Posted by Robby Trimble on Sat, Mar 06, 2010 @ 12:17 PM
The comeback of pure water ski design by Nick Parsons
If you've been skiing for several years and you've been hunting for an increase in buoys and overall better performance, then perhaps the next generation of skis might be something you need to invest in. Over the past decade materials for skis have changed drastically. Between the amount of carbon used and the types of cores within the skis almost all manufactures now produce top world cup stock skis. Now, to narrow it down a bit, ski shapes have drastically started to change for the better. At the moment four ski companies have really started to think out of the box and get back to actual ski shape design. There is a new phase coming in water ski design where water ski companies are designing skis with and for pro athletes. In previous years there has been a lot of ski shape copying only to make small changes and then call it their own. Ski shapes now are starting to be built with a specific style and person in mind and the shape design starts from scratch. These are the fundamental elements that make up pure ski design.
The wide ski from Goode was one of the first skis to begin to think differently and focus on helping a fluid style of waterskiing and to get back to the roots of ski design. As of now Goode ski technologies offers two very different type world cup ready skis. The 9900 SL WIDE RIDE AND 9900SL. While both skis are for high end competition each ski is for two different styles and/or purposes. The 9900 SL WIDE RIDE was designed to maintain speed through the finish of the turn for aggressive skiers while also allowing an abrupt sharp finish for short line turns. The 9900SL was designed with having a more rounded smoother arc in mind and has essentially been one of the most successful overall shapes and has been one of the highest selling skis of the past decade. If you're as into waterskiing as I am and are wanting to find that extra edge to improve your skiing then I would suggest looking into purchasing some of these new age skis.
Ski at the Ranch this season
Written by Nick Parsons
Posted by Robby Trimble on Thu, Jan 07, 2010 @ 09:52 PM
To move your bindings or adjust your fin?
Growing up waterskiing all I ever heard from Water Ski Schools and in Water Ski Lessons about fine-tuning your waterski was fin movements. Fin adjustments, fin adjustments, fin adjustments. It's my personal belief that the binding movement is the most underrated waterski adjustment that you can master.
Within the past 5-10 years waterski bindings have really seen advancements. These advancements include the way the bindings can be adjusted. Bindings for the most part have only been able to adjust in ΒΌ inch increments. Bindings now come straight from the factory with the ability to move down to the 1/16 or even the 1/32 of an inch. With the ability to make adjustments this small you can accomplish the same results as fin adjustments if not more and with more control and less time.
Skiing at several different lakes throughout the summer it's necessary for me to make ski adjustments in order to have my ski ready for competition. Depending on how the water feels my ski usually requires a forward or backward movement of my bindings of a 1/8 - 1/16 inch. When skiing at home and dialing in a ski my binding movements often get down to a 1/32-inch. All these movements usually occur with little or no fin adjustments. I typically start with a standard fin setting and go with my binding movement routine. If I had to give advice to a fellow waterskier looking for that extra 1-2% edge to get him a few more buoys, I'd say master your binding adjustments and spend less time with your fin.
Written by Nick Parsons
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