Slalom.Steve

Come on @Adam Caldwell, spill the goods! 😉

I have that shirt! There's also this great video:

I will preface this by saying I'm a Radar fanboy and I've gone from a 2016 Lithium to 2022 Pro to 2024 Pro. But... if the Radar team and Radar users both recommend that even skiers at slower speeds and longer lines use a Vapor over a Senate, why does Radar even produce/sell the Senate? What's the target demographic/who is "supposed" to buy a Senate then, if not course skiers at slower speeds and longer lines?

Expanding foam is the best to protect the tip and tail: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CF1QMKDZ

These look sorta interesting - https://www.scdivingstore.com/products/dry-five-dive-gloves - never tried em though.

I tried those but they were too slippery on the inside of glove - like the main ski glove could pull off my hand really easily, so half my grip strength was spent just keeping the main gloves from sliding off.

If someone is passionate enough to watch ski tournaments but isn't a member on Ball of Spray, I would be confused. Or am I overselling the prominence of BOS? What I mean by that: I would think the huge majority of people who would be people watching and commenting on a ski tournament on YouTube are also Ball of Spray members, so doing a live chat "similar to what YouTube already does except it would be just Ballers" seems like a useless duplication? Viewership is small enough, just keep it on YouTube rather than splitting it into another, even smaller group of viewers lol.

Just of note in case anyone tries: You can't rely on an Apple Watch (or I assume any purely-wrist-mounted device) to accurately measure heart rate during a pass. The watches measure heart rate by using light to look at blood flow though the blood vessels in your skin, but when you're strenuously using your arm muscles, like when weightlifting or skiing, that temporarily constricts blood flow through your wrist, so the watch won't read accurately until the muscles can relax again. To get an accurate reading, you'd need to have a chest strap measuring electrical signals instead.

I watch nearly every event, but always on delay so I can skip ahead a bunch. I don't want to spend 8 straight hours of TV that frequently, and I find watching all the opening passes kind of boring. I'll usually skip each skier's opening passes and just watch the last couple of each skier. If it's a big tournament, I'll also usually skip the lower seeded skiers as well (unless there's one I'm a particular fan of : )

Wait.. like a pole all the way to the boat? I guess you'd never get any slack! 😂

It says "There shall be no sharp edges or projections", not protections 🙂

Ugh, as if it wasn't enough for the f***ing surf barges to ruin the water, now they have to ruin the laws too. JUST BAN WAKESURFING - simple answer, actually addresses the problem, best solution.

Sweeeeet Its Because Of The Fans This Happened Eric Church GIFfrom Its Because Of The Fans This Happened GIFs

@ColeGiacopuzzi - sounds good. or should I star with long/shallow, if that seems to be the more preferred option?

@Chris Rossi Question regarding this: I got my '24 Vapor but not before the Midwest season came to an end😭. So my first set on the '24 will (likely) also be my first set in over 6 months come next spring. I've got the fin set at short/deep to start as recommended, but I'm worried I'll be rusty and not really tuned into the ski anyways (I'm 32-34mph, 15-28off) and thus not able to get good feedback on trying different settings. And I imagine I'll ski better on my 2nd day even if I were to keep the same settings, so if I do a day at S/D then a day at L/S and improve, is it the setting or is it just getting comfortable on the water again? All that said, my previous skis were a '16 Vapor and a '22 Vapor, which only have one stock setting specs, and I only ever ran those at stock. So I've never in my life made a big (or any) fin change. Will it be obvious enough which I prefer even with it being the first rides of the year? (yes I am planning for my ski rides 6 months in advance lol)

I just did this with my new '24 Vapor Pro. But then I added 0.005" of depth to the fin and the resonance numbers came back totally different. ^that's a joke😉. For the serious part: If I held the ski near the center, I was getting pretty consistent 107hz (+/- 1 or 2) readings no matter where I hit the ski. But when I held the ski off-center, I was getting 39-40hz, again regardless of where I hit the ski. Definitely could subjectively hear the lower tone too, the sound felt a little louder and more "full" and the ski vibrated/hummed for longer as well.

@vtmecheng, @Dano - I'm not saying the Radar screws never loosen, but in my experience, they loosen much slower than D3 screws.

It's not letting me embed the video because of copyright on the song, but just click to view on YouTube: 2024 Radar Vapor Pro Build - Lagoon Blue

I've found the flat black screws that come with Radar bindings to stay put much better than the silver countersunk+washer screws that come with D3 bindings. Unfortunately the Radar ones are too wide for the front or middle holes on my T-Factor, but I use them on the rear (of the front binding) holes.

https://www.ski-it-again.com/php/skiitagain.php?endless=summer&topic=Search&category=Slalom&postid=68798 Just posted this. Great ski at a steep discount due to a handle pop repair. Doesn't affect performance though, I set several PBs after the repair! @eleeski, you're not afraid of repairs, you want it? 😁

Well the Vapor, being the top-of-the-line Radar, is somewhat "designed" for short-line skiing at 36mph, or at least the size numbers are likely based on that. So my understanding is that if I was at 36mph and long lines, I'd probably use a 66", or if I was at 34mph and short lines, I'd use a 66", but being at 34mph and at longer lines makes me two "steps" away from the default size tuning for Vapor, and thus pushes me into a 67" size.

I'm at 160-165lbs, and I ski 32-34mph, 15-28off, though I started dropping 32mph entirely at the end of last season. I'm on a Radar Vapor and I've asked number of the Radar team, given 34mph and longer lines, what size to get. Trent said to go 67", Brooks said to go 67" until I'm at 35off, and Jamie recommended 67". Cole is the one dissenter would said "definitely 66" - so varied opinions but more towards the longer ski, at least as it relates specifically to Radar Vapors.

make that *any new, high-end/performance ski* New set of combos... no, not so much 😆

@Joebaum15 Not to discredit the Denali at all, but I imagine comparing any new ski to an 8-year old design that uses lower quality materials (Graphite is two levels below the top of the line Radar), you'd find the new ski to be much better.

I went from rear toe plate to the Radar HRT and I love it. Can't speak to high instep though.