Waternut

I always wondered the same but I thought it would make more sense to make it an odd number so you're forced into something like 3 onside, 2 offside one pass followed by 3 offside and 2 onside the next. Would never make it through the rule books now since the sport isn't big enough to force a change. Maybe cable sports could create unique slalom courses where the buoys are constantly changed to provide a different challenge. @lcgordon You may not see it in nascar but you see it in just about every other form of racing.

@shyskier It's the same smell....you typically burn more diff fluid though. Both make you wanna gag. Respirators work wonders though!

One thing I'd like to point out is that skiing different boats at different lakes is not a fair comparison. Nor is skiing two different boats where one has an upgraded CNC prop and the other has a forged prop. I'd be willing to bet that you'd have a very hard time feeling any difference between comparably equipped RLX/RLXi running the same line on the same lake. To give you an example.... I bought a 2000 Response LX and immediately took it to our slalom lake where I ski behind a 2000 Ski Nautique. I felt like the RLX had a slightly firmer but similar size wake at 22off and a little less spray at shorter line lengths but everything else felt exactly the same. I then took that same RLX to my public lake and skied a course. On my lake, 22off is so brutal that I can't keep my ski in the water during wake crossings. Shorter than 22off is fantastic though.

Now that all the facts are on the table, I agree with the call of no re-ride but I like the fact that the kid was given another unscored round as a confidence booster. I know we all ski different lakes but I don't think I've ever skied a private lake where you could be outside the 2-4-6 line at or before the 55's. I can't imagine there is a rule dictating when you can cut out but there is a point where things just become unrealistic for 99.99% of the population. Off topic but I'm curious... To throw another monkey wrench into this conversation....Let's say that a lake is really wide and there is no danger of hitting the shore but a skier hit some weeds 15 feet outside the turn buoy in the middle of the course and fell. Would you grant a re-ride for that? I don't know the rule books but my vote is no because they just aren't in a reasonable area of the course. We don't host tournaments at the lake I ski at but we certainly wouldn't clean weeds out that wide.

I think the worst part of water in the oil is the smell of the burnt oil when you pull the crank bearings out. I'm convinced burnt oil smells worse than poo.

I might not be the best person to learn from because I always feel rushed and then always seem to be just outside the gates. However, if I can settle down and convince myself that I can cut in later, everything feels more natural. It's tough though because by the time I cut in for a good gate, I feel like I'm going to miss even the left hand gate and then the pass feels over with before I've even gotten to 1 ball.

@chef23 Yes I kick into my Radar ARTP every time I get up. If anything, I think it's a little easier to kick into because it's a soft neoprene-like material instead of a grippy rubber. I run mine pretty tight and kind of creep my foot in the last half inch or so. Our lake is about 2000 ft long and I ski at 34mph. I've got just enough time to kick in, wipe my face, and adjust my shorts before I need to cut out for the gates.

Here are the two RTP's that I have. The first is an older HO RTP (I think). It has some padding under the foot and it appears to be holding my foot pretty well from a side view. However, looking from the back, there are large gaps that just don't conform to my foot very well. Even after 4 or so years of skiing with RTP's, this is not confidence inspiring and it's not easy to get my foot into. The second is my Radar ARTP. It looks like it has a lot of padding but really it's pretty thin padding under the forefoot and heel and actually a lot thinner than the HO RTP above. The rest is really just there as support to keep the foot from sliding around. Looking from the back, this RTP fits more like a shoe and completely conforms to my foot. So not only is it comfortable like a full boot, it's confidence inspiring as well.

I tried to follow most of this but I'm sure I missed some. If your confidence is struggling because your foot keeps moving around, you should really try an RTP more like the radar adjustable RTP. I made a seamless transition 4ish years ago. Thought it would be a stuggle but once I started skiing, my back foot felt so secure that I only thought about it before and after the course. Things I've learned..... 1. Kicking in really hard should only be for feelings of security and personal feel. If you have to do that to ski properly, move the RTP back slightly. 2. I like my big toe to stick out of the front. That way if I flex my foot in panic, my toes go up and make it more secure. 3. Adjustable RTP's do need to be retightened occasionally.

I don't know for sure but always assumed birthday suit weight. Considering the 2 ski's I was slightly above the weight limit in terms of morning naked weight were very tough to tame, it seems logical. However, a small comp vest vs a 20+lbs of a soaking wet neoprene vest and a wetsuit in the winter seem to make very little difference if I continue skiing into the cold season.....so realistically, it's a crapshoot. Shoot for the middle but I'd rather be at the lower limit of the weight range than the upper limit especially if you're no at the max speed for that particular ski.

Thanks @SkiJay I'll look into those next weekend when I get home but it makes sense that maybe the back is either too grippy or there is too much tip pressure. That's really the kind of guidance I was looking for.

So I bought and read the Fin Whispering book over the winter and it has been very insightful but at the same a bit overwhelming. I have a 67" 2015 Radar Vapor with a Reflex binding. For some reason I decided to ask this question when I'm out of town and don't have access to my fin numbers or any videos. Anyway, I thought I'd at least ask and see if I can get a few idea of what to play with or do more research on. The problem: The ski is fantastic most of the time all the way up to -35 off at 34mph. However, I spray myself in the face on a good offside turn. If I turn a little harder on my offside, I can feel the front of the ski slipping in the water with the back. Think smearing but the whole ski is smearing and not just the tail. This is more apparent when the water isn't perfectly slick which is about 95% of my sets unfortunately. I've had issues of blowing the tail in the past but never had the front of the ski slip. Once every set or two, the ski will skip a little bit and then hook back up and I can make it to the next buoy but my concentration is usually toast after that from almost eating it. If I do end up falling because of this, it's not like violently blowing the tail but hard to describe. Any ideas?

Perhaps the concept that I'm failing to get across is the concept of how tight is too tight and what's just tight enough. Even as a 35off skier, I couldn't tell you how tight a soft shell binding should be because I've never figured it out. A noose around my ankles feels right but I know that's wrong. I have a Radar Vector front binding on a ski for friends and I have to fight like crazy to pull my foot out with the top laces completely undone. Meanwhile I have friends who "forget" to undo the laces and pull their foot out. How is that safe and normal? In almost 20 years of skiing, I have come out of soft shell bindings a handful of times at most. Meanwhile, I can pretty much predict exactly when my Reflex will come off as I'm flailing around in the water after a fall whether it be an OTF, a blown tail, or some other goofy fall.

@Horton I feel like we're saying the same things but arriving at different conclusions. I say lower level skiers lack the knowledge of bindings so put them on a mechanical release so they can't screw it up.....provided someone can help them set it up or they read directions properly. I can agree that you can't screw up a Wiley bindings but I have a few nagging injuries because I just didn't understand the concept of how tight a soft binding should be even after skiing the course for a year or so.

@Marco sorry to hear that. How tight is your toe plate? I had heard of this kind of injury was worried at first especially since I have a lot of soft scar tissue on my shins from other sports. However, I must say that I've never once kicked myself with my boot. I've slid over the ski a few times and gouged myself up before but I'd call that a fluke combined with poor ski setup and bad decisions. I run a Radar adjustable toe plate and I kick in there pretty tight but I'm always out of that toe plate long before my front foot releases so I'm usually doing the "stork stance" when I release.

Let's please not start the whole debate of which binding is safe and which bindings have hurt whom. I can see no reason why anyone of any skill level should not be on a Reflex binding if it's comfortable for them. IMO, put the binding that will release the cleanest on the novice skiers because they are the ones who are going to be taking the hardest and most frequent falls. Also, if a novice can be instructed how to set up a Reflex bindings once, it'll be good for many years. However, trying to convince a novice skier to pull on the laces with light tension is pretty ambiguous and if it feels loose, they are going to crank on the laces and then end up hurting themselves.

I just use Febreeze on all my water sports gear when the room starts getting a little musty. Happens maybe once every 4-6 weeks. Always seems to work for me and a bottle lasts a couple years.

I do like my stargazer setup but I also run slalom in the old classic mode. Using Stargazer in slalom mode which also somehow uses gps to determine crew and skier weight is a recipe for disaster IMO. Driven 3 boats in the normal Stargazer slalom setting and they all suck worse than a novice hand driving.

I'm 190lbs and 6 ft tall. I'll let you guys decide what number setting this is. I've had 1 pre-release since I bought the Reflex back in early 2013 and the release was set a good bit below this. I honestly think that the quality control on those springs is not so good because if people were using a setting of 7-8 on my boot, the only way they would release would be if the top sheet of the ski was still attached or their boot or their foot is still in the boot attached to the ski. You'll know if the spring isn't engaged anymore but I don't think you're going to get there.

@MattP @MrJones @Chef23 How well do your Eagle vests float you after all this time? Flotation has always been my biggest problem with my comp vests. When new, they all typically float me to my eyes with all the air out of my lungs. After about 1-1.5 years, they don't float worth a crap anymore and I sink if I let all of my air out. I've never dropped the coin on an Eagle vest because I'm fearful of spending that much money for the same results. All my Radar comp vests have lasted a year max before all the flotation was gone. My current O'Neill Checkmate vest has lasted the longest but unfortunately it's also the only vest I've ever used that chafes my arms. The checkmate vest is about to get retired too because it's stretched and doesn't fit as snugly when wet even though I've gained weight.

I'm not a tricker but this seems really dumb to me. Both look like a front flip to me. I see the difference but who cares. Are we going to start judging slalom skiing based on control next? Skier came out of 6 ball with a slack line....no continuation because that's sloppy and cheating.

The ski should cast out meaning you are letting the ski carry out to the buoy while your body lags on the inside of the buoy.

For me the biggest thing when going -28 and beyond or even starting out at the beginning of the season is my sight line. At -22 and longer, you can ski outbound until your eyes and head are near the buoy line and get away with it. Once you learn that you can let your ski cast out 5-7 feet beyond where your eyes are, the ski turns so much easier and all of a sudden the passes get so much easier too.

There is no doubt that the 71" ski will be better suited to you. However, I have a hard time saying you "need" it especially since you aren't in the course. Your front binding is basically plastic and so is your rear binding. Take a 3/16" drill bit and drag it from one hole to the next and slot those things so you can move the bindings where you want them. You could do it a little prettier with a razor blade but either will serve the purpose. I did it to my rear binding and it's been going for 3 years.

At roughly 230lbs, you're probably pushing the weight limit of that ski in the course but for free skiing, you'll likely never know the difference. Moving the front binding even 1/8" makes a huge difference. So moving from one hole to the next sounds like it's 3 times that. You could slot the binding holes if you care enough. Being that you're on the heavier side of that ski, my recommendation would be to push both bindings back a little bit to 31" or even 31-1/8". IMO, this will give you the confidence to turn in and cross the wake with good form.