| Karen...
What a nice person you are, buying water ski equipment for your
boyfriend! A true supporter of the finer things in life!
Now for the question at hand...what to buy? If he's really just
a recreational skier and doesn't really seem to want to "try the
slalom course" at all, then you can stick with the "recreational"
slaloms at significant savings over the "competition" level skis.
Since mail order is my favorite way to buy water ski equipment,
and since I ski on an O'Brien ski, I'll give you my latest Overton's
spiel...they have a special going: a FREE ski vest ($24.95 value)
with the purchase of the O'Brien World Team slalom ski for $165.95.
For your boyfriend, I would recommend a 70" ski and a large vest
(the vest is really a Large/X-Large size according to the catalog).
As for a rope, slalom skiing is done at a 75-foot rope length.
There are many styles and handles to choose from but you probably
don't need the fancy stuff. For a very inexpensive rope Overton's
sells something called the Team Comp R-Series, a 75' single handle
rope for $10.95. Great deal! The "M-Series" boasts a nicer handle
for $18.95. I've seen O'Brien ropes in sport stores (like Herman's)
for around $10.00 so that may be something to look into. Problem
there is that they may not have them on the shelves since they're
obviously not in season.
Another mail order place I've done business with is Ski Limited.
Here's a list of the least expensive recreational slaloms, their
prices, recommended size, and mail order place:
Ski Price Size Where
------------------------------ -------- ---- -----------
Jobe Pro Turbo $ 99.95 69" Ski Limited
Kidder Pro Glass $ 129.95 69" Ski Limited
Connelly Kevlar Pro $ 143.95 69" Overton's
HO Vision $ 149.95 69" Overton's
O'Brien World Team $ 165.95 70" Overton's *****
***** Free Team O'Brien 3-buckle vest (red) with purchase of ski.
3-buckle vests:
Cypress Gardens TSV $ 23.95 L Overton's
Team O'Brien $ 24.95 L Overton's
America's Cup Competitor 505 $ 29.95 L Overton's
Overton's, 1-800-334-6541 ; Ski Limited, 1-800-621-6300.
...Roger...
P.S. You can probably see some of these skis (or similar) at Water
Skis Plus in Spencer Mass. There are other shops in the Mass./So.
N.H. area too. Also I think I read somewhere in this file that
some places will be having their Christmas sales soon. You can
probably get a good deal on a package (ski, vest, and rope) if you
select a "close-out" or "demo" ski. Good luck.
|
|
I can't offer any advise in what to buy but, I happened to be at
Baerts Marine on rte. 125 Plastow, N.H. the other day and I believe
the sign on the door said 25-50% of ski's and equipment. I think
they carry O'Brian and other noted names, also they seem to be very
good on prices and there may be a note somewhere talking about them.
Guy
|
| If it were me I would consider going to a place like Water-Skis-Plus and
getting a gift certificate in an amount that would cover one of the skis
mentioned in reply .1 and let him choose the particular ski he wanted. He gets
just what he wants, and he knows what you intended to get him.
For whatever its worth,
Al
|