Lebow-ski

Thanks, @Cnewbert!! I just added a signature to my BOS posts that reads: “Never has a skier’s ability been so absurdly exceeded by that of his equipment!” 😁

Thanks very much, Gale. Just trying to send positive energy out to the universe! I got several pieces of new gear (hope this doesn’t sound braggy and gross), but the headliners are: 2024 Radar Vapor Pro Build (67” in Lagoon Blue) 2024 Radar Vapor Alum Carbitex boots (front and rear) 2024 Radar Carbon Sequence Plate Just got my FedEx tracking number…Christmas this year (for me) comes on Monday!!!

My 2024 Vapor PB (67” Lagoon Blue) arrives next week! Can’t wait!!

Hi All: First, I hope that this post doesn’t violate any BOS guidelines, but I wanted to share my recent and wonderful experience with Performance Ski. (I guess I should also clarify that I have absolutely no financial affiliation with the company or personal relationship with any of its employees.) As you may have gathered from my recent post, I’m effectively gearing up from scratch, and so recently spent considerable time scouring the interwebs for gear vendors. For several reasons, PerfSki was my top choice: (1) They have an extensive selection (in terms of brands, models, sizes) for a huge range of equipment (in fact, PerfSki was the only vendor to offer everything that I wanted to purchase). (2) They have competitive prices (in line or slightly lower than most other vendors), and offer free shipping and (for me in CA, at least) no sales tax. (3) They are strong advocates of our sport (they are active sponsors of tournaments) and active members of our community (in fact, I believe that some PerfSki folks are BOS members, including @mike_mapple) (4) They are a relatively small US company (the big and/or foreign corporations already get more than enough of my money) Having decided on PerfSki, I’d placed (and left) several items in my PerfSki online cart for over a week as I did research to finalize decisions about my new gear. After a week in the fresh mountain air, I returned home with the conviction to pull the trigger. My only lingering hesitation was that some of my purchases were quite likely to go on sale (with Black Friday coming up, etc.). So, I reached out to PerfSki, and corresponded with owner Bill Porter. Bill mentioned that they have a price guarantee, where they will offer store credit for any purchases that are subsequently discounted during their holiday promotions (in fact, Bill just posted a video about this here). However, Bill mentioned that he knew what the Black Friday discounts they were going to offer and (after I sent him a list of the items in my cart), he promptly wrote back with the ‘future’ sales prices for each item, which he would offer me right now! I made the purchase and saved ~$400 over their (an already competitive) listed prices! It’s unusual in my experience when a seller can genuinely put themselves in your place (as Bill said “I know how I feel when an item goes on sale right after my purchase”). But exceptional customer service was evident in every aspect of my experience. Bill was genuinely helpful and thoughtful—thinking to ask if I would prefer that he set up the ski/bindings, or whether I would prefer to do it—and when I told him that I would prefer to do the set up myself, Bill followed up with detailed spec charts and some advice and tips (based on his first-hand experience) to help me set up my ski when it arrives. We’ve all had unfortunate purchasing experiences, and those are the ones that I (at least) tend to remember (with a touch of bitterness) and am most likely to share with others. My recent experience with Bill at Performance Ski was so exceptionally positive that I really wanted to share this with the community. It was a genuine pleasure to do business with PerfSki and it makes me happy to support a wonderful, small American business. Take care, Brian

Hi All: Apologies for my delay in responding to the recent posts. I’m just back from a week-long back-country hike in the Sierras: no cell reception, no email, no internet, just fresh air and beautiful vistas! I also wanted to extend my sincere thanks everyone again for your generous advice and kind responses to my post (this BOS forum is a truly wonderful community)! I’m also happy to share that—with your help—I’ve made a decision and pulled the trigger on a 67” 2023 Radar Vapor Pro Build! I can’t wait to get out on the water with it!!! Many thanks again to all, Brian

Thanks, again, Steve. That all makes perfect sense to me. My current thinking is that I’ll *probably* end up going with the 67”, and (if or when, fingers crossed) my form improves sufficiently, I’ll move up to a 66”. But—much to my amazement—I received a DM from another forum member who (a) lives very close to my small NorCal town (!), (b) has a 67” 2024 Vapor PB and a 66” 2023 Vapor PB (!!), AND (c) generously offered to let me try both on the water!!! This could just be a massive random act of kindness, or maybe the Universe is starting to get a bit shouty about me getting back on the water 😉 So glad I joined this forum and so grateful for everyone’s kind help!

Hi Ron. Thanks very much for your advice! I agree that—in a seemingly ideal scenario—I would select a set of ski options (different makes/models/sizes) and test them back to back on the water: this would provide a great basis for making a very informed decision. A complication with this ideal situation (even if it were possible) is that—because I’m currently quite rusty—I would very likely end up selecting a ski that best suits my current (and very rusty) level, but would quickly become a poor choice as I get up to speed. That is, I’d rather select a ski that is not optimal for me right now, but one that I could grow into by the end of the coming season (or even the season after that) as I (hopefully rediscover my form). Thanks again!

Thanks very much, Steve. Your input is super pertinent, not only because we’re a similar weight, but because the Pro Build Vapor is currently at the top of my list. (Btw, how cool is it that you got advice about this directly from the Radar team: nice!). (FWIW, I was running 15 off at ~32 last summer…like I said, super rusty and focussed on having fun and trying to remember form). It’s also cool that there was a clear majority opinion on size from the Radar team, and want to make sure I correctly understand the reasoning behind this advice: for a given speed (34mph), stick with a longer ski (67) while you’re skiing with a longer rope (28 or less off), but move to a shorter ski (66) when you start skiing with a shorter rope (35 off). Presumably, the logic behind this advice is that you will necessarily be skiing faster at 35 off (cutting tighter lines that run more perpendicular to the boat, so with a higher effective speed), and so will benefit from the better turning of the shorter ski at those higher speeds. This probably should be obvious to me, but just want to confirm my understanding. Thanks again!

Thanks, Horton. I hear nothing but glowing praise about Paul and the CSR. I felt like the universe was speaking to me when I discovered that CSR is ~30 mins from my home! Universe: “Get back on the water you bum!!”

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this, MDB. I’m usually running at about 32, but might be + or - a bit depending on conditions. In general, I’m leaning more toward a set up that I can grow into (as I get back up to speed) rather than a set up that might work best for me right now (but that I’d want/need to upgrade in a year or two). I’ve been off the water for a long time (and def older than when I last skied everyday), but fortunately I’ve stayed in good physical shape and hope to get up to speed again soon! I’m looking to get some coaching at the California Ski Ranch, which turns out to be a short drive from my home!

Thanks v much, Horton. Btw, I’ve really enjoyed (and learned a lot from) reading your reviews! The fact that you (and fellow) experts are so active on this forum was my main reason for joining! B

Hi All! New to the forum here. I grew up on the water and started skiing at age 4 and competed (albeit not very competitively) from age 14 to 17 (regionals in Ont Canada). Moved away for school, work, etc., and for a l-o-n-g time lacked the time, money and opportunity to ski. Then I spent a good chunk of time at a friend’s cottage last summer and got back on the water for the first time in ages, and realized 2 things: (1) for an older guy who hasn’t skied in ages, I was a way better that I expected, and (2) I need to make skiing a part of my life again. So, I’m in the market for new equipment, which has changed massively while I wasn’t looking, and I have the weird feeling of being a complete newb in a place that used to be so familiar. I joined the forum for advice on what I expect will be many questions (about equipment purchase and set up, techniques, etc.). First off, ski size. I run about 165lb, which puts me in the middle of a 66 or 67 inch size for most of the skis I’m looking at. I’d be grateful for advice about the expected tradeoffs in the choice of ski size…presumably the 66 would run deeper, etc., but I’m guessing there’s much more to it. Brian