Hi guys
I'm new to this forum but an old time slalom skiier. Been skiing 30 yrs and riunning the course for about 10 yrs. recently came off a 6 yr lay off becausse i thought the new West Coast style would help me overcome a lifetime of bad hapbits (will post on that later). I've been skiing a D3 RC (68" , 195 lbs, 34 mph) for a year  and really liked it. Switched to RS-1 boots this summer and found them to be exactly as advertised: precise and solid edge control with unheard of comfort. darn near perfect.

While i really liked the RC , the ski always seems to ski a little 'short': not as much glide as i would like and a tendency to overturn. this can probablyh be fixed via the fin but i tend to believe that you need to a judge a ski with factory settings as a base refereence. so i thought i'd try a few of the newer skis Recently tried the Syndicate A-1. Has great stability but was very difficult to turn, especially on-side. acceleration seemed about same as D3 ( i now her you need diff fin setup than stock to make that ski 'hasppen'). read posts on John Horton's site (recommended) about RS-1 and it sounded promising so i tried one last week. the ski came with settings identical to what Chris recommends on this site. so that was cool.

First impressions: the ski rocks! It has effortless accleleration, far better than any ski i know of. it sends you out wider/sooner as a result and rolls on edge nearly as quick as the D3 (A1 was slow to  roll). on more than one occaision the accleration cautght me off guard and i literally skied out past the point of no return and had to let go (my technique can cerainly use some help...will post a video soon for feedback)

turns are very predictable and its easier to maintain momentum through out the turn. While the ski builds angle well and accelerates beautifully it still feels very stable through the wake (similar to A1). This ski has what the A-1 merely advertises: big ski accleration with small ski nimbleness and turning ability.

its a fantastic ski.

PS....i love this site! the ability to communicate with pro skiiers like Chris and Wade, who really seem commited to improving th sport and helping us mortals, is an incredible opportunity.

Thanks guys!