Razorskier1

Oops. One more comment on your toe side turns on the Razor. Make sure you counter rotate consistently. If you don't counter, the ski (and I think all fast skis) won't want to come around completely. If you counter consistently, you will find you develop crazy angle and speed every turn.

JTH -- I have found that the only place I need to be aggressive is off the second wake. I need to change edges quicker and with more commitment that with prior skis. As for width, I think it must be settings. When I edge change quickly off the second wake I am completely outside the buoy line all the way through 35, and taking the backside off coming back in. Skied some open water this morning (my course isn't up yet), and I just use the first wake as my timing device. When I hit it, I start coming up and off the second I literally "throw" the ski to the other edge (in a controlled fashion). That is where the ski just takes off outbound and gets really wide. wtrksii3156 -- I am also right foot forward, but on a 68 inch ski at 34mph. I find your comment interesting because my toe side (1,3,5) is like JTH's, just unreal. In fact, whereas I used to always think I could make up for mistakes on my 2,4,6 turns, I am now far more consistent on the toe side. Every time I make a mistake now I can't wait for a toe side turn to get it all back! That isn't to say that you can't make an unbelieveable 2,4,6 when you need it. My brother calls them "super ball turns". He says that when I need it it looks like I just bounced off a wall and headed back the other direction -- tight line, hips up and flying. In short, the Razor is the best ski I've been on to date. Very interested in learning from everyone else's observations. JR

Budman -- I like that you post videos and put yourself up for all of us to pick on you. It takes a real man to subject himself to all of us on BOS! I have generally found that the "lighter" I ski my short passes like 38, the easier they get. When I pull too hard or pull too long (easy for me given old habits and power) I get killed. THis is true on PP classic, Stargazer, and ZO for me. While I can pull a PP classic boat down, I have come to believe that doesn't help the pass. I try to think about 38 as a different pass, not a harder pass. That keeps me from getting amped up and trying to kill it. In this video it just looks like you stayed very light and relaxed through the pass and maintained a nice speed and pace throughout --

Great article. One of the things that always seemed to help me was after my pull up to think about "skiing tall" before I pulled out for the gates. I couldn't figure out why, but it made me tremendously more efficient, so I just think about skiing tall. This article makes it clear why "skiing tall" works. That one thing can be the difference for me between a day of inconsistent skiing and a day of running 35s and 38s. Simple, but effective -- just the kind of stuff I like.

Skidawg -- Thank you for the correction. I meant to say UNLIKE MS!!!!

John, I am on a 68 inch, weigh about 195 and ski through 38 (in season!). I use the Razor "shortline" settings for the fin and binding placement. There is a word document on the Schnitz site with the settings. I am attaching it. The binding placement is further back than it was on my Fisher, and it seems to allow the ski to run faster with less energy expended. As an aside, my brother was on a D3 and last summer forgot his ski one day. He skied the Razor and at first looked out of sorts. I told him to just throw the ski to the opposite edge off the second wake and let the ski run and he was then taking the back side off the balls.

48 this year just like MS -- and still improving every year (thanks to my lovely wife, who drives me every weekday morning at 6:20AM!). I know guys in their mid 50s who are still getting better, so I figure I've got a few more good ones in me!

John -- I rode a Fisher Orange before my Razor. First couple of sets the Razor felt very different from the Fisher. I have these observations from your comments (I am also right foot forward). On the turn in it seems that the ski works better if I am a little faster than I was with the Fisher, and if I am gliding with a slight outward direction prior to turning in for the gate (I am two handed gate). This adjustment meant a lot. Second, I totally agree with your offside turn comments -- the ski rips the offside turn. The onside took me some time. What I foudn is that the ski REALLY wants to rip the turn and get back under the line. The solution for that for me was to get off the lean earlier going into the onside (like at/slightly before the second wake) and just switch edges and cast the ski out. That gives it time to run wide and just naturally arc back in. Fourth, I agree on speed. What I found most important in this respect is to ski the Razor "lighter" than my old Fisher. When I turn in and I feel pressure building in the handle, I hold my lean right there instead of leaning any further, and I come up from the lean much earlier and literally just cast it out to the other edge right off the second wake and let it create a natural arc. This last piece was the most interesting to me. On the Fisher I used to "create the finish" of the turn by pulling the ski through. On the Razor, I create the arc off of the second wake, and just let the ski follow its natural path to the finish of the turn. The end result of that is I am both wider and earlier, and with significantly less effort. For those new to the Razor, I think it will take them a few sets to get it. Once they do, I think they will be hooked!!!

I like the easy pull ups and, like 6balls, I put my foot in after I am up and my toes touch the front binding every time. Easy pull ups is my primary reason for the RTP given the limited mobility of my spine. As for movement, I try to minimize it. Less movement is best whether in a double high or using a RTP.

New tournament idea - The "Horton Hair" tourney. You have to wear a Horton Hair wig and see if you can beat John's score.

I keep thinking its more about me than the equipment. Someday (NEVER) when I think I've perfected the technical side of skiing I'll start thinking about really cool stuff like ventral wings! Unless, of course, everybody I know starts using them and picking up 3 balls from their PBs!

As a veteran of 4 shoulder repairs, two knee repairs and a distal biceps tendon repair, I highly recommend getting things fixed and doing the rehab the right way. The only major injury I didn't have fixed was a ruptured disk in my low back (after about 8 months I got the feeling and strength back in my right leg without surgery). Not all water ski injuries, but all took time away from sports to rehab well and then start back in at a measured pace. In the end I am probably stronger around all of the injured areas than ever because you learn what you need to do to strengthen the minor muscles around the joints and improve your flexibility. It also forces you to become a better skier to learn to put less load on yourself. I always say I hope this one is the last one, but I also keep telling my orthopedic surgeon that as long as he keeps fixing me, I keep skiing!

Bud Man. Nice skiing. I agree completely with your sentiment. When I get to 38 what I have found is that "sticking with it" means staying relaxed. In years past, when I got late at 38 I would nail the boat harder and stick with the pull longer, thinking that I would get early again. NOT! In the last two years, I have focused on just staying light, getting my angle out of the turn no matter what, and then getting off the lean early, just like I would if I was wide and early skiing at 35 or 32. My success in running 38 went up dramatically upon this realization. When I watch your video I see that as the most important piece. You hook up, establish angle and speed, then get off of it and let your ski glide outbound. Thanks for posting.

Can't speak to the white top -- I've been on KD, Obrien, Fisher, now Razor. Never been on the black and orange, although I was told when I rode the Fish that others thought it skied a lot like one of those.

I don't think a new ski has ever made me either better, or worse. Every major improvement in my buoy count has come from coaching by pros, suggestions from other skiers, and the time it took me to put all of it together into a few concepts that make sense to me. Different skis may make it somewhat easier/harder to implement a particular style of skiing, but more than anything if you can figure out the technique, you can get there on just about anything.

MS is probably right here. My training plan is driven by the time I have available and how much of that time I want to spend splashing into the lake (which I hate) vs. skiing (which I love). Most mornings I have time for one or two pretty fast sets interspersed with 2-3 other skiers before I come to work. Under that constraint, I don't like spending time in the lake at 3 ball waiting for the boat to come back, so I usually don't take that many shots at 38-39. When I ski on the weekends and am on a private site with more time, I run more 38 passes and take more shots at 39. Just can't make myself do it when I'm operating on a short time frame at 6:15AM on a public lake and just want to ski.

I rarely practice my hardest passes (38 and 39). If I have time for two sets, I run a tournament set (28, 32, 35, 38, etc) to wherever I get down the line. If I fall at 38, I might take one more try. Then I lengthen it out to 35, run 2-4 passes at that line and call it. Second set I might not even shorten to 35, but run 10-12 32 off passes and just relax and run clean. Always leave the water with a smile!

I must just be too much of a neanderthal to notice wakes. I go to tournaments and ski all three boats and they all feel fine to me. Isn't to say that I don't have preferences (MC and SN), but I ski the same scores behind them all, even Malibu. As for MC, I am taking a wait and see approach to the 2011 boats. New motor and the strut -- neither of which I thought were necessary -- need to prove their worth before I'd consider one.

As a public lake skier, my favorite parts of the season are early (April/May) and late (Sept/Oct) when all the other boats are off the lake. I also like these times of year because in the spring I get to think about my technique a lot and get grounded going into the new season, and in the fall I tend to work on new things to make me a better skier the following year after all the tournaments are done. No doubt chasing shortline in the heat of the summer is really fun, but the spring and the fall are when my skiing improves the most.

I have had relatively good luck with the sportube, although sometimes I pack it with everything I have (ski, vest, handle, gloves, suntan lotion that is more than 3oz, towels, etc). I have had the same issue with TSA because it is packed pretty tight, and once they open it they just jam stuff back in and sometimes don't get it closed very well. It would be nice to have a fold open model that had a thin layer of foam-type padding on the inside while still leaving packing room for all the other gear that travels with us.Â

Budman -- that is perhaps one of the best slalom pictures I've ever seen.  JD -- wow, I'm impressed with your data collection! I maintain a database of zero. I do, however, keep a pretty good set of notes about what works when I'm on my ski.Â

Strada front, rear toe. Great combo.

Just doing anything in the winter is a must. I lift heavy things 4x a week in the winter, short track skate 2x a week and hit cardio on a couple of the weightlifting days. I do core every time I'm in the gym, as my low back is the most delicate part of my dainty physique. I typically put on 10lbs of muscle in the winter (up to around 200), then lose it again during ski season as I do not lift weights at all during ski season. I just do core, stretch and ski. As for earlier comments about body composition vs. weight, I would say the following.  Whether it is muscle or fat, skiing heavier is definitively harder. The lighter I get during the ski season, the easier it is on my body overall. I plan to increase cardio and lift easier in March to start cutting weight before ski season this year given what I've learned voer the years about weight and skiing.  Closer to 190 is the best for me (I have skied as big as 210).   Â

A week ago I was starting to do a ski and slalom course equipment inventory to get ready for ice out. Now I'm feeling suicidal. Winter can end anytime now!

Glad MS did this -- now he'll let me ski!