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Wakeskis

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Style+eeze
Posts: 6901 - Karma: 551
Alright, today in Seattle the weather was beautiful, and I'm thinking more and more about wakeboarding this summer. My friend has a boat that we take out a few times a week on Lake Washington, and wakeboard/wakeskate on. He just got a tower, and it's extremely dope.

So, my question is... what's the deal with wakeskis? We're kind of a little group of Seattle NSers that wakeboard on his boat, so we'd love to try out wakeskis but there's only one problem. They're extremely expensive. I know that they're brand new, and kind of a unique thing so they can charge that much, but does anyone have any insight on the pricing?

We'd love to get a pair to shred around on, but none of us are going to pay like $600. The company I'm looking at is Stereo. Does anyone know other brands I could check out? Or possibly have used skis we could get?

Thanks a lot,
Peter
Apr 14 2010 11:46PM
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minibus4
Posts: 517 - Karma: 13
Stero's skis have the 3 stahe rocker technology. The Surface one life ski has the 3 stage rocker tech also and they are pretty wide so they are basically water skis. I tested the one life's today and it made skiing switch into the the water super easy
Apr 15 2010 1:00AM
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minibus4
Posts: 517 - Karma: 13
I will try and go back and record it later this week to show u how well the skis work in water
Apr 15 2010 1:08AM
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Style+eeze
Posts: 6901 - Karma: 551
whaaaaat? maybe, just maybe i could ride my bacons or my brother's bentchetlers. the only problem is boots.

do you use a shitty pair of boots?
Apr 15 2010 1:53AM
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minibus4
Posts: 517 - Karma: 13
Haha hell yea, use the Bacons and yes I do suggest using a shitty pair of boots^
Apr 15 2010 2:06AM
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Style+eeze
Posts: 6901 - Karma: 551
ok, i've got some downstairs. haha

any idea on whether they can break, etc?

i really don't want to fuck them up, i would straight up cry.
Apr 15 2010 2:13AM
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minibus4
Posts: 517 - Karma: 13
Its pretty damn hard to break a ski while water skimming
Apr 15 2010 2:44AM
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minibus4
Posts: 517 - Karma: 13
Dont lean back too much, with powder skis u dont have too over lean back as alot of ppl say
Apr 15 2010 2:45AM
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j_hamborg
Posts: 560 - Karma: 745
Okay, so here is the story on wakeskis.

They are kinda fun. If you are good at wakeboarding just stick to it. I work at a shop and we brought a pair in to try out. like i said, kinda fun. If you are lucky you might be able to go to a local shop and they might let you demo them. from my experience thought, they are not worth buying. Sorry to break your bubble.
Apr 15 2010 6:44PM
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Style+eeze
Posts: 6901 - Karma: 551
alright, that's actually good to know to keep into consideration.

i just started wakeboarding last year, and without a tower i could gap the wake and do some 180s. i'm not that good, and i'm not really trying to get good at tricks, i just like the whole riding on water feeling. haha

i would only like to get wakeskis to make it feel like skiing pow, any similarities?
Apr 15 2010 6:46PM
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j_hamborg
Posts: 560 - Karma: 745
have you ever waterskied? it feels like that. just kinda awkward
Apr 15 2010 6:55PM
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Style+eeze
Posts: 6901 - Karma: 551
ok, interesting.
Apr 15 2010 7:04PM
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mmallender.
Posts: 5805 - Karma: 936
this, and to trying snow skis as waterskis, it will work a little, but i dont think very well at all, the constructions are quite different and i have a feeling that it will not end well for your skis.
Apr 15 2010 7:35PM
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Style+eeze
Posts: 6901 - Karma: 551
yeah, i'm probably not going to try, haha
Apr 15 2010 7:37PM
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pigglywiggly
Posts: 4482 - Karma: 305
this may be potentionally the most retarded post ill ever make, but if your legit ski, not water ski, comes off while waterskiing, wouldn't it sink?
Apr 15 2010 8:17PM
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zahava
Posts: 7791 - Karma: 12,039
yeppers, i wouldn't sugest even trying skiing on real skis on water. if your going to though crank your dins to the max and use like five pairs of safety straps incase they come off. you don't wanna loose a good pair of skis.
Apr 15 2010 9:55PM
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minibus4
Posts: 517 - Karma: 13
Yes it wud. So dont crash and crank up the DIN. If u watch the salomon freeski tv when they wer ski surfing they attached foam like stuff to the tails of thier skis when they used alpine skis for the water
Apr 15 2010 9:56PM
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zahava
Posts: 7791 - Karma: 12,039
my dad did it back in the day and lost an old pair of skis.
Apr 15 2010 9:56PM
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j-phlak
Posts: 202 - Karma: 16
yea. its..... interesting. just stick with wakeboarding. i have a feeling this wake ski thing is a dead end.
Apr 15 2010 11:56PM
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mmallender.
Posts: 5805 - Karma: 936
this, not to mention the knee injuries you will avoid. waterski and wakeboard bindings are not guaranteed to release, its based on how tightly you have your boots done up, and the tightness of your boots has a direct relation to the amount of support you get from the boots, and i can only assume that youre going to need alot of support to get any real pop on these.

needless to say, 2 years ago when i was at owc i saw a guy testing prototypes of these out, he killed it in the cable park, but that was also off man made booters and sliders, popping off a wake is a little bit different.
Apr 16 2010 12:15AM
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Style+eeze
Posts: 6901 - Karma: 551
ha, yeah. i'm gonna stick to wakeboarding. lol
Apr 16 2010 1:48AM
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Hermondo
Posts: 1244 - Karma: 52
ok if there is a group of you and you always go out on the lake together, couldn't you all just chip in a bit to share a pair?
Apr 16 2010 2:47AM
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snowhite
Posts: 62 - Karma: 19
you have to have a lot of endurance... if you want to get into what the guys on the stereo team do, its like powder skiing all the time. If you just going to try it, ebay or craigslist it for a pair. HO has a model out that are shorter than stereo and not as stable if your a big guy... but they work pretty well. I have a pair of stereos.. and love them. but since you haven't been wakeboarding too long maybe try it summer 2011... get your wake boarding skills good, then try the switch.but i like it and think its fun.
Apr 16 2010 2:51AM
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TheDude
Posts: 2058 - Karma: 117
alright ive been wakeboarding for like 5 years, last 2 getting good and skiing for like 12 years. are the wakeskis worth it and how easy is it to pick up? like would i be able to do 3s and shit easily?? and were do you boat in washington we should hook up this summer
May 9 2010 6:29PM
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DeSANTIS
Posts: 145 - Karma: 37
what kind of wake skis are the best for some one just starting out
May 9 2010 8:11PM
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.brian
Posts: 1710 - Karma: 233
I was wondering if anybody else c\has firsthand opinions on how these are behind a boat?
May 9 2010 8:32PM
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DBAKE
Posts: 3031 - Karma: 340
non Homo quote
May 9 2010 8:50PM
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dank6
Posts: 37 - Karma: 10
i have a pair of HO wakeskis. perfect condition. i bought them last year and used them once. $650 retail i will take $300. pm me if you wannttt
May 9 2010 9:00PM
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TheDude
Posts: 2058 - Karma: 117

completly homo.

but for real somone has had to have used stereo's behind a boat...

May 10 2010 12:17PM
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Sveetski
Posts: 572 - Karma: 22
ive used them at my cable park, if you plan on hitting rails get them they fell just like twintips but with the handle
May 10 2010 2:18PM
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TheDude
Posts: 2058 - Karma: 117
ya i would love to have a cable park but there arent any in WA, but i do have a wakeboard  boat...
May 10 2010 7:43PM
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mmallender.
Posts: 5805 - Karma: 936
Spinning and stuff on the water is different from snow, you'll have to learn a little, but it'll be easier for you to pick up. Its like the difference from snowboarding and wakeboarding, they are similar, but not 100% transferable, you need top learn how to set your spin, pop and land differently.
May 11 2010 5:20PM
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binturong-qwerty
Posts: 1506 - Karma: 146
im pretty good at skiing and i was thinking about getting wakeskis for the summer. I would be practicing flips and spins with grabs, etc.
Is jumping like hitting a water ramp but with a wake?
How are they for jumping compared to snow skis?
May 23 2010 4:47PM
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Kirsakid
Posts: 1793 - Karma: 126
I have some HO ones and they are really fun the only thing is tricks are much harder to do on the water just cause you have the rope and the wake feels a lot different from a regular jump. But all in all they are so much fun.
May 23 2010 4:56PM
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Balto
Posts: 25985 - Karma: 4,404
room for your favorite east sider on said boat?
May 23 2010 5:06PM
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jabroni.
Posts: 662 - Karma: 235
i wakeboard alot more than i snowski. i have also wake-skiied multiple times and trust me it isnt the equivalent that you guys are hoping for. jumping is alot different, spinning isnt as fun, and grabs are more awkward. i wouldnt advise anyone to buy brand new wakeskis before they have tried it a few times at least as you will be sorely dissapointed.
May 30 2011 9:24PM
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MNS
Posts: 5386 - Karma: 3,241
i agree, they look like an ACL disaster. i'd stick with wakeboarding,
May 30 2011 11:54PM
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jabroni.
Posts: 662 - Karma: 235
Wakeboard and wakeski bindings are not made to release guys. They dont need to.
Jun 8 2011 9:54PM
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jtotheizzoe
Posts: 28 - Karma: 168
i've got ho wakeskis... so far they suck. i'm from CT and tried them at this local, half-ass winch park, where they were decent (so they're probably way more fun in legit cable parks), but from wake to wake you have no ankle support and the fins are dead centered so the edging experience is not like alpine at all. for an analogy, imagine duct taping your feet in sandals to your twin tips and lapping the park.. that's what it currently feels like wakeskiing

in a last ditch effort, i'm gonna try to mount my old ft booters and peak 12s to the wakeskis and see if that makes it any closer to the real deal. i'll let everyone know how it goes
Apr 24 2012 8:54AM
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TheSkiMonster
Posts: 155 - Karma: 327
In the summer we spend a lot of time on the boat, Mastercraft X-2. We tried out wake skis last summer and they are just dangerous. They are too heavy, you don't have enough control over where they point when you land, so if its glass and you land way out in the flats and one ski is a little funky, you wreck pretty hard.

We stick to wakeboarding and wakesurfing! Boat goes in this weekend Stoked!


Apr 24 2012 9:40AM
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Skookum
Posts: 205 - Karma: 41
^^
i have HO skis too, i skied on them all last summer and got pretty good, got 180's and 360s down, jump over the whole wake, they are really fun once you get used to them which takes a while the only thing thats tough is the rope like KirsaKid said.
Apr 24 2012 9:50PM
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DMB123
Posts: 100 - Karma: 32

This might be an old thread but yeah I was thinking about getting a pair because of a knee injury this year. I have a few questions from anyone who has them....

1. Do you like them?

2. How do they compare to  twin tips?

3. Also what are the chances of knee injuries with these skis? I feel like there could be problems with this but it wouldn't be as easy to get a knee injury wakeskiing than there would be freeskiing though people who have wakeskied before give me some info.

Thanks Guys

Feb 19 2013 8:02PM
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DeRizzo
Posts: 3827 - Karma: 3,485
I do not have them but they must be better on the knees. Falling on the snow or a rail is much worse than water.
Feb 19 2013 8:13PM
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DMB123
Posts: 100 - Karma: 32
yeah that is what I was thinking thanks
Feb 19 2013 8:44PM
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mmallender.
Posts: 5805 - Karma: 936
hah, no. there is no consistent release system for waterski boots. it works for wakeboarding and slalom skiing because you do not want your feet coming out, period. you have two feet on one board, and wakeskiing is obviously two feet, two independent surfaces.

i, and others have hurt ourselves far worse falling on water than we have snow. behind a boat your base speed is... like 23mph? catching an edge/falling badly can feel just like landing on concrete.. or ice. that and catching an edge and decelerating from 23mph to zero in a second.

they are two similar, yet very different sports with very different injuries. i personally know of more people who have seriously hurt themselves wakeboarding (myself included) than i do skiing.
Feb 19 2013 11:33PM
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headmojo
Posts: 48 - Karma: 11
I thought I would bump this. I have these and got intuition closed cell foam liners in my ski boots with an old pair of bindings mounted to the skis. It works awesome. They pop off if you land wrong and its much safer. Learning curve for someone coming from Skiing to this is much less. Main issue is the ski boots and bindings are kinda heavy. Wish they would make a lighter boot that had iso toe and heel.
Sep 14 2014 3:49PM
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