Denali C95 review has started

[Horton]

My notes so far:

• It floats
• Deepwater starts are easy

 

Real notes when I get some real rides on the beast

[chaloux]

Well it's a start

[Wish]

Insightful. 

[Not_The_Pug]

Best review so far!

[Than_Bogan]

Well that's it, I'm buying one.

[Horton]

Second ride this morning. Those deep water starts are amazing. 

[BlueSki]

@Horton, video or it didn’t happen. Let’s see you get out of the water when the pressure is on.

[Horton]

@BlueSki challenge accepted. next time I ski I will definitely get video of my deep water starts

[Wish]

Deep water starts ….not hype..just science. 

[B_S]

New category for official review right there.

[Horton]

I forgot to get video for my third ride but the deepwater starts are just better and better and it still floats

okay seriously. I only have three rides on this ski so far. The first two rides were all 32 offs. The ski is immediately comfortable. I sort of was expecting a bonkers amount of speed and at least on these 32s I didn't experience it. Everything was just kind of easy. Finding the right place to stand on the ski is intuitive

I spent all of last Thursday in the emergency room after my daughter broke her arm and got exactly 0 hours sleep. I slept Friday night but I'm definitely a bit wobbly today, Saturday. I went off the dock of 32 and ran two pretty nice passes. Then for my first 35 on the C95. As one would expect, the first 35 was not particularly pretty. If there was video I wouldn't show anybody 😁. The second 35 was sort of better as I figured out where to stand on the ski. The third was eye opening and by 4th 35 I was kind of exhausted but convinced this ski is something special. 

I refuse to pass judgment positive or negative on a ski based on only three passes, but I'm pretty excited about this.

 

[jipster43]

What a bummer about Buford’s wing. I hope it heals in time for her to salvage her summer.

[Horton]

@jipster43

yeah not ideal but she will be fine. looking forward to it all being behind us 

[BlueSki]

Use your micro-just. It’s worth finding the sweet spot. 

[Horton]

Here is four passes from today. I would show the other 2 but I'm just not saying what my video person did 🙂

 

 

[Horton]

a NASTY 38

 

 

[Than_Bogan]

NICE!  Honestly, ugly completions of "reach" passes are just about the only thing that makes me think I might want to buy a ski.  Every ski works great if the user does everything right.  But for some reason I don't always do everything right, and if a ski gives me a chance to keep going, that is something!  

[BlueSki]

@Horton Are you running stock settings or did you play around a bit?

[6balls]

Score 6--thus beautiful 38!  You just got it done in the work zone so the turns didn't have to be your best.  You can run a lot of successful passes that way.  

If you can run 38 dirty, that ski works.  

[Kimbymon]

Remember, there are no points for pretty in waterskiing...

[Horton]

@BlueSki

those are not bone stock settings. 

[Adam Caldwell]

I hear roomers these top two skiers are on a c95....

[Horton]

[ghutch]

And the winner has a lot of skis to choose from. Just saying....

[VONMAN]

@Horton Welcome to the C-95 club. Looks like the wait was worth it.

[Wish]

ETA on review? 

[Horton]

@Wish IDK. Likely after CalPro Am. I am trying to fix some stuff in my skiing at the moment.  It is hard to think about ski reviews stuff when I am laser-focused on changing my skiing fundamentals. For what it is worth the the 95 is rewarding my for the improvements I am trying to make. 

[Wish]

R u riding it at the CalPro Am ??

[Horton]

YES

[Horton]

So the "review" itself is off track because I am thinking about my skiing and not about the ski. It has been an odd season and I finally started skiing really good ( for me ). The ski does not require me to think about it.   When I change the focus and write the article - whatever I write about this ski will be a glowing endorsement. 

A few bullet points

• It is not a lot of work
• It makes plenty of space
• Turns on both sides are very dependable - not finicky 
• This ski has helped my get my gate back to where it should be. The move left is somehow easier / more consistent. 

[jipster43]

Is the C95 asymmetrical or one foot fits all?

[Horton]

@jipster43 not exactly sure about the question but the ski  is not asymmetrical 

[tjm]

Nice skiing @Horton   On your opening pass commentator stated “smoothest 32 he’s seen”.  Which continued all through your set.  The Denali seems to get along with you!

[Adam Caldwell]

@Horton

CONGRATS. Awesome to see!  

[Wish]

2 Denalis on the podium 😮👍. 
Congrats Horton . 

[The_MS]

Congrats to @GSchmid

Should have run that 38. I am sorry if I jinxed you from the couch at home

 

[Wish]

What were the top 5 scores? 

[jeidmann]

Just skied on the c95 for the first time this evening. Gonna need some adjustments...pretty sure the bindings need to be moved forward quite a bit (they're 29.125 per Denali website)...only had one set but water breaking behind the front of my front foot on the coast after the pullout, ski shuts down and narrow in the course. Even still I can tell it's gonna be nice once it's dialed.

[MattP]

@jeidmann I’ve always run my boots a little forward of stock on Denali skis. Take the time to get video and consult with the Adams on set up. 

[Horton]

@jeidmann

@Adam Caldwell @AdamCord 

[Cooper_Trelawney]

Seeing @Horton and Scott Greenwood on the same podium reminds me of college days.  Congrats to you both!  (Not intending to hijack this thread about the Denali)

[Adam Caldwell]

@jeidmann what bindings do you have and how are you measuring to them?  Anything odd, like a shallow lake or super cold water?

Sounds almost like maybe you have double bindings with the rear being fairly high and stiff on the back leg/ankle..

[skihacker]

I may regret asking this question but.......what if, hypothetically .....you know a guy who still skis double goode powershells? Yeah I know it's considered inferior, blah blah. Maybe this guy is a little stubborn and on the lower income side of things and not wanting to make an expensive change that may not work out? Most skiers now ski a hardshell with a kicker, so the boot measurement and fin settings are likely from people on that setup, should the setup be different somehow? Btw last I knew Regina kills it on that setup so can't be all that bad? 

[Adam Caldwell]

@skihacker, as long as the rear springs are functioning 100% on the powershells, its not crazy different from a kicker. The powershell plastic is fairly soft with a lot of cutouts and holes in the material allowing for pliability and keeping stiffness at a minimum for a "hard shell".

Those springs allow for lateral movement of the back leg.  Its not about "heel lift" as many people like to think it is.  What can make skiing extra challenging and inconsistent is double reflex or any setup that the back heel and leg cant flex and move laterally without excessively influencing or limiting the ski behavior.  

If the back leg limits or blocks the rolling moment of the ski anywhere in the course, I feel like skiers are limiting their potential.   The stiffer that back boot, the more it is opposing the efforts made by the front foot and movement of the body over the ski.

Pigosi is an unbelievably talented skier with some of the most inconsistent performances and scores.  At one point I thought maybe its the reflex ski itself, but I'm now pretty certain its his choice in binding setup.

I've had a couple people in Charleston make  swap to a reflex front and Wiley kicker with great success.  I think as long as a rear rubber high wrap is loose enough above the angle bone, it can be a GREAT combination with a reflex front. I think that combo is even better then the R-style rear....which, unless your ready to make mods, is also excessively stiff and restrictive in the wrong ways.  

Edited August 27 by Adam Caldwell

[aupatking]

39 minutes ago, Adam Caldwell said:

the R-style rear....which, unless your ready to make mods, is also excessively stiff and restrictive in the wrong ways.  

Thank you Adam for that information. After testing out your front boot modifications a few years ago, I definitely believe you.

As soon as I'm rich again, I'll be ordering a C95.  😎

[bbruzzese]

Any pics or suggestions for the mods to the R-style?

[Cam]

36 minutes ago, bbruzzese said:

Any pics or suggestions for the mods to the R-style?

Following!

 

[Wish]

Mod and run the middle buckle loose. 
Strap around upper part of insert does nothing and was just for feel as I used this setup in my transition to a toe loop from double hardshells. 

[Adam Caldwell]

I think what I would be curious to play with is a relief cut between where the buckles are and the ankle bone area to allow the heel of the shell to move more independently to the planted forefoot.  Similar to what you would see on the old red fogman bindings.   

Another area is the plastic around the ankle.  Some people are not comfortable with cutting off the upper plastic at the ankle bone.  An alternative is to drill a buch of ~ 3/8" holes above the original cuff mount hole to soften up that plastic and allow for some lateral play above the heel.

I do like Wish's addition of the rubber strap. With how low those buckles are, it doesn't really give a skier a "secure" feel in the boot, and adding rubber like that or even a short "tongue" that sits on top of the foot and under the buckles that terminates into the front of the ankle could also be interesting.  I had a Velcro strap instead of the rubber when I was playing with a homemade version of one 15+ years ago.

People think the r-style is some perfected and optimized piece of craftsmanship when its literally a roller skate with the toe cut off so it fits under the bar of the release, with a couple buckles slapped on it in sub par location.  To say that any of this is optimized for slalom waterskiing is an absolute joke.

Worth noting, I can go from a kicker to a rear Wiley binding almost without even noticing - as long as the wrap on the rear is not excessively high anyway.  the lower the wrap sits on the rear boot the better.

[richfoster]

I added the power shell spring mechanism to my R style. Caldwell saw it several years ago and told me it was excellent. Lets my ankle articulate. Not sure if he still feels that way?
I keep waiting for Horton to say this thread has gone off the rail.