Re: Slalom Ski Design
BigboatingOkie....
We still don't know your weight...not to get personal, but it makes a big difference...hard to give advice without that piece of info.
In general, I'm not a fan of those big wide skis. They excel at one thing...getting a really big guy out of a deepwater start more easily. Beyond that, they don't work very well. Seems that you have already realized the same when you compared it to your HO combo ski...
I used to slalom quite a bit...teens and early 20's. Took 10 years off and gained some weight/lost some conditioning. At about 205 pounds, I got another boat and got back on the water. At that time I invested in an HO Charger slalom (that's a 69" version of HO's shaped Freeride ski...the same as Magnum/Burner, just different length). Many recommended it to me because it was "a little bit wider than most to be easier on your body for heavier weight, AND it still could turn aggressively." I only found the first half of that sentence to be true. Could not get it to turn well at all.
One day I borrowed my buddies ski, which was a conventional competition slalom...Obrien I think, 68 inches, normal/narrow width. I got up no problem and I could actually roll it ont edge again!! Night and day.
So then I invested in the 68" Connelly Concept I have now and I'm back to being much happier. In the 6-ish years since then I have slowly worked my way back to about 185 pounds and got some conditioning back. And I definitely will never ride the Charger again unless I have a relapse...
I still have that Charger sitting here against the wall, it's a backup for when a bigger newbie wants to come along and try a deepwater start, and do some casual open-water one-skiing. But beyond that function I have found no good use for it. It simply does not roll over onto its edge without giving it a significant amount of extra effort, compared to a more competition style ski. I just find it more difficult to ride if you actually want to do some hard turning and big sprays. And that Charger is smaller than your Big Daddy...I can't even imagine trying to roll that one on edge...but to be fair I've never ridden one.
If you want a ski you can more likely grow into, and improve with, I think you'll probably want to get rid of that Big Daddy...I would suspect either of the two you're considering replacing it with (FX or Outlaw) will be much better and more fun for you, assuming you're relatively athletic and are somewhere less than 250 pounds...AND you have a boat that can pull you strong enough to get you out of the water on less surface area. I really find that the more traditional competition-style slalom skis are far more versatile and maneuverable with less effort. They turn and slice thru the wakes SOOOO much easier. BUT they are a little bit more squirlley/twitchey when going straight, harder to get up on, and a bit more difficult to just "ride around" casually on water, if you're not much into cutting real hard turns.
BUT, I'm making a lot of assumptions here since I don't know you...If you are perfectly happy just cruising the lake on one ski and drifting back and forth recreationally, the Big Daddy might be for you, and that's great! But from your earlier comments, it sounds like you'd rather have "more fun" that that. So I think a narrower and less shaped ski will more likely fit your desires. but you're the only one who knows your style, and whether or not you want to work on/improve in the sport, or just enjoy the few times a year you'll get to do it. Nothing wrong with ANY method of skiing...whatever floats yer boat!!
