Thinking of Getting a new board

[CrazyTegger]

I'm looking forward to getting a new board/boot combo this spring and wanted to know your thoughts. I'm hoping to get down to around 200 lbs by the time boarding starts.

I've always been a hyperlite fanboy and looked at the dine series. I liked what I saw with the Marek at 146 cm, seems a little beefier than the murray. I don't know anything about the sub6.

I haven't ever ridden a ronix or liquid board.

Currently I've got an 03 motive with murray bindings.

I really like the white murray closed toe bindings, so I'll probably pick up a pair of white ones.

I rode a parks a couple years ago and really liked the pop. My motive will only give me abour 5-6ft of air with full ballast and wedge.

What are you guys thoughts on which board I should get?

[obski]

The most important thing is to get out and demo different boards and boots.

My first board was an '01 HL Belmont, which is the same mold as the current Motive. I'm currently riding a Slingshot Recoil with LF closed toe Watson boots. I demoed several different boards before settling on the SS. I would highly recommend at least giving the SS Recoil or Response a try and check out their boots, the D3 or PB Floyd. If I didn't already have the Watsons, I would have gone with the SS boots as well.

I found the SS Recoil to have great pop off of the wake and to have significantly softer landings than the other boards I demoed. Of those other boards, the most fun one was the LF Lyman. That board is a rocket - in fact, while I had a lot of fun on it, I felt like I didn't have as much control as I liked and the landings were harder than with the SS board.

As far as length, I would recommend looking in the 142 range.

[shade]

CrazyTegger,

If you liked the Parks board you should try the Ronix Ibex. I got the Ibex last summer and it is awsome. Tons of pop and it will carry alot of speed into the wake. The landings are pretty soft too. If you can demo one definately give it a try. I would go w/ the largest size if I were you. Did I mention that the Ibex looks cool too. It just has a nice clean look without all dumb looking graphics found on so many boards. I think the 2009 looks even better than my 2008.

[CrazyTegger]

CrazyTegger,

If you liked the Parks board you should try the Ronix Ibex. I got the Ibex last summer and it is awsome. Tons of pop and it will carry alot of speed into the wake. The landings are pretty soft too. If you can demo one definately give it a try. I would go w/ the largest size if I were you. Did I mention that the Ibex looks cool too. It just has a nice clean look without all dumb looking graphics found on so many boards. I think the 2009 looks even better than my 2008.

Thanks for the input.

I was looking at the ronix website, and the boards look really impressive, at least graphically. I'll take a look into those. IBEX looks pretty slick

Quick question, I understand the physical difference between a 3 stage rocker and continuous, but what does this relate to in terms of riding experience?

[Calexan]

The Ibex felt slow to me...... but I have also been riding the Covin which is a super fast board, so everything would probably feel slow. The Ibex had a ton of pop though! I was very impressed with that....

[CrazyTegger]

The Ibex felt slow to me...... but I have also been riding the Covin which is a super fast board, so everything would probably feel slow. The Ibex had a ton of pop though! I was very impressed with that....

Ok, so I did some looking up on the two rocker types, and now I have to make the choice... Continuous, 3-Stage, or Hybrid. The hyperlite's are apparently a good abrupt continuous.

Edited January 25, 2009 by CrazyTegger

[shade]

My previous board (before the Ibex) was a Hyperlite 3DS which has an abrupt continuous rocker. I thought it was the best board ever, hands down, fast, tons of pop, just awsome! But it landed pretty harsh. Then I rode the Ibex. After that the 3DS didn't seem that fun any more. You can ride the Covin, the One, Murray, Marick, B-Side or what ever you like, but make sure you ride the Ibex. Everyone has different preferences, but I think the Ibex is hard to beat. The exception is, I haven't riden the new LF Lyman board, but it sounds pretty good.

[CrazyTegger]

My previous board (before the Ibex) was a Hyperlite 3DS which has an abrupt continuous rocker. I thought it was the best board ever, hands down, fast, tons of pop, just awsome! But it landed pretty harsh. Then I rode the Ibex. After that the 3DS didn't seem that fun any more. You can ride the Covin, the One, Murray, Marick, B-Side or what ever you like, but make sure you ride the Ibex. Everyone has different preferences, but I think the Ibex is hard to beat. The exception is, I haven't riden the new LF Lyman board, but it sounds pretty good.

I think I'm going to see if I can demo the ibex, marek and murray when the snow melts, and it warms up a good 30 degrees...

Thanks for the input guys

[shade]

You won't be sorry you tried the Ibex. It may not be the perfect board for you, but it will sure show you what a board is capable of.

Edited January 25, 2009 by shade

[DizzyG]

I thought I was in love with 1 brand for a while, I rode the hyperlites and then tried out a liquid force. You know what I found...every brand has differences even between boards so it didn't matter much. The shop that carries LF for me treats me great, so that's what I ride right now. They have CWB too, which I like.

If you like the bump of the parks you might want to try the LF Watson or if you like a loose feel when you're not on edge try out the shane. The Lyman got great reviews but I can't speak since I haven't tried it. I really like the shape/feel of the witness (greenwood's board) my wife bought the Jett which is the same shape so I've tied that one out.

I prefer a really lose board with good pop, so the shane is my choice. I liked the pop of the watson (I used to ride the substance series which was just taken over/tweaked to be the watson a few years back) but it feels too tight to me.

The CWB Abosolute is pretty similar to me to the watson/shanes.

Try them out! As far as bindings, I still like my open toe transits a lot! And don't forget, the board is most likely not preventing you from getting sufficient air! You can go out and buy a pro board just like you can buy a pro guitar, it doesn't make you a pro guitar player!

[-BS-]

I'd have to agree with Dizzy. The Watson is really 'poppy' and fun. It's what I ride now. I get to demo quite a few boards each year (mostly Hyperlite and LF) and I haven't found a board I like better. I used to ride the LF Substance (which at the time was the Watson pro model). Dizzy is right, it has a really 'tight' , stable feel to it. It is a really fast ride. You barely have to put the thing on edge, and it hauls a$$. For what it's worth: it is the best selling wakeboard year after year. It's definitely worth a demo if you have the means.

If you're going strictly for 'pop' the CWB Marist is your best bet, although I would definitely demo one first. The Lyman is also really 'poppy' and was fun, although I only rode it a couple times. It's not quite as one dimensional as the Marist.

I don't have anything against the other companies, but I always buy Liquid Force. I like their products, I like their riders, I like their company.

Good luck with your decision! Let us know what you end up with....

[stewart]

Also check out the LF Witness. I bought one when it first came out. Last year I bought the Ronix One on a whim and promptly returned. Ended up buying a second LF Witness for a backup board. I ride the Witness without fins and it holds an edge when you want it to and breaks free to slide without effort.