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New ski


obski

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There has been so much information flying around lately about slalom skis - some of it good and some of it not so good - that I thought that I might as well try to take advantage of the expertise out there for myself. I have been thinking about getting a new ski for some time now and now that my daughter is wanting to do more and more slalom skiing the time may be here now.

So, some background. I am 5'11", 190 #, currently skiing on an O'Brien Rumor Comp 68". I mostly free ski in the river, but do run the course occasionally. I have a group that wants me to join them on a regular basis at a private lake. In the course I run at 28 to 30 mph and can make all of the novice balls with ease, but only a few of the 'real' bouys. I have tried a CDX and really liked it. I noticed it was much faster and had quicker turns than my ski. I tried a friend's high end ski (can't remember the particular ski, but think it was a KD?) and I could not handle it. I have tried it two different times and both times it has shot out from under me. My ribs on the left side are still feeling the effects of that.

I have liked my O'Brien quite a bit, so was thinking that something along the lines of the Siege would be similar, but more aggressive? I liked the feel of the CDX. Any other thoughts?

Oh, I currently use a front boot and a RTP, but feel just as comfortable with two boots.

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Will you ever be looking to ski 34mph or 36mph?

Yes, I would like to progress my skiing and get to 34 mph.

I need to anticipate that I will need to keep up with my daughter. She long ago passed me in snow skiing, but not in slalom...yet.

Edited by obski
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Skisix recently told me my ski is not supporting me at 32mph. There might be a two ski step for you. Maybe ride a wider ski until 34 and then move to a faster ski.

I wonder what his opinion will be on this

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My Dad skis about the same level as you. He has an HO Burner. It's a "semi-wide" 67 inch ski. Being wide, it has better stability and starts, but the shape of the bottom (basically 2 bevels) allows the ski to turn much better than a "wide" traditional ski. So basically, it's the best of both worlds for you. I've seen people ride these into 28 off, which, is, well, a goal not too many people ever get to (at regular speed). Thats a nice way of saying, that it has the skeeelz to keep you happy for a while. Thats my vote. Heck, I think Mike Ferraro rides a shaped HO.

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CDX would be a good choice and on par with the KD7000/CR7 bunch ... just a different skiing style. Go find a good used CDX. There should be lots of the out there ... it has been a very popular ski.

/Steve

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Skisix recently told me my ski is not supporting me at 32mph.  There might be a two ski step for you.  Maybe ride a wider ski until 34 and then move to a faster ski.

I wonder what his opinion will be on this

I think you guys are tired of my opinion. I can't count the number of posts where folks at an entry to intermediate slalom level have stated that they think the CDX is the best ski out there. Yes, it's fast and faster than your dads charger or burner or wide ride but, the key point is that it also slows down WAY faster than those skis. Futhermore, since it is a skinny stick it has to have more speed to provide lift. What that means is that a 200 # guy going 28-32mph is going to think it's fast but, when they get going so fast before or by the time they get to the first wake and let up- the ski is going to slow quickly and using good technique the skier would turn inside the bouy. Instead of turning inside the bouy the skier goes flat by letting their hips rotate toward to boat and letting their arms/elbows come away from their vest allowing the ski to maintain it's speed. This makes the skier just above stalling speed and narrow. Now the skier has to change direction right at the bouy and does so by leaning and putting the ski at a significant angle to the water, losing all the lift the ski was producing. Since the ski was so deep in the water, it turned and got a lot of angle, the skier takes a hit when the boat finally advances and the skiers takes off like a rocket, since the ski is fast, and the process is repeated.

John Doe has a great suggestion.

Blast away! I seem to be the only one with this opinion but I sure do wish I had someone setting me straight when I was back at long line and 28 mph trying to muscle my way through the course on an HO extreme. If I had learned to do that on a charger or something like it, I wouldn't be ranked 44th M3 in the nation- it would be a lot closer to the top.

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Skisix recently told me my ski is not supporting me at 32mph.  There might be a two ski step for you.   Maybe ride a wider ski until 34 and then move to a faster ski.

I wonder what his opinion will be on this

John Doe has a great suggestion.

Yahoo.gif

Quick question six, I have an "older" (99+ or -) HO PSX. You may remember it as the one with the sweet "power sticks"? Is that the same shape as the CDX? If so, it is a very soft ski until you get it "stiffened" with the rods. Would that be OK for obski? Basically, are you down on the CDX for its shape or stiffness for a progressing skier? If the PSX would be good, I'll sell to you obski. I loved it, I just had 3 knees surgeries in 3 years and didn't ski much.

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Skisix recently told me my ski is not supporting me at 32mph.  There might be a two ski step for you.   Maybe ride a wider ski until 34 and then move to a faster ski.

I wonder what his opinion will be on this

John Doe has a great suggestion.

Yahoo.gif

Quick question six, I have an "older" (99+ or -) HO PSX. You may remember it as the one with the sweet "power sticks"? Is that the same shape as the CDX? If so, it is a very soft ski until you get it "stiffened" with the rods. Would that be OK for obski? Basically, are you down on the CDX for its shape or stiffness for a progressing skier? If the PSX would be good, I'll sell to you obski. I loved it, I just had 3 knees surgeries in 3 years and didn't ski much.

JUST SAY NO TO THE PSX, or anything with "sticks" on it. I had one of those in 97 and went to my first nationals on that ski. Right after that I switched to KD and haven't ever looked back.

I'm not "down on the CDX". I just don't think it's a good ski for an entry or intermediate slalom skier. It's a good advanced slalom ski- advanced being 15 off or shorter and at least 34mph. The psx is going to be even worse for Obski.

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one and a half at 39, who is the psx for?...and you can't answer no one!

I don't understand your question. Who should ride the PSX now? My answer is no one. There are too many other good options out there.

Here's how I break it down:

long line through 22' off and up to 34mph

Burner/charger that type of ski

22'-28' and 34 -36 mph

cdx,kd700,d3 custom 4

28'- shorter and 34-36mph

goode,monza,6am,outlaw,x5

The reason being that when you are going 34-36 mph at 28' or shorter your ski is always going fast enough to stay on top of the water and you need to have learned how to get the ski on edge and turning before the bouy because it's all about angles there. That's a blast, pulling behind the boat and getting free of it's pull and having the ski swing under you and start turning in before the bouy where you just have to stay centered and wait for the ski to back under you and then resist the boat over to the other side!!!!!!!!!!!! whew, I gotta go ski just thinking about that feeling.

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That makes sense about the ski always being on edge. I noticed with the 'advanced' ski that it didn't like just cruising, but wanted to be constantly on edge, which I couldn't provide it with.

I have tried the Burner and didn't really like it. It felt big and sluggish to me. When I am in the course I go at 15' off. I have no trouble making all of the bouys at 30 mph long line.

What about the Siege, Triumph or Vengeance?

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I moved to the 67" Triumph (I'm 6'1", 190 lbs) from the 2000 Burner/Charger (whichever is 69"). You can ski the Triumph a lot farther forward (i.e. balanced) or on the tail. It's narrower by 3/4" - 1" than the Burner/Charger and is based on the shape of the Monza/S8. I've been free skiing with it and it works in a lot rougher water than my old ski did. I haven't tried the course with it though.

I talked to Mike @ Adrenaline in Bellevue for a long time about it. He has several team skiers skiing it at 34 MPH into 28 off. If you want something more aggressive, he recommends looking at next year's Vengeance. It's being re-designed on the Monza shape and will be somewhere between the Triumph and Monza/S8 in width.

Hope this helps...

Mike

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Hey, six, one more category that I'd like for you to take a shot at....what kind of ski would you suggest for my 11-year-old daughter? She's 5 feet tall and about 90lbs. She can easily run the trainer buouys at 24mph and has a great onside cut, but doesn't keep her edge and really backs off on her offside turn. She currently using a 20-year-old Jobe kids competition ski that I borrowed from a friend. Got any suggestions as to what might be good for her?

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The local shop carries the Triumph and the Vengeance, so I can demo them.  Sounds like I should give them a try.

If you're interested in the Monza/S8 shape, wait till next year's Vengeance. The Triumph is already there though...

I can second the Judge for your 11YO. Our 9YO daughter is skiing on it and it's nice and stable. It's basically the Esprit with the back 4" cut off.

Mike

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The local shop carries the Triumph and the Vengeance, so I can demo them.  Sounds like I should give them a try.

Don't forget to try a v-bottom Burner too while you're there.

I've tried the Burner and didn't really like it. It didn't feel right.

The old Burner or the "new" one. A friend of mine was trying to get his wife a Venture off eBay on the cheap. He sent me a link to the one he was bidding on and it was not the v-bottom comp-freeride. It was pre-v-bottom. I'm relatively new to skiing and didn't know they had been carrying the line that long. Magnum/Charger/Burner/Venture since 2003 are the ones I have been on. I've only seen the old ones in pictures.

Not sure. I'm going to head down to the shop right now and check them out.

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In talking to HO, the tunnel bottom (pre-v bottom) was only made the first year (2000). The v-bottoms are more stable but supposedly not as quick.

I really like the Triumph so far. I'm not a good skier but it seems to ride very smoothly but it's still a lot faster than my old ski. I think the smaller size helps me too because it sits a little deeper in the water and tends to cut through the chop instead of being thrown around by it.

By the way, I have double Venoms on the Triumph and really like them too...FWIW.

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Alright obski, you've had 3 days, what's it going to be??? Tongue.gif

Chop chop this is the land of instant gratification, feeeeed meeeee! ROFL.gif

Well, my daughter took out the HO Revolt and after some initial trouble with getting up on it liked it and looked good on it. I talked to the shop and they suggested I demo a Triumph and Vengeance and see how I like them. I may also give the Burner another look. They have them all in the shop and said I could demo them as much as I wanted. I'll have to see which one feels right for me and will allow me to progress. They carry O'Brien, but not the slalom skis besides the Sixam, so no Siege.

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  • 1 month later...

I picked up a 67" Triumph with Venom boots to demo. We are going to head out on Wednesday and give it a try. They didn't have the Vengeance in my size so I will have to try that some other time. I'll let you know what I think of the ski for me.

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can't wait to hear about it, Dr. D...how long do you have it for? How 'bout shipping to Mississippi right quick...no demos in my neck of the woods, but I'd love to try it.

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