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May, 2025

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How hard is it for a snow skier to get the hang of waterskiing

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FruitBootPro
Posts: 3177 - Karma: 14,535
My dad saw that I bought wakeskis and told me that it'd be harder than I think, since when he tried to learn to waterski he struggled to get out of the water and stay up, despite having some skiing experience before. I kinda had assumed that wakeskiing would be super easy to get the hang of and would feel like being pulled by a tow rope through pow. @anyone who has done waterskiing or wakeskiing before, how easy was it to learn as an experienced snow skier?
5 years ago
8 0
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keagan.karstens
Posts: 1635 - Karma: 35,409
Easy af in my opinion, once you’re up it’s pretty simple to carve around
5 years ago
13 0
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extravert
Posts: 1113 - Karma: 3,203
based on how easy it is to pond skim, i would think skis made for going on water would be even easier. Getting up is probably the hardest part
5 years ago
8 0
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shinbangclan
Posts: 1177 - Karma: 7,552
I know you just bought wakeskis but wakeboarding is definitely worth getting into and has more possibilities outside of the cable park. Skill cap is definitely higher, so if you ever get bored of the skis it's 100% worth a good shot.
5 years ago
2 2
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anders_a
Posts: 1680 - Karma: 5,605
way easy
5 years ago
4 0
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Dilldoes
Posts: 761 - Karma: 5,852
I learned on a single ski when I was younger. Anyone with a little athleticism can water ski especially on two skis. The difference is that while you "float" like powder, you also have fins so you are "locked in" like when skiing some really awesome front side carvers.
5 years ago
6 0
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FruitBootPro
Posts: 3177 - Karma: 14,535
skithemidwestttI learned on a single ski when I was younger. Anyone with a little athleticism can water ski especially on two skis. The difference is that while you "float" like powder, you also have fins so you are "locked in" like when skiing some really awesome front side carvers.


My wakeskis only have small fins at the front and back and I had to remove them so that they wouldn't scratch kickers, rails, and boxes at the cable park. But even then it'll probably feel nice because they are basically a pair of short reverse-camber, reverse-sidecut skis.
5 years ago
0 0
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SofaKingSick
Posts: 9744 - Karma: 65,803
the only part that will mess with you is the start. you can't halfass it like you can if you're on snow skis and getting pulled behind a sled, if you use the same lax technique it will pull you over the handlebars

instead, lean back and flex your body and legs and push your feet toward the boat and let the rope pull you up as your skis get up and moving

after that, yeah you're gone dude, super natural and fun
5 years ago
4 0
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highpeak
Posts: 426 - Karma: 2,210
extravertbased on how easy it is to pond skim, i would think skis made for going on water would be even easier. Getting up is probably the hardest part


This. Getting up on one or two is a super odd sensation and although it requires different form once you're up, it's pretty intuitive
5 years ago
3 0
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Dilldoes
Posts: 761 - Karma: 5,852
FruitBootProMy wakeskis only have small fins at the front and back and I had to remove them so that they wouldn't scratch kickers, rails, and boxes at the cable park. But even then it'll probably feel nice because they are basically a pair of short reverse-camber, reverse-sidecut skis.

My neighbor has some O'Brien Pro Trac skis that I've played with alot. (On a river behind a boat) You won't have any issue if you are a decent skier. When you learn how to use the cable to your advantage ( My home town once had the world's biggest cable park) it's super fun and almost like cheating once you get used to passing the handle.

O'brien Pro Trac Trick Skis
5 years ago
2 0
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skiguy04
Posts: 1640 - Karma: 1,275
Get a wakeboard jeez
5 years ago
2 5
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Jpurd
Posts: 3196 - Karma: 3,555
keagan.karstensEasy af in my opinion, once you’re up it’s pretty simple to carve around


Agreed. I had never water skiied (been skiing for 23 seasons) and tried it last summer and got up and was able to drop a ski.
5 years ago
2 0
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GayWolf420
Posts: 38156 - Karma: 130,451
getting up behind the boat is your first challenge, but its kinda different from skiing. Turning and carving is really awkward but you get the hang of if after awhile. Gotta also work on the balance and being pulled behind the boat. Eventually, you're gonna wanna ditch the other ski and go slalom and start railing some turns at higher speeds.

So much fun watching people rip lines early in the AM as a kid

**This post was edited on Jun 27th 2020 at 10:54:43am

**This post was edited on Jun 27th 2020 at 10:55:24am
5 years ago
4 0
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BCski95
Posts: 152 - Karma: 359
I feel like it feels pretty similar to skiing. I feel like the most awkward part is having your ankles free so there is a little more balancing.
5 years ago
1 0
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Anti-Hero
Posts: 1269 - Karma: 344
Waterskiing and wakeboarding are both pretty easy
5 years ago
1 2
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MoneyMakerMike
Posts: 1254 - Karma: 5,764
Anti-HeroWaterskiing and wakeboarding are both pretty easy


You obviously aren’t good at either if you think they are easy
5 years ago
0 1
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3mania
Posts: 2650 - Karma: 10,879
Slalom water skiing is super tech. Speed rush is amazing though.https://youtu.be/COl8lok4zRY
5 years ago
0 0
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Casey
Posts: 8020 - Karma: 26,937
I am kind of guessing that wakeskis will be super user friendly to get up on. Once you are up you will probably be able to turn back and forth without issues, but honestly just floating in the water with 2 skis on and getting squared up to the boat with the rope in your hands can be a tall order for beginners. If there isn’t someone that knows how to ski and drive well showing you what to do you probably will have issues.
5 years ago
2 0
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Auschie
Posts: 297 - Karma: 392
I would say go get a wakeboard because that is what I did after a year of wakeskiing, but I also was behind a boat which I feel is different than cable. Cable on wakeskis seems like it'd be more fun with being able to ride rails and such. I kind of threw in the towel after getting grabs and wake to wake because the bails just hurt (wakeski to the shin sucks).

Wakeboarding has been more enjoyable and the mechanics of edging, tricks and such just make more sense. Landing goofy wakeboarding vs switch landings on wakeskis were rough.
5 years ago
1 0
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