twhisper

@dchristman I've found that the thicker pad on the D3 RTP has a nice height. I added some grip tape to help me feel more secure.

@dchristman I actually skied all of last season on RTP except I skied Worlds in double Reflex. I have tested a LOT of binding configurations.

@Fam-man That has a big influence on the attitude of the ski. If the back foot is lower than the front it will be more difficult to engage the front of the ski into the off-side turns. The ski will also probably be less efficient with a tip-high attitude. Gaining speed will be more work, and you might have more of an impact when hitting the wakes. I've played with a lot of different binding set ups, and find that the more level the front and back boot are the better in general.

@adamhcaldwell I think the R3 is what a lot of guys are going to prefer for the heavier loads. I personally prefer to practice with the softest rope I can stand so the tournament ropes feel more stout.

@Edwardazar Equipment issues could be length/width of ski. Front boot too far forward and/or too much fin length. Technique: Most likely allowing the the handle to get pulled too far away from the core of the body as you are making the edge-change resulting in the pull from the boat to transfer from the hips up to the height of the shoulders. This force on the upper body is pulling your chest forward and down while the hips are left behind. When the ski engages and wants to turn the body is broken forward instead of the hips being able to come around and reconnect to the handle.

@4lakes If you want to send me some video I would be happy to take a look and talk settings/technique with you.

@skierjp I’ve been skiing the ropes for the last few weeks. I've got each of the different flexes. The competition is a good balance of a little give, but not a rubber band. To me, this is the one that is going to be the easiest transition from practice to tournament skiing. The R3 feels like your old trusty rope right out of the box. If you want pure response and no delay of load then this is the one to get. The softer rope is going to be great for someone that is trying to lessen the load on their body. If you have elbow or back pain the softer rope might be a good option. The quality and accuracy of the ropes is top-shelf. He is also very willing to build the rope however customers want it. Let him know how you prefer the knots/loops etc. and he will do it.

@adamhcaldwell Agreed. I've always tried to turn my 2/4 like I do my 1/3 and I realize it needs to be done differently. Up to this point I've always just kind of survived my 2/4, but that puts a huge limit on my scores. Like you, I'm working on learning a better way. We should probably be skiing together.

I have no idea. I just caught this video on YouTube and wondered if we experience some of this on the water...https://youtu.be/eBc827pwKf0

@adamhcaldwell Obviously the approach into the turn is important, and when everything is just right the turns get easier to get manage. However, I feel like guys like you, Rodgers, Cole M., Larkin etc. can turn your onsides almost no matter what. You all have a learned move that gets the ski to turn and gets the body into a strong position right around the buoy. It seems to be pretty much automatic, and does not depend on speed/width/path. In my mind, this is where the good stuff is.

@drago does this apply... "A tautochrone or isochrone curve is the curve for which the time taken by an object sliding without friction in uniform gravity to its lowest point is independent of its starting point on the curve. The curve is a cycloid, and the time is equal to π times the square root of the radius over the acceleration of gravity."?

The little one loves her new rope!

Here's a bunch of videos that you probably haven't seen...https://www.youtube.com/user/laster111/videos

Your connection of the waist to the handle so that your upper body can be farther away from the back of the boat than your lower body is what makes leverage. You can't apply pressure to the edge of the ski against the pull of the boat if your weight is not located over/beyond that edge. Stack is useless if it's not being applied

@aupatking Just showing some good skiing of a guy who speaks softly and carries a big stick.

I think grip position has a big impact on the skier's ability to stay packaged together through the edge change. Reverse grip skiers tend to get peeled apart easier as they're trying to swing outbound. Just my observations.

@6balls no adjustment to the ski. I have a friend that skis at 30 mph so I made the video for him. Thanks

Here's a video I did for my site a few years ago. 30 mph, 22'-38'

It's such a tough sport. We get such limited reps before we wear out physically, and we can't do it right even if we're trying. A kid on a skateboard will ride all day, every day and gain such a feel for it without too much thought going in or over-analyzing. The whole deal is that we need to be doing it correctly and repeating those movements in order to gain improvements. What I tend to see is skiers doing it wrong, repeating those wrong moves/ideas/timing, and getting those things completely hard-wired in so that they'll never be able to get out of those ruts. One of the toughest things about skiing is that what we feel can be so different than what is actually happening. When we feel comfortable that just means that we're doing it the same way we always do it. Sometimes we'll get something "right" but it feels so awkward that we don't persist in pursuing it. A good coach can be great, but it's hard for anybody to have a consistent coach and I believe one of the worst things in skiing is that everybody wants to help. The random guy in the boat is always willing to give his advice, and whether he is right or wrong the worst thing for an athlete is getting mixed messages and always trying to achieve them. Video is under-used. I make a habit of trying to film every set. I watch my skiing every day, and when I go out to ski I have a plan of something I want to feel. I believe the more we film and review the more we can integrate the feelings that we experience with the reality of what is actually happening on the water. When we can do this then we stand a better chance at making improvements.

Bueller

@BraceMaker My every day ski...

Same ski I ride at 36 mph, no adjustments. Didn’t even drop that set