Fastguy888

@Taynton I have had booth and recently moved to the 2022 Vapor Double Boot. Size 12 foot. I think you would be very happy with the Vapor. As far as releasing from them; on the Pulse the bungee goes all the way down the front, with the vapor you a have the BOA lower section (does not stretch in a release) and then a bungee across the top. For me I have found leaving the lower Vapor BOA section just tight enough to take up some slack (very loose) and the Bungee snug but not overly tight provides the best feel and releases. The Vapor Boots fit so well you don't have to snug them up to get the performance advantages. Another tip on the Vapor is to unhook the bungee off the top eyelet when you are getting in them so you can get the opening nice and wide; I get in with the booties already in. One small downside with the Vapors is when you get out the booties will probably stay on your foot until you take them off; so you have them to float back to the boat / dock with your ski after a set. If I 100% just open water recreationally skied I would probably go to a Pulse or Vector for the pure convivence of quick in and out with nothing to have to grab separate, but it would be a compromise for performance.

I purchased the new S-Line Competition Series (Medium Stretch). Only had it out once for a few turns on open water; but it felt very nice. Came off a year old Syndicate rope. The added stretch was very nice, made it easier to stay connected to boat without slack and was easier on the body.

As a motorsports enthusiast who puts performance first and owner of www.ev-mods.com (Electric and Gas Vehicle Performance Parts) ; I can validate that the "greenie" "environmentalist" stigma often gets in the way of enthusiasm for the growth in market share of electric drive systems. If you like electric, gas, diesel hydrogen, propane, 2-stroke; it does not have to define your tribe. Myself and most of my customers are not enthusiast of electric propulsion systems because we want to save the world; although if in geological-time data validates it has helped, that is a great upside. While the performance of an electric propulsion system in a boat is not yet on par with gas; the potential is getting closer; especially when incorporating batteries as part of the hull similarly to how Tesla and other EV's use the batteries as part of the chassis. The current Nautique/Ingenity electric drive system can be adapted into current production and may meet the needs of a few niche wake & pleasure boaters; when a proper 3-event boat is built hull-up with electric propulsion, performance advantages over gas may emerge.

I was on a 1998 Connelly Revolution in 1999 (skiing for Sac State) and didn't ski again until 2019 and can appreciate your question @maaasimp . This forum recommended a Senate Pro but I cheeped out and got a Senate Graphite. I am now on a Senate Pro and likely to get a Vapor Pro soon; I should have researched more as the Radar "Pro" models are very different - return more energy in a good way. What surprised me with the new Ski's including the Graphite; but especially the Pro, are how active they are. My old Connelly was as stiff as a chunk of steel. What I mean by active is how they are engineered to flex more and return that energy in a good way to improve your skiing. I have not ridden a KD7000 but similar vintage skies. Possibly binding technology advances will change your feel even more than the Ski. I think it likely that whatever Brand or model of a newer high-end ski & Bindings you wont be disappointed. I would bet it will feel different from your KD7000, but not foreign or uncontrolled. It may seem complex or cumbersome to take advantage of some of the demo programs out there; but you probably wont regret it. Lastly remember to form your own opinion on what you like; if you end up liking a different ski than the ski "your supposed to like" this does not mean you are ill-informed or a bad skier, just means you like what you like. Confidence in your ski is almost as important as its potential.

Great Pictures @timmo thanks for sharing. Was trying watch live all weekend running into streaming issues.

I slalom waterski RFF but skate, surf, wakeboard, snowboard, skimmboard all LFF. To me it seems natural, my dominate foot is in the place doing the most work. I once tried LFF Slalom as I think its an advantage on the course; my feet felt fine but my upper body and hands were very confused, back to RFF waterskiing. On a side note, living in Southern California it's on my bucket list to surf early am, waterski mid-morning and snow ski afternoon all on the same day.

@horton @ColeGiacopuzzi I am glad to hear the additional cost are not as bad as some of my friends were indicating; one has a place at Banana Lakes - Arvin the other at Sundown - Newberry. So glad for every place we have to ski. When my daughter graduates HS or sooner I hope to get my own little slice of ski lake heaven.

I have friends that own at Arvin / Newberry Springs Lakes, I have looked into Arvin & Newberry Springs myself and hope to one-day have a weekend retreat on a ski lake. Lots of Ballers live there. Not sure its intentional but "browsing" these listings their is a lack of transparency on real cost. If you get serious most will disclose all the cost pretty up-front quickly. I have heard $500 - $2,000 monthly HOA/Dues + Special Assessments + cost for electricity/power etc. turn a $160k opportunity into a $500k+ equivalent monthly payment real fast. While the water rights seems pretty secure today; this is California, a political agenda could threaten the waters of the lakes easily. Very little marketing of the lakes is done; possibly to keep them out of the eyes of haters or neighboring farmers that would love the water. Some of the lakes offer true ownership / home ownership and despite the higher initial price tag; potentially have a lower monthly payment that builds equity. The lack of nearby amenities, smell of manure, industrial agriculture and distance from most anything can make them undesirable for non-skiing friends and family.

I have skied twice now on my new 2022 Vapor Boots in open water. They are mounted to my 2021 Radar Senate Pro. I'm a 15-22 Off 32-34MPH Skier with one season under me after 20+ year break. I previously skied with the Radar Vector Boa Front and HRT Rear. 22 years ago it was double rubber high wraps. It took a big risk after geeking out on Ball of Spray and all the hype of these boots buying double boots full retail direct from Radar. Tried them on in the living room and man were they tough to get on my size 12 feet (ordered size 12 Boot); but once they were on they immediately felt great and are sized correctly. I understand these liners can be molded / will mold over time so was not expecting a perfect fit dry. In the living room the tongue did feel tight on the top of my foot, but as I predicted was not evident in the water mounted to the ski. Despite feeling really good for a dry fit, they were almost impossible to get off, dry in the living room. With both the BOA and top bungee laces completely loose, I had to stand on the back of the aluminum plate and really pry to get my foot out. I ended up slightly bending the bottom plate getting them off in the living room. This kind of worried me, as I don't plan on using them with any additional release system. Initial set up - I removed only the rear bolt on the upper ankle for the rear boot to pivot fwd easier. Front boot everything installed. These were mounted using the included aluminum plate direct to ski. First Ski - To get on I found it easier to leave the liner in the boot and slide the foot in with a little soap. This seems to be the way it was designed as the hand holds are on the liner only. I wanted to ensure my foot had a chance of coming out in a fall first set; so I left the top bungees only tight enough to not slip off their notch. The BOA that tightens the lower, I cinched just enough to take up the slack and apply light pressure. On the boat platform I tried to see if I could pull or twist my foot out and I could not. I found that with the BOA tightened, bungees loose, it was still too tight to pull my foot out. The BOA comes far enough up my size 12 feet that my foot would really have to bend to slide out. I loosened the BOA and then reengaged the clickers but left it very loose. Despite it being left very loose the system was still more secure feeling and foot tight to the ski than the Vector System I was using. This is all before any break-in. Skiing the boots felt very good and natural right away. I loved the connection to the ski and despite my double boot set-up I had enough rear ankle flex and freedom to move naturally. I am RFF but surf and skate LFF. Ironically I think I keep my weight fwd and more balanced on the ski with double bindings; I think with the rear foot feeling more secure, I relax it more and balance naturally, where with the HRT or a rear toe strap, I get overly active on my rear foot kind of constantly forcing it onto the ski subconsciously. Performance was superb skiing. I wanted a better connection to the ski and I got it even with the upper bungees and BOA being extremely loose first set. I felt like my offside turn improved most, gaining leverage vs my old setup. I feel a more immediate positive reaction to input and intentional weight transfers. No falls first set, but I found my front foot would come out of the liner leaving the liner in the boot. My rear foot would come out with the liner still on my foot. I equated this to having the rear ankle bolt out of the rear binding giving it more flex and room for the liner to come out. Second day skiing on the system I found the liners to have molded to my foot some. This enabled me to get a little tighter on the BOA and still have some confidence I would come out. I found the sweet spot for the BOA and could then adjust the top bungee tighter. I am loving this setup and cant wait to get on the course. Thanks for making a great product Radar.

@ErikBerghiller I would be very interested in leasing an OffCourse through middle of winter months. I ski with a group of die-hards who all have regular access to buoy courses April - October but due to weather, or lack of water; we ski open water much of the winter. None of us willing to spend 3k on an Off-Course for the limited use, but would absolutely lease one for those months we cant ski a course? Do you have any lease program in development?

Be the best Dad, Husband, Employee and Water Ski Fun Haver as I can in that order; well employee and Water Skier can swap if its a warm glassy winter day, and sometimes I am a better Dad and Husband after water skiing, and I Have Fun Water Skiing by seeing incremental improvements in buoy count while simultaneously having fun on the water and boating. Waterski as much as I can with open water 5min away & buoys 1:35min away. Perfect my HIIT training routine to best mimic ski sets, mimic going from mildly warmed up (aka waiting on the doc/boat) to HIIT - Mix of full body strength training moves, isometric pulls and 400m run sprints (aka Skiing a full set)

I envy those who have been able to find the limiting factor to their current progression to be skill or physicality. In 1998 on Sac State Ski team we all skied at 34 mph, I don't think they had speed based scoring back then. Trying to break into the team I never completed a full pass; Every chance I had on the course (about 1 set per week for 4 months a year) I went for a PB and score that would be good enough to get me on the traveling team and got PB3@22 Off 34MPH about 10 times. Ironically I probably didnt have the experience to complete a pass at 15Off34MPH back then. I am every so grateful for those limited sets, but it was water time that limited my progression. Took a 22 year break never skiing, and now at 44 years old back at it with more course time than ever getting about a set a month in Winter and skiing course weekly in summer. Very happy to have gone from not skiing in 22 years to 4@15Off 32MPH and easily clearing 6@15Off 30MPH in less than 20 sets over the last 22 years.

How does one release from these in a crash? I am running Radar Vector Boa with HRT Rear. I crash often, usually OTF full release as I am re-learning the course and pushing myself. No injuries to-date from binding issues skiing. I like the simplicity, fewer moving parts and consistent way I come out of the Vector Boa vs a Hard Boot - Binding System; however would like a little more connection to the ski, especially now I am skiing into 34 mph. With the new Vapor Boots mounted to a Radar Plate only (no release system like Reflex), does the inner boot slide out in a crash or does your foot come out of both the outer shell and bootie? Seems it would be easy to loose a bootie if it stays on your foot through release and then gets dragged through the water post-release...?

I would love to take some neighborhood kids; my daughters age 10-12 y/o that are "acquittances" but I don't know them or their parents well enough to risk liability. I would also love to offer a free learn to ski day in my small suburb that has a nice little skiable lake. What holds me back is liability. It would be great if USAWS or another organization could sponsor liability insurance or draft a legally sound "waiver of volunteer" for such scenarios through an easy to sign-up website. Just like volunteering for AYSO Soccer possibly you first have to pass a background check and driver course to be eligible... I am a USAWS Cert Boat Driver, and have SafeSport and other credentials... If I could get one or two kids hooked on skiing to replace my own love for the sport I would consider it time well spent. What holds my daughter off from wanting to participate is having no friends or peers to share the experience with or "normalize it" as a fun recreation. Here in the Los Angles basin their are 4 million people, but I think like 25 waterskies, lol. The more good skiing folks I can expose my daughter and wife to; the more they are getting interested in the sport despite my wife and her extended family being non skiers. To many, the sport looks like magic that takes extreme strength and skill to enjoy; that very well may be the case to compete at a high level, more exposure to the joy of gliding on the water and not being too cool for school could bring in more interest. I tried to get permission to put a portable ski course in my local lake. The lifeguards who manage the lake and have final say indicated with such a wide variety of people whom they serve; fisherman, sailors, kayakers, boat cruisers, Jet Skiers... dedicating a section of lake even in the extreme off season would not be proportionally serving the community. Now if they have 50 different people requesting a slalom course and saw it getting used, they could validate the resources...

@MichaelWiebe I was bummed when the Hero10 came out already, should have waited and done more research; with that said I am super happy with the Hero 9, just knowing a newer version is out ugh... @Horton been posting footage from the Hero 10. From the boat I I like shooting in 4k 60fps so I can get 50% smooth slow motion as a study tool and also crop in / digital zoom in post and still look good. While I am a pro video editor for my job, I still like the GoPro color profile rather than the pro / flat mode to save time. I am posting, more content on my youtube channel "ActionSportsPlaygrounds". While the Max Lens Mod is not required to run the Horizon Lock, I just recently got it to have a wider angle for POV Shots like these (skiing poorly for me this day as I had not slept in 2 days) Here is a from the pylon follow rope angle of a funny crash from yesterday truing to do a back spin in open water

I'm no doctor but have spent lots of time on this. Forearms that play a role in grip have unique anatomy I have learned as a NCAA Personal trainer, former Motocross Rider and slalom skier. The fascia that surrounds the forearm does not expand easily and can restrict blood-flow to the area. Despite any amount of raw grip strength, the limiting factor is usually getting enough red blood cells into the area with oxygen and co2 + lactic acid out to get the muscles to work. Rather than other parts of your body where your existing nervous system can grow in volume to accommodate the increase in demand, your grip needs to develop new capillaries and blood streams to get more blood in and out. Skiing more often, without going to grip exhaustion and ample time to recover will theoretically help your grip issue. Lastly the right size handle and right gloves can make a huge difference. I switched to a larger diameter handle soon after getting back into skiing and almost instantly eliminated any issues with grip or arm pump.

I have a 69" 2020 Senate Graphite am 6'2" 200lbs 32mph 15-22Off skier improving every set on the course and also ski open water, as others have mentioned the shape is the same between the build constructions; however, the builds do make it a much different ski (Graphite vs Pro etc). I should have opted for the pro build as people suggested. I think you would love the Senate Pro. The pro is stiffer and rebounds faster albeit under control vs my graphite. Possibly the graphite offers more suspension flex through a choppy lake; however at 6'2" 200lbs, I prefer a stiffer ski in chop as well, as it prevents the ski from getting overly active. With my graphite senate with certain wind textures on the water I sometimes feel a weird harmonic vibrations through the ski that makes it feel like it is slowing down, I like it best on glass.

What about some arm-pit wing air brakes combined with some slick spandex shorts to get more speed. Arm-pit wings - when arms extended at the buoy they are deployed and slow you down; even better the drag would be on your inside at buoy to help turn, then when tucking your arms in, heading out of turn they no longer cause drag? Silly visuals here but considering the attention we put on other slalom equipment... At 60+ MPH aero matters. Seems like @MarcusBrown has the right credentials to design this. An added plus; Freddy Winter could glider over the water going OTF into 4 Ball at 43 Off rather than splashing.

The sound on the new GoPro Hero 9 is very good. I use it both professionally and for fun; often the sound quality of the GoPro in action environments is better than a second "high-end" mic I use. Here is a video with all natural sound from the GoPro. Lots of other stuff on my YouTube channel.

I could see this releasing on its own just fine; could be a nice upgrade from my Radar Vector BOA. The lower part of the binding does not need to expand much for a foot to release as long as the heel and ankle can flex out, just needs enough foot flex to force the foot up and out should you be in a situation where you are twisting out rather than stepping out of the binding.

Buoy counts are not sexy nor sell the sport beyond hardcore Ballers like ourselves; scores are essential to keep people coming back to the next event, to see how a skier they enjoyed did and set the drama, but not the hook. Slalom is an incredibly beautiful spectacle; a dance that includes speed, water, cool boats and fit humans in bathing suites trying to balance all the forces. There is more than enough going on that it could be entertaining to people that have never water skied; however, if pro events broadcast get tunnel vision to the scores, it will keep many from tuning in. As others have said; sell the lifestyle and the scores will be what has them coming back. Just like the broadcast our personal conversations, or Social Media post, should not be about your buoy count if trying to appeal beyond your skiing buddies. Important to note that ESPN or NBC are no longer a validation of a sports clout or popularity. YouTube and Social Media Likes and Views are probably more important to a younger generation and advertiser.

I think Tige had switched manufacturing out of CA by then. I love my 1994 Tige SLM 2000 with 454 EFI. The SLM's shared mold with the Centurium Falcon (Fineline Industries) of same years, but used a different glass, resin and top cap. I often ski behind a 1996 Natique, 1996 MasterCraft and also a 2014 CarbonPro Recently, The only wake I like better at 30.4MPH than mine was the Carbon Pro. Here is 30.4MPH with a friend driver making his 2nd drive ever through the course.

The stabilization and horizon lock of the new GoPro Hero 9 is pretty amazing. Here is a view from the tip of the ski looking back from this last weekend at the Quarry in Southern California. Back-to-Back 15Off @ 30.4 MPH, then I go for 32 MPH and had huge OTF. Camera only caught the full bindings ejection, not the double cartwheel happening off camera.

I really enjoyed watching the tournament and grateful for all the volunteers that enabled me to do that.

It could easily be missed in my convoluted post, but personally I am actually championing boats staying in the sport. I love boats. I think skiing needs boats and boats need skiing otherwise its a different sport all together like "Cable Park" vs "Boat" Wakeboarding... By considering the possibility that boats could be eliminated; we can come up with even better reasons why they should stay.