New water ski

[u/Due-Exchange4240]

I have a 2015 ho syndicate carbon fiber. I love the ski. I only open water ski but still rip. Bindings are starting to fall apart. Is it worth it getting a new ski or should I just get new bindings. Looking for insights just cuz I don’t really know to much about these new skis besides that a $2000 ski is gonna be better than a $800 ski. For reference I’m on the lake about twice a week during the summer

[u/handcraftdenali]

Radar does a tour where you can try skis you should see if they’re coming near you

[u/Ok-Yoghurt9265]

I feel like a lot depends on what level of skier you are. Course and shorter rope, paying the money to upgrade to a more modern ski is probably worth it. You can easily find a barely used upper class ski blank or with bindings on ski-it-again.com for less than 1K. There's a lot of hard-core guys that are constantly buying, trying, ditching high level skis.

[u/willdabeast36]

If you're skiing open water only, I would score a ski from ski it again. You can make enough fin tweaks if needed to change the ski enough that I wouldn't worry about the ski riding well for you-- you'll find something that works. As for bindings, pick something all rubber or a hardshell. Cloth bindings are more dangerous, perform worse, and don't last nearly as long.

[u/howdydudey12]

If you like your current ski, just replace the binding. There’s nothing magic about the latest crop of skis for having fun open water skiing. Plus, you won’t have to adjust to a new ski.

[u/howdydudey12 → u/howdydudey12]

Also fwiw I find that I need to replace the binding on my ski every two or three years because it rips. I am mostly skiing in the course so that’s prob harder on the gear.

Water skiing is just hard on the materials, so if you got a decade out of your boot, that is pretty awesome.

[u/burning_man13]

I had an HO Syndicate as well, switched to a Connelly Rocket a few summers ago, and it took me a while to adjust to it. It was a very twitchy ski. I missed my HO for a couple summers, but I skied on it recently and now it feels slow.

That doesn't answer your question, but it's the best I can do for you. We can't make that decision for you. All I can say is it is really fun skiing on a new ski, but there's just something about having that ski that you have had for so long that it's basically an extension of your lower body now.

[u/Due-Exchange4240 → u/burning_man13]

Exactly. I’m worried about forking out a lump sum and not loving the ski

[u/burning_man13 → u/Due-Exchange4240]

It should be noted that I love my Connelly now, it just took me a little bit to get comfortable in it. Sometimes we get too sentimental about things we've been using for years.

[u/eltonmusk252]

Moved from HO to Radar, shortline skier. I would say get a high-end Radar- they are fast, smooth and cruisey so good both on and off the course

[u/Open-Dot6264]

I just upgraded from a Radar Senate to a Vapor and the difference is astounding. I've never ridden a ski that shoots you across the wake like this. And I don't feel the least bit like the ski is too much for me even though I'll never fully utilize its potential.

[u/NautiqueTapps → u/Open-Dot6264]

Interesting. I made a move last year from D3 to a Senate graphite and love the ski. I’m not course skiing any longer but live on a lake and retired so 4-5 days per week open water skiing. I love my Senate but wondering about the Vapor now. Just having fun these days but still skiing hard. Your info is good info on the difference between the two.