Preferred ski buoys?

Hands

I really like Wally skier soft buoys.

MISkier

Wally buoys for sure. Soft, quite durable, and surprisingly colorfast.

GaryJanzig

Yellow bullet shaped foam crab floats for the boat guides, and Overton's orange buoys. Not sure what I will switch to when the current supply is used up. I have some old ones out on the lake now, but spray painted with florescent orange. The Overton's buoys that I have hold up the best. Others break down in the sun, and the tops get sticky. The new Overton's buoys are not as good as the old ones.

ETskier

Interested in the new Radar bouys. Any one know if the loops are solid or hollow? Makes a difference on public water.

igkya

The Overton's are nice and have a solid loop, but they (Overton's) don't seem to notice the difference between orange and red. Tried twice to get orange ones but got red both times. Switched to Wally Sinker this season.

jedgell

Wally soft buoys are great. Color lasts for years and they don’t seem to harden or break down. They’re spendy but worth it for the gates and turn balls.

swbca

Polyform boat guides are excellent.
https://www.miamiskinautiques.com/Polyform-Boat-Guide-Polyform-S-1-Buoy-p/polyform-s1.htm

Horton

The new Radars are nice.

buoyboy1

Wallys' will also hold up far better than any other manuf. when it comes to fading. I had a set that still held up extremely well after 5 years.

aupatking

The foam “bullets” are great for public water courses. I find propeller cuts through ours for years. Only problem I had with them is they scratched the sides of a black hulled boat. With today’s wider hulls, and inexperienced drivers, you may run into that. For turn balls, Overtons are the cheapest for public water. For private courses, no other way to go than Wally buoys. They are double the price, or more, but they are soft and last at least twice as long

RAWSki

Got a great price on the new Radar buoys at Wakehouse this spring. They look very similar to polyforms but time will tell. I like that the radar green is very bright (almost glows) it shows up well on the water.

LeonL

The Radar buoys feel quite soft in the loop, but I can't say for sure if they're hollow and open to the buoy.

Patagonia1234

Does anyone use the Goode bubble bouys anymore? Especially if they have repainted….?

oldmanskier

Unless someone has come out with something similar, in my opinion Wally's are the safest buoys. Since we have been using them no one has had an injury by hitting a buoy.
The price of Wally's are worth the decreased possible injury from a ski Buoy hit.
Note: You have to follow instructions on inflating them correctly to keep them safe.
Tom Smothers (oldmanskier)

Horton

Semi-off topic. If you watched the Swiss Pro you saw an unusual number of scores get reviewed and revised. One theory I have heard is that he balls were so soft that the skiers could plow over them and not feel it - and or a ball could be submerged by a binding causing the judge to falsely call the score. Perhaps super soft balls could make judging harder?

(TO BE CLEAR THE JUDGING AT THAT EVENT WAS TOP NOTCH)

skierjp

I wonder if Polyform, Radar and KD are all the same with a different name stenciled on it? I can’t believe the market is that big. The Radar buoy sure looks like a Polyform. I need 40 red buoys so Wally is out.

igkya

For those using the Wally Sinker balls, how much should they be under-inflated? We just installed these and I'd guess they are ~90% inflated. The seam is still visible, not that I care, but just just on much air is enough and how is too much.

MISkier

@igkya, if the buoy surface is a smooth and a complete sphere when it is laying on the dock, there is too much air. The top half should only be a smooth hemisphere if you are squeezing the lower half with moderate pressure - just enough to deform a loaf of bread.

I think there may even be a video or some instructions on the Wally website,

The theory is that the water pressure on the lower half of the buoy is what smoothes out and fully inflated the top half. When you hit it, the force is dispersed into the semi-collapsed lower half and the top of the buoy gives in to make it soft.

igkya

@MISkier Appreciate the response, but I have not found a video on how to properly inflate the balls. I assume this will differ depending on the method of attachment (bungee, latex, rope, etc.) I understand and agree with the theory behind the safety and In understand the seam crease will fade will sun exposure. The crew I ski with aren't convinced on this yet and I'm just trying to get things right.

LeonL

Has anyone had this type of failure in a Wally? I have several with similar problem. Not saying the buoy is faulty, but it is very thin at this point.

buoyboy1

I believe on Wally's website there is information on how much air to use. You do not want to use very much air.

Mastercrafter

@LeonL our club uses 1/2” vinyl tubing through the buoy loop, and the bungee then passes through the clear vinyl tubing, and is then tied in a knot. I’ll snap a pic next time I’m out.

This makes for a soft, abrasion-free connection to the Wally buoys.

LeonL

If you will note, the impression where the connection was is not where it failed. So not abrasion related. It just looks like a break/tear. Six months in the water. Can't afford them anymore; went with Radar. I'll see how they hold out, color wise.

VONMAN

@Mastercrafter No more Goode Bubble Buoys? That's probably because I was the only one who rebuild them. A real pain in the butt, if you hit one easy on the ankles.

skierjp

I ordered 50 Red Radar buoys last week. It took Performance Ski & Surf a day and a half to get them to my front door ( awesome ). 40 will be baking in the hot Florida sun this weekend. Time will tell.

Andre

Why all red ones?
Ski partner is coming back from Coble on friday with a set ...but couldn't get enough yellows.Seems to be a shorthage of yellows somewhere...

skierjp

@Andre whoops sorry, 4 slalom courses. 10x4= 40 with 10 extras. = 50. Pain in the butt maintaining 4 courses.
I use the Polyform yellows for the boat lanes. They last forever.
Did you check at Performance?

Andre

4 slalom courses...Wow!
We just got more oranges to complete.They'll all die from PWC anyway...

NameUnavailable

We use Wally buoys and have for years. The orange turn balls on the blue dye water stand out great. The color holds well our only issue is the algae growth on any buoy in our lake.

Andre

For those wondering about Radar bouys,they have the inflated eyelet.
Ours came from Perf and we're missing 8 yellows that were b.o.

Andre

Green ones are nice...