andjules

One thing that hasn't been mentioned on this thread: While there is a consensus that you should lean towards upsizing, there's some divergence about 'how much'. Remember that some folks never get around to heat-molding them; however, it's easy to do, and will pack them out a bit (a "a-bit-too-snug" unmolded liner will become a "just right" liner by taking the 10-15m to heat-mold them to your foot).

Also remember that what may-or-may-not have been a great product and may-or-may-not have sold well in the early 90s faces a very different waterski demographic today. While we're fewer in number, we're skewed towards 40-65 year-olds. Although we'll hear lots of annecdotes about this-or-that limiting injury, I'm pretty sure backs and ankles are the injuries that claim the most victims. Industry has been doing a better-and-better job on bindings/ankles; I think it's high-time for some back-oriented solutions.

@PBD re:transitions, I've read many, many posts on this board about it commonly taking several sets to get used to hardshells, not being able to run your opening pass on your first set, etc.. Haven't read any on significant struggles switching from rubber to these kinds of 'hybrids'.

@TFisher 1) Yes, from all accounts, Vapors are an easier transition when coming from traditional rubber bindings. They're not really hardshells - more "semi-rigid". 2) This is a big topic. To summarize, there are some very cool binding systems that address a number of different fall situations, e.g. lateral/twisting falls. That said, those systems tend to be both finicky & expensive. I'm of the camp that 98%+ of ankle-wrecking falls are essentially out-the-front falls, and in that regard, the Vapors are fantastic. I switched after snapping my achilles on traditional rubber high-wraps, and have never looked back. Simple, affordable, comfortable, safe.

I don't think people need to go to extremes on the Vapors' bungie tension; in fact, the point is to find a comfortable balance between loose vs tight. Put them on, on the dock, tighten the bungies as much as feels comfortable, and try a forward release, on the dock. If you have to work very hard to have the liner release, loosen the bungies until it only takes a reasonable amount of effort. From then on, keep them about that tight, go skiing, stop worrying about them - they're very safe and tolerate a fairly wide margin of error. That said, when you first start using them, if you've always believed snug/tighter is better... you may be surprised how little the top bungie tightness affects your skiing - you can loosen them more than you think and it's unlikely you'll notice a difference in your performance. At least that was my experience.

Perfect length... but Google Maps imagery is a little offputting :wink: https://goo.gl/maps/TkZjLXq3B972

If "south west" means Naples/Fort Myers, then yes, Eden Ski Lake seems to be your best bet. You can search the forum here, there are a few helpful posts, here is the most recent post http://goo.gl/8qC1Jw If "south west" means St Petersburg/Tampa, McCormick's is about an hour's drive east, in Seffner.

I skied with the same folks on Kauai, they had a Response LX, but again, it was probably 2008 or thereabouts. Great island. One of the many places in the world where the street food/roadside shacks were almost always better than the fine dining.

For those that haven't seen it, Carv is a new kickstarter project for downhill skiers. The app strategy personally doesn't sound that appealing (the app shouts coaching advice at you and gives you drills, essentially roboticizing the instructor in real-time). However, the underlying technology is interesting: insoles with sensors, streaming data. Rather than just measuring roll and acceleration changes (like previous sensors you'd attach to your skis), it also measures & compares weight/pressure adjustments throughout the length of the foot (and differences between the feet). Not hard to imagine that this could be an excellent data-gathering strategy.

Somewhere between 1-2: Currently plotting to buy a house (cottage) on a semi-private lake. Fingers crossed. 15.1: In November, I had my first skiing-across-the-pond, just outside of Lisbon, Portugal p.s. fun idea for a thread - thanks @Bill22!

I think this is the thread @Bill22 was thinking about:

I'd argue that a high-end ski is a good choice only if (i) you've got the money - and it doesn't eat in to funds you should be spending on coaching, and (ii) it's a ski that's proven to be stable/forgiving. While I think you'll find individual advocates who'll say the Syndicate & T3 are stable/forgiving, there just aren't enough skiers @ your level out there to get a lot of suitable feedback on those skis (most things I've read about the T3 are from very short line skiers). On the other hand, this forum is full of very assuring posts—at all levels—about the Vapor. That said, both the CX and Senate Lithium seem to be fine skis and as per (i) above, if it frees up some $$ to see a coach as you work yourself back into skiing, it may be the wiser approach. My 2¢.

And don't forget the old-timer secret process: FIRST get your feet in, THEN do up your vest.

For what it's worth, I was at the Toronto Boat Show on Saturday. Again, there was only one 3-event boat at the show, but this time it was a Nautique 200 OB.

In my mind, both your requirements may be a little counter-productive. I agree with @eleeski - having the very-best-slalom-wakes-ever does create a bit of a primadonna effect... people eventually turning their nose up at a ride behind anything else, which to me is the exact opposite attitude someone should have towards their favourite pastime. Any of the boats you've listed are fine. The old, dreaded -22 off bump has generally been negligible on non-crossover, direct-drive ski boats for the last 15 years. Moreover, other than planning for much higher scores and serious competitive skiing a few years down the road, I'm not sure why Zero Off (vs an older boat with PPass/Stargazer) is a deal-breaker at the 30mph range. I'd encourage most folks in your spot to spend a little less on equipment (within reason) if it means you can spend a little more on coaching. If you can afford both, go for it!

Do a search for Lauderdale - there are a few threads on it. McGinnis' is good for cheap sets, Chet's (in Boca) is great for coached sets but you need to book well ahead. For jump, you'd need to make some contacts and head either down to the Miami Ski Club or up to Okeeheelee (West Palm).

I'm a Malibu man, but I'm also frugal, so if it's significantly cheaper & well-taken care of, the Moomba is a great all-around boat if you're not a 100% die-hard. Wakeboards well with only a little ballast.

I think almost every non-American can agree that there are few things more humbling and annoying than being taught something you did not know about your nation... by an American. Kudos, @Than_Bogan. I try to learn something new everyday. You just made today an easy one.

I'd be happy to coordinate the next trip with McGill alumni!

@wolfgang if they like shopping (Lisbon) or walking/sightseeing/exploring (Lisbon and lots in the surrounding area) or golf (surrounding area) or eating (everywhere), they'll have a great time. Definitely needn't be all about skiing... in fact, it's aprés ski where Portugal shines, especially compared to Florida (unless your kids are of Disney age).

@wolfgang - it should be about the same as I experienced: 17-22ºC highs. Great for a walk on the beach, but not bikini/tanning/all-day-in-the-water weather. On the other hand, the beach is likely to be empty. Although we Canadians have been known to behave like 20ºC is a heat wave when getting off a plane after a cold winter.

If I recall correctly, they ran Overall as a separate event at the PanAms this summer (each overall skier skiing a separate round of each event, specifically for overall scoring).

Just got back from a great week in Portugal. I had been vaguely considering a little trip to Florida when I stumbled on a great airfare deal - $460 CAD (about $350 USD) Toronto-Lisbon return, direct flights. Sounded intriguing. A little googling revealed that AirBnBs, hotels, rental cars were all very affordable. A little more googling and I found Francisco Simoes: http://www.skiclube-quintagrande.pt/index.asp?lingua=ENG An easy 60 minute drive from downtown Lisbon, Simoes has a man-made lake in the middle of an old farming estate, with a 2012 Nautique 200. Francisco is a very competent coach, friendly, good english. His daughter (Marta) is one of Europe's better U21 skiers. I believe they've both run -38 in practice. Francisco charges 32€ per set, with coaching... yes, that's less than $35 USD per set. He's open year-round.* This was perfect for me - I wasn't necessarily looking for a 100% devoted ski trip, but rather a holiday with some skiing. It strikes me that for some of you—or your significant other—Lisbon might sound more interesting than, let's say, Orlando. I spent a couple of days kicking around Lisbon (great city), then picked up a rental car, mixing skiing with some quick trips to incredible coastline spots within an hour or two of the lake. Ate great food, drank a little wine, walked some exquisite cliffs and beaches with no one on them but me. If you have a non-skiing travelling partner, you could leave them in Lisbon while you make a quick trip to the lake; there also appear to be several golf courses as well. *It is worth noting that the mid-November weather was nice, but not hot. Night-time lows got down to the 40s, but daytime highs (a bit above seasonal average) around 70F. Water was cool. Francisco says right through the Dec-Feb, daytime highs are 13-18C (55-65F). @Laz, I almost revived your thread from last winter: http://ballofspray.com/forum#/discussion/comment/189427 If you don't need tropical heat, ballers should consider Portugal as a very affordable destination where you can get some sets in the off-season.

@krista my 2¢ as a marketing guy... web video for this kind of market (passionate skiers considering a $1k purchase) an easily be 90+ seconds. You're not competing with funny cat videos. Tell us what makes the ski special!

Not at all @skinut - I think this will be great someday, for all the skiers struggling on public water or with other lake owners about the unsightliness of a course. Also would let us ski wherever is calmest, not where the course is. But, as I said, I did some research... it was about 18-24 months ago and I found a university engineering department that was working on this kind of thing—had a youtube video I think—overlaying virtual and real landscapes in a stereoscopic display and updating as the user changed position and head orientation. Very cool, and seemed to hit all the conceptual requirements... but also pretty far off still in terms of computing power. The guy was still tethered to a very fast computer box if I recall correctly, and it was updating at a rate of about 1 frame per second, with only very primitive shapes in the overlay. But soon enough they'll have something contracted to the defense sector, it'll improve, get practical, get networked (driver/boat need to be sync'd), get small, rugged and waterproof, and then slowly trickle down to hackers... and hopefully there will be a devoted slalom hacker to make our version.