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MASTERLINE OPTIMIZED SLIDE LOOP 11 SECTION MAINLINE- Info we have


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@Chef23 you don’t get the same driver, boat, ski site, conditions etc in practice as you would in a tournament, so why the question about the rope. That’s part of competition. At a tournament everyone is under pretty much the same conditions hopefully using the same rope.

Here in Florida I would bet every site will be using the new Masterline rope. In fact I can’t remember the last time I ever saw another brand rope used.

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@Chef23 as far as what ropes are used that something only the TC or LOC can control. These new ropes will be towing the regionals nationals and big dawgs. If you have concerns make your voice known. I. Don’t know any tournaments that use in tow. Not saying that it could not happen . But at least everyone will get the same pull.

I do not think Masterline will be offering anything other the the new optimized rope for tournaments.

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@dave2ball - I don't ski a lot of tournaments and rarely venture out of my local area. But, in the past few years I have seen more non-ML ropes than ML ropes at tournaments (mostly In-Tow). Not good, bad, or otherwise, just an observation.
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If Masterline runs a sale on tournament packages as they did a couple years ago, I think many LOC's would be upgrading their tournament ropes this year:)

 

Is there any research going on with jump ropes? It seems that a lot of the better jumpers are using the green ropes they get elsewhere. Although the number of jumpers is way smaller than slalom skiers, many only want to use their ropes for a limited number of sets to ensure they still have good stretch and recoil. This may be a market segment worth recapturing!

 

 

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Reading the new Masterline optimized slide loop rope is now the go to rope for the Masters, Big Dawg and AWSA tournaments. The ad states "if you ski tournaments, you need to train with this rope". Of course I am going out and buying a few because you have to have the latest and greatest, but curious what differences those of you who have used it have discovered. Is it a dramatic, palpable difference from current rope? Did it necessitate a ZO setting change? At what line lengths do you begin to feel a difference? Anyone done a side by side comparison with 2 new ropes; the optimized slide and the regular slide loop rope? Maybe not the best time to inquire as most skiers are hibernating, but hopefully someone has some experience with it. If not, I will report back after I give one a try...

Thanks for the information.

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@dave2ball Our practice is to have three tournament ropes that rotate through each day of our tournaments. Each tournament, the “oldest” tournament rope goes in the boat as the new club rope and it’s replaced with a new tournament rope. So each tournament rope has pull about 1/3 of three tournaments before being rotated out, so call it 180 total pulls over s year and a half since we have two tournaments per year. It will cost us over $400 with tax to swap out the “old” ML ropes for all new ones if we swap them all at once. Not sure how we’ll handle that.

Lpskier

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John, If you don't get the new ropes I will avoid your tournaments. Don't see how I could run 38 again without it!

 

Seriously, the rope may be more convenient and possibly less stress inducing when hooking up, but I seriously doubt anyone would have any performance delta in a blind comparison. I ski the same behind ML, In-Tow, HO, Louie's handmade ropes in tournaments and in practice, and don't take notice of the brand.

 

If you worry about the difference between boats, ropes, drivers, and ZO settings and everything between, you are setting yourself up for failure. The hardest variable to control in this and in most sports is between your ears.

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@JackQ from our testing with the a full sampling of skiers, we found that there is a noticeable performance difference in the new rope. Nate and Regina were both in agreement over the final rope choice and were amazed at the difference in the rope variations.

 

While we shouldn't worry about things outside our control, record tournaments especially should do everything possible to make sure that variables that are controllable are reduced. Choosing the best products to host a tournament is a reasonable expectation for the record skier paying upwards of $200/entry here in FL.

 

@lpskier . 180 pulls on a rope is way too many. Many pros switch out ropes after 50 pulls. It's like tennis balls which are changed every 7 games in a match. You can use them for longer, but it's not the same. There is still life in them, but the ball's performance is diminishing. I have tried to squeeze more miles out of my running shoes, but sometimes it doesn't pay off. The performance of the shoe is deteriorating, but more importantly the lack of protection is outweighing the cost of the new pair. I've found it a far better investment to change out when I've reached the mileage limit.

 

The ropes have an optimal life for performance, safety (from breakage) and a dead rope is hard on the body. Skiing on our new optimized rope and going back to an old rope, we noticed reduced performance and more body aches and pains. I have never broken a rope with any of my skiers, but I do hear of it happening and there is no excuse for this.

 

I'm amazed when I see Record tournaments starting tournaments with well used ropes or worse a used rope and a new rope. The ride will be completely different for the skier depending on where they fall in the rotation. All of the ropes should be equal in number of uses at the start of the tournament at the very least.

 

ML offers a program for approved tournaments for tournament rope pricing. It's only offered in the off-season, so now is the time to get updated ropes. 3 Ropes for a 1 lake tournament costs less than 1 Record entry fee.

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@lpskier & @Russell Can you define a pull? Is this a pass, set, or ??? 50 sets may seem right for a pro (or those running 38-off and deeper), but I would think us average Joe's could get many many more sets out of a rope.
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@lpskier, is my math correct than to say the rope should be changed after 200 passes through the course? For example if I ski 8 times through the course per pass (set) then that would be 25 sets. If I ski 6 sets per weekend in 4.2 weekends I will need a new rope?
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I use the bonehead method to determine when to replace my rope, I look at the wear in the loops, and replace when necessary. At my lake I replace my ropes much more frequently than others, I have broken a rope in the past, and I am not willing to take a risk on a dodgy rope.

 

Unfortunately Correct Craft does not have either the Malibu or MC pylon solution that reduces wear and for me to loops wear out 1st. I primarily wear out the 38 off loop, though I am striving to induce more wear at 39. Typically I get 1/2 season on a rope, and give it to my wife to use before any of the loops are excessively worn, then as she predominately wears 15/22/28, it will last her until the next hand me down (or longer).

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@igkya It's just a rough estimate and I would say that practice set would be more practical. 4 passes and then calculating total number of passes would be a little on the low side. It depends on who is using the rope. My kids will get more sets than Chis Parrish will get. It's a very rough estimate. Just as running shoes will get more mileage from 130 lbs pro marathoner vs the 200+lb runner. The idea is to have a guage for decision making that is more objective than appearance alone. Age should also be a factor. If you are pulling a rope out of your shed after 5 years you will have to adjust the estimation.

 

Obviously at 50 sets or so, the rope will have more life in terms of strength, but the optimal pull will be diminishing. You may get a little more out of it before you start to notice it. Just like tennis balls, you can obviously get way more use out of tennis balls than 7 matches, the power and bounce will be diminished quite a bit. The ropes will still have plenty of use before you have to worry about breaking, but the optimal pull will be long gone. The swing you get from a new fresh rope and reduction in hits to the body are far superior with a new rope.

 

Tournaments ideally should start with new ropes and if a skier is concerned about tournament performance, they should be skiing with newer ropes leading up to the tournament to be ready. Many people ski at home on very old ropes and then show up at a tournament and complain about the rope at a tournament.

 

The rope can have a dramatic effect on performance and a new rope and a very old rope can feel as different as settings in ZO. People have definite opinions on ZO settings and which they choose.

 

I think it's unfair to the skiers to pull a tournament with ropes that could have as many as 150 pulls on a rope. To have ropes of varying amounts of sets on them is also unfair. At least for Record and Championship tournaments, the skiers should have top notch equipment. For less than the cost of 1 entry fee, a tournament could be using new ropes.

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@hammerski That is a a great idea. It has been discussed. The bigger issue is the MFG of the ropes on the finishing ends. As they are sold there is no way to know if the rope will be used in tournaments or the caliber of skier using the rope.

Next time you but a master line rope aske if you can just purchase up 28 off. They are pretty easy to work with. As far as the red and yellow sections may I suggest dock ties.

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Just back from the Seattle Boat show. Called Darren at Wiley’s a few weeks ago and he came through with my request for a Masterline Progressor rope built with the new optimized line and built without the slide loops but with regular loops. Thanks Darren for hooking me up!

 

wkdze0y6vfv5.jpeg

 

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I have not posted in a while, so thought I'd answer some of the feedback directed at me in this thread.

First, let me say that I tried the new rope last weekend (thanks to Shelby) and liked the feel a lot, so it's not about that.

 

Second, Okeeheelee was one of the first sites to use the slide loops when they came out and we are quite familiar with them. All the boat judges learned to put the slide side of the loop on the same side of the pylon each time so there would be no fumbling with shortening the line during the tournament.

 

However, we run mostly record tournaments here and always have a camera mounted on the pylon. Getting your fingers in (it's a two hand job with this rope anyway) to pull the loop out is difficult already and exacerbated by the proximity of the mount. Nearly every boat judge complained and we started ordering our ropes with the standard loops instead after that.

 

It's obvious now that the rope can be manufactured with the normal loops, so why not offer both options?

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Stretchy but not too stretchy Ropes, Curved anti-roll handles, Whisper Fins/CG fins, Miami Nautique gloves, Hard Shell bindings. None of this will make any of us capable of doing what Nate Smith does without these things. (I'm not knocking these technological advancements, I'm just laughing at how shit I am compared to the actual good skiers new gear or not)
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Ballsohard, Dont burst my bubble!

 

With the new Natique, optomized rope and new fin (Danali or skijay) all improving my skiing, I was expecting to run 39 frequenty this year. If i ditch my antiquated rubber binders i should have even more improvement.

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This thread has been pretty quiet for a month! I bought the new rope in January but didn’t try it till today!

I wanted to get used to my ML rope from last year before trying the new one! I didn’t stretch it and it felt great from the first pass and I had my best set of the year! I also felt like I wanted to run a few extra passes which I had not been feeling lately!

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I have about 10 rides on the new rope. I skied it without any prep and it felt great first ride. I have taken a few exit gate hits and they seemed easier than I expected, which could be the new rope. Also, after 10 rides I measured and it is super close to actual. Like less than 2cm short each length 32-41 which I think is perfect. Nice work ML!
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@teammalibu the response has been very positive. The scores have been with in the normal performances. The biggest plus is many people don’t complain if elbow pain.

Training with the new optimized rope and the having to ski with a rope that is the old style and feeling the difference is the biggest thing I’m seeing. Some people just won’t ski.

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Has anyone had the experience of skiing on two different optimized ropes and feeling a significant difference in the way they feel? I have. Just wondering if it has to do with tweaks in construction or material? Or, does it have to do with age/sets? One rope was purchased early in the roll out of the new rope (November 2018) and the other was purchased in the late February 2019 time frame. The November 2018 is way more "spongy" on the hook up and pull through the back of the boat; but, I don't get the "slinging into slack" sensation that I would have expected from second wake to buoy. The rope seems to rebound without the rubber band effect. The newer rope feels much more stiff. I would say the ropes have equivalent numbers of sets on each.

 

Wondering is anyone has experimented with two or more of the new ropes? Wondering if there is still some tweaking going on in the design of the rope?

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Never going back to the old rope.

Took some slack hits that would have been brutal with the old rope. The Optimized Rope is the real deal.

Have had tendinitis issues before and feel like this new rope will greatly reduce flare up. Am sold!!

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