Any Slingshot Riders here?

[augie09]

Curious if there are any Slingshot wakeboard riders here?

I am really interested in the 2011 ballistic models, mainly the 142' Hooke. I haven't ridden a Slingshot with molded channels b4 and I am concerned that it will have less flex than my '08 142 Slingshot response.

Has anyone had a chance to ride one of the 2011 boards with molded channels, ie. Newton, Hooke, Kine

[obski]

I haven't ridden any of the new boards yet. I have been riding a Recoil for the past few years and have really liked it, especially for the soft landings on my old knees.

I looked at the new boards at the recent Portland Boat Show and talked with the Slingshot reps. The graphics on the Hooke, Newton, and Kine by Mikey Ennen are awesome. I don't hit rails and don't plan on hitting any in the future, so probably not the boards for me, but they do look nice. I will probably demo one or more anyway this year.

The new boots look to be better built than the D3's that I have. My biggest complaint has been that the liners on my boots fell apart and the laces broke. The rep said that they have had very few warranty issues with them, so maybe I just got a bad pair. To their credit, they did send me some new liners and new laces to replace mine.

[augie09]

You bring up a good point obski. I hadn't even thought about boots now that they changed the mounting to the fasttrack instead of standard holes. Hopefully, the screws I use now on my old LF vantages will fit in the new fasttrack system.

I wish we got demo's around the midwest. It would be interesting to ride those bottomless boots.

The soft landings is what I love to, and I don't want to loose any flex in a new board.

Edited January 25, 2011 by augie09

[Hanahawaiian]

alot my friends use Slingshot and they are PRO wakeboards. Brad Hess he love his Slingshot than any Ronix, Hyperlight, CWB.. he suggestive me to get Slingshot boards soon.. Slingshot have better core, flex than anything..

[NSSS]

slingshot for the win

[snowrider]

Slingshot Response 142 and PB Floyd bindings for past 3yrs. Really have liked the various years models so far. From what I have read the new models this year Hooke, Newton, and Kine all have a new core structure that is slightly stiffer than the Response, Recoil, or Choice models.

[jk13]

Really looking at a new Choice or Response in the next week or two.

All the '11 boards are full wood core:

http://news.activeh2o.com/slingshot-wood-core-wakeboards/

Reviews from around the web are that the new Ballistic series with the carbon rails and molded channels are stiffer than the rest.

Edited March 30, 2011 by jk13

[Bake's Marine]

Curious if there are any Slingshot wakeboard riders here?

I am really interested in the 2011 ballistic models, mainly the 142' Hooke. I haven't ridden a Slingshot with molded channels b4 and I am concerned that it will have less flex than my '08 142 Slingshot response.

Has anyone had a chance to ride one of the 2011 boards with molded channels, ie. Newton, Hooke, Kine

Almost everybody at Bake's rides a Slingshot board, hit us up if you want some opinions & info on them. We just got our 2011 spring stock order in a few weeks ago.

PS: Andrew or Tyler would probably be best to talk to about them.

-Paul

[scott_fx]

i can't comment on the 2011's but i got a 2010 142 recoil last year and have not touched my 3 other boards since. i feel like it's almost cheating.

while at the boat show though, the guys were telling me about the new ronix phoenix project flex board which may be worth comparing.

[calvinclark]

I just bought a recoil with rad bindings and the new arcane surfer. Super excited to see how they perform compared to my cwb!

[wakeboarder3780]

I have the exact same question as you augie. I currently ride the 2010 reflex and have ridden the 2010 response for a year before that. I absolutely love them but was wondering if it would be worth it to upgrade.

I'm sad to hear that they are a bit stiffer than the others I really love the amount of flex my last 2 slingshots have had.

Also, perhaps it's just my perception, but I dont view the ballistic lineup as better for grinding rails, quite the opposite. The boards finally have some bottom features making them better for behind the boat IMO. The channels are supposed to get you from edge to edge faster, but I was personally hoping they would be along the lines of the liquid force concaves that the lyman / shane had. I personally feel that those concaves made a big impact on the softness of landings. I have a similar question like this out on forums.wakeboarder.com but haven't really gotten much of a response yet.

I personally refuse to upgrade until i hear someone who came from the original lineup tell me that they think it's a noticeable upgrade, but then again i *just* got this reflex so.. I would feel guilty upgrading so soon. I dare you to get one and tell me what you think :D

[wakeboarder3780]

Here is the link where a poster is specifically talking about the hooke:

http://forums.wakeboarder.com/viewtopic.php?t=90767

From this data, I've decided to buy a kine and try it (hybrid rockers seem to be my thing). If anyone is looking for a 2010 Reflex let me know (142 or 141 whatever size it came in). Unless I find out I don't like the kine, then I'd be selling a brand new kine =/

Im so pumped!

[itsonlywater]

Here is the link where a poster is specifically talking about the hooke:

http://forums.wakeboarder.com/viewtopic.php?t=90767

From this data, I've decided to buy a kine and try it (hybrid rockers seem to be my thing). If anyone is looking for a 2010 Reflex let me know (142 or 141 whatever size it came in). Unless I find out I don't like the kine, then I'd be selling a brand new kine =/

Im so pumped!

I'd be very interested in the Reflex if you decide to sell.

[wakeboarder3780]

I rode the new kine over the weekend twice. The first day it was kind of choppy and I didn't feel comfortable drawing any conclusions. On a sidenote also, I was under the impression there were both *channels* AND *V*'s formed into the bottom of the board. Truly there are only channels (although if you look close, there are very subtle curvatures on each side that would act similar to DISC on LF boards but not nearly as pronounced as the LF DISC boards.

Anyways, my impression on the newer model versus the 2010 reflex is this. Certainly the newer boards are stiffer. The reflex was much more playful with the flex and at this point and time I do miss that, but I think i'll adjust and won't mind as much. Do I notice more pop as a result? I'm undecided. I've only ridden the board twice AND i've recently added a lot more ballast to the boat and the wake has become a MONSTER. I'm certainly getting more pop but the wake has become 50% bigger, so how can I say whether or not the board had any impact?

What should the new features help with? Cutting at the wake, better tracking. For me I never had a problem with the featureless slingshots (i've ridden both the response and the reflex). Surely the first 3-4 times i rode the response, i had trouble edging because I had become sloppy with my edging skills due to a harder tracking board. After getting used to it however I never had a problem cutting with the response or the reflex. If you are a rider that does have problems holding edge (even after adjusting to the response / reflex / recoil) you would probably notice a better edge hold for the newer sling models.

I personally bought the kine because I thought it was going to have the V's in the bottom of the board (really getting tired of not having a good board shop in the area, nothing like having to buy to try). I thought these V's would help soften the blows even more so than the other slings i rode. After riding this sling I don't feel it helps cushion the blow which is appropriate seeing as how the concave on the bottom is very subtle and there are no v's, just channels. Still, if I land a little tail heavy, the landings are cushy smooth and casing the wake is better on a flex board than not so I'm still happy.

In the end and I happy I got the kine.. yes. Do I feel it was worth the money to upgrade? No (seeing as how in the end I spent about 250 dollars after selling my previous board to upgrade). I feel that if you already have a slingshot you might as well stick with it unless you want a different rocker line, or a bit of a stiffer ride. For me personally I liked the playfulness of the softer slings and didn't feel that the softer slings robbed any pop from me. I have a feeling I will still be able to press manuals fine on this newer kine but it sure feels different than the softer slings which is what I'm trying to get used to.

Cosmetics: I will say the newer boards graphics are pretty cool looking. You'll have to decide if you like the topsheet graphic, but honestly the way they are laid is super slick looking and being able to see the core on the bottom is super awesome IMO.

All in all I'm glad slingshot is adding features to the bottom of their boards - but currently I'm still really missing that playful flex. I'm hoping in the future slingshot decides to make sure they definitely don't go any stiffer. I feel that if they could take the stiff stringers they ran through the board and made them narrower at the tip and tails to allow the tip and tails to flex much more but still provide stiffness in the center for wake take-off they'll hit it right on the head - but then again I still think the first ed slings were great so I'm definitely of the opinion that i like more flex. Then again 3 weeks down the road I might have adjusted and be completely fine with it.

Fast track: I almost forgot to comment on this. I was vocal about not supporting the fast track bindings system slingshot implemented. After getting one and playing with it, I don't feel that way anymore. On the board itself they still make little hash marks so it's easy to get a perfectly symmetrical stance, and seeing how it's implemented I dont know how it couldn't work with nearly every type of binding out there. Just thought i'd throw that i since I was against it before. Seeing it now, I'm all for it. Seems like it would be a stronger solution to me - but then again I dont shoot off double ups and rip out inserts So it's a fix to a problem I didnt have anyway :D

[augie09]

Nice feedback

[08oregon v-rider]

Love my 2011 Slingshot response 142 with RAD boots. Feels like nothing ive ever riden before with so much control and super smooth and recoverable landings. The speed, agility, and manueverability is amazing! Its like being strapped to air or a memory foam mattress that weighs nothing, if that makes any sense at all. Wasn't sure if I would like something so thin and light and first, but now I couldn't possibly go back to anything else. Plus my wakeboarding has improved so much quicker this season than previous seasons. I just seem to be sticking one trick after another. This board loves the double up too!

[wakeboarder3780]

but now I couldn't possibly go back to anything else.

I felt the same way. 3 years ago I sold my 08 LF Shane to a friend in favor of trying a Slingshot. I've been riding slingshot for 2 years now and last week I asked my friend if I could give the Shane another go because I remember liking it so much when I rode it back then. Needless to say I would never go back. Nothing against the shane, still a sweet board, but the lightness of the slingshots and the maneuverability is unmatched.

I threw some tantrums on the shane and could really finally understand why everyone talks about how "light" a board is. I never understood it until that moment. I used to laugh at people trying to get the lightest setup and told them to just take a dump before they rode and they'd drop a good couple lbs and wouldn't have to worry about having a lighter setup.

Going straight from the Sling to the shane, the shane felt like I had some lead weights in my feet. I under-rotated my first tantrum a bit just because of this - lol. You have to give it a little more goose with a heavier board like that. Nothing that you couldn't compensate for just by adjusting to the board but still. The super light maneuverability is unmatched. I've got a 2011 reflex coming in this week and I'll be riding it back to back to the kine to make sure I've finally got my mind made up.

Man I love slingshot <3