Matt Brown on S2

[Horton]

[ForrestGump]

That ski looks better under him than the A2 did. It's carrying more speed at the finish of the turn.

[Steven_Haines]

Looks like that was only 28 but he sure looks smooth

[Steven_Haines]

Oops.... 32

[Not_The_Pug]

I did some video on Sunday with my S2 and it looks nothing like that. :)

[Horton]

@krlee so did I. I deleted mine.

[ForrestGump]

What really stands out is the length of his arc out. He is taking serious angle to centerline and then just riding the line outbound. That is picture perfect.

[mrpreuss]

I really like the speed he uses through out the pass especially the speed out and back in for the gates.

 

[mrpreuss]

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[jimbrake]

More angle and acceleration out of the onside (although his offside is great, too), so a little better outbound direction leads to a tighter line into 246. Matt Brown, why do you think your line is tighter into your offside?

[A_B]

To me, it looks like he has a "pump" going into 246 as he is earlier and wider. He is pulling a little longer into 135 and turning sharper without the "pump" under the line, so that is why it is bowing.

[matthewbrown]

@jimbrake my fellow norcal compadre, Marcus Brown who knows more about slalom technique then anyone, has the answer......@mrpreuss it isn't handle control

[hogexpress]

As a LFF skier I'm very envious of his gate.

[Chuck_Dickey]

@matthewbrown

 

Don't leave us hanging, what is the cause?

 

You look really great on the S-2, what are your thoughts on the ski?

[Wish]

Will u be riding it this yr?

[bishop8950]

Nice skiing Matt. Does this ski have custom Lapoint hyrogliphics on it?

 

I love how there is no static edge. The moment the inside edge is loaded moving towards the first wake you move it through. Nice outbound. I should go practice.

 

KB

[skibug]

Problem is, guys like Matt Brown can ski just about anything at 32, 35 and make it look real good...for the rest of us mortals....not so much. Evaluation of this video is a moot point. His skiing is unreal and the technique is spot on....I have niether. I can make any good ski look bad!!!

[acmx]

@mathewbrown, really left us hangin with that one!

[MarcusBrown]

FYI, The Wilson Bros have kinda covered this exact topic from a couple of different angles already....so if you haven't read their stuff yet, you should do it now.

 

Here's my take:

Pretend a skier moving outbound off the wakes, is like a swinging rock at the end of a string. Its a simplified approximation, but it works fairly well for this. There are 2 things keeping the skier from escaping the course and ending up in the weeds, on shore, or wrapped around a tree.....1. the rope 2. the ski

 

Most people, myself and brother included, allow our feet to move away from the handle/boat/pylon too quickly through the transition. Its natural...it happens automatically. This creates a situation where your ski is on a new carving edge too soon, with the unwanted effect of pushing you back towards the buoy, in a downcourse direction. Handle tension becomes less as the ski provides more "inside support". Ultimately the rope sags and the skier becomes disconnected & numb....only to be snapped back to attention at the end of the turn.

 

The extreme opposite of this would be to continue on the cutting edge (or atleast flat ski) well beyond the wakes, all the way out to the buoy. Skier never hits shore...but is also never able to execute a carve.

 

The Perfect place to be is somewhere in between: Initiate transition at centerline-ish. ONLY feet and ski begin to move. Then knees begin to move....all the while, the core and handle stay connected, body making no effort to rotate outbound. Matt Rini has a great approach to teaching this connected position.

 

When the ski and knees have moved so far that they can't go anymore without taking the hips, then its time.... The hips begin to move outbound. It is at that moment that your body (Center of Gravity) transitions to the inside of the turning arc, and the ski begins to contribute to the carve. Line tension tends to drop quickly at this point.

 

The sooner and harder the skier CG moves to the inside of the arc, the less line tension they will have, and the less "connected" they will feel.

 

Finding that perfect balance is the key.

 

MB

 

 

[MrJones]

Typically harder to maintain into the heelside turn? Because it is out of the off side lean, or because we know we can handle extra speed better out of the on side turn?

[mrpreuss]

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For me, handle control begins at the center line during the transition to neutral and ends when I reconnect with the boat as I slide under the handle.

[Ed_Johnson]

At the beginning of the 2012 Model line-up, HO stated that the A-2 was designed as the premier 36 MPH ski and the S-2 the premier 34 MPH ski. Also that their 34 MPH riders like Karina and Greg Badal would be on this ski. From what I have seen Karina and Greg have stayed on the A-2. So the question is....is the A-2 a better ski for 38, 39,and 41 ????????

 

The video of Matt, is the first HO top rider I have seen on the ski besides the Legends. Great skiing Matt !!! Will you stay on the S-2 ?????

 

So is the A-2 better for deep shortline ?????

[MattP]

@Ed Johnson not every ski works for everyone.

[ForrestGump]

Karina was on an S2 when I saw here a few times late last year.

 

[Chef23]

Last year April Coble was on the A2 but the S2 had just come out.

[Ed_Johnson]

I brought this up because last year I got one of the first S-2's and was told HO's 34 mph skiers would be on it.

 

At Diablo, Chris and Bob were on the S-2 in the Legends, but Karina and Greg were on the A-2. At this years Australian Open, that was web cast here recently, Karina Won on the A-2. As far as I know Greg is still on the A-2. Matt's Video is the first time I have seen one of HO's top level skiers on the S-2.

[Chef23]

@Ed Johnson what size S2 are you on?

[ForrestGump]

I know at the Malibu in August, karina was on a white top S2.

[bogboy]

mat's ski seems to be riding nice and level. Does anyone know what his approx. weight is and if he is on a 66.5, or 67.5?

[matthewbrown]

5'11"-182 66.5" S2 29 1/8"- bindings 2.518, .780, 6.90 @Ed the ski is working well but so is the A2--67.5" same fin but bindings at 29 1/2" it's still early in the year so nothing past 38 on either ski but that will come soon! Oh...and NO WING

[Steven_Haines]

Hmmmm no wing..... Whats Horton paying you to say that? LOL

I haven't tried no wing in a long time, typically I run it at 7°. Maybe it's time to give it another try on my S2.

[Ed_Johnson]

@Chef23 I am on the 67.5 S-2, 6'4" 220# Bindings 30 1/8" 6.750 jaws, 2.50, DFT .745 with the Slot caliper. Fwd Mini Ventral and Large Rear Ventral @ 6 degrees.

 

Would sure like to hear a comparison of the A-2 vs S-2 at short line lengths. So far the comments I got was that the A-2 skied well but was a lot of work.

[Chef23]

@Ed Johnson I have an A1 not an A2. I am thinking about trying an A2 this year as I am down to 215 right now and hope to get a little lighter in the next month or so. My A1 is 68.75 but seemed to still turn for me at least through 28 off. I haven't tried anything shorter yet.

[aussiemc]

I have an S2, (love the ski) and spoke with Karina at length about it, and why she wasn't riding it. She absolutley loves the ski, she commented that the ski was Bob's (LaPoint) pride & joy, best ski he has ever designed. The only reason she wasn't ridding it yet, was the fact that she hadn't spent enough time on it and in her words "knew she could run 39" on the tried and tested A2.

[DavidP]

Matthew Brown, what ZO setting did you use in the video? Do you change ZO settings during the season? I went from the A1 to S2 and love it!

[ForrestGump]

@matthewbrown 66.5" S2 29 1/8"- bindings 2.518, .780, 6.90

 

Holy cow, that's a boat rudder, Matt!