New extremely portable slalom course

[BraceMaker]

I can see dropping and mapping a rt hand gate ball if there was a way to map it out.

[Horton]

@BraceMaker I do not know if that is a real option with the tech but I still think you are missing the point. This is a totally location free solution. Take it anywhere and start when ever you wish. If you really need 55s or gates this is not the solution. This is a super elegant and simple solution.

 

I think we live in a world where very good and simple ideas are often ruined by adding in "options". If this thing works exactly as designed that is better than if it is a little buggy and it has every item on the wish list from the posts above. It does not need 55s or gates or a coffee maker or toaster or colored splashes or whatever.

[dnewton]

@Horton say it louder for the people in the back!!!

[Ed_Johnson]

I believe the point is to make this a game that kids and many open water skiers could get hooked on. That could lead to some pursuing the desire to try a REAL Slalom course. That would have the possibility to bring others into the sport that might have never considered doing so before.

 

 

 

[Garn]

I agree with @Horton completely! Quit trying to make it complicated and jacking the price up! My family goes to Lake Mead, Powell, and another less popular lake multiple times during the year. These are ski-family trips but it is all free skiing. I would love this for those times! I'm headed down to Lake Mead next week and I wish I had one.

 

But for it to work on my boat, it would have to be able to attach to my tower.

[dave2ball]

@ Horton if it gets people into the game great.

[BraceMaker]

Tough crowd! I get all that aspect. We live on a lake thats 8 miles by 2 miles and on really glassy days you could ski this for miles.

 

But equally on rough days we usually ski a small stretch and drop so we can get water

I think this would be equally beneficial for both but id have to have a way to start and stop it at a certain point each pass to get synced up to it.

[UWSkier]

I think an audible beep when the boat enters the 55s and entry gates would be all you'd need actually. Don't need a buoy splash for those really. Yeah, sure, you could cut the entrance gates early but who cares?

[david_quail]

I wonder, for their next version, if a reasonably sized squirt of water could be used as a projectile. I'm sure we've all been to amusement parks where they shoot water at greater distances.

A closed system, not requiring re-loads, would be pretty sweet.

[Wish]

Not sure a squirt of water will stay together over that distance with a 34 or 36 mph wind enough to make a mark.

 

[david_quail]

@Wish Ah good point. Hadn't considered the boat speed.

How about then, add an ice maker and blast out cubes!

Probably making this more difficult than needed. Love the idea ...

[Drago]

Yeah, water isn't real aero

[swc5150]

As long is it's somewhat close to where a turn ball would be, I'd be thrilled. Open water skiing, which I do way more often these days, ruins my course timing.

 

This thing should/will be optional equipment on new ski boats much sooner than later.

[MISkier]

+1 on what @swc5150 said about the impact of free skiing on course timing. I ski totally differently when free skiing and lose intensity and buoy turn rhythm. I can see this system helping me get more out of free skiing.

[UWSkier]

Teasing this idea out further... The idea of lights or beeps for 55s and gates would be cool. Once the driver has speed and path settled in and skier is riding behind boat, they could press a button to start a countdown that would somehow signal the skier they're entering the "course."

 

That'd be super cool.

[OldboyII]

Is there a foolproof protection in order not to shoot awkward skier into the head?

[vernonreeve]

Or a way to aim them at pesky jet skiers:)

[wilecoyote]

@OldboyII I think the skier is pretty safe, the shot lands 38' out the side. You'd have to be way inside 38' and right up on the boat to get hit. Since in the marketing lit they say it's GPS based, I'd guess it won't fire unless you are at ski speed so the only one who could get hit would be someone in the boat, and I would hope they have some kind of sensor to prevent that as well.

[Horton]

Yeah I would think you'd have to be catastrophically out of sync with the intended slalom course and then on short rope and then probably a pretty Advanced skier to get that high on the boat

[aspski]

One issue I see with this is if you aren't in perfectly flat conditions it would be tough to see where the ball hits. Even in the video it doesn't look to be the most visible thing. Maybe from the skiers perspective its more clear.

[swc5150]

MC owners... Looking at the angle of the guns, it seems like it would still work with a stowed (but still mounted) Prostar bimini and/or tower?

[OldboyII]

Understand! Such advanced skiers do not need virtual course ...

But there still a chance to get shot - if skier falls, boat returns to pick him(her) firing from both boards )) The physical emergency switch is needed - kind of "Red Button"

 

Hmm... Although if skier falls shooting him may be used as "punishment" or "negative reinforcement" - according to behavioristic theory ... LOL

 

[eyepeeler]

This is absolutely the biggest waste of $3000 that I have ever seen. A total waste of time and resources.

[wilecoyote]

I'm surprised that the developers haven't chimed here but no, there is no chance to hit the skier so long as the software is written correctly. They said it's gps based, so if it were me, as soon as the boat speed dropped or the course direction changed more than say 10 degrees, it would stop firing until the driver reset the system. As @Horton said this is a very neat thing for aspiring slalom skiers, it's not designed to replace a physical course.

[Drago]

The developers probably thought it was too obvious to warrant a reply

[MNshortliner]

I don’t think there is any need for pre gate lights or even a “0” ball shot. If the driver simple pushed a button when the skier was directly behind the boat like you were going through the entrance gate it would fire where ball one would be on a time delay.

[jercrane]

I don't care about the 55's and making it more realistic. What I do care about is that its simple, easy and fun. This seems to capture the fun aspect but I'm not sure about simple.

 

My concern is the current mounting solution. Having to remove my mirror (which I use constantly) then mount this big thing on the window and take it off again to cover the boat. I just know I would use this twice and then it would sit in the shed after that.

 

Why not a pylon mount? Mount it with a similar clamp to a boom clamp with a telescoping arm to raise it up just above the top of the pylon. Then it would also be easier for someone in the observer seat to control it.

 

 

 

 

[wilecoyote]

I'm with you @jercrane pylon mount would seem to be the best. But that's because we all here tend to forget that pylons don't exist in the recreational boating world.

[BobF]

I would submit that pylon mounting may subject one to an accidental shot in the nards. Mounting to the windshield may be a bit more time consuming, but offers the best protection by shooting across an area unlikely to have people in it.

[braindamage]

Mount on the tower? For those of us that have one...

[KRoundy]

That is pretty cool. I'd love to see this go through a course and see how close it is to real, but as others have said it would really make those free-skiing days count.

[vernonreeve]

How does it know when to start?

[skimtb]

When Horton tells it to.

 

Or, I think I saw or read there is a button to press.

[foxriverat]

A few have talked about a skier getting hit. What if some dummy in the boat stands up and gets nailed in the face. Could do some damage. Even lose an eye.

[Wish]

That's about the same as saying what about some dummy that sits in the back seat while a skier is running a slalom course. The rope could do some damage. Having it mounted to the wind shield is a safe bet no ones getting shot.

[igkya]

As comedian Ron White said "You can't fix stupid"

[lundberg]

It looks like the projectiles are "lobbed" more that "shot". They only need to travel ~37 feet with an arch. I bet this is way less power than a paintball gun.

[UWSkier]

@lundberg we can fix that

 

 

[foxriverat]

@Wish Just trying to play devils advocate. I know any experiened skier wouldn`t do that. But Ive had newbies go to sit in back and had to tell them they cant. And most likely an inexperienced skier wouldnt ever own one of these things. But stranger things have happened.

[Orlando76]

@vernonreeve said it best. I was trying to figure out to say it but how does the rocket launcher or myself know when to start?

 

Pre gate? Green light means go? As a crap skier I gotta know when to pull out.

[Horton]

@Orlando76 it's a brand new product that nobody in the public has tried yet. Give the guys a chance I'm sure there's a good answer

[Orlando76]

I apologize. I don’t mean to sound like I’m giving them crap.

 

I wrote a 10 page response about how I feel I’m their target audience but decided 10 pages is crap.

 

If I can get a starting que I don’t care if it’s mounted on my windshield, my pylon or my wife’s @$$.... I’m intrigued and waiting for more.

[Horton]

@Orlando76 It Is by no means just you. The number of naysayers in this thread who have not actually seen the product is a bit perplexing. Will this product be an international game-changer? I don't know but we should certainly give these entrepreneurs a chance to show what they have done.

[Wish]

@foxriverat ya, Ive had non skiers do the same and sit back there. But that's a seat. Makes some sense. Having that same newbie lean their head over top of the windshield while traveling 30+ mph makes no sense. A dog... maybe.

[MNshortliner]

So thinking about this thing what are the basic things you need to make it work? All I come up with is correct distance from boat and firing at the correct time intervals for what speed you want. Sounds pretty easy. The hardest part is how to get started. I think if it did have a button for starting it would be easiest for it to be pushed right when the skier was in the middle of the entrance gate (directly behind the boat). But now it would have to have different time delays to fire for buoy one for the different line lengths. This could be an app on a phone with Bluetooth if you had the shooter set up

[swc5150]

I'm buying one, so I guess I'll be the guinea pig next summer. I'll be 46, with a wife and 5 year old daughter who have no interest in helping me install the EZ Slalom. I have no plans to enter a tournament, so I just want something close enough to a course to aim at. This product has people like me written all over it.

[epnault]

Can't wait to learn the feedback @swc5150

[swc5150]

@epnault You’ll have to drive over to EC and we can test it out together. Hopefully they have them ready to ship next spring.

[h2onhk]

@swc5150 make sure you do an un-boxing video!

[swc5150]

@epnault Or better yet, we take it to your house and compare its accuracy against your course. And do an un-boxing / in-use video while we're at it.