The EZ-Slalom Compact Portable Slalom Course

The Need For Compactness

As ski boats and their interiors have continued to evolve, with more and more of their interior space being dedicated to creature comforts and storage (i.e. larger, wraparound style observer seating and a separate gear storage trunk in the rear of the boat) it has become abundantly clear to us that with regards to the issue of portability the basic design of the portable slalom course would also have to evolve. In the "Good OId Days" (five to ten years or more ago) before trunks and wraparound observer seating appeared you could still squeeze a bundle of eight-foot long, old-school design buoy arms into your boat's floor (barely). That was the Good Old Days.

With today's boats having less floor space these longer buoy arms are more difficult that ever to get into your boat and out to your chosen skiing site without having them sticking up and out the back of your boat and laying on your rear upholstery or gel-coated surfaces. And with more and more mid-sized tow vehicles in use (Ford Explorer and F-150 Super Crew, Dodge Durango, Chevy Trail Blazer etc) it's even more difficult to haul these too long buoy arms to the lake to begin with!

That is where the initial idea for the design of the EZ-SLALOM COMPACT portable slalom course began. Being regular and frequent portable slalom course users ourselves we thought that if we wanted a more compact, more easily portable course design for ourselves then perhaps the water-skiing public would also be receptive to the idea. We were right! This letter from a customer in California is just one of the many we've gotten from our customers singing the praises of the EZ-SLALOM COMPACT course design

"Last Sunday we set up our brand new Ez-Slalom compact course on a public lake in Northern California. Between the three of us, we have set up every type of portable and permanent slalom course many times over. I must admit, after setting up and taking down your course this weekend I cannot say enough about the high quality and well-thought out functionality of this design. You have obviously spent years on the water with prototypes to end up with such a gem.

The things that I love about this course are as follows: 1. It actually lies flat on the floor of our boats! I did not think I would appreciate this fact as much as I do. Well worth the small extra cost. 2. The spring clips and holes are drilled along the lines of text on each pipe to facilitate finding the hole during assembly. Beautiful touch. 3. Your crimped rope junctions are very cleanly done and extremely durable. 4. Weights on the mainline between boat gates keep the floating rope out of the prop during setup and tear-down. 5. Fishing clips for the buoys! Duh! Elegant solution and extremely functional. 6. Drain holes for air to escape during installation makes for very fast set up. These are attributes that a first-time course owner may not appreciate, but those of us who have spent hours battling with mainlines and PVC after a long day on the lake sing your praise.

First time install was straight and tight in less than 30 minutes! Oh, and by the way, we purchased the anchors your recommended with your course, and were very pleased. No more heavy buckets of concrete or sharp anchors to rip up the interior. I wouldn't want to put any more weight on the anchor line because it is so hard to pull up the thin mainline when you are in deep water (and your hands are shot from skiing). Good suggestion! If you are ever in the San Francisco or Northern California area and would like a pull, please call on me.

Regards- G.S., California

Compact Course Design Specifics

The EZ-SLALOM COMPACT design utilizes a seven piece arm, which is designed similarly to our STANDARD buoy arms in that its pieces telescope and interlock. The differences?

First, by building this arm design in seven sections rather than six, each stored section is significantly shorter. How much shorter? The old standard buoy arm sections when stored are 96" long. The EZ-SLALOM STANDARD's arm sections are a shorter 94 1/2" long. The arm sections for the all new EZ-SLALOM COMPACT are only 80" long! A significant space saving! If you have one of the more compact inboard boats (i.e. Moomba Outback, Calabria Comp, Malibu Sportster etc) or a newer design that has a trunk in the rear of the boat and/or a slanted or wrap around observers seat (both of which reduce useable floor space), you won't be able to get the old standard or (dare we say it?) even the EZ-SLALOM STANDARD's arms into the floor of those boats. The EZ-SLALOM COMPACT will fit into most boats easily allowing you to transport your course in the floor of your boat (and also in the back of your mid-sized tow vehicle) without having it laying up on the rear seat or trunk and possibly damaging your upholstery.

Secondly, we were able to design the COMPACT's boat lane sections (the part of the arm that attaches to the mainline - see the arm diagram above) to be even tougher than the Standard's boat lane sections, making this the toughest built portable slalom course yet!

How did we do that and why is that important?

Here's how we did it. We utilized heavier Schedule 40 pipe in the design of the boat lane sections of each buoy arm, even more heavy duty pipe than that which we use in our STANDARD courses design.

Why is that important? Because the boat lane section is the piece of each buoy arm that takes the stress while the mainline is under tension. Along with the end gates the boat lane's arm section is under constant stress while the course is in use. If it fails you've got problems! That is why we built the boat lanes in the COMPACT from heavier Schedule 40 pipe. An even more fail safe design than our tough STANDARD course, and significantly tougher than our competition's courses. And far more compact too! Innovative, forward thinking which creates a NEW STANDARD in portable slalom course engineering and design!

No, we didn’t invent the telescoping buoy arm. We've simply PERFECTED it!

As stated elsewhere the EZ-SLALOM portable is the Best Built, Best Engineered, and Best Value in a portable slalom course available. We've moved beyond the old standard to create a new, HIGHER STANDARD based on our thorough research and extensive testing of every possible aspect of what TODAY's topnotch portable slalom course should be. Our innovative new EZ-SLALOM COMPACT course design provides even more proof that EZ-Slalom is setting the pace in portable slalom course design! Cutting edge, forward thinking from the EZ-Slalom Course Systems design team.

If this much compactness isn't an issue for you (and you'd rather save a little money instead) please see our Standard Course Page for information on our EZ-SLALOM STANDARD buoy arm design.

At only $649* the EZ-SLALOM STANDARD is THE standard for price and value. And at only $669* the EZ-SLALOM COMPACT sets new standards for toughness and compactness, and gives you significantly more bang-for-the-buck than the competitions twelve-year-old Old School design. Both courses include our unique, one-piece mainline which by itself sets a New Standard for mainline design.

* See our Price List page for complete pricing details.

Options Anyone?

To complete your EZ-SLALOMportable course there are several different options that can be added to even further enhance its function. Options such as the addition of 55-meter pre-gates, a Novice course option, and more. CLICK HERE to go to our Options page for more information on the numerous add-ons and enhancements available from EZ-SLALOM.

Best Built! Best Engineered! Best Value! That's why EZ-SLALOM is The Standard in Portable Water Sports Courses!

EZ-Slalom is the OFFICIAL SLALOM COURSE of the INT LEAGUE
and OFFICIAL NATIONAL SPONSOR!

Thank You for taking the time to review our information. If you have a question about something not covered here and would like to request a brochure, additional information, or would like to discuss any issue with us person-to-person please contact us by e-mail to info@ez-slalom.com or call us toll free at 800-216-4461. We enjoy answering your questions and we'd love to hear from you!