New skis are funny. Seems like my first ride on new skis is alway awesome -- was true with the Red/Blue O'brien, the Fisher, the Razor and the M6. After the first set is when I start to figure out if it really works. Between the short season and my knee problems, along with some persistent back arthritis, I was struggling on my M6 to get consistent. There were days where it was magic. I have run some of the easiest 35s of my life on that ski. Other days I couldn't do a thing. Thought I'd go back to the Razor and see what I could do. Swapped bindings and skied it for two days (4 sets). My first observation was that these are two VERY different skis. The Razor is stunningly fast from ball to ball! As I've said in the past, it lets you make mistakes and be back in the pass at the next ball. despite this, I couldn't get comfortable on it. The M6 is so stable and forgiving that it makes passes feel soft, whereas the Razor just feels like lightning. It turns on a dime and goes like hell! Decided to go back to the M6 but try to free it up a bit. Moved the bindings back one hole from 30.3DFT. I didn't remeasure, but I figure it is in the high 29s now. I also took the wing angle from 9 to 8, and put the bindings as close as I could get them. I have probably skied 10 sets since, and it has been absolute magic every single set. Wide, early, and easy. Most noticable to me is that the ski still feels really stable throughout the lean, pre-turn and turn, but it takes off more quickly and gets me cross course wider and earlier than either the Razor or the M6 (as it was set up before). I haven't really gone after it at 38 yet although in a couple of tries where I really messed up the 2 ball I still ran 4 just by sticking with the ski and heading down the course.
In short, I think the newer, wider designs just ski markedly differently from anything I've been on in more than a decade. Nothing against my Razor, which ran me more 38s than any ski I've ever owned, but I love the M6 and I'm finally having fun again!
Jim Ross
3
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@Wish -- I felt the same way -- lots of angle, but more effort. I have been a bindings back guy for years because I like to make my skis free to run. The Mapple bindings were an inch further forward than my Razor. Just moving them back a quarter inch and reducing the wing angle slightly were huge. I may still tinker, but for now it feels really good.
This year has been lousy with phenomenal skis. Each company seems to have made significant advancements. It makes it even tougher to narrow your choice to just one ski, but I'm not suffering any ski envy or buyer's remorse. Besides. My wife is going to need a new ski. Perhaps she'll like the color of the vapor!
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I start out at 45 deg and now we can have watertemps around 75, there is a huge difference in feel between those temps, especially at my Home practice site where the water is around 50 feet Deep. When I get a ski dialed I usually do not Change settings to Cold water if I,m still on the same ski unless it really sucks.
By the way 70 deg does not count as Cold water.
I was curious if Anyone tried @Mapple s suggestion for changing dft for changing watertemps, as he does not hint wich direction to go.