Slalom.Steve

What's this drysuit worth? It's a SWS Sahara drysuit, bought somewhere around 2014 but never heavily used. It's size XL and while there's no obvious rips, by the end of a set, your bum and lower back will be wet. It still keeps you exceptionally warm though - I've used it in 50 degree water and been totally fine.

 

It was handed down to me by my brother @Nautique99, who is 6'4" - for comparison, I am 5'10"... It actually still kinda works, just with lots of extra fabric lol:

(yes that's the face of joy of the first ski of the season)

 

 

I don't have the budget for a new drysuit, but if I can sell this and use the money to buy a similar mostly-drysuit that's actually my size, that'd be awesome (and maybe a baggy one? so hard to get this thing on and off). Or I now have a Camaro Blacktec 2.0 wetsuit, which I've seen several people claim keeps them almost as warm as a drysuit... I'm suspicious, but if that's the case it's another reason to sell this one.

 

Thanks!

Being able to easily lift your heel that much within the boot is definitely too loose, though. You want to feel connected to the ski. Just make sure when you're sitting in the water that you can use your back foot to push on the back of the ski and get your front foot to pop out. Not with no effort, but not a struggle either.

I bought these neoprene socks last year for cold water skiing, only tried them once or twice. At the time I had a D3 Leverage Blackout front and D3 Contour RTP. I now have T-Factor front, but still rubber.

 

I only wore the sock on my back foot (front foot stays somewhat warm in the boot, and I'm aware of the danger of not being able to release from a rubber boot wearing a neoprene sock)... but I could not get my back foot far enough into my RTP - the sock just bunched up and stuck really bad. Now, I admit the sock was a little too big once it got wet, but it felt like the materials really stuck to each other regardless.

 

My ideas for an alternative:

1. Putting aside the setting that these are probably usually used for :D , would something like these latex socks be any better for fitting into a RTP? Not very warm but would help keep water/wind off the foot.

2. What about these supposedly "frictionless" neoprene socks?

3. What about Sealskinz waterproof socks? Probably not as warm as neoprene, but maybe better for slipping in a boot? (maybe even ok to use in the front as well?)

4. Or do I just need to get a better fitting pair of thinner neoprene socks? I have seen some other threads saying that 0.5mm neo socks can work. I know Camaro has a 0.5mm and a 1mm, or NRS HyrdoSkin 0.5mm.

I am happy to "hold onto" anyone's hi-end spare skis during the summer - my "storage locker" fits 66" size just about right. ;)

What are the effects of using a ski that is either too big or too small for one's weight; and of using a ski that is designed for 34-36 mph, but being skied at 28-32mph?

And are there any generally-applicable adjustments (works in most situations) that one can make to mitigate any negative effects? Boot placement or fin, though personally I'm not yet making fin adjustments off of stock.

 

If one is on a bigger ski, the ski will sit higher in the water; smaller ski lower in the water. Slower speed, ski will sit lower in the water.

Given that, I was trying to reason out the physics of it, but I don't understand the physics of it enough. One alternate, more generalize way to ask the question could be: what are the effects on stability, speed, and turning ability of a ski sitting lower or higher in the water than it was "ideally designed" for given weight/speed, and how to remedy any issues?

The "original" Ross family had a long tradition of lake vacations, started when Jim and my mom were just kids. As the family grew and grew (as happens when the 10 kids started having a lot of kids themselves, I have 22 cousins just on that side), the vacations continued, and after doing it at resorts for a while, Jim for many years offered up his own home for the whole family to stay and play. So in addition to the yearly "Club Ross" that Dave described for people at his lake, Jim also hosted a huge week-long family vacation every year. Generous is an egregious understatement.

 

Due to my brother Carl's efforts, the lake tradition now lives on within the smaller Florian family and a new round of children. I wrote the following email to Uncle Jim after a Memorial Day family vacation in 2018, shortly after Carl bought Uncles Joe's old boat and Uncle Dave sold/gifted Carl and me his old Radar Vapors:

 

"The vacation was quite enjoyable, but now being an adult, it also gave me a unique opportunity to reflect on my own lake experiences growing up. I saw perhaps more clearly than ever before the effort, time, and cost it takes to own and operate a boat, and, by being able to begin to teach Carl's kids 'the ways of the ski,' it made me realize just how much effort and time you gave to me and many fellow Ross grandchildren. I am so grateful for your taking countless hours out of your vacation time to pull us skiing, tubing, barefooting, etc; jumping in the water and showing us how to hold our skis; encouraging us and giving us technique advice; and even pulling us by hand across the waterfront on the blue board when we were hardly even three feet tall (something I don't even really remember but have video evidence of : )

 

Thank you for your kindness, your selflessness, and your love. You made vacations for us little ones pretty frikin rad, and instilled in me a love of skiing that I still hold today. You were a role model on how to be brave, try hard, and be a good person. Know that you are appreciated. While I know I said 'thanks' when I was little, I hope my older, just-slightly wiser self can now put even more meaning behind it: thank you."

this:

 

@A_B I'll sleep in the closet.

First a quick clear-cut question: when making fin adjustments to the thousandths, is it only ever in increments of .005" (so the final measurement ends up at .xx0" or .xx5"), or are there people ending up with measurements like .xx3"?

 

Then the real question: I am fairly new to course skiing, and have yet to learn much about fin adjustments, but I certainly plan to, as I really like the gear/tech side of things.

But I have to confess: I don't understand how moving a fin .001" or even .005" could make a difference in performance. An average human hair is about .003." So we're talking an adjustment of roughly the width of a single strand of hair… intuitively, it just doesn't make sense to me.

 

I am curious to hear people's subjective opinions, but most especially if there's any definitive "lab testing" that shows what difference, if any, can come from such a tiny adjustment. And maybe a scientific explanation to replace my unscientific intuition of how that's possible.

 

Thanks!

@lkb

...you coulda just sent him a PM asking what was up before publicly accusing him of malicious concealment.

 

was hoping to buy a Denali this year, then I got injured and covid slashed my income :'(

Eventually, I will come to thee, sweet C!..75

Do you mean the D3 Leverage Blackout, or the old Leverage with the rear laces?

How is it that so many skiers seem to be at-home machinists? Everybody's always on here talking about their boot modifications and all this custom-built stuff they put together in their home workshops, and I'm like "um... I've used a drill to screw things into other things." :D

cool, thanks. I didn't realize coming out of the hole throws a wave "forward" from the boat. If the boat comes out angled away from the course though, doesn't that then create a "regular wake" roller that goes from the side of the boat towards/down the course (like what happens if you cut across a course perpendicular to it)?

so much to learn lol

One of the comments says that "courses without islands may require you to start at an angle, so you don't send bow rollers down every pass." Can someone clarify this for me? I know to not throw a wake perpendicular to the course, but not sure what that comment is referencing.

Thanks!

That's like, a very melodic/accessible hiphop track. Can't imagine how ya'll would respond to actually-bad rap music lol.

Some questions of terminology and a couple about rules:

 

1. When people talk about PBs (Personal Bests), that includes both practice and official tournaments? And a Tournament Best is only at a tournament (and are those TBs)?

 

2. In terms of Tournament Bests, that implies that the skier also ran the preceding line lengths (ie. 4@39off means they ran up to 39off to even get a crack at 39off)?

 

3. PB doesn't imply any "up the line" passes - it's just the best pass someone has ever run (knowing it may or may not exactly fall in a tournament tolerance, and it might have come on the same length 6 times in a row)?

 

4. Is there any rule in tournaments that prevents a skier from simply opting all the way to, say 41off? I understand that means no warm-up... but say someone's an inconsistent 39off skier but thinks they'll be able to get 1 at 41off, couldn't they opt up and "skip" the need to run 39, and be happy with a low 41off score? I have no personal experience past 15off lol, but I have to think 1@41 is actually easier than 6@39?

 

5. To set a record (national, age, world, etc), that obviously has to happen at an approved tournament to make sure it's legitimate, but that means it also requires running up to that line length, and only one shot at that line length, correct? I'd be curious to see a tournament where the top guys just get 5 stabs each at either 41 or 43 and see what happens.

Aw man for a second I thought there was a new ski, the Carbon Core XTR Hashtag. :D

@BCM - what aspects of a rubber or soft shell boot do you have to test/inspect and adjust every 1-2 weeks?

It seems from this thread and the other RTP thread that a good number of amateurs and pros who use a RTP prefer something with a very thin, non-padded footbed. Then why aren't any of the brands making one like that? D3 only has a padded, contoured one. HO and Radar offer mostly padded, contoured ones - they both also offer a simpler flat one, but they still look pretty thickly padded. The thinnest I found is maybe the GOODE RTP.

 

I know the padded contour maybe looks nicer/fancier, and a company can charge more for a more "heavy-duty/complicated" product, but it seems to me the ski community is driven by performance, performance, performance. So what's up?

 

 

@Than_Bogan - I seem to remember in another thread you (or maybe one of the other Denali dudes) saying that arch support in front boots is actually detrimental, and something flat and is ideal, giving the most direct contact from the foot to the ski. Is that correct? If so, does that sort of principal extend to RTPs? Would you say that padded and/or contoured RTPs are detrimental?

 

This is all confirming my decision to not use a hardshell. If I was an elite skier needing an extra ball or two to win tournaments, maybe. But if getting an extra ball or two means I have to always be worrying about my boot setup, and increasing my chances of getting injured, not worth it to me. Missing months on the water sucks more than missing buoys in a pass.

hmm, @AdamCord - any thoughts? I'm 5' 10", 155-160lb depending on the time of day, though I'm low on muscle right now after almost 4 months off of strenuous activity due to a f***ing concussion. I'm hoping to train hard this winter, could certainly end up more like 160-165. Or maybe if I just eat too much lol, but I'm good about diet - all that to say I don't see any way I'll get under 155, whereas I could see myself getting closer to 165. I suppose I should just wait to see what weight I'm at when I'm ready to buy a ski lol... but if a small would be best, and since they're harder to find, if one pops up on SIA for a good deal... it's gonna be hard not to make a poor financial decision :#

 

Of note also is that I'd probably be looking at a 2020 model due to budget, rather than a 2021 with the different flexes, but my understanding is that the 2020 is fairly close to the the regular flex, which is where I'd be anyways. I'm still skiing 15off, 30mph (PB is 4 at 32mph) but I'm only 32years old, have really only had 4-5 months ever in the course, and have access to good (video) coaching, so I'm confident I will make progress fairly quickly - my goal is to run 34mph,22off by the end of next year.

 

@MattP - https://www.ballofspray.com/forum#/discussion/comment/384162 - Horton said "next year will be the C87"... though that was followed by "that thing will not be cheap" lol

basic question: the RFF vs. LFF is just which wing is attached, right? The ski itself is the same either way?

I'm hoping to snag a used one next season sometime, but I'm 155-160 lbs, so will be looking for a small, which seems much harder to find (where my lean dudes at?! :D ).

@Than_Bogan - Alright I retract that I'll take you lol. I played very casually back in the late 90s/early 2000s, then didn't for a long time, then found out my best friend used to play as well, so we'll occasionally play with our old-ass cards, decks that would get trounced at a tournament. But earlier this year, during lockdown spare time I endeavored to put together a legit Modern deck. It's not phenomenal, but it can hang. I also discovered https://untap.in, which is amazing - full catalog of the cards, pretty good interface, totally free, upload your deck and play strangers from around the world anytime of day. So it allows one to have fun with it without having to pay a bunch of money for cards, and play a bunch of different people without finding actual tournaments.

In a world of infinite time, I'd be more into it, but it just doesn't make it high enough on my priority list to get much attention. But still love the game.

Just signed up for the Arcane mailing list :)

 

...imagine it's not long now till we get shut down (rightfully so) for being way off-topic lol.

haha, bro I'll take you in some MTG if you play.