Patmaster

In Tow handle works great. You notice nothing and your head is safe.

20 years guys. If you really want to know why: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Term_of_patent_in_the_United_States IMO, Andy's got a patentable invention. And the next 20 years to enjoy the consequences!

All I know is that all the Mapple team members are skiing their best on the new design for a few months now. Time will tell, but who would not to add a few balls to their PB? Patent pending means that an application for this invention is pending, that the priority rights are reserved worldwide and that Andy is serious about this. Can't wait to try it out....

Great stuff guys, great stuff! Many thanks.

@bishop8950‌ - yes cranking the turn too early is what ends most of my 32 and 35 passes. If I don't do it at No. 2, that it happens at latest at No. 4. That said, what exactly do you mean by "load the rope try"?

Many thanks guys! That is so much of valuable food for thought...tournament coming up, let's see if some of the tips will work!

Thanks guys! @SkiJay, you are so right! Will slow the boat down @markchilcutt‌ ! Still, I heard a lot about equaling the speed of the boat at the pullout, starting earlier as the rope gets shorter and so on. Last one I heard was "if you pulled like a man, you would have made it!". What a sport!

It's been discussed, but could you ballers just repeat what the major clues for 32 and 35off are? My 28's are perfect, but 32 comes only at a rate of 50% and 35 rarely beyond No. 2...

@Rich, been doing Bikram since I turned 45. Changed my life (now close to 53), I even financed my own studio. Last year been diagnosed with spinal stenosis, which explained why I was so stewed up last season. Continued Bikram, however I find it hard to do it every day, especially if on a tournament. Glad to hear you swear by it, I'm also a big believer. Talked several skiers into trying, most did not stick. Once bumped into Natalia Brednikava near Orlando in a Bikram studio. She used it as a part of her rehab program. Not sure if she is now still a regular. Aside from skiing, Andy Murray was big on Bikram, but he had a back surgery last year. I wonder if he still does it. Anyway, it is one of the best quick-fix-it-all fitness routines I know. And if you are smart, you will not bend too much when it starts to hurt, but reap the overall benefit by sweating all the toxins out of your body.

The final two rounds in heavy rain/wind. Jeremy and Andy were way above others, although there was great skiing overall. However, what Andy did to win was superhuman. 39 with rain that would stop any normal person and gusts of tailwind. Never saw anything like that. Jeremy had to use glasses, but did not make it through 39. Epic. The crowd was delirious!

So, where is the review?

Many thanks guys! I'll try one thing at a time...

Help needed ballers! Got my ski to do a killer off-side, but on-side is slightly hesitant. Afraid to change much not to mess everything up! What would be the slight change to make, just to make the on-side a tad more aggressive? 3 days to the tournament. I'm on hard-shells so I can rotate both boots, move fwd-back, and of course there is the fin...any thoughts?

Very interesting comments from all. I'd prefer ALL IN since it is logical that your ankles have a better chance of surviving. That said, ALL IN does not necessarily prevent fractures or Achilles tendon injuries. It will also require a different way of skiing and it will be hard to accept for some. Stealths were supposed to be the best Fogmans ever. With more user-friendly boots they could be just that. I do believe in a one plate systems as well, so if something should release at all, then the whole plate with both feet in. I think OB4 will be a super-interesting alternative to Reflex, for all of the Reflex front people. For double hard-shells...time will tell, but I'd still put my money on some future version of Fogmans/Stealth, with a better and more precise release mechanism (snow-ski like), while keeping the possibility to put whatever we want on the plate - Fogmans, Stealths, Powershells, or Reflex boots. In the meantime, I'll stick to my not-that-old Fogmans, on a custom carbon plate, hoping that the bone-crushing fall will not happen. The issue of pre-release must be tackled also, since it is equally dangerous to a non-release situation. Or, according to some pros - way more dangerous!

@lpskier, will continue to experiment. As we can see, there is no clear guidance on this. Since majority of skiers simply do not rotate the front binding, not a huge number of people are concerned. Still, it makes sense that rotation changes a lot. Possibly, the answer could be that a moderate rotation of both bindings should be best. To rotate both feet in the same direction (LFF - clockwise), I am still not convinced. Maybe we'll get someone else to share their experiences?

@lpskier, I thought that the on side turn is governed by the back foot, not the other way around? Was it a typo? @skijay, thanks - what you say makes sense. There is little guidance on the rotation of the front binding and none on the off-venter positioning. I actually heard this from a former pro skier....and the devil got the better of me. Usually all this leads to confusion, sometimes to a genuinely better solution! Thanks again for sharing thoughts.

Anyone out there rotates and/or moves the front boot off center to improve off-side turn and leverage? In my case it seems to work, but I'm not convinced a 100%. I'm LFF and I rotate the front boot counter-clockwise, but since moving the whole boot to the right about 1/8th of an inch, my skiing seems to be better. The on-side turn and pull don't seem to suffer too much! Any thoughts?

Parrish on Warp? Warp on Parrish? Just kidding. But give it some time...

Does anyone know who to contact for corrections? I changed countries (!) a few years back and I'm still under the "wrong" one?

Thanks guys, I appreciate your comments!

I never saw (so far) recommended rear boot dft for any ski. It is understandable due to so many different rear foot binding preferences. That said it may be crucial for the on-side turn and I wonder where the Mapple 6.0 (66.75) ballers have their rear boot (if they have one, of course)?

I have the similar problem lower - L-4, 5. Excersises help so far, kept skiing, but nothing will ever be the same I guess. Keep us updated, maybe there is a way....

Tried the system yesterday. Everything was new - the ski I tried it on, the bindings and the boots. Wanted to try the boots that come with the system. Impressed with relative simplicity and functionality of the system. It is not difficult to set the release tension - you do it in a similar way as with the Reflex boot. No doubt in my mind that this is the safest double hardshell release system so far (once proper tension of the release is chosen). Small plates that the boots are attached to allow you to mount (probably) just about any hardshell boot there is, so you should stick to what you are used to. They also allow for ample rotation, if that's what you like. I cannot evaluate skiing characteristics since the boots that came with the system are way too different from what I'm used to. That said, if you are skiing with the same hardshell boots you are used to, it is very unlikely that the other parts of the system will significantly change the skiing characteristics of your ski. Importantly - no pre releasing, no funny stuff, seems much, much more solid than Reflex release and probably (with proper maintenance) likely to last for a long time. As I posted before, weight is no issue, there are heavier systems out there. Bottom line: - the closest waterski bindings ever were to snow ski bindings; - a giant step closer to a much safer double-hardshell system! Bravo @mmosley899, and thank you for having the courage to make bold steps in helping our sport become safer! I sincerely hope things will work out well for OB4!

Got mine today. Might try them out Sunday. Sleek, simple, make-sense system. Little boot plates are rubber plated and allow for ample rotation of the boots. The large plate is thin and does not weigh much. It does look very promising. Forget the weight - it is not more than a double Wiley. It will not play a role. Can't wait to ski them!

I do not expect the OB4 system to be perfect. More importantly, it could be the beginning of something that was long overdue in waterskiing - a much safer, snow-ski like binding system that could become a standard in the industry. Materials and shapes (weight included) will certainly improve over the years. I'm full of hope! Mine arrives on Friday... I know that both boots should release simultaneously, but this is very difficult to actually design. It will come, in the future. This could be the beginning of the end of all existing double hardshell systems currently available!