Bud Man

@ShaneH Just for the fun of posting while I’m not skiing: I have only car shopped here in the center of SC, but I believe all dealers that I have been to and heard about encourage potential customers to drive cars before they buy them, even home over night, and sometimes for a few days. As you say, there is a lot of difference between a piece of sausage and a $2k stick, but a car is also very different. Easily 30, 40 or 50+K. Is this the only area where dealers encourage potential customers to drive home cars before they buy or do any of you experience that as well? But like I said before, there are many right ways to run businesses.

@Roger This is just for fun. I hope to gain more composure to ski with pressure through knowing that my score counts. If we can do that, then we all win. Even if there is someone that never gets wet and post winning scores with absolutely no verification what so ever; how would that hurt us? Come on Roger, join in. The speed control doesn’t matter. Verification does not matter. Truly, if someone cheats, they only cheat themselves. The only cheating I see is if someone cheats themselves out of having fun and not participating. The person that never gets wet but post scores could be like the guy in the story below. That person could be in a wheelchair, but still has fun with the virtual tournament. The Hospital Window An inspirational story of hope, friendship, and imagination. Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room. One man was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour each afternoon to help drain the fluid from his lungs. His bed was next to the room's only window. The other man had to spend all his time flat on his back. The men talked for hours on end. They spoke of their wives and families, their homes, their jobs, their involvement in the military service, where they had been on vacation. And every afternoon when the man in the bed by the window could sit up, he would pass the time by describing to his roommate all the things he could see outside the window. The man in the other bed began to live for those one-hour periods where his world would be broadened and enlivened by all the activity and color of the world outside. The window overlooked a park with a lovely lake. Ducks and swans played on the water while children sailed their model boats. Young lovers walked arm in arm amidst flowers of every color of the rainbow. Grand old trees graced the landscape, and a fine view of the city skyline could be seen in the distance. As the man by the window described all this in exquisite detail, the man on the other side of the room would close his eyes and imagine the picturesque scene. One warm afternoon the man by the window described a parade passing by. Although the other man couldn't hear the band - he could see it in his mind's eye as the gentleman by the window portrayed it with descriptive words. Days and weeks passed. One morning, the day nurse arrived to bring water for their baths only to find the lifeless body of the man by the window, who had died peacefully in his sleep. She was saddened and called the hospital attendants to take the body away. As soon as it seemed appropriate, the other man asked if he could be moved next to the window. The nurse was happy to make the switch, and after making sure he was comfortable, she left him alone. Slowly, painfully, he propped himself up on one elbow to take his first look at the world outside. Finally, he would have the joy of seeing it for himself. He strained to slowly turn to look out the window beside the bed. It faced a blank wall. The man asked the nurse what could have compelled his deceased roommate who had described such wonderful things outside this window. The nurse responded that the man was blind and could not even see the wall. She said, "Perhaps he just wanted to encourage you." Author unknown

There are usually many right was to do things, and there is no doubt that Goode’s policy is one of the right way to run a business. I bought a Vortex from Schnitz back when he was making skis because he was sending a demo around for people to try. When it got to me, I rode it and liked it better than the other ski I owned that he made before and ordered one. So I ended up on a couple his skis for several years. Any company could have a few demo skis to send around for people to try before they buy. These skis could still be sold during the season at any time for a slight discount but still plenty of profit. Look at all the food you can taste at Sam’s Club to decide if you want to buy it. Yes that uses a little profit, but they probably sell more because of it. It is all how one chooses to run their business. I owned my own successful business and retired at age 43 because I felt that I had supported Uncle Sam with enough money. I must have done something right as far as customer service. I’m sure Goode will do fine without sending two skis out at once. I clearly saw the point of Goode's policy before I made the first post, but I also saw other points as well. Again, there are usually many right was to do things. Also, I hope they will tell us the percent of carbon nano tubes in the Nano.

Maybe it is a bit early. There does not seem to be an interest in this April virtual tournament. Let’s try again this May. Are there any objections?

I tried a vw today. I don’t think this has any value as a true test thought. Meaning, I want to set up a fin like Chet’s for my test and I only had the one large vw that someone lent me. To start with, I have been on the Strada and skiing Rossi’s settings all winter with a baggy dry suit. I took off the baggy dry suit and pretty much have to relearn how to ski. So, first day was no dry suit and no equipment change. Second day I removed the wing to force me to slow the ski on my own. Today I mounted the large vw 4” from rear of fin and 7/16” down. I don’t think I felt a difference from a bare fin and one with the vw. Then I switched fins to one with a Schnitz maxi wing at 9° and no vw. This felt better to me. To me, the maxi wing made the ski feel like it was cutting through soft butter around the buoy. I did run 35s with a bare fin and a fin with a vw as described, but not the way I normally do. All in all, I have felt sort of sloppy on most of my passes since taking off my dry suit. Part of my discomfort might be that I am a little chilly. I think I need to get back to skiing comfortably and then give it another shot set up fully like Chet’s fin.

I called Goode about buying a Nano and a 9960 at the same time so that I could get a set by set comparison. They said no. They said for people that want more buoys, should buy the Nano and people that do not want more buoys go with the 9960. Yes, that is what they told me. They said I would have to buy just one ski and if I did not like it then they would work with me over the phone for a while to adjust things to make it perform right for me. I was also told that the Nano was constructed of all carbon nano tubes. I ran that by a friend that owns a manufacturing company, and he agreed with what I posted a while back, which was that carbon nano tubes are extremely expensive to produce and are expensive to buy and it would be unlikely that there is an amount in the new ski, at that price, to make a significant difference in its performance. He gave an example that you could put an insignificant amount of honey in a thousand gallons of dough and call the end product honey bread, even if no one could see or taste a difference in that so called honey bread and the regular bread. Please do not think I am talking negative about the company, I just think it would be good for the consumer to know what they are getting based on the marketing and advertising a product is being sold under. Has anyone seen in writing what percent carbon nano tubes are used in the new Nano ski? I’ll ask here: Dave, if the 9960 has 100% flat carbon, then please tell us if there is any flat carbon in the Nano, and if yes, what percent of the carbon in the Nano is flat carbon and what percent is carbon nano tubes? I don’t think this could be considered disclosing trade secrets. And as for the one ski only policy: I love my Strada, so should I not try any more skis? What if I order a 9960 and like it better than the Strada, is that where I should stop trying skis? I like inserts and would rather have inserts, so what if I try and like the Nano first, should I never try the 9960 with inserts? It might ski just as well for me and I would have the inserts that I like. Does anyone else like to try two different skis set by set?

@Horton, I setup a 12 buoy course one year for a New Years day ski fest. It was not as easy to ski as you might think. Of course back then, I was on slow equipment and was skiing turn and burn, so I was begging for the exit gates. I think it would be a lot easier now with the new equipment and more efficient style of skiing.

We use a lot of words interchangeably, and I think we all know the point of the thread, so this is probably unimportant here, but could be misunderstood elsewhere. The Radar plate has slots to allow for rotating your boot. Cant as I understand is to raise one side of your boot. (like with shims) I first experienced rotating my rear foot outward on an EP (I think) a very long time ago and it seems like I remember feeling a very fast turn out of my off side. My RS-1 rear boot is rotated out some but not all the way. Mentally, I think I want to keep my front boot straight knowing that it represents the direction of the ski. That said, I think we have a way of adapting to all sorts of things.

Thank you for the post and I look forward to hearing about your next set on the Nano. It would be great to hear you compare, if you were willing to keep skiing both Mids. Any chance of that?

Steve, I would not, and probubly no one else either, would call you cheep.

Steve, Why did you just order the two minis? A friend lent me a vw to try and I was going to put it on as soon as I got use to not having my baggy dry suit on. Then I find out that his is large and I should try the mini. Next I find out that Chet uses a triple combination of two minis and one large. In my opinion Chet Raley and Steve Schnitzer are two of the most intellectual and accomplished skiers. I’m sure there are others as well, like the LaPoint brothers. But anyway, if Schnitz was using a speed fin with four holes and a slot, I would not try it without the four holes to see if I liked it. So my point is; why would I try just the large? Or why try just one small, or two smalls, etc… If Chet has determined that the trio is best, then I would think that is what needs to be tried. And as far as justifying the price: If I rented a limousine for $800.00, wore a $2,000.00 Armani suit to eat at a five star restaurant and glancing over the $2,500.00 bill noticed I was charged $2.00 for the little mint on the table, I would think the mint was overpriced. I have given away two daughters and was involved in the wedding plans. I have been involved in planning funerals for loved ones. It is disappointing to see all of the seemingly inflated fees that people are faced with. No one wants to speak up and sound cheep. I have always thought that fair should be for both the buyer and seller. Often it is hard to put a price on research and development. How much R&D do you think Goode has in the vw? I would guess zero. I do want and plan to try the vw, but to have a true evaluation, for me, I think I would rather try it just like Chet’s. If they work, the price of the vws is cheep compared to what we spend on everything else, but it does not mean that they are fairly priced. Just because we spend more on other things does not make it fair to overcharge for small things. Schnitz charges a lot less for an almost same product that possibly has the same manufacturing cost, and his includes shipping. $34.99 http://www.schnitzskis.com/finswings.html Scroll down almost to bottom of page. I am eager to continue hearing testimony on the use of the vws.

@ScotChipman, Did you get to ski it yesterday on your new Nano mid? Is it the same length and flex as your 9900 mid?

@jwr, What speed and line length are you running?

@Horton, What did the doctor say yesterday?

@jwr, Did you check your fin to see if bent or fin block disruption? _________________________ @Wish, Chech your email.

@OB, are you planning on taking your old wing off and setting up your fin with three vws?

My skiing knowledge pales in comparison to Chet Raley and Dave Goode, so my opinion should be taken with a grain of salt, but I can’t help but think that the way the vw works is simply adding drag 100% of the time. The ski manufacturers seem to have worked hard to make skis ski faster and faster, so why would we want to add drag all the time, IF that is what the vws do. I have seen a maxi wing on Schnitz’s Website that I would think would not add drag 100% of the time and can be adjusted to add more or less when the ski is ridden at a tip down or up attitude. I believe that the vws probably pull the tip down and help people ski better, but is that the best way to accomplish that? (IF it is just drag) A blind test would be good. Someone could have the two of exact same fins. Setup one with a maxi wing and the other with three vws. Then without the skier knowing what they are riding switch back and forth and have the skier evaluate each time. It would also be interesting if there were some type of load meter on the pylon that could measure the accumulative load throughout the entire course to determine which setup required more physical energy to ski on. Again, I believe the vws are helping people get more buoys, it is just that the older my body gets, the more I think about efficiently working it to make it last. If I had to choose to ski a longer line for the rest of my life or ski extreme shorter line for just a few years and that was it, I would go for the long line for a long time. I know I am skiing more now without wearing out, and I think it is because the newer skies have less drag. You might want to give the maxi wing a try. They are only $34.99 and that includes the shipping. If it does not work then bend it to 112° and trim it down to whichever size vw you want. But then again, maybe there is more to it than just drag. I am not an expert.

@Wish, I believe the large is 112°

@Marco, I would guess that the two 1/8” holes would not affect anything at all, but you could easily fill them with a spot of epoxy like JB weld and sand smooth.

@richarddoane, do you ski tournaments in your dry suit? ____________________________ I decided last spring when I went through this that I would take my wing off the day I went into my suit, however I had just gotten the Strada and was still feeling it out, so I changed my mind and left the wing on.

@OB, I would guess you added the ventral as shown in this picture that jdarwin posted. I thought you posted a couple of pictures, but I could not find them. Did you happen to take pictures of your setup? If not like this picture, then how? Thank you.

I just skied my second set without my baggy dry suit. Before skiing, I took the wing off of my fin to force me to use more technique. I skied a bunch of 32s and ended the set with two 35s. I don’t know about the rest of you, but it is easier for me getting use to the suit than getting use to not wearing it. I much prefer skiing without it; just getting use to not having the parachute is hard for me. Someone lent me a large ventral wing to try. I might ski one more set bare, and then try the vw. I have such a tendency to take more acceleration than I need. But in a way it is kind of like driving around in your car with the brakes on. Why not take the brakes off and use less gas?

Good post @GregB, I enjoy reading updates. Maybe @Horton can lend you his GoPro to post the video for all of BOS visitors to view. Sounds like everyone would be "winning." (John, Chet, Dave, BOS visitors)

@sixam675, Check your inbox please.

After I went to bed last night, I thought of another word we all use and went to post it this morning, and lo and behold, OB used it in his thread. The word is instruction. So we have at least four: instructions, lessons, training and coaching. Even if there is professional courtesy (doctor/physiologist) and no money is involved someone still receives something like diagnosis/treatment. So it could still be pondered; does a pro helping a pro on a one time basis mean they got instructions, lessons, coaching or training. If you asked me, I would have to say without a doubt; maybe he just got a skiing tip. D’oh, now we have five words to choose from! _____________ OB, my thoughts as well; short line motivates short line. I would like to have some regular guest that ski short line because I feel everyone would benefit. I’m sure you get the same rewarding feeling that I do when you can help anyone at any line length though.