aguylikeshark

Andy was giving joy rides on lake #2 at this level in August '09: Calgary  Elevation: 1,048 M (3,438 FT). i was real interested in the 200. When the placed cleared out i saw a bit of a drag race going on 200 vs 196. the 196 beat the 200 but not by a huge margin. the 200 came out of the water flat and is just gorgeous on plane. the 196 reminded me of the old SN2001 when side by side.

without rival ski looks sick! Dorien is on it. The skier in the last photo looks like he's riding an FM boot. I have partners in Austria for our software company. Very smart and highly skilled engineers over there.

Waiting for an OTF will be too late. Do a dry-land test first on carpet or the lawn etc. see how that front ankle stresses in the release motion.ÂÂ

If you find yourself cranking up the laces then it's better to go with this new device - the Z lock. The lower boot closure can be tight with the Z lock but then can release as shown in this clip. It's a pretty cool little receptor. It was hard to come up with a compact release buckle, took a few months of trying different things.

Hit the lake yesterday just with the setting I had left off with late Oct minus the wing. So I was expecting the ski to bite too much, but it caught me by surprise (again!) in just the second cut. Almost bit it, which is not what you want to do in this stuff. All a fin does is control tail slip on the ski - that's pretty much it. Length/depth you are just adjusting the fin surface area (consequently slip). Forward increases slip, back decreases slip. The ski is the most important thing really, where the priority should be. The fin and boot settings you can tune for different site or seasonal conditions, skier weight, etc. So with the water so clean and cold the fin is more effective and I'll need to get some slip back in the tail again. Moved my fin forward 40 thou to stop this from happening again. Should be enough. FM Twitter Also here are two guys dealing with hot conditions to -> cool water and the ski tip biting. Cale had trouble at 38 and 39. I think it's impossible to overcome a setup that is off in colder water. Warm water is so soft some can bull ride it. JT fared better - huge turns and pulls - I am sure his turns were rounder than usual and some other subtle issues prevented completion of the 39 pass. KLP has a notebook for every site (or so it seems). He drove up, opened his notebook, tweaked his fin/setup went out and skied. KLP enjoy!

eric, let me explain in more detail - these deep mountain rainforest lakes out here hold almost pure water by the end of winter. pure water does not conduct electricity, and when tested it's the lowest reading i've seen by a huge margin. eg. 40 v.s 200-500++. but conductivity can be taken as an indication of viscosity - which is what affects the ski most. surface tension - don't think that is a big factor on a ski. the drag from the wing base is a real strain on the arms, just as the ski itself is moving through the water. Couple more things to add - the surface tension of water increases as it gets cold, decreases as it heats up, which is what you'd expect. But i think you just made a typo there. ..and the bottom effect that skier bandy about i am very suspicious of. might be just the changes in water texture between two lakes, the shallower being softer. unless there is a good viscosity test done on the water this can't be confirmed. in industry the above is no big deal. tests like this are done by instruments in real time or by the lab. it's how quality control is maintained.it takes time for the lake to bloom, so by june or july just as a garden grows it softens up a bit and yeah the wing goes back on and we start skiing the course again, pumping up the boat speed. most skiers gain 1-2 passes heading south- serious canadian slalomers have to relocate because the water is so different. the closed /man made shallow lakes are better and are good training sites. but on a big canadian lake, it's gorgeous, clean but very difficult in terms of scores. skiing a cold ocean might be close, but even that feels softer to me.

good examples - shapers, goodes, anything high riding (like an upsized ski) should use a wing. D3's are tested in CA and tend to ride stably. had a friend who wanted to try a 9600 we had here. he was on a D3 no wing. mounted the boots and he says "pull the wing" I said ur nuts, not this ski. he insists..head out on the course, ate so much slack looked like the ski had it's own motor. he did alright tho. with that much zing he was on an early line. Pros or the proven range is 5<6-8>9 degrees - anything above means something is outside of normal - which could be the water (ultra slow) or ultra fast or something wonky with the ski's setup. higher angles will pull the tail down too much and you'll lose center on the ski on very short lines@39-41. this even happens at 9

Lapoint has a lot of discussion on the location of the wing on the fin - not something skiers change up much. If the wing stays in the fin's shadow (as I call it) the effect of the wing is benign. However position the wing out of the fin's shadow and you are into a tuning loop you won't want to get into because the wing starts to act or add to the fin blade and you need new equations to model this behavior. It becomes more of a hydrofoil - which is unbelievable to ski, but very difficult to tune. Mind blowing runs if it could be harnessed. The ski is not way up on edge that much - it's riding closer to flat for most of the course with water impacting the base (like a banked nascar turn). So the wing would act just as it would on an F1 car for example (downforce at the rear). The majority of comp skiers ski southern, shallow man-made type lakes. water is soft & spongy, turns are quick sort of the equivalent of powder skiing. anyway as water cools your ski rides higher you'll lose front end contact and grip so adding a wing will restore that by lowering the ski overall. We are in a special situation on Vancouver Island. There are 3 big lakes out here. Most people don't course ski in 400 ft. deep & pure lakes at 50 Deg F. the water is like pavement in the spring. i guess a comparo would be skiing at 38 mph. deep water starts are hard to hold on to and the wing even at 3-5 Deg pulls your arms off. i (we) put wings back on in June-ish. By late august/sept the water softens up it's real nice. mid-late october it's back to murder balls again.

no huge effect wrt to ski tuning because the wing acts vertically* on the ski, where as the fin acts horizontally. and a 1/2 degree doesn't matter that much really. * except in the brief instant at the completion of the turn, where the wing rolls over

Wrote this back in '08 after skiing several back to back sets with and without the wing: THE WING http://www.jagersport.com/product_info.php?cPath=87&products_id=246

Lookin' good. At least you guys are rolling. Just pulled the cover off the boat is as far as I've gotten. moldy dirty, oxidized mess it is, and too busy. http://twitpic.com/1f11le

We have about 3 or 4 D3 style plates in stock, one HO rear I think. $29 Not much left there. I also have a XL, L and M Wiley F & R boots for summer rec skiers that want just want something to free ski on. http://www.jagersport.com/product_info.php?cPath=88&products_id=258 Hyperflex V - Open toe, open heel and you can run cuff-less if you want too, or fix the cuff in place and just use a lace-up (no buckle) This works really well. So that is 5 options for the rear, three conversions, same boot. http://www.jagersport.com/popup_image.php?pID=256&image=5 using a tall liner in a cut down boot doesn't make much sense.

Do you like the open toe for starts?? With the Eboots you can dial in want you want for example: open toe, open heel, or even open cuff. Just sent one out to Karen Truelove-Krueger. Jon setup a similar boot for Natallia's slalom. I use open heel open toe too. This gives a lot of rear foot movement but at the same time you feel control on the ski.

Headed to a distinguished skier from Norway...Cobalt Autographs, Elite, FM fin block, fin set, 32 accounts DVD, Sweet deal. Took some photos and thought I'd share. http://twitpic.com/1dybb9 Catch more cool ski stuff on the FM twitter this year..http://twitter.com/FluidMotionSki

Had some comments to add - this goes for the orig thread and Peter's nasty gash. Using a Silvretta is safe but the boot floor has to be stable so that it does not roll out & pre-release (in the cut or leaning hard over). If the boot is not stable or deforms, the rolling action will pop the release. This is because the attachment point is 2" above the floor of the boot or contact on the plate. We have two Silvretta based systems that firstly use a full plate to make sure the boot stays contacted(REVO SB). The REVO ST clamps the toe very well and also has a dual lock pad under the heel. Also the heel of our boots are very stout so they resist roll out. So these are some of the things we have done to make the Silvretta binding reliable and safe. For example Chet has been riding the REVO SB design for years. For me the release tension needs to stay in the 4-5 range. Just did a test the other day a 4 1/2 felt good to me. http://twitpic.com/1dinmf

Well Edged was the first one that started it all. Piggybacking on the shoulders of WS Mag's photo shoots has its advantages. I really liked the style of 32 Accts so much so that we helped out with the project. JT night skiing shots are unreal. For anyone who doesn't own it we are listing the DVD on ebay .. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270549165229#ht_1191wt_1081 I think we'll do a giveaway promo on FM's twitter soon too.

never skied the SS but the flexes of the red/blues 1.0/1.1 were quite the range. so it all depends on how the flex matches up. if the SS is softer it will ski a bit shorter and turn more abruptly, sit deeper and not carry as much speed.

I think it's a quantum leap over the technical articles of the past by WSki. Very authentic & genuine. Video work and communication by the skiers is A+. These are very advanced which is really cool. What I've noticed through our work on youtube and the feedback we've been getting is that there is a huge gap - in understanding of the sport and skills - between recreational skiing and competitive levels. So the more information that gets put out there the better.

 Some sweet passes, nice lake down there.  http://www.vimeo.com/8503671 PS: He's using a Revo plate boot made a few years ago -  same setup as you Brent.

We have two of my favourite skis here one like-new used, and one is new. They ride fast, ski easy and are lightweight. Both are excellent upgrades to more modern riding v.s. the 3000. The Cr7 is a great ski too - the first of the higher riding, lighter skis made by KD->D3. But the biggest improvement you can make in terms of comfort and control/support is in the boot system. D3 Custom 4 65" $300 with comfy & safe double Quattro release Hardshells $900 HO A1 65" NEW in box $595 or with choice of boots $1195. http://www.jagersport.com/images/A1quattro2.jpg I ski Dr. Hermann Nell and his 16 year old daughter is riding similar to the above setups and skis very well. Thanks

From Russia with Love.... Tricks doesn't get much exposure normally. Here is a video that Ryan @ onside shot and co-produced with us. Always wanted to showcase tricks alternative style, and I think Natallia, Ryan and JT did a great job putting it together. Shot at Sunset last month. Celebrates breaking the 9000 pt. milestone. Ryan is not a tricker but he really captured the energy and spirit of it. I think Eric will like it!

I have a System 8 - the problem up here with the Monza is the stock #'s are Florida #'s. If I ran the boots 0.5" forward and changed the fin (shallower and longer) it would probably have skied really decent. With the long flat spot (=speed) and steep rocker/thin tail = turns. I skied the Triumphs they are great.  I think the A1 is a better all-rounder tho. Muy ski buddy has a mint 68" Cr7 the black , white and yellow one. I liked the later yellow gray ones they were sweeter - don't you think?? Turned really nice those did. But they had a tendency to break in the middle between the boots - happened to a few guys up here. Checkout the vid i uploaded on OB Elite with the Cobalt blue Autograph E boots.ÂÂ

This interesting collection has skiing through the decades starting with a 60's pair of Mustang Wood combos, 70's Saucier glass, 80's Lapoint Mirage to the latest and greatest OB Elite! All in great shape with original binders too. Multiple photos of skis. Thanks for looking. http://www.jagersport.com/index.php?cPath=76

66" at 235 be up to his knees in the turns unless it was wide/shaped... my brother and i rigged a sliding rope system as a slalom harness for fun years ago. when the powervest came out i revised that harness to use a sliding bungee cord. in this way the more you move your hands away from your body, the more load is transferred directly to your hips - where it should go. and full reach is marginally restricted. we used it a lot at the lake for: spring training and learning counter rotation, skiing when your back needs a break; setting up skis and running more sets than usual. the FM waist harness adds some safety too since it's very hard to lose the rope and get over the front. inexpensive at $90 (mostly shop time) but they are so simple you can make your own easily as some skiers have done already.

the annex i had was pretty soft, heavier & more pliable core material. So it sat a bit deeper and skied nice in our water. I had a bent fin and a wicked crash on the thing. Most everything else out there is lighter, and the A1 skied great so been using that. You can make a ski fast just like you can make a boat fast but it has to have full contact at the shortest lines otherwise she won't turn or you can't get the power down in the pull. So to me it's more about power - e.g. like kilowatts, torque*rpm, workin' it - the ability to smoothly take energy from the boat, then dissapate that energy down in the turn. the cool thing about 38,39 41 is more energy is blown off in the turn and the energy of the pull is taken quickly. ..the boat controls the handle. not much you can do except raise it in the turn and lower it in the pull (with straight arms) try that.  ÂÂ