lakeaustinskier

I tried both skis and picked the 66.5. I'm 6 2" and 190.

I have a neighbor that is a "lifestyle product" rep for several products/companies -skis, boards, sunglasses, SUP etc. O'Brien is one his brands. The companies are pretty independent.

You might be addicted if your 8, 9, and 12 year old kids complain to your wife that they can't do their homework since Daddy is on BOS. It happened. Plus they know what BOS is.

Horton completely caught my mistake. I meant 1-2 things max during the entire set (not per pass). I can go an entire month just working on the same single thing.

Keep it simple. Only work on one thing (maybe two things) during each pass. I put a reminder of the day's goal(s) on my phone calender to go off right before I ski.

One of the worst falls I ever took was on a Pulse. Hmm....maybe I'll drag out my old Kidder Redline and see what happens. I agree with @wish. Consider a new ski.

Just by trying several different skis this year I became a better skier. Each new ski exposed new problems but at the same time the new ski maybe solved existing problems. Ultimately I became a better skier.

Similar to Eric's response what are quirks everyone has gotten rid of? I've gotten rid of worrying about my shorts after I get up. Wherever the shorts are - they stay.

For a access to a slalom course in Texas you need to join a private ski lake. Public lake skiing with a course just doesn't really exist in Texas unless you are in the "middle of no where". There used to be three semi-private courses on Lake Austin and between battling the bass boats and the Wallys pulling their kids through the course with a tube I finally gave up and bought a lot at Aquaplex. Don't get me wrong - I live on Lake Austin and I love where I live. I'll periodically free ski early in the morning cutting the fog and dodging ducks, swans, and this time of the year american coots (like a duck) but I mostly ski the course at Aquaplex.

I forgot about B3. Good point. I also saw a lot of A2's on the podium this year which led me to try one. Maybe I should have just started a new topic asking if a 34 mph ski is really necessary or just a bunch of marketing hype.

Help! I’m confused. How radically different is the A3 from the A2? HO says that the A3 is also available in a Junior version. Does this mean that HO is saying that the A3 fits all skiers at all speeds? Does this imply that a 34 mph ski such as the S2 is just a marketing ploy? I’m currently skiing on a S2 and have really improved my skiing this year. I tried an A2 and it just didn’t feel as good.

I skied at a tournament outside Austin this summer where they had to stop the tournament because a herd of cows had wandered into the course. Eventually the boat crew was able to shoo most of them away and continue the tournament, however, there were still several standing in the water about midway between the 55's and the shoreline.

I agree with @wish and @jhughes. Don't push the ski. Think about previous comments concerning how Nate Smith waits until he finishes his turn and the S2 will perform well. I also found the S2 to be sensitive to binding location. I came off a Strada and while the Strada is a great ski the S2 improved my off-side turn.

Great video. I love where he says "at 43 the gate is critical". At least for me the gate becomes critical at much longer line lengths.

Go get coaching from a good coach and use that advice. I'm not sure where you live but if you have to travel to get coaching then do it. I wish I had done this this back when I started getting serious in the course.

Great job Bailey! Ted Thomson

@jfw432, I want to clarify. I didn't say "lean tall and lock your knees across the wakes". Trent had me standing tall, shoulders back with straight arms. Once I made this change my skiing really improved.

I became a better skier when I figured out that people can explain the exact same concept in multiple ways. A description that works for you might not work for someone else. I also struggled with the "Hips Up Thing" until Trent Finlayson told me to "Stand Tall". If you stand tall with shoulders back your hips will automatically be forward. What Shane said. I never understood get your hips forward until Trent told me to stand tall. My point - whatever works for you.

I was at a tournament last weekend where a guy screamed at himself from the pull up all the way through the course to get himself pumped up. Maybe he should try the hip thing next time.

I'm currently demoing both a 66.5 and a 67.5 with H2Osmosis and at the Big Dawg I had an interesting conversation with Seth Stisher. Seth told me that in his opinion the skis were significantly different skis due to the increased width of the 67.5. I did an informal measurement and the 67.5 is about 3/16 wider than the 66.5. So far the 66.5 feels plenty large for someone that is 188 and 6' 2".

Of the top four finishers two were on the new Goode (from what I heard at least) and 2 were on A-2s. I also finally met Horton and watched him set his new PB. Nice skiing.

At the tournament they announced that Kris LaPoint was 59. He looks to be in incredible shape for any age.

Hmmmmm.....based on the crap I've taken recently evidently some people actually believe that guy IS me. NOT ME. I've also seen that guy around Lake Austin and he's the guy in the wakeboard boat with five dudes (only).

Just wanted to point out that considering that my user name is Lake Austin Skier that is me. Love the big candy colored wakeboard handle.

I've been on an S2 for about 3 weeks and will probably switch from my Strada. Horton is right about being calm on the ski. Try smooth patient turns. In my opinion the S2 hates being cranked into and off the ball. I've had some of the best sets of my life on this ski probably because the S2 is so easy to get wide.