JAS

Unfortunately won't have opportunity to travel to Orlando to demo Mapple skis and hoping to get mini report from those of you that have. Considering 6.1

@DanE‌ I agree with you, similar to "course" and "heading". Often forgotten is that the ski accelerates the skier. COM position of skier determines whether his body translate forward at same speed of ski, or pinwheels with ski getting shot forward . Since acceleration is dynamic, so must COM position. The greater the acceleration, the farther COM must be forward to maintain optimal stack. Quality of stack = efficiency of energy transfer. I have no idea how torsional rigidity might play into this other than allowing skier to more finely balance lean with optimized COM/Stack.

It doesn't appear that a 68.5 length is offered on their website????

@Horton‌ what do you think about keeping shoulders more level. My guess is that if you measured the other skiers posted, most would have less angulation. This is one of the few ways to move com forward in a controlled fashion

How many actual spectators were there at the site? How many stayed?

Really? Unfortunately the egg is broken and many of us will never look at the Big Dawg series the same. Looks like country club event with special rules, but maybe that's reality. Egos and attitudes are a terrible model to build on. Just my opinion.

Curious what your ah moment was? Congrats on moving to the other side!

Ditto what said above, plus any disepancy is divided between members. The whole club will be watching instead of just the boss

Great tips guys, Thxs

No "Balls" just spray

Is there anything special you guys are doing between the second wake and turn to get COM centered over front foot?

How are the bigger guys liking the 69.5 vapor. In the "vapor thread" I noticed recommendations with a fairly large range of settings. @225 i'm a little torn between 68-69.5

@mzito an interesting spread, did he say why?

I have done one foot starts for years and found the following to be the easiest. -Float to position with a fair amount of tip is out of water (9"). Ski will be at least 45 degrees to surface -Bend front knee and with straight arms and position rope handle near surface of ski (close to toe of front boot. To do this will require a fair amount of knee bend. You will also find that front leg will be securely cradled between arms. -A little reverse back bend, engage core, hit-it, a resisting push with front leg, and let boat pull you up. Using shin of back leg as @eleeski mentioned is also helpful. I have found that the biggest difference between one and two foot starts is ski position. If you start with tip too low, or at too little of an angle, the tendency is to get pulled forward. If you curve spine forward the handle ends up forward and so do you. One foot starts are more of a surfing up move with trick to stay centered. With two feet the tips mentioned are designed to keep excessive weight off back foot. Just thoughts!

OMG, enlarge picture and take a look at bottom of ski! R&D in progress.

On the fence between 68 and 69.5. Any big boys out there that have tried both?

Anyone been on the 69.5 yet?

Looks like HO went deeper, shorter, and greater DFT with fin setting for the 2014 S2. Pretty big changes, any thoughts?

Plunger/plate concepts were big in snow skiing 40 years ago.

Chris As a ski desîgner what are the ride characteristics that tell you that a binding needs to go forward or back. Do you find that binding location is different for RTP skiers

From my estimation two extremes of the design spectrum. Has anyone ridden both and willing to give their subjective impressions? Any thoughts about skier characteristics that would benefit from either?

Bob using 6 hole fin?

Anyone ride a 69.5 Vapor this season?

@Horton- I always look forward to your reviews and think you do an exceptional job of choosing words and message. I think you are right on target with individual variation in skiers and the above grid makes sense. Since everything is being measured by your skiing, it would help my interpretation if I had a clear picture of how you define your own skiing. Strengths, weaknesses, and overall style.