A1 Review - prelim

[Horton]

I rode the A1 for the first time tonight. After one ride I can not really give a lot of feed back. What I can tell you is that this ski is not a Monza and I think it will be a winner. At worst, it is my favorite HO in 20 years. I skied just above my average first time out. To those who said it feels like a D3, I disagree.

More to come.

[Boody]

Sweet, skiing above your average, it must work.  Everyone I have talked to has nothing but great things to say about it.  My wife demo'd one and skied awesome, got into 32 off on the first ride, which is her average. I ordered her one, but she separated her shoulder before it got here, so its sitting her for her when she gets healed.

I will also be getting one soon from Greg Badal, looking forward to it, even though I am loving my RCX, but heck, its only money.

Keep us posted as you ski on it more.

[BillBarton]

I rode the 67.5" A1 last week. I wish I could morph the Monza's speed to the A1's more uncompromising line across course. Though I skied pretty well I found it to be more of a 36mph ski than a 34mph ski at my rope lengths (15/22/28/32). It just shuts down too quick. Or should I say it can be made to shut down in a heartbeat the way you might need it to if you were into an extremely short line and 36mph. It's been suggested that this quality comes more from my Approach boots than the ski, but I don't really understand that. Approaches do have 22 degrees of forward lean, but tip pressure is tip pressure and a little bit goes a LONG way on this design.

 

At one point I figured perhaps the ski was too small so I fitted up the bigger one. For anyone considering the 68.75", my suggestion there is 220lbs or heavier. It skis BIG.

[EF]

I've got 10 sets on my 67.5 @ 213lbs. let me say this, before I was running 22 @ 34 about 50% of the time. now, I'm running 28 @ 34 90% of the time. I love this ski!!!! I'm on FL Motion with stock settings , except for 8 on the wing. 29.5" on the boot/ 6.850 tips 2.508 .770 head. I've tried some other fin settings, but I really like stock! This ski rocks!!!!!  my 36's are just around the bend. /vanillaforum/js/tinymce/jscripts/tiny_mce/plugins/emotions/images/smiley-tongue-out.gif

[wskier]

EF what ski where you riding before the A1 !

[jwakes]

A1 folk-

any suggestion on size for a 6ft 185-195 pound person...36mph.  i am on the 67.5 but don't know if that's too big...it doesn't feel like it much

j

[EF]

WSKIER,

I was on a 08 70" F-1. The 70" did nothing for my weight. in-fact I've always skied better on a 68"! the guy's at HO told me the 67.5 has more surface area than the 68" Monza. So the 67.5" was the appropriate choice, if you ride 68's.

Jwakes,

At your weight and speed, I'd go with the 66.25"

/vanillaforum/js/tinymce/jscripts/tiny_mce/plugins/emotions/images/smiley-cool.gif

[Horton]

Ill be riding the Steak Sauce for the third time tonight. Fin and bindings are all still  bone stock except that I am not running a wing. I am thinking about trying a wing at like 6 degrees but frankly I am a freak and can not ski for crap with a wing. Maybe more length is easier.

I am really having trouble characterizing this ski.  My goal is not to just tell you that it is a great ski ( it is) but to explain why and who it may fit. See http://ballofspray.com/vanillaforum/comments.php?DiscussionID=636&page=1#Item_3

[Old MS Accout]

Put the wing on 9 or you will sail right by 1 ball. The Sauce is like a Monza with control. Learn to ski with the wing as lots of R&D went into testing the ski with the wing on. Use the force my young Jedi.

[slalomdude]

MS,

are you on an A1 or RS-1?

[Horton]

I took my 3rd ride on A1 last night. To relieve my conscience of the fact that I was not really skiing stock, I did put a wing on at 7 degrees. With a wing in place some of the things about the ski that could be a concern got much better. Turn radius on both sides got tighter. For me a wing on the A1 would require .015 more depth to really work. I ended up taking the wing back off and skiing better but that is my quirk. I just don’t ski well with a wing (34mph).

I can confidently say that bone stock settings on that ski are really good. From here forward I am going to try more length and a CarbonFin. I am still a little perplexed trying to characterize the A1. What I can say so far is that the ski is super forgiving in and out of toe side turns (RFF 1/3/5). Heel side turns are roughly on par with the other skis I have ridden in the last 6 months. Typically I screw up 1 ball and make it up on heel side (2/4/6).

Running 35s, I have alternated between skiing aggressively off the ball and though the wake and trying to ski lower energy. I feel better on the A1 if I am strong on the handle though the wakes and way past the edge change.

[Old MS Accout]

I am on the new Black RS1 and have been riding the Sauce while waiting for the black RS1 to get shipped.

If there are some lighter weight shortline skiers out there, I would look at the white RS1. If you are a heavy weight that likes to ski with a fluid style( not jerky or handle slammer) the black ski is for you.

I am waiting to comment on the Sauce until I get some sets under me. I have 2 weeks until my next tourney and I will figure out what ski to finish up the year on this week. I do know that my 3rd set on the sauce was a total differant feeling the the first set. I think that I felt the same after my first set as Horton did. I did not feel like I could push the ski to make a tighter turn. by the 3rd set, I could push this thing around like my Monza. The Sauce turns very well at 1/3/5 RFF for me.     

[Horton]

[Director Darwin]

It will interesting to see what everyone's riding at the Bayou Big Dawg. 

[JAYK]

So I spoke to someone with Radar and the "Black" RS-1 is no different than the white one, it was just specially made for the nationals as a LTD edition. The person is a VERY reliable source, and I don't think he's feeding me BS.

[Horton]

http://us.movies1.yimg.com/movies.yahoo.com/images/hv/photo/movie_pix/walt_disney/the_incredibles/jason_lee/face1.jpg

[Than_Bogan]

Oh man ... Now I gotta go watch The Incredibles again...

[BillBarton]

Eddie said they made 56 of those black RS-1's for Nationals. Very cool looking, same ski.

 Nice pic John. Did y'all dye the lake?

[Roger]

I agree. I saw the ski at the Nationals and Eddie said it's identical to the white ski, just a black top for the Nationals version.

 

[Boody]

Sweet pic, I will get my A1 this weekend, but I want a carbon fin.  I have a carbon fin on my RCX, can I make this work on the A1?

[Old MS Accout]

I just looked for a ski with a stiffer tail flex and the black had a more consistant flex through out the ski. I dont think there is a differnce overall between black and white, just my 2 skis and the flex numbers chosen.  

[jwakes]

A1 folk continued...

i rode the 66.25 A1 and am trying to compare that to the 67.50.  it turned tighter/faster and the edge change was much more responsive/aggressive. but less stable....

 if anyone can help...i'm not good at knowing if this is a "better" thing to work with or not.  i'm 195 so i feel like i'm inbetween.  the 67.50 is slower turning but more stable and less squirly.  do you go with the shorter and tweak it or the longer?

 

thanks

j

[Director Darwin]

J - it depends on what speed / line length you are skiing but I would think the 67.5 would be closer to your weight.  I'm 200 and would not consider the 66.5" - too short.  You may feel the shorter ski turns easier but with proper set up, the 67.5 will turn just as well and your back won't be hurting after one month.  Some of those on this forum that are familiar w/ HO set ups can assist but I would think a fin adjustment might be a good start.

[Horton]

I am 190 and think the 67.25 is the right size.

[Ham_Wallace]

JD and JTH,

 

A-1's at the Bayou. w/carbon fin.

[Old MS Accout]

Ham,

Are you running a 106?

[monza man]

jdarwin,

 what fin setting & boot placement are you using on the 67.25" A-1 ??

[Director Darwin]

I'm not on an A-1 but my neighbor brought one back from Nationals.  I looked at the skis in WPB but didn't bite.  He couldn't resist.  Instead, I have a Prophesy on order - review coming next Wednesday - stay tuned.

[Ham_Wallace]

Running a 1.06, stock settings

[Director Darwin]

Watched my neighbor ski the A-1 last night.  The main thing I noticed is that the ski needs tip to turn.  If you ride the tail of the ski thru the turn, it makes a big carving bus turn.  If you get on the front too much without carrying speed, it bites hard.  You have to ride the middle of this ski to make it work.  The few times he was on the middle, the ski finished w/ speed and caught great angle.  Another trait I noticed was that it protects the angle you achieve out of the ball but it is difficult to create any additional angle if you need it.  Especially, if you are slightly back on the ski.  I can see why this ski works well for Asher and his ilk.  Those who are tall on the ski at the buoy will benefit.  Those that move around on the ski or flow from back to front at the ball, will suffer.  The ski looked quick enough but did not seem to have the speed across that his orange Fisher does. 

I'm not certain I will even try this ski.  The fact that I tend to be back on the ski at the ball does not lend well to this ski's attributes.  I can see where it would work well for guys like MS.  He tends to be tall and slightly forward on the ski at the buoy.  

[Old MS Accout]

JD wrote, Another trait I noticed was that it protects the angle you achieve out of the ball but it is difficult to create any additional angle if you need it. 

I felt that also on my first few sets, but after 3 or 4 sets, you can push it around all you want.