"Old guy" board choices...
 

I'm looking for a new board package...Around the $300 mark...I'm a beginner to int...Wake to wake...I use to ride a LF Trip 133 ten years ago and loved that board...So I'm considering a new Trip (138), CWB Pure, or a Hyperlite Forefront...Any insight into these or others? Thanks!

old guys rule!!!

I dont think you will like the Pure coming from a trip, and watch out for the vapor bindings. Look for an old 2009 Transcend with Answers or a Ronix 1. I am an old guy too and love the transcend, the pure is my boat loaner board and I never ride it. You should get either of those packages as old left overs still new for 3-400.

u really owe it to your knees to try out a slingshot. i'm 37 & riding a ss has allowed me to keep going as big as possible. the flex on the landings is amazing. my buddy used to be a hyperlite dealer. after 2 blown ACLs, he is switching to slingshot. the pop is awesome too.

I am just turning 52 and weigh 185 and swapped over from a couple cheap Airhead/Hydroslide boards to a CWB Kink with the Vapor boots. I really like the Kink finless but the big improvement is the Vapor boots! I think I got the package for $340. The smallest size is a 140, and I know you were shooting for a 138, but as I get older I have found that I like the extra surface area of a bigger board.

I turn 38 tomorrow just got a slingshot choice love it.

2 of us in the crew on Slingshots...Response and Reflex

old guy in for the subscription

The Trip is a excellent board for a beginner to progress on. A 138 should be good for up to 175-180 lbs.

Another old guy here with a question about the Slingshot boards. Which would you recommend for a pure beginner on the big side. I'm 49, 6-0 and about 240 (yikes, that hurts to type!). I tried my sons board and was able to ride but it's way to small (136). I figure I want a 144-145.

Any suggestions? I hate to hijack but it's related. I was also looking at the Hyperlite State 145 but the Slingshots look really nice.

I'm about to hit 57 and have been riding the Motive for about the last 8 years and love it.

Dave P - go Slingshot Lyman 144cm. I am 33 years old, ride a Slingshot Lyman 140cm and one of my buddies is late 40's and rides a 144cm SS Lyman. Board lands super, super soft (even in the flats) and has great pop (without putting in a lot of work). Highly recommend this board for older riders looking for gentle landings. Only downside is that the board is pricey, but you might be able to find a 2011 on clearance or a used one somewhere.

Another vote for slingshot.
they all have 4 removable fins on them too which is nice so you can change up the ride to make it grippy (larger fin) or more slippery (small or no fins)

Another old guy here. I've been riding a Hyperlite Apex for the past couple of years and hate it. Thinking Slingshot as well. I'm hoping to keep my Ronix bindings, but those tracks on the SS boards do concern me a bit. I guess the big question is do the SS boards come with the mounting hardware? Can't seem to find the answer. Thanks.

Well, I suppose one benefit of being an "old guy" vs. the "board/surf bum" I was in my 20's is I'll just figure it out for myself. Just ordered the Lyman 144. These old knees are looking forward to softer landings.

De Minimis - good move on the SS Lyman 144cm. You will be very happy you went with that board. You can definitely feel the flex in it as it pops and presses down nicely on landings.....almost makes riding "fun again" (ie. its kind of a different way of riding...in a good way). Also, the boards come with the hardware you need to mount your bindings, whatever the brand. My buddy uses Ronix One bindings on his 144cm (works no problem) and I run SS Rads on mine. I would say that SS makes a better board than they do a binding, but their bindings aren't bad. I just think Ronix has it figured out when it comes to bindings.

Thanks Andrew. Good to know!

One more question. As a beginner, I'm having a hard time determining which board would be best for me. For instance I have had guys recommend the Response and the Lyman. Is one more difficult than the other or is the difference small enough that a beginner would never notice? Slingshot seems to make quite a few boards and they are all priced reasonably close. I also see the Kine and Reflex in larger sizes. I prefer some graphics over others but I don't want to get into a board that is so difficult it makes learning miserable. What is a fat old man supposed to look for in his first (and likely last) board?

Appreciate anything you can add!

Okay: I've ridden the kine 141, recoil 142 and response 145. I chose the kine, but I'm a
Intermediate wake rider with a freeride style. The recoil was simply not a clean enough release for me, but my budy is 5 10, 250 an he purchased a response 145. He loves the thing. It's waaaaay too big for me as I only weigh 190, but the board was the fastest, landed super soft, was super fun and loose. Those are three advantages of that board over my kine. The reason it would be good or you opposed to the lyman is:
-the Lyman is more board than you need
-the lyman is stiffer
-the Lyman is a bit slower
-response will land a touch sofer
-continuous rocker line will make it a very rideable board
-reasons I listed above in description
-cheaper than the Lyman

Thank You!!!! This is exactly the kind of information I need! I figured there had to be a difference between them. My style is more "owww"

Today got out on the SS Lyman. Today is the first time I truly enjoyed wakeboarding. What an amazing stick. I couldn't be happier.

Andrew, you are correct in your assessment that the Lyman allows for a "different " style of riding. For me, it rides like a snowboard in a bit of powder on top of some softpack (fins at inner mounting positions). I know I'm basically repeating myself, but man oh man, I freak'n love this board. Only regrets are The Boy has football today and both Nuggets dirt bike race tomorrow, which conspires to keep me off the water this weekend.

I'm 38 220 and ride the 2012 Ronix one timebomb. Best board i've ever ridden. I'm going bigger and landings are softer.

Just curious what other boards you have ridden? I am same age weight. I have tried the Trip and Harley. I have liked them both but you have peaked my interest.

Since you asked about the forefront, I'd say it's a good board.

Everyone here is going to suggest something on the higher end. Forefront is a good board to get back into the sport in. I rode one for 2 years. Great board with some toe side aids (riser, cuts on toe side, and longer fins on the toe side). Really does help develop toe side edging. Pop and speed are both on the medium side. It's a hybrid 3 stage, so it's going to be right in the middle. It's also wide to help stabalize you. My only complaint is it is kinda heavy compared to premium high end boards.

I also suggest the ronix one for softer landings. I actually went away from the slingshots because they landed so hard on anything bigger than a nice wake to wake. I rode a reflex until it broke. Then rode a response until i found another board. People say the slingshots land soft and pop hard but I found the complete opposite. Also, the wider your stance, the less they pop and the harder they land. It flexes into a flat piece of plywood easier. Also, found the landings squirly and with a second hop to them. If I overshot a double up and was landing in the flats, usually I would never try to land it just because they were so bone jarring. No problem on the One.

Before settling on the one, this is what I tried
Trip - landed a little hard
ibex -good pop but too slow for my liking.
Cwb pure -landed a little hard and the stock fins are way to big for my liking. God help you if you land sideways. Heavy.
Cwb faction - ok but just no fun for some reason to me. Also heavy.
Ronix parks - nothing bad to say.
Slingshot recoil and response - hard landings and not very good pop. Light and easy to spin.

Most importantly, try before you buy, if you can.

Did we ride the same slingshots? I hope you're taking about the new one cause every old one I've ridden lands harder than anything I've ever ridden....

I am 56 year old beginner/intermediate. 5'11" and 195 lbs. I ride a 2011 LF Harley 143.3?? and I really love it with the exception that landing in the flats is kinda harsh. Wish I could have the same board with soft landings!

I've not ridden the 2008 One. I've heard they were hard landing. 2009-current all land nicely for me.

That's why I suggest try before you buy. Kept hearing "huge pop, softest landings" about the slingshots. Bought a slingshot based on that and it turned out to be a big disappointment. I do wonder if weight maybe has something to do with it. I'm 6' 190. Maybe someone light doesn't fully flex it flat on the landings? Maybe that makes for a softer landing.

The Ronix boards land harder because most them them have a giant flat spot right in the middle of the board. I have owned an Ibex a ONE and viva. I love the look of their products they ride nice but love my slingshot lyman pops as well and lands way softer with spine and flex.

Just severed my long standing relationship with the Motive and ordered a 136 CTRL RX. I tried my buddies and it held an edge like it was on rails when throwing air tricks at the cable.

48 and still throwing some inverts and spins,....Slingshot recoil is one of the softes landing boards out there,takes some time to get used to a flex board.
Now riding a slingshot hooke,...more continues pop and still lands soft ,.not as soft as the recoil thogh.

But regardless what kind of board you ride,....we old dudes simply need massive wakes,...let the wake do the work for you,and go W2W with all the tricks.
Forget the flats,...those a knee/back killers anyway.

You are gnarly if you are 56 and landing in the flats. I'm half your age and feel like my knees are going to give on every landing.

Hey Raf,
I am 56, but not gnarly. It's all in the length of the rope and the amount of pop. I have a lot of trouble getting much height, so when I land out in the flats it just means I over jumped my relatively short wake to wake jump ( I think I am riding a 57' rope at 20mph), from about 5 feet up. It is still landing flat unfortunately, and is kinda harsh. My old Hyperlite Era landed much softer in the same situation. But thanks for assuming I was gnarly!!

I am 41 and ride mainly a Cwb Marius
Play around on a
144 Faction
142 Vibe
The Faction tracks like a Train and lands soft due to the center spine. It has really forgiving edges also....But yes its heavy...DB9 is the same board a pound lighter and more $$$
Vibe is a flex board with long shallow rail\slider style fins. Flex boards have a different "pop" to them compared to reguler style boards Imo. And the Vibe lands soft tail heavy....land on the belly and its harsh!
Marius has double spines and a v tech tip/tail to make it easy to roll onto edge. It pops well and lands soft to me.
I'm just an intermediate rider and try NOT to land in the flats because that hurts....lol
Good luck with your choice and happy shredding!!!!

Well,
Andrew and DiMinimis have got me thinking about a SS Lyman. Is there anyone who has ridden both the Harley and the SS Lyman and is willing to give a comparison. Like i said above, love my Harley, but soft landings would be awesome if the handling characteristics are similar.
DiMinimis, are you still loving your Lyman? One of the things I like about the Harley is how loose if feels when not on edge, and yet still seems to be easy to control.

I'm 34 and I switch from the 2011 ronix one board to the 2012 Harley and LOVE the way this thing rides, but you are right when you say this thing lands hard in the flats. I ride @ 70&23mph. The ONE was very soft landing but too sticky in the water for me. I have heard they changed that in 2013.

I just ordered the 2013 HL Marek Nova 145 and System Bindings. I rode this thing last weekend and the landigs were way softer. Put this on your list to try. I'll give more feedback as soon as it comes in.

@Moto: freak'n love it. Loose when fins moved to inner position. Surface 360s are easy. Holds an edge when you want. Nice rocker.

Skip,
Sorry about not getting back to you quicker. I started out riding the belmont years ago, then a premier, Era, 3DS, I bought a one the first year they came out and have ridden them ever since. This years one is the best board i have been on by far!!

Hi, i think the CWB Absolute should be thrown into the mix, it's a board with great pop, a large spine in the center for soft landings and i found it to be responsive to breaking free when i wanted, and holding edge when I didn't. I learned, and progressed very fast on this board. It was my first real board and I love it very much.

Thanks.

I was considering the One when I got the Harley. I need to try one.

I rode the LF Shane yesterday as I needed a board to ride until my new HL Marek Nova comes in. I can say this is the first time I have not had knee pain the day after in 3 months. It is crazy. I could not figure out what it was causing the pain, but obviously it was the LF Harley board. That sucks because I love the way that board rides, but man does it land hard. (Could be the rider too) The only reason I am not going to stay with the Shane is that I feel it is too short for me, as I am 6'4" 210.

46- still doing Rolls- I ride a 2012 Natural 144. It's the second Natural I have owned and I love it.

I'm close to 49 and bought the Slingshot Lyman after reading about the buttery landings and the board was sure to have a different feel from the Murray I had been riding for the last 2 years. Although I don't think there is any true shock absorber for landing in the flats, I wanted to mix it up a bit.

What was great was how different the ride is with the fins in the inside position. I was having a blast just messing with surface turns, spins and the loose feel. As others have mentioned it has a snowboard feel at times.

However, if you bury the rail it makes a bee line toward the wake and spits you up. To me it was very stable and not too loose on the landings. I didn't expect that it would have a split personality, loose when your want it but tight when you don't.

If nothing else, it's a blast to have another different style of ride in my quiver. Makes me want to buy some more stuff.

The weak part if the track binding system. It took me some work to stop them from moving and it's probably not 100% just yet.

Tim you like your Lyman with the fins tword the center of the board vs the tips of the board? Did you notice it less buttery or loose by doing this?

I have not pushed them out to the tip yet. I rode both my old board the Hyperlite Murray and was having fun with the Slingshot with the fins toward the center and getting my stance set. Next time I'll shift the fins out. With the shape of the board and size of the fin I'm not sure what to expect. I suspect they will be further out of the water and the board more loose. I am sure someone can chime in on what to expect.

Another factor is that I was riding behind my friends 230 instead of my Sunsetter. There is a big difference in wake between the two although it does not affect my riding style just the boost.