kpickett

It's in and out here, but I'm just happy to be watching pros ski a tourney!

I second what TW said. We had Marcus out last week, and he spent a lot of time with me talking about just that concept.

Yeah, I'm not sure it's fair to say that INT is about making a profit. I'm not a big INT skier, but my club hosts a bunch of INT tourneys, and it was through an INT tourney that I found my club and my group of ski buddies. I'd say that the INT is about getting new people into competing. I never would have skied an AWSA tourney - I still wouldn't. I don't feel that I'm good enough, and the AWSA tourneys around here aren't particularly friendly to us lesser skiers. The INT definitely welcomes everyone. They may be about making a profit, too, but I don't think you can say that's what they're about.

Hey Tadd, Thanks for the response. I'm sure that the most advanced skiers are best able to review the different skis - so no gripe with that at all. I think it would add a demension to the test to have some skilled, but not as advanced, skiers test, as well. For instance, there are several guys at my club who all ski at the same level as I do, although we ski with pretty different styles. We have demoed a few skis, and it's interesting to see that a couple of the skis (F1, D3) work really well for some skiers, but not at all for others. More interesting is that a ski like the A1 seems to work for all of us, regardless of style or what ski we came from. I think we all know that trying a ski before you buy it is the ideal way to do things, but I would be interested to know that any 32 off guy can jump on a particular ski and run up to a PB pretty quickly, but half the people who jump on another ski get dumped at 1 ball. Just keep it in mind for future tests. Thanks, Kyle

Tadd, Reading the skier bios, I see that all of the testers are really expert skiers. I imagine that anyone who is consistently into 38 and 39 can probably ski pretty darn well on anything. As someone who is working to get consistent at 32 and grab a few at 35, I think it would be helpful for us lesser mortals to have some skiers like us test the skis, as well. I don't discount the comments from high level skiers (it can be really helpful), but their technique is so strong it can adapt more easily than mine, for instance. Just a suggestion. KWP

I'm a member at Villa Lagos in Northern California. The owner, Eric Pettinger, built two lakes side by side. One is for slalom and the other is for wakeboarding. The wakeboarding lake is much deeper to accomodate the draft of the ballasted WB boats. I'm not a wakeboarder, but there are serious boarders in the club, and they like the private WB lake for the sliders and the glassy water. Eric did some work on the slalom lake last winter - he reshaped the shoreline and lake bottom a little. It skis beautifully and there's no backwash. He doesn't allow any ballast on the slalom side. You can see pictures and a virtual tour of the two lakes at his website:  http://www.ski-lake.com/

Got my copy today. Great stuff! Probably my favorite ski-porn, yet!

I hit the center member a few times when I first put the Arm-Guard on. Truthfully, it kind of freaked me out that it was there for a couple sets. It was a mental block - not because of the guard. By my third or fourth set, I forgot it was on there.   I, too, would not ski without one now. There is one thing - I've used 12" handles for a long time. Next handle I get will be a 13" (with an Arm-Guard, of course). That will give a little more room on either side of the center member.

No, those two inserts don't work. Thanks for the info. I'll try the locktite and JB Weld. Do you know what size the stock inserts are? KWP

I did a search and couldn't find anything on this. I picked up an X5 for my wife. It's working really well for her. She finally has been running the full course. Two of the binding inserts are driven down into the ski. What's the best way to remove the old ones, and where do you get new ones? Thanks, Kyle

I agree. I'm no fin expert, but when I was having offside bouncing, I moved the fin back, and it went away.

Thanks, MS. Waterskiworld sold their last one about 12 hours before I ordered. Thanks, John. I appreciate it. I'm looking for a used one right now, for budget reasons.

Thanks Marco. I'll try that in the morning with my 28. I appreciate the help! Kyle

I wish I had seen yours for sale before I bought mine. On the other hand - the fin numbers and feedback from this site have helped me get my new ski setup working really well right away. Thanks for the site. I'm hoping my buddy might be interested in your ski. Do you know where I can get an 06 x5? Kyle

Thanks for the comments. I've been working really hard on keeping the arms in, as per BB's article. I spent my last two sets really working on the gate. I seem to do best when I really commit to the one-handed gate and pull out pretty late. I just get nervous about pulling out so late, but I get much better angle. I really need to get consistent with my 28 - which is my big goal this year - but I'd also like to run 32 once or twice. Marco, I think you've pegged my problem, but exactly how do you do the earlier edge change? Thanks again, guys. Kyle

I'm looking for an '05 or '06 D3 X5 for my wife. Does anyone have one lying around they want to get rid of? Thanks very much, Kyle

Sorry - should have mentioned I'm at 34.ÂÂÂ

Thanks for the tips, guys. Another question - how wide should I be skiing the pass? I try to ski 22 and 28 as wide as possible, but like JCH mentions, I might be pulling too long into the ball at 32.

Hey Skibug - You got the last one from WaterSkiWorld! Bummer for me! Jdarwin - How different would an 06 Nomad be from the X5? Should I just keep looking for an X5? Thanks for the tips. Kyle

Skibug,  Hey - thanks! I just ordered one, too. I'm afraid they might be out of stock, though. We'll find out tomorrow. Kyle

No video, unfortunately. I need to take some the next time I'm out.

I'm looking for some advice on what to do to move into 32. I'm having trouble getting a good gate/one ball. I can get around 3 at 32, but that seems to be the limit (granted I haven't taken that many passes at 32). I actually just moved to an F1, and I love it, but I'm having some trouble with my gates in general. I just can't seem to get the tip to come around for the gates. I've been doing the fake one-handed gate, where I pull out at the 55m balls, glide a little, then release and turn in. Any advice for this next pass? Thanks very much, Kyle

Thanks very much for the advice. My wife skied on the X5 Rose again today and really does like it. I was hoping to get her on a wider ski, because she's working on making the course at 28 mph, but she does look good on the D3. So, I'm looking for a regular X5. I've only found '04s and '07s - no '05-'06s out there yet. If I can't find an 05 or 06, what do you recommend? I appreciate the good advice. Kyle

1994 MC ProStar 190 w/ LT-1 - Classic PP

My wife rode a friend's D3 X5 Rose and loved it, so I'm looking for one for her. I haven't found any used or demos around (for budget limitations). Do any of you know if there's any difference besides graphics between the Rose and the regular X5?  Thanks very much. Kyle