6 Best Water Skis in 2024: Combo, Slalom, Beginners

If you have a motor boat and enjoy spending days on end at the river or lake, but you don’t own a pair of water skis — do you even love the water? We’re gonna go ahead and say, no. No, you don’t. That’s because water skiing is one of the best and most popular ways to enjoy the great outdoors, and if you’ve never tried it, you don’t know what you’re missing.

In this water skis review, we present 6 of the best water skis, including combo, slalom, and the best for beginners. There’s a lot to know to safely and successfully water ski. But the very first step for anyone interested in trying the sport is to find a pair of water skis of their very own. We’re here to help.

Our Top Picks

Dip your toe in the shallow end of these water ski reviews.

A Closer Look: Best Water Skis

From the shallow end to the deep end, here’s a closer look at the water skis we reviewed.

Not only are the Hydroslide Legend Combos the best water skis, they’re among the most versatile. With universal fit bindings and a traditional combo design, they offer an aggressively-tapered tail for quicker turns and bigger wake. keeping things interesting for more experienced skiers. 

With a minimum weight capacity of 120 and at 67-inches — check a water ski sizes chart for your best fit — these skis are easy to take off and put on, and they can even be adjusted once you’re in the water. 

You can also add a stability bar. And otherwise, the design makes them a great choice for stunts, feats and tricks. These are just good-quality skis, especially for the price, according to reports.

The next best choice for combo water skis are the Airhead S-1400s. With dual density bindings and a composite construction, these combo skis have a wide body. For quicker turning, though, the shape is actually like an hourglass, and tips are wider for wake jumping. Tracking is improved with the reinforced nylon fins, and the bindings fit a wide-range of sizes, but not all.

Those who’ve tried these combo water skis call them great for beginners, but also a good choice for tricks. They’re easy to get into and to take off, and while wearing them, it’s also super easy to get into and out of the water. For skiers of all different shapes, sizes and experience levels, these skis are overall comfy, smooth, and stable, according to reports.

Slalom is one of the most difficult things to do on a pair of water skis, and it takes a particular type of skis to do it. The best choice in our ranking for slalom are HO Carbon Omnis, we found out,  

With slide-type adjustable bindings and carbon fiber PVC core construction, these skis offer a flex frame — important for slalom — a continuous rockerline for instinctive turning, and hybrid width. There’s also a Clean Edge 3.0 tail reducing drag by as much as 50 percent.

Feedback on HO Carbon water skis calls them light and responsive, bringing unparalleled performance with the stability of a wider ski. The extra bevel between the rear foot and fins also contributes to the stability, and the overall structure keeps them fast moving with tight line turns, with reduced drag on account of the Carbon Fibre SpeedSkin.

Beginners just getting into the sport of water skiing should consider the Connelly CWB eclipse combos, from one of the most trusted water ski brands in the business. 

With stabilizer bar inserts — important for those just learning! — these skis have slide-type adjustable bindings and reinforced composite construction. Most notable, though, is the wide tail and shallow, narrow tunnels for easier deep-water starts and more even turning.

Also setting the Eclypse combo water skis apart are glass-filled neon fins and slide-type adjustable bindings. With a flatter surface between the edge of the tunnel and the bevel, these skis are known for stability and for edge hold. 

Fans of the skis call them great value for the money, nice and wide, and suitable for beginners.

Important features on water skis for kids are very similar to what to look out for on water skis for adults — just shorter water skis, and maybe a little bit wider to help kids get up and maintain their balance. For these reasons and more, we call the O’Brien Jr Vortex Widebody water skis the best for children interested in trying out the sport.

Also notable, a stabilizer bar can also be added to these short water skis, with dual-tunnel design and  Jr. X-7 adjustable bindings — X-7 adjustable bindings are among the most desirable types of bindings on adult water skis. 

Wearing Vortex, children quickly master deep-water starts, and otherwise, the skis are unmatched in terms of performance and stability, based on feedback.

For an entire family interested in trying water skiing, or for someone who wants to ski but is on a budget, we like the Celebrity Combo water skis from O’Brien. For a broad range of skill levels, these skis offer dual tunnel design for better control and stability, and a performance side cut for better turning. And for better fit, the bindings are X-7 adjustable with a padded rear toe plate.

Most notably, the dual tunnel design gives the skis the shape of a boat hull, meaning they track well for a smooth and stable ride. Some found the bindings difficult to adjust, but others found the skis suitable for all different shapes and sizes and a great, affordable choice for families. 

Using Celebrity Combos, someone who hadn’t skied in over a decade got up and running instantly, according to reports!

Our Process

For this guide on best water skis, our team spent 5 hours researching the most popular options from over 18 brands and manufacturers big and small. We then read user reviews (both positive and negative) to discover what shoppers thought. After comparing this data, we narrowed our list down to the top 6 water skis on the market. You can count on this research to guide you to a mindful purchasing decision.