Help finding a water ski?

[bthelander]

Hello,

 

My name is Blake and I am 17 years old and I am looking to buy a water ski. I would consider myself an intermediate water skier. Last time I went skiing I used a HO freeride and thought it was pretty nice, but I could definitely use some education on skis. I am about 6'2 and weigh 188 lbs on a good day. I am not too concerned with money, but I would like to try and keep it around $500-$700. I am not too firm on keeping that budget, but as I said it would be nice to keep it somewhere around there. Let me know what you guys think!

[GOODESkier]

Do you ski a course? Are you interested in learning a course? What speed are you skiing?

[ricski39]

Without knowing anything about your skiing, I would recommend the Radar Senate. It's a very stable ski that is easy to ride. It's not something that would be too advanced, but it's also not something that you are going to quickly outperform as you improve. And most importantly, it's fits into the budget that you mentioned above.

[Zaneh2oski]

I have tried all of HO skis and if you like the free ride but want a little bit more of a performance ski try the CX or the TX they are a bit of a hybrid from the free ride and the high end skis like the A3 or S2 and you could get hooked up with ski and boots pretty close to your price range.

 

[bthelander]

@GOODESkier I do not ski a course and don't really have an interest in learning one. I usually ski in the mid/usually high 20's and if the water is good then it'll be about 30.

[ScarletArrow]

If you're free skiing less than 30mph in rough water, then you might already have the right ski. I would just check to make sure you have the right size and/or a good binding setup.

 

http://www.waterskimag.com/features/2013/05/15/marcus-browns-open-water-freeride-set-video/

[bogboy]

@bethelander, 2nd what goodskier said. Skip the freelander and go to the tx. 69" for your size. You will enjoy the higher performance range and overall fun factor in the long run.

[bogboy]

Sorry, 2nd what zaneh2oski said.

[BraceMaker]

Performance is relative on these skis.

 

What sort of boat are you skiing behind and what sort of stuff do you do when you ski? If I was skiing behind some form of I/O or a V-drive boat, I'd want the freeride for sure, if you are skiing behind a ski boat, in open water and don't really care about course skiing but like turns and carving through the wake (with as little bounce as possible) then I am a big fan of HO's Co-x.

 

I've been looking at adding a freeride due to the number of days a month that I have 4+ people crammed into the boat with a full load of gas in the tank, currently I haul my trick ski out for that, but I get lots of complaints by the riders about the amount of falls I take...

[bthelander]

I also heard that the Connelly Prophet is good. I know they're expensive but I can get one for around $700. I also like the HO CX or TX. Any thoughts? I will be skiing primarily behind a 26' mirage with a fairly big wake because of the deep V hull.

[GOODESkier]

@bthelander‌ if your not interested in the course, get a freeride style ski from HO or Radar. With the Mirage Wake, jumping it might be 1/2 the fun?????

[bthelander]

@goodeskier thanks so much for your help!!

[bthelander]

@goodeskier what length in lets say an HO CX? I was thinking a 67"?

[GOODESkier]

@bthelander‌ Go on the HO website and take a look. I am not really familiar with the sizing on those.

[bogboy]

@bthelander, whoa, if you primarily ski behind a mirage 26', you may want to demo the freelander after all, among a couple of the others. (Note the m.b. ad, standing with the golden gate in the background). Don't be so set on a 67", vs. a 69". You are on the low side of the 69"' but at 17y.o., and 6'2", pushing 190, you may be putting on a few pounds in the future. Don't count out learning the course either. I wish I learned the course when I was young.

[BraceMaker]

I would think if others will ride the ski in your family as well, when outfitting a boat I always think about a "quiver" such that there is something for guests/family to use. Freeride chart puts you on the cusp, your speed range would actually make me think longer on the ski, but I think 30 is probably going to be on the faster end for the type of ski that it is.

 

To that end, might as well wait till your ski season is really going strong and demo the ski.