Which Portable Slalom Course?

[mikeyg]

I have searched the web and found 4 different brands of portable courses. They all look to be the same concept with few differences. I am looking to get something that i can load in the ps190 and install it for the day. I was curious to see if anyone has had any luck with a particular brand or any poor results with another. I am hoping to make a purchase here in the next day or so and any insight would be appreciated. Thanks.

[mikeyg]

As a kid I vaguely remember putting one of these up and it seemed like the grown ups were having to wrestle it in. How easy do these newer ones install really? Most of the time it will be my wife and I putting it in and out.
Thanks.

[Lottawatta]

IMO, EZ slalom is the best hands down. I had an insta slalom and an e-z slalom. As far as storage and installation, they were about the same. As far as engineering, accuracy and durability, the ez slalom is way better. I installed the slalom course for the Jr. U.S. Open last year, Ed at EZslalom sent me a slalom course mainline to use, it measured to world record accuracy right out of the box. We punished it with twice the recommended tension on the mainline in a lake ridden with weeds. It didn't stretch a bit and held straight even with a stiff crosswind.

My advice: spend the extra cash for the stainless mainline vs. the rope. Although the rope is lighter and easier to handle, the stainless will last longer and is more accurate over time.
My personal opinion on installing portable courses: Three people make it go easier. A driver, a person on the platform installing, and a person handing/holding.

Back in the days before i had a private lake to ski on, we put a slalom course in and out of the river several times a week. We dropped concrete anchors in the river and left a jug tied to them. That made getting it installed and tight a whole lot quicker and easier. The time it takes you to install will drop each time out until you get it down to 10-15 minutes depending on wind and/or current.

Best of luck, but don't make a decision until you call Ed.
www.ez-slalom.com

[Skipper]

I use the compact portable from EZ-Slalom. My daughter and I install it in about 30 minutes. We ski 3-4 sets, then pull it back out. It fits well in the boat. Easy to operate. I like the use of internal clips to connect the arms.

[Age Fighter]

It is not a course, but a quick option that will at least force your open water skiiing to have the same intensity as the course (well, closer to that intensity) there are flag kits that quickly install on the boat -- one on each side.

It's not like a course, but they do force you to get wide on the boat -- to make the rope hit the flags on alternate sides (to represent clearing the boueys).

There have been some discussions on here about these. For those serious shoppers for a course, they probably are not an option. For those where installing a course is not realistic -- these are a decent training device.

[#47of100TeamMC]

There is only 1 option for you when you are putting the course in a 190. Go with the Ez-Slalom Compact. It is a 7 piece arm system. It will fit in your boat ON THE FLOOR from the observer seat and back. Insta-slalom's buoy arms are 96" long. EZ-slalom's Standard course buoy arms are 94.5" long and the Compact course Buoy arms are only 80" long. Do yourself a favor and do your upholstery a favor and get the EZ-Slaom Compact.

Good Luck!

[mikeyg]

just spoke with Ed at Ez-Slalom. He seems like a great guy and was very informative. I think the compact portable is the way to go. Thanks for your help.

[#47of100TeamMC]

just spoke with Ed at Ez-Slalom. He seems like a great guy and was very informative. I think the compact portable is the way to go. Thanks for your help.

You won't be dissappointed! As far as installing, you can do it with 2 people. Plan on 45min the first time. You can maybe knock off 5min each time once you get the hang of it and know which boom arms to put where. It is a bit easier/faster when you have 3 people. I don't use mine much, but we are pretty consistent at 25min install and 20min take down with 3 of us. That is probably slow by most standards, but we are just out to enjoy the time. And don't put it in if we are in a hurry anyway.

Let us know how it goes!

[east tx skier]

Another vote for EZ slalom. Ed is great!

[nascar]

I just looked around the EZ slalom site and if I were purchasing a course ... it would be an EZ course .