HO 410

I see a ski that sticks with him no matter what he does.

That makes sense. For some reason, when I was reading "Half moon" I was envisioning the bell of a mushroom, Must have been thinking crescent moon. TW, Have you give any thought to using a perforated, plastic shell (think a whiffle ball the size of a turn buoy). It would look, kind of like a mushroom [go figure]. It would be low mass, would not require much flotation to keep it on the surface or return it once being submerged, and the holes should allow it to move through the water without causing too much drag.

Fogman and Reflex go down to men's size 4. I'm sure that FM's can be made just as small.

The current bindings that D3 offers are rear-lace, open-toe high-wrap bindings. They will be much more like your Wiley's were than your Approaches are. I think you would be chasing down a path that you have been. If you are looking to try something different, there is the ever popular Reflex front with a rubber rear. There is also the new stream of boots where the liner slips out of the shell like the Radar RS-1 (now Strada), FM E-series, and the heretofore unreleased Obrien [Elite] boots.

Not an additional entry, just a manipulation of the data. I would if there is a consistent ration between length and depth.

I learned about the TRX when Drew Brees was rehabbing his shoulder a few years back. I was curious, but not curious enough to drop $150 on the basic kit. Flash forward a few years, and learning a fun trick to tie knots with a chain-link and a carabiner, I raided my rock-climbing / slack lining bag to jury rig a TRX type system, and I must say it really is a gym in a bag. It's very simple, lightweight and extremely portable. Personally, I found the main benefits to be that almost all exercises engage the core and require/train enhanced balance.ÂÂ

I'm not sure how complex you need to make the buoy, you just need to reduce buoyancy. 1lb of total buoyancy would probably be plenty to get the buoy back to the surface for the next pass. As it stands, turn buoys are exceptionally buoyant. Adding water to the buoy is a simple solution to combine with existing products. I understand that some doubt the safety of center-punching an apparently heavier buoy, just attach a water filled buoy and push it around while you are swimming and you can decide if it is something you want to do. For deflections and glancing blows, the difference is clearly evident.  How about latex balloons? It will explode if you hit it.

If history proves any guide, when Dave gets hurt by bindings, he comes up with something different and, at least in concept, safer. It will be interesting to see what he comes up with. I did always find the repurposing of Dual Lock a little interesting. I'd be curious to know what 3M's position on the application would be Hope the recovery is smooth and he's back on the water quickly. If Dave Goode does anything for waterskiing, it is that he always seems to force the other companies to step up their game.

Marco- the Strada boots are just retooled and renamed RS-1's. The most recent thread can that particular topic can be found here.

Well, one approach does not require that you modify or buy a new rope. I tend to think it swings both ways and that a little of each is beneficial. When you slow down the boat, you feel less rushed throught the entire pass. This gives you a good chance to get used to the geometry and perspective of the new pass. But eventually, you will need to work this out at your maximum boat speed and a good way to make that a little be easier would be to have a little bit more rope.ÂÂ

Leinenkeugel's? Maybe Lakefront? Schlitz isn't local anymore. It would be gold though. Schlitz Beer the official sponsor of the Pro Ski Tour with fin adjustments brought to you be Steve Schnitz. The terrible puns would be endless. While I would have expected something owned by Miller, the sponsor being a craft brewer gives the flexibility to make a special run just for this audience. From the skiers I know, and evidence on this board, a run of Bock and Mexican style Pilsner would clean up.

Trying to imbed the video, but it's not cooperating yet, I'll be adding a couple others in the next few minutes. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMeWeoIVNOI A couple of 55k skiers I'll look around this evening and post a few more

Not the answer you're looking for.  http://www.proskicoach.com/pros/coaching/ Demo all the skis you can, you may find something that smooths out your skiing: D3 has a reputation of being a very smooth ski. But when you start to flirt with big blue, there is no substitute for simply skiing better.

He might as well be, but I'm pretty sure Alvin is from Arkansas.ÂÂ

There's really no point in trying to hybrid these boots with other release systems. You have to lift up and out to release, so you will not come out during the course of normal skiing. These are not like rubber boots, fit does not dictate release. Okay, if you just have to have the RS-1s tight against you ankle then you are stuck with higher force to release. Personally, I found no real performance gain from tight laces, so I choose to ski loose. Test on dry land, if the force of release is higher than you are willing to subject your ankles too, tighten if up even more and accept no release (because you really don't a partial exit or 1-in 1-out) or pretend they are powershells.

Separate plates: About $5.00 less. Two more screw. Probably limits the flex more than the sequence plate does. You will also loose one of the overlooked features of the sequence plate, the 1/2 hole adjustment Of the skiers I know, the one skier that tried RS-1's and did not keep them had a problem with boot spacing. Heel to toe was too close and one hole back was too far apart. Depending on how the rear plate is designed, you may have a little more fine adjustment with how close together the boots are.ÂÂ

It seems like each new ski comes with a bump in price. Radar's online store has the Strada listed at $1150. Same price as the RS-1. Big thumbs up for upping the ante while keeping the cost under control.

Men 3 through 6 is at 55k. Men 7 is at 52k.  AWSA Buoy Count Chart

Hey John, In the magic binding thread, you hinted at a design that you were discussing with a major manufacturer. Was that concept the RS-1 design or is that information still classified?

If you are gun-shy on the Powesehlls, you could always buy or make a G-10 plate and attach whatever boots you want. You could buy roller blades. You could also use Fogman or Reflex shells. When I started with the Radars, I didn't know quite what to expect, only that I had a friend interested enough to buy them from me if I didn't like them. I wouldn't even consider my laces snug. They are damn near loose: just enough to make sure that the shell cuff is touching all the way around the akle and maybe a pinch tighter on the rear. Every once in a while I'll find I need to shove my rear heel back down after getting up, and more often than not I'll sit in the water thinking that my ski fell off somewhere (especially after tricking in a WIley). **Scott, since you aren't useing the Radar release, have you replaced the upper laces with a static cord?

Everyone works out of their own paradigm, so I would always expect a chiropractor to treat many problems as nerve related. All I can tell you is that my Dad used to visit a chiropractor 5 or 6 times a year. Since then he has begun to visit a physical therapist (albeit one who's roster includes several MLB), and the exercise plan has made the chiropractor almost superfluous.ÂÂ

There's an archived thread entitled "magic bindings" In a nutshell, ski bindings do two things. They keep you on the ski, and they transfer your movements to the ski. With rubber boots those two factors are directly linked: in order to increase stiffness you much increase retention to the ski. I know first hand that the RS-1/Strada boots effectively separate lateral stiffens from retention to the ski. The E-series more or less use the concept but a different mechanism: I would expect them to perform about the same given the same caveat that they are not set too tight.

Z7 review thread The last I knew, D3 has a performance guarantee. If you are willing to eat the shipping, it could be worth a shot.

The eye test tells me that the Vectors are the Rails for 2010. Like the RS-1's changing to the Stradas, any changes appear to be quite minor. I don't know much about the Rails, but I'll tell you, if you are interested in the Vectors, pick up 2009 RS-1's on closeout.

I can tell you that I wear a size 10 1/2 in New Balance shoes. The size 11 RS-1 fits heel to toe with zero extra space. A size 10 would be very cramped.