PatRe

Nice work @AdamCord and @AdamCaldwell. All the Best!

@Wish‌ committed? More than committed - I can't thank him enough!

Alright, perhaps I'm a bit biased... This is a great area with a beautiful lake. Should you take a gander, bring your ski. It is mandatory as I believe @Wish will not show you the house until after you test drive the lake!

Excellent! Thanks @Wish‌. And a Merry Christmas to all!

@Wish‌ @OB‌ and @Razorskier1‌ Excellent review! Your vivid descriptions made me feel like I was there on the dock, then in the boat and - dare I say - taking a few passes. I moved my visit to the Mapple Training Center from my wish list to my bucket list. Thanks so much for sharing.

Great skiing @rq0013‌ ! I skied there a few years ago. Such a great site! Did you get to ski the course near the dock and then shoot through the narrow part and bang a left into the second course?

Excellent! Your positive attitude (yes, pun intended), will keep you on course. Keep to the program and it will just keep getting better!

@Garn‌ Congratulations! You're going to be getting more looks at that blue loop! BTW, I'll be attempting my first deepwater start in over a year tomorrow.

Scary, very scary! Wishing you a full and speedy recovery and looking forward to a subsequent new thread which includes a picture of you on the water.

Ah, excellent - and do take the very best care of that driver!

@gsm_peter Hi, I just sent you a PM.

Maintain focus. Keep it fun. And it will come to you. Congratulations! .

@Than_Bogan‌ Right to the point & well stated!

Awesome news! Now the fun begins... All the best!

@mlange‌ Did they change the steering wheel such that it has more than one connection point? And did they change the shifter? We have a '14 where the little black plastic cap keeps ejecting if not held in place.

@DefectiveDave‌ I Agree with the above posts. There's a lot to be said about tournament participation. I can still remember starting to compete in my M1 days. I don't think I made a pass in my first tournament. Later that season I earned my first rating by getting a few at 22. It was back before speed control (yes, I'm old) and I remember it like it was yesterday. I still remember the boat crew... Ken (a very young boat driver - too young to mention in the youngest driver thread - a great driver then and among the best of drivers now), Brenda (still active in the sport and her young girls are, let's say, nationally recognized), and Jennifer (also still making major contributions to our sport). I agree with @GOODESkier‌ and @Chef23‌ Don't wait. Do go to tournaments. Volunteer your help. Perhaps work towards or for upgrading ratings. You'll have fun, make new memories and ski better!

@WBLski In line with @MrJones thoughts, make sure the Chief Judge and other officials (including he boat crews) know it is her first tournament. They will help keep it fun for her. BTW, I've seen those "driver errors" happen in the course as well - even to the best of drivers. Have fun and bring a camera to document and cherish those memories!

Wow, another great response by Chris Rossi! Me thinks it should be taken to heart by all skiers - not just those attempting their first passes. "Lets start with an important concept that holds most skiers back and that is their desire to run the course at all costs." Thanks Chris Rossi!

@cragginshred‌ Ah, all great comments above! Read @SkiJay‌'s post. Then read it again, and again, and, well... you get the idea. 28 is a pass where three things start to happen: 1. Trust 2. Trust 3. Trust Ski well and please keep us posted!

@bojans‌ and @dropski‌ - Yikes, I hope I didn't influence a potential sale. My sincerest apologies. Pat

@bojans I'm curious as to why it wasn't working for you. It is a great system but, like any other ski/binding system, to each their own. In the pictures it appears the hinge is mounted in the right rear of the block while the left uses the front mounting hole. I don't know if you tried it as such or if it was intentional. I do hope you've given it a fair test.

My buddy had a similar experience. Last July we moved the hinge to the forward holes as it was prone to release just after the apex of his off side turns. It was more prevalent as the rope shortened. The tension was left as is since it was fully cranked - that alone tells me is time for new equipment but his college budget would not allow. Anyway, one year later, I'm told the buoy pre-release is now pretty much a thing of the past. Time to give him a call.

@PJ Nice skiing, nice lake too! It's hard to view on my phone but here's my $0.2... Perhaps try a (much) wider gate and hold the handle a touch longer with both hands approaching the buoy line. The result should be better outbound East-West speed. It will likely not feel faster due to having more space before the ball. 28's and beyond will be much more consistent.

Congratulations John!!! I can't wait for her first ski review!

First, thanks to all the Ballers for posting experiences here and in other discussions. We were leaning towards a longer ski as most others seemed to favor as well. In all fairness, testing all three sizes would have been ideal. Due to practical constraints, we only tested the 66” ski. @kfennell – You went direct to the source. Thanks. @RAWSki – What speed are you skiing? @Than_Bogan – Thanks for your input. I've watched you ski... I drove for one of your rounds at John's Lake last year. You were running a sweet 38 with a tail wind and I thought we were certainly coming back at 39. You appeared to be on schedule so you can blame me. Anyway, I think the XT would suite you well. Demo different lengths if possible. You can demo for 30 days! @scotchipman – Yes, try the 66” and even the 66.75”, your instincts and experience always seem to be spot on. @Dave Miller and @GOODESKIER – How would you compare the rides between the 66” and 66.75”? I'm 150 to 155 lbs and would like to demo should / when I start skiing again. - - - - - - - - - - - - Sorry, this is turning into a long post. An update... The settings as received appeared to be a good starting point. I only had an 11 degree gauge and could not check the initial wing angle. It looked to be about 9.5 degrees. We used my original (calibrated), non-slot Goode caliper. The numbers: Boot → 29” Length → 6.854” (Tips) FB → 0.700 – 0.702” (Head, with horizontal ski) Depth → 2.501” (Deepest side) Wing → 10.5 Degrees I could report my instant observations. I'll quote the skier (Mark Karpo) instead: “Okay here goes ... Just had my first session on a Nano 1 XT 66" Left Foot Forward ski and here's my two cents. First off, I'm 175 lbs, 6ft, 51 years old, and last year I was on a Nano 1 65.25" running 35 off 50% of the time. Loved the Nano 1 as it had a tight turning radius and kept going into hookup as compared to my prior Radar Strada that was prone to brake into the hookup after a tight radius turn. Having completed 3 sets on the XT yesterday, here are my observations. First set out I found myself very early at one ball ... and every ball thereafter. Couldn't believe how much real estate was in front of me going into the buoy. Second, my off side turn felt powerful and controlled like my on side turn as I easily made tight turns into a stacked position at hookup with great angle. Third, I literally poofed from hookup to transistion ... its a very very fast ski. Fourth, at transition, my hips and feet naturally and easily got out in front of my upper body to give me very wide (and did I mention early) setups for the turn. I had previously run only one 32 this season (cold spring and late start) but I ran two 32s back to back my first set with the XT. I felt so confident I went to 35 second set and though I didn't run it I found myself wide at 2 and 3 even though my hookup at 1 ball was less than optimal. In short, I have high hopes I can run 38 this year with this baby.”