedding this weekend. Our lake (Grapevine) is rough so skiing is sometimes out of the question - so we wakeboard. Girls love the sport and they've only been doing this for a month or so. One kid loves to ski and the other loves to wakeboard. I slalom any chance that I can - even chasing down the other random slalom skier that magically appears on the lake (good grief - we are a dying breed). My wife loves to slalom as well. The boat has a decent wake at 32 MPH (it's not a true ski-boat but I deplore the $150K wake-surfing boats so we went for a used bow-rider). Basically, it's the type of boat I grew up with back in the day. As long as we are on the water, the family loves the idea of water sports. Growing up in Arkansas, we lived in the same neighborhood as Wade Cox - small world and he's done extremely well at this sport. I'm looking forward to the tips/suggestions/ideas from this board!

We just purchased our new "used" bowrider 19 Chaparral earlier this summer - I'm a long-time slalom skier and have echoed the exact same sentiments to my wife and kids this summer...about the loss of the sport and the huge $150K wake-surfing boats. We own combo skis, three slalom skis and two wakeboards. I will not entertain the thought of wake surfing (because my boat can't do it and I purchased it for a reason). The huge boats are "ruining" the lake with the 3' rollers and creates a dangerous skiing environment and boating environment. I feel like a teenager when I see another boat pulling a slalom skier- chasing it down just to watch. Our lake is oftentimes too rough (wind and boats) to slalom but I really enjoy the challenge and opportunity to improve.