New Slalom gear this year?

[Bill22]

Anyone planning on getting new slalom gear this year? New skis, bindings, wetsuits, handles, portable slalom course or other?

I need to get a comp vest. I’m looking at the Eagle ones. Also, I may look at some hard shell boots. The HO EXO boots look REALLY cool. I have only seen pics online. Not sure I would like the rear ½ cuff. I like my old school RTP. I am glad that HO made something for us RTP guys to try. You know something in between a RTP and a full double high wrap.

Anyone tried the HO EXO Form bindings?

[inair]

I bought myself an HO Attack front boot for Christmas this year and am planning to keep my HO toe pad. This is my first try at using a semi stiff boot so have no experience to offer yet. I'll keep you posted :) I hope others respond to your Post Bill22 would be interesting to see what folks are using.

[SupraLaunch21V]

I bought two ski's this year. A 69" HO Triumph with attack boots front and back / syndicate fin for the buoys. For free and lake ski I purchased a 2009 HO Triumph 71" with basis boots front and back. The basis boots seem a bit bulkier but better with comfort. I also unwrapped a new HO Syndicate ski vest under the tree this year.

One thing I need to do is get our portable course up and running at Lake Jordan in March so we can have it ready for April / May time frame. March usually gets windy and the course gets blown out. But I can't wait to dial in these ski's. I used to ski on a 69" Synchro which was a pretty good ski, but pretty wide in the front.

Also, since my boat is really geared for Wakeboarding and not slalom skiing I'm trying to dial in the wake height and flatten it a bit by using the trim tab. I took all balast out of the boat, but I may use the front tank to see if that might soften the wake a bit. Anyone have any tips? Its a 21V so a deep hull for sure. Still, love skiing behind this boat.

[SupraLaunch21V]

So I did happen to notice that the main forum folders are more geared for Wakeboarding / Wakeskating etc. But no slalom. Since I happen to have bought the deepest hull Skier's Choice makes, I know the wake crossing isn't going to be smooth and effortless with waves quite a bit larger than that of a MC or other Supra models. Any secrets to the mid ballast tank or other tricks to flatten and soften the wakes at 30 mph and above?

[chris young]

Nice to see some slalom discussion. Just in case you haven't found it ballofspray.com is the place to get some advice on this stuff. I can predict though that if you ask about getting a skiable wake out of a wakeboard boat, they'll say it can't be done;)

There is a good discussion regarding either RTP or full boot, and there seems to be no real consensus, http://www.ballofspray.com/forum#/discussion/comment/99488 If you do read it, I'm "wilecoyote" on BOS

Definitely worth reading to inform yourself a bit more before jumping in to buy new gear.

Me, I bought 4 handles, so I could have one for the boat, one of my own for skiing at the club, one for my office and one for the basement. (got 'em cheap because some guy bought a box of them brand new at an auction) I'm a firm believer that working on position is far more important than what ever gear you're on.

[Bill22]

I'm a firm believer that working on position is far more important than what ever gear you're on.


I go over to BOS from time to time. I agree that position is far more important than having the latest, most expensive gear. I still find myself thinking about new gear and falling under the dilution that new gear will make a better skier. After I look at the price of new skis and bindings I quickly remember the gear I have is just fine for my skill level.

Another good slalom site is fifteenoff.com it kind of shuts down for the winter. It is a site for the average Joe, you don’t have to ski at 39off to fit in.

[SupraLaunch21V]

BOS is a great site, plenty of good resources. I also check out Waterskimag as well. Love the videos on BOS. I can definitely say at age ( almost 40 ) uh hum that I'm not a 39 off skier. I think I would end up with brain damage whipping that hard around the turns. But 15 off is a great start.

I definitely agree that form is function and practice is the only way to get great sets in. . . so during the winter I have a handle in the garage that I practice on each night after my work outs.

As for the gear, I was very excited to get the ski's on sale; one shop was clearing out inventory in the fall and had the Triumph 2012 on a rack. I peered over at it and he made some snide remark that he would give me a good price. I just moved on and got my ski gloves. He sure as heck planted the seed, b/c I was at the register and said that if he would let it go wtih both boots, ski bag for less than $ 300 I would take it. He jumped on it and so did I.

The look on my wife's face was priceless as entered the store looking for replacement ski gloves and exited with a new ski, bag, gloves. What I didn't realize is that the front boot was size XL attack boot and the back boot was an XL basis boot. So I got on ebay and found deal after deal and I wound up with two skis. One freeski for the lake with basis boots and one buoy ski with attack boots. Very comfy, but I do want to go back to try the RTP on my Syncro and see the difference.

So those of us in the 'ski' forum, what boats are you towing with? I'm pretty sure I have the 'pig' of the lot, she's plenty deep and wide and that's a challenge. But I think thinking of filling the front tank to see if that would make any difference. Likely nominal.

[Jetlink]

Towing with my '86 Comp, pulls like a champ and goes like a banshee with minimal wake. Also ride behind another forum members '96 comp as well though his goes like hell when you throw the hammer down. Dang GT40 heads, make me want more power and acceleration...:mad:

[chris young]

'84 Rider for me. I just bought it so I haven't even had it in the water yet, let alone skied behind it yet. I've heard it's pretty fair, but I think of the Supras the Comp is the boat for sure. Never heard a bad thing about that boat from anyone. I ski behind a new Nautique at the club, so I'll be able to compare.

[SupraLaunch21V]

Yeah those GT40 heads are really nice. I play around with two Fox Chassis Mustangs with the 5.0L/302 block and they respond very nicely to easy mods, heads especially. Mainly I've focused on top end HP and using heads with larger valves and custom swirl flow patterns, but you can get some great iron heads from Summit or just about anywhere that will flow great and help with more torque ( 1.94 Intake valves ) and still maintain a good and broad torque curve. I'm using a set of Aluminum GT40 X303 heads on a stroker 331 build that's in process. Makes me wish I could drop in a stroker in the Supra.

[big2eers]

I just up graded size of my boat from a launch 21V to 242. Has anyone had any succuess with Skiing behind a 24' supra Launch? I was able to adjust the trim to smooth out the wake on my 21V. Wasn't sure if anyone has had luck with wake plate adjustments or as mentioned earlier add water to the front bag..
Cannot wait to get it into the water. Boat is brand new, never been in the water the dealer had it left over and making room for 2013.

[SupraLaunch21V]

I've played with the wake plate quite a bit at different speeds and ballast combo's. Really the ballast didn't come into play as much as it does on say a Malibu or MC. The hulls are completely different. That said, I found the wake plate in the down position 100% @ 29-30 mph is probably the softest ( flat ) wake I could muster. It widens the wake pattern but I'd rather have that than a ramp / launch pad. With the plate up, the angle / steepness of the wake gets. . let's say. . undesirable.

Open to hear what everyone else is saying as well. . .very interested in tips on getting a better ski wake other than going to a different boat. JY
http://i.imgur.com/3Vq0Svp.jpg