Good help is always easy to find for our annual Independent Ski Review. Recruiting skiers to test drive the newest and hottest models on the market is a quick sell, especially when we sweeten the deal with a killer site like OZ, the new home of the H20z Training Center outside Charleston, South Carolina, and an rotating, onsite support team from each of the manufacturer’s payroll pros and coaches. And best yet, this year they wouldn’t even have to pass painful judgment, because for 2009, we’re operating on a whole new program.
In recent years, the ISR team has had great difficulty selecting the “best” of the test skis for one very important reason – each and every model proved exceptional in some way. So this year, rather than attempting to criticize for criticism’s sake, we’ve decided rather to review and explain how each of these shred sticks should be ridden to get the absolute best of it – a guide of full optimization, if you will. This way, you can discover which new ski is “best” for you - and that’s what really matters.
So lets get down to the nitty gritty. You have come here via the world wide web to get a bit more in depth info on each ski. Well, hopefully this site will help you find out more. Plus, I have opened it up for comments on each ski and with the assistance of BALL OF SPRAY, there is a forum that you can post on or check out the post for thoughts of the ski reviewers, other skiers, and more. I want this to be as open as possible to everyone who is interested in the ISR. We will do our best to keep this site up to date with photos, info on each ski tested and more.
I want to go ahead and send out a big thanks to a few people and companies.
First, each ski company who sent skis to be reviewed along with the reps from each company too. We, as skiers, appreciate your efforts to help push water skiing new limits each year.
John Horton. Thanks for handing over the reigns to the ISR this year. As well, thanks for all the input you have given toward the ISR. Hopefully it was refreshing for you to actually get to Ride the skis, instead of conduct the review. Hopefully, we will get to do this a lot more in the coming years.
The ISR Team. Thanks to everyone who participated in the ISR this year. I know it was not easy to take a week off work, come and ski all week long at Oz (home of the H2oz Training Center), behind a brand new MC TT197, with some of the best pros, coaches, and play on all the latest and greatest skis…wait a second. Seriously, thanks for your time and efforts, I hope it was as fun for you as it was for me.
Water Ski Mag: Thanks for promoting the sport the way you do and for helping publish this review in the mag. It is nice to be able to, at least, assist, in helping anyone who wants to learn more about all the new sticks out there.
Luca Van de Putte: Luca, thanks so much for sitting behind the wheel of the boat all week long. We most definitely could not have got through the week without you man. Hope you were able to steal some knowledge from the pros all week long. Thanks again!
One thing that I do want to stress before going anymore into the ISR. This is just a GUIDE!!! Think of it as a “Cliffs Notes” on water skis. This will just help point you in the right direction as to what ski MIGHT work best for you. Each Skier is different. Everyone has their own “Style”. This reveiw will hopefully assist in helping you find the right ski that will work for you. What everyone should do before investing in a water ski, is
Thats right, you need to demo the skis before you purchase the ski. Find a good shop, go to a water ski training center, try a buddies, do whatever you need to do to try out the ski before you buy it. Just some food for thought. Now, go ahead, read on and enjoy, the 2009 Independent Ski Review.
Thanks
TS
CORE WATER SKI