How was your first ride on your favorite ski?

[ski6jones]

Think back to the first ride on your favorite ski. Was it love at first ride or did it grow on you?

 

The reason I'm asking is I rode 3 different current skis one set each a few weekends ago.

 

One felt decent after a few passes. I had to change a couple things about how I was skiing before it felt pretty comfortable.

 

Second one felt very comfortable from the start, very similar to my current ski which I love.

 

Third felt pretty different but no real surprises, a bit more drag but still worked well.

 

I ran about the same buoys on each.

 

I realize I'd need more than one ride to get the true picture but which one do you go with?

 

Go with what you know, or try something different and hope it ends up being better?

 

 

 

[The_MS]

Both the Goode 9700 and 9800 at the ski test in 07 rocked right out of the box. I would have bought the 9800 had @MrJones not beaten me to it.

My beloved Monza took 3 rides to set up.

My N1 first ride leaned locked me to the shoreline and took 3-5 sets to set up.

Every other ski I have had has taken some sets to get comfortable on

[Horton]

My all-time favorite ski was amazing on the first ride. A few others like that and many that took 10 rides to get figured out. I'm going to say there's not a pattern. a lot of it is luck of settings. if the settings are perfect the first time you ride it it's going to click but if the settings are way off you may not really know what the ski can do.

[markn]

First time on the hollow Mapple AM-33 was just amazing. It was a whole new level. Have to admit, every time I got a new Mapple designed ski, they became my favorite.

[Horton]

@narkn oh my God man you don't still have that 33 do you?

[markn]

@Horton heck yes I do. I still have my obrien black and gold Mapple, my t-1 , but sadly broke my t-3. I will mount up some binders and give the AM-33 a rip. Need to find my old ski diaries to get measurements! Happy Thanksgiving to you and the entire ball of spray family!

[jhughes]

@ski6jones what level of skiing are we talking about here? My favorite skis have almost always been great out of the box. Further, almost every ski I’ve tried is great at 15 and 22 off. Only at 28 do differences just slightly start to peek out, FWIW.

[6balls]

Best ones were hot out of the box

[ski6jones]

@jhughes started at 28 and rode all of them into 35 off.

[hemlock]

Loved the first ride on my 2017 Radar Vapor. The turns felt so much easier. It was fast yet stable. And it still feels the same even in 2020.

Came from a HO NOS ski (maybe around 2012 or so?) and before that a 1988 HP Connelly.

:)

It's funny though... on the new ski I scored more personal bests than I can remember and knocked 2 loops off my best pass. Was it the ski? or did the ski make me ski better?

I'm thinking the latter.

[Wish]

Lights out one of the first proto types from Denali ...3.4 or something. Ran more 38s then all other skis I’ve ridden over 2 decades combined. Why I ever stopped skiing on that ski is a mystery..well maybe not but I need to put my boots back on it and see if it feels the same. The C75 has certainly given me the same feel, but current life in a Civid era has stumped my progress for sure. That 3.4 will never leave my ski rack.

[aupatking]

My current ski is my all time favorite but it has not always been the case. The first set was an adjustment, but was not bad. I went through at least 6 fin adjustments and a couple boot positions before getting it where I am skiing it consistently. That said, now I’m consistently knocking on PB territory, almost every set. Just my opinion, but if you feel like the ski has potential, spend the few bad sets finding the settings you need.

[Bruce_Butterfield]

Every time I have switched skis for the better, I knew on the first set that the ski would be an improvement and would typically ski within a buoy or 2 of normal. I've had only 1 exception in almost 40 years where I spent several sets and some significant adjustments and the ski turned out better (original Mapple Sixam).

 

The unicorn out there was the very first Denali prototype I rode. That ski did so many things better than any other ski - it was stable, easy to accelerate and turned like a banschee. I only got 1 set on it, but it was quite possibly the best ski I ever rode. I would still like to get my hands on that thing again.

[lpskier]

While some say you can tell if a ski is right when you pull out for your first gate, it took me three sets before I could run a pass on my current ski.

[ski6jones]

@lpskier I've really had mixed results on first rides. The weekend I referenced was not typical. Before that I guess I ran my first pass only about 40% on a new ski, and some of those I never even ran a pass in my first set. The ski I'm on right now was magic from the first ride.

[6balls]

@wish I think it was a Denali 3.1--I stole @razorskier1's ski when he moved to the next proto and that thing was OFF THE HOOK! Like giggling my first set in disbelief. It eventually broke and with it...my heart!

[Horton]

@markn the 33 is one of the rarest skis of all time!

[thager]

@6balls If I remember right, your leg too!

 

[DW]

First ride on a 9100 was awesome. Still riding Goodes after all these years. Kidder Redline was another that sticks out.

[thager]

For me it was the Fischer #01. Ski felt good from the get go! With a little tweaking it was awesome. Even won me a new Eagle vest from @Horton for greatest improvement.

[richfoster]

My favorite clicked immediately. BUT,Dave Miller of Canada was here and set it up for my first ride.For the next 3 years I made very few adjustments to that ski. Others that I skied very well on took some time and adjustments.

[6balls]

@thager I broke my leg on a Vapor!

[thager]

@6balls Sorry, Guess I have old Timer disease.

[Rich]

Going way back a 66 Obrien hand tuned by Leroy Burnett. 9100 Goode hand picked with Schnitz at nationals in destin FL when no one knew what a Goode was

 

[Gar]

I did I EPed on the 9100 at the 96 Nationals in Destin and had been skiing on the 9100 for over a year.

[ALPJr]

So far every new ski I have owned was my favorite ski, till it wasn’t, which was pretty much the day that a new one was ready to go. Had 7 High end slalom skis in 40 years all were my fav’. In 2015 for the first time I tried demoing a few, the fourth one I bought.