skibrain

MN lake looked really black with early light overcast this past Sunday.

I’ve been reading about new ski designs for a lot of years and it’s always exciting when there are new developments. Is it just me, or do 90% of the descriptions sound very similar? “New stable sweet spot, finishes with tip down, less drag, more angle....” No beef with the HO Omega, just observations from a marketing guy.

Further south than you Ron, but this is my FAVORITE time of year to ski in MN. Air temps at 6:00 a.m. were mid 50’s to start over the weekend but water still high 60’s so very skiable without our cold weather gear.

@Spitfire If you need to split the difference between a 63 and 67” I could set you up with a 65”.... seriously because I LOVED the Comp X2 so much when I bought it (cough, 40 years ago) I’ve kept it, and every 5 yrs or so get it out and ski on it JUST to remind myself of how much BETTER all of the skis I’ve owned since then really are. Comp X2 now just feels scary-bad. ?

Passing the handle with some new recruits.

Lean lock

Amigo 135 is 53” long. Curve on the tip starts at about the back edge of the red “D”. Instead of forgiving flat spot under foot, he’ll have curved ski under foot. Take video.

Bad idea. I’ve been on the receiving end of dad-engineering cheap-out. When I was a kid my dad cut three inches of front and tapered 6” off the tail of a concave wood slalom. I knew no better, but it was hard to ski and I had nasty falls. For two years. Demoed my first real slalom ski at end of that and difference was HUGE. You want him to love the sport? If he’s outgrown the Amigo, get him a used real ski that will give him the best experience rather than a crappy one.

@Corne I had EP plate bindings in the 80s, owned a couple sets of Wiley’s with some rebuilds in there for about 14 yrs, then demoed D3 Leverage bindings a few times which I found hard to get on. Med is my size but about broke my ankle trying to get them on/off. Large too loose. (This is the old ones, not the Leverage Blackout. I don’t think I’ve heard any feedback on the Blackouts). I bought t-factors and have used them four seasons. Front laces make them easier to get on than rear-lace Leverage (and I always use soap too). T’s are stiffer laterally and pretty flexy fore and aft - I think that is what makes them great. My learning curve was pretty quick transitioning from Wiley’s. I think the lateral stiffness provides more edge control than all-rubber. Helps the ski feel a little more stable and on rails than softer rubber bindings. I have flat feet, size 10 and bought size L t-factors instead of expected Med. I snug the front lace pretty tight to hold my foot tight against ski, and never adjust/loosen that. I own extra plastic slide clips and extra lace/bungee. Never had to replace laces. I rebuilt front binding with a new heel piece after three years. I Replaced a sliding lace clip when a friend trying my ski pulled it right off and lost it in the lake. But I had a spare. ?

Captain obvious here, but “skiers ability to improve” needs to be qualified. Ability to improve skiing the course? Of course. Ability to hot dog on a waterski? Ask Tony Klarich I suppose. Is it possible to improve as an alpine snow skier without skiing gates? At age 35 I saw the course for the first time and ran long line, -15 and -22 the first day at 34 mph. Behind a SN with a rampy wake. It was an agile but ugly and scrappy turn-quick and pull-like-crazy effort with great cheering from the boat crew. I think I upgraded my 1979 ski and decided to buy some gloves about that time. (Gloves? Are those a thing?). Skiing with skiers better than me was key. Gave me the desire. Buoys were secondary.

Thanks for this thread and the article link.

Sounds great that you have three boys interested in slalom skiing. I’m a big fan of having fun with whatever boat you have, and if the Sea-Doo GTR is like other PWCs I’ve skied behind, it makes a soft foamy wake that is easy to cut through. If your goal is to get them into the slalom course however, getting a different tow craft is likely going to be your next move. It is really hard to drive a PWC at a constant speed in a straight enough path while pulling a slalom skier.

Wrong forum? ?

Does the Ski Doc have an iPhone mounting option?

Just to be clear on front binding position. "Factory" fin settings (as others have said) is not how the fin was set when the ski shipped to you, it is the factory recommended position (findable on the D3 website) that needs to be checked and set with a caliper. Impossible to tell about that from the photos, however from the side photo of your fin, it looks like a very steep and excessive wing angle compared to what you are running on the KD. D3 has a down-loadable printable set of wing angle guides.

@Ed_Johnson Thx.

@Ed_Johnson Any report on the EVO-S compared to the EVO?

Check your local oversize trailer regs.

You might just try personal message to sellers. Good luck. ?

There is a thread on here “gear for sale in Canada” search for that.

@Peterhead I got a World Team in 1976 and we still have it in the shed back home. And I got a newer ski in 1981 that was a way better ski so you are overdue. I would recommend something like this D3 Custom 2 for $150. It’s looks like it’s in great shape. It is going to turn better, be more aggressive if you want to, AND it will be forgiving (easy, no surprises) to ski on. http://www.ski-it-again.com/php/skiitagain.php?endless=summer&topic=Search&category=Slalom&postid=36896. Then, because you are used to rubber bindings, I would order a set of rubber bindings from Wileyski.com to mount on there. Or maybe you can find some used ones on ski-it-again as well. This familiar to you, type binding will be more supportive than than what you have, but not be such a big change that it will feel weird. Package deal should keep you around $400 and you will be a happy man.

@jay11 Cut ‘N Jump is the brand on that ski. Without a photo, your memory details are way too vague. Good luck.

@Jay11 Does it look like this? This is 1/2 a combo pair with no rear binding. Cut ‘n Jump

9.2 miles

@jjackkrash I don’t see a weight spec for cox. Big gas outboards are 530-580# (includes lower unit). 5.7 L marinized V8 850-900# right?