Choosing a Ski?

Hi, guys I recently got hooked on slalom skiing. I don't have my own ski and would like to have some advice on purchasing a new one. I've been starting to get my cuts down pretty well.

I know that it is the rider and not your equipment that makes you ride better, but from years or snow skiing and snowboarding I know that choosing the right set up makes it more enjoyable.

I've ridden an old (HO) Herb Obrien ski that felt much more sporty than a combo beginner set up.

Also is there anytime to find a good deal, in winter or close out deals.

Thanks guys

Everyone gets bent out of shape about riding a ski that is beyond your level. I don't think buying a top performance ski is bad. I just taught a friend of mine (she has never been on a single ski) on my 06 Monza. They were a pretty unruly unforgiving ski since day one. She was up just fine and turning all over the place..

A crowd favorite and a nice used find is an HO CDX. Good mid level but will also propel you well into the 36 mph range. Don't blow a ton of cash on something new.

Check out Ski-it-again.com. Scored my Monza there 5 years ago blank for 110 bucks.

There's plenty of archived ski reviews on waterski magazines website that are very helpful and highlight all the nuances of each ski.

HW is probably right but I have always had better luck teaching slalom with someone on a more capable ski VS a beginner style ski. We never turned down a team member if they couldn't ski at Ball State.

Some people get used to what they ride on and they can perform way better on a terrible ski than a mid range ski just because they learned it.

Agreed on the archived WSM reviews. I leaned on them heavily when I was researching skis 5 or 6 years ago. I ended up with a '06 Connelly F1 that I really like- I was instantly comfortable on it.

Even skis 20-25 years old are going to be a huge step up in performance from a combo ski... so take that into consideration when reading reviews. If youre going to jump right to a high end ski, then go with something that is considered a predictable, stable, deeper riding ski (my F1 falls into this category). It'll still be a rocket ship. If a ski is described as fast, but finicky, I'd stay away. Ive always wanted to like the HO's but many of them (esp the Monza) are in this category and Ive never been able to get anything out of them.

Ski-It-Again all day long... find a used blank for $150 or less and slap some new Wiley bindings on there and you'll be real happy.

I'm more of the school that you should work up to a top of the line high performance ski. Technique is the most important thing. The biggest obstacle I see people have to advancing is establishing good body position on the cut through the wake. Fear often gets in the way of doing it right because doing it right can also generate a lot of speed. A very fast ski will not only take off on you more quickly than you want but also compound your mistakes. A bad fall at the wake will set you way back mentally. Having said that I've seen an awful lot of people having fun on $2000.00 Goode's, but they could be doing just as well or better on an HO Triumph.

Ski it Again is a great site. Buying a blank ski and getting Wileys is a great idea if you see the ski you want.
Getting the correct size ski is also important. Every ski company has size charts on their websites. If you're 160 lbs you probably want a 65-66" ski. If you're 200+ lbs a 68 or 70" ski.

Here are a couple of decent options as examples...
Connelly SP with binding
Blank Radar Theory

67 will get you where you need to be.

turningpoint84 wrote: BTW what's so great about Whilie bindings? I have Venom bindings from 2005 that I still love.

Wiley makes a great rubber binding. Very high quality and very tight/snug. American made and plenty of support with parts and whatnot sets them off from the rest. They also hold their value quite well so if you ever need to move them on, you'll get a great resale price on them.

Nothing wrong with Venoms. I run HO on my slalom ski because I like the raised Superfeet footbed on the Animals. The Wiley puts your foot closer to the top of the ski which threw me off a bit.

The D3 Leverage binding is another great rubber boot to try out if you get a chance.

I love the Wiley's. Soft and comfortable. I doubt thought I will be able to spend that cash though when I can pick up some new animals at dealer cost....

Can't go wrong with Wiley's. Great product and even better service.

The Phantom was HO's top performance ski back in the day, wasn't it? It and the CDX? Ski design has changed a lot since then so it might be tough to directly correlate the Phantom with a new ski. The A3 is HO's top of the line 36 mph ski. They have an S2 that is marketed as a 34mph ski.

turningpoint84 wrote: Anyone know what today's HO Phantom Truth is today? I see Ho renamed all their ski's.

I think all the Phantom Truths have been made into deck chairs by now. That was not a "loved" ski and neither was the Truth. They came out for 2003-04. 10 year old technology by now.

Massive changes have been made in ski design in the past few years. The S2 is an amazing ski, also a huge fan of the D3 Quest FWIW.

Have skied for years on higher level competition skis, but a back injury finally put the kabosh on deep water starts-so painful! After much research I finally opted for an Obrien "Syncro". It had a wider width for easier startups, but I was not expecting much in performance because of that. Well was I ever surprised on my first run with it.Easy deep water starts, super stable,holds tight on the turns and great acceleration out of them. One added advantage due to it's width is if you ski on busy lakes, you can cruise forever until you find quiet water at which time you will still have plenty of strength left to start shredding it.Andy Mapple had a big hand in the ski's development and from what I am experiencing, he really did his home work well. Probably not too good for deep short line but seems to handle well at 28 off.

It doesn't have to match the front binding but watch hole patterns. They should have similar footbed depths though (the distance between the bottom of your foot and the top of the ski).

quinner wrote: How does it compare on deepwater starts