I see where AJ left after a short stay and I hear they let Ryan the team manager go because of budget problems. Also heard their new boards break pretty easily. What is going on with HL?

They do still have the power house name, and have there new big guys to contracts, i think they may be getting away from what liquid force does and just signs anybody and makes there team huge. They have 7-8 really popular guys and a few up and comers. As far as product i dont ride Hyperlite but when i have you new when you were on a hyperlite board, it was have and fast, thats pretty distinctive about them. So people that ride the newer lines would have a better idea on construction. I do have buddies that ride Hyperlite and swear by some of the boards.

Hyperlite is fine, AJ left on his own, he rode for Gator in 06 and has long term ties with Randall & Ricky G. They have a new team Manager to replace Ryan. Like all big company's sometimes you want to change the vision.

Hyperlite will never be hurting. Their marketshare is still huge and their product this year is a step in the right direction (b-Side, tribute, Monarch, Murray, etc.)

Who is their new manager?

Roger, should be an announcement coming out soon.

Who is their new manager?

I dont see Hyperlite hurting much or at all. In my eyes, 06-07 was the 'low' point if you could even call it that when the OG's, Parks, Chad, Danny, and Emily CD left. But looking at it, when you've got two of the best selling shapes over the past few years, the Premier and 3DS shape, very good selling boots, the 3DS and Murray boots, Byerly running his own line which has been going over huge for them, it seems that they are doing quite well. They've established a good core team, and like it was stated above have several up and comers too. Also somethin to note, they're still causing a stir. Not to knock LF or OB or Ronix, because I like different products from each, but look at the stir that the 08 line caused. The Sub VI alone had its own thread i think, lots of people wondering about the Murray board and the Tribute. Having the ability to move production of several boards to the US shows that they must have the assets to handle in teh increase in cost involved with that. Thats basically the Hyperlite Situation in my eyes. Lookin good guys, keep it up. BTW, I've been a Hyperlite guy since the day i started riding, and couldnt be more excited about the direction their going in.

hyperlite will never be hurting because its the best wakeboard sponser you can get !!!!

jw... isn't hyperlite trying to become the next quicksilver? I thought I read that in a WBM or Alliance a couple months ago...

I think the Hype team is hurting too. heres the thing, I cant remember the last time I saw someone on anything Hype 08 or even too many 07 shapes. Personally, keep in mind I have a very heavy slant, Ronix skyrocketed right from the gate, even with the reports of faulty boards, LF seems to climb steadily every year, even OB is seeing improvement. Hyperlite strikes me as; my first board was a hype, now i ride LF/Ronix/OB/etc. I dont know how to explain this well, but do you catch my drift?

Hype...hurting...absolutely not! 08 product is awesome. This will be their best season. With Murray, Malinoski, Webb and Byerly as family....they are going nowhere. I think Ronix will have a slower year because of quality issues this last production. I know I had a few issues with my set up...never complained..but annoying to deal with. Plus Ronix only has two new shapes...Parks board and errington's. Ronix will be around for quite a while...but again Hyperlite most certainly will too.

Hyperlite's pro team isn't at all indicative of their success. It simply means the marketing department set some money aside to throw at some athletes to ride on their gear for the next few years. Obviously with success comes more money to throw at riders, but what if Hyperlite threw a bunch of money at those riders to maintain the perception that they're doing really well as a company...because, you know, the best riders always wanna ride for the best company, right? <BR> <BR>Hyperlite took a step in the right direction, but didn't do any more work to their now-aging line than anyone else. They have some new boards and some nice new bindings, but so does LF. CWB also redesigned their hinge tech which eliminated my only gripe with that system, so that was nice to see, too. <BR> <BR>I do think that unless Hyperlite does something about the rest of their line in 09 that they're gonna stumble and fall. As cool as it was to see Rusty get a HL pro model, I'm bummed that he's just getting his name put on a 3-5 year old shape. Why not start from the ground up and make something that he's gonna be able to ride for another three years instead of just rebadging a shape that has already been around three full seasons as the 3ds, and two more as the TFD? The Proof bindings are <i>exactly</i> the same as last year, and the Atlas and Era are also the same, but in a new colorway. <BR> <BR>I don't mean to bash on Hyperlite, and I'm sure there are many people out there that are happy with their 3ds bindings or whatever, but complacency is never the key to success.

...but if their numbers are solid, then why would they mess with them?? The market has been shaken recently by some changes, and Hyperlite has been riding on the success and history, waiting to make a move until they had a strategy penned out. <BR> <BR>Why haven't they done much?? They let everyone else play their cards, confidently hit their numbers without over-investing in new products and marketing that would have a hard time vying for the limelight in the busy waters of "new ideas" in the wake scene right now, and will be making their next move based on the plays of O'Brien, LF, CWB and Ronix... by not thrashing around and trying to win the attention of the crowds with the new kids in town, they shifted focus for this year, saving them money and making the consumers (and industry) curious about the Mammoth's next move. People are asking "what's up with Hyperlite", which is exactly what they want. Had they really laid it on the line for 2008, their splash would not have had the same impact just due to the current state of the industry. <BR> <BR>While we'd, of course, love to see Hyperlite crank out some crazy new stuff, it will come in time. They are a large business, and have to move strategically. <BR> <BR>Additionally, there are enough people completely satisfied with their 3DS bindings to continue to make Hyperlite the most successful wakeboard company on the planet.

"Hyperlite took a step in the right direction, but didn't do any more work to their now-aging line than anyone else" <BR> <BR>I think bringing in Greg Nelson has and will continue to bring innovation to the Hyperlite line. He is a legend in creating great shapes and boards.

Ride the new Murray or Sub VI.....they have most certainly done their homework. Those boards are awesome. Not to forget JD's new board the B-side. that is a new shape. As well as the tribute. The Syn is a new shape...maybe old name..but not the same board..look closely at the Syn...it is the tribute with the graphics for the girls. I think 08 is just the beginning efforts of what direction Hype is going to next. Don't want forget the fact that the Sub VI and Murray are made in Redmond Washington. Glad to see production returning to the U.S.

<blockquote><hr size=0><!-quote-!><font size=1><b>quote:</b></font><p>By TeamValdez (teamvaldez) on Tuesday, November 27, 2007 - 1:58 am: <BR> <BR>I think bringing in Greg Nelson has and will continue to bring innovation to the Hyperlite line. He is a legend in creating great shapes and boards.<!-/quote-!><hr size=0></blockquote> <BR> <BR>is he bringing innovation? or are they simply old double-up designs and calling them new? <BR> <BR><blockquote><hr size=0><!-quote-!><font size=1><b>quote:</b></font><p>By scott firman (mucktoerider) on Tuesday, November 27, 2007 - 11:14 am: <BR> <BR>Ride the new Murray or Sub VI.....they have most certainly done their homework. Those boards are awesome. <!-/quote-!><hr size=0></blockquote> <BR> <BR>what homework would that be?

uh... their board design homework. Scott feels that the design of these boards demonstrate that hype has done their BOARD DESIGN homework .

Maybe they just need a cool new team Vid.

Maybe they shouldn't be set up to look bad, in other words, have their founders leave and start up a company seemed to target against them, thus creating a perception by those who actually believe all that junk that they aren't "real". The more money you make, bigger you are, the more you can research and do your "homework". They aren't hurting.

Joe, I am sure that there are some foundational simalarities between the shapes of the Double up boards and Hyperlite boards now and that are in the future.You can't take the gift out of the hands of the shaper. But that isn't saying that it is a bad thing. There is an old school that still swears by double up boards and are happy to see Greg Nelson creating again.

Also the JD's B-Side was shaped by Butch, Byerly shaper.

the way I see it, greg building off of an old DU design is like burton starting almost every new snowboard shape from one of their classic designs--the custom.

don't forget the Byerly Monarch...that board is totally wicked. New shape..new materials...new RIDES.....!!!!!SWEET

As to the guy who said LF just signs everyone and anyone just to make the team bigger. name one rider on the team who dosent absolutely kill it. I don't think they should have a team any smaller than what they got. <BR> <BR>(Message edited by wakerpunk on November 27, 2007)

I want to say I havent bought a HL board in probably 8 yrs (back during Honeycomb era)..but I still got to give credit were credit is do. And after checking out the 08 line I might be making a purchase their way. <BR> <BR>Lets have a look at whats new in 08; <BR>-Tribute - one of a kind - a blend of many things <BR>-Murray - totally new design for the murray line <BR>-B-side - pretty much the next generation premier <BR>-Bylery Monarch- a must DEMO for 08- I couldnt believe low lite this board was. <BR>-Sub IV - totally different approach in wakeboarding...well just say " a have to see" maybe not afford. <BR> <BR>Now with that said- take a look at the new construction material comming from HL. Super light, super snappy. <BR> <BR>And on a final note - no one has seen Rusty's promodel. Its still being shaped ... <BR> <BR>That being said - obviously hyperlite still has some surprises up} their sleeve...

"is he bringing innovation? or are they simply old double-up designs and calling them new? " <BR> <BR>Joe, to some extent, every new board released is going to take features from another board previously released. That might mean boards look extremely similar, but it doesn't mean they are direct copies. <BR> <BR>For the record, I think the new Murray looks sweet. Maybe it will restore my faith in the murray line...

I think Hype has a great line of boards, It's their bindings they need to work on. I started out riding Hype and now ride CWB. I will probably ride something different next season. I like variety.

garrett, it's pretty damn close to being identical to past du/nelson boards. if you want to call that taking features, cool. <BR> <BR>i'm not knockin' it, btw. it's a great design. being a du fan, i'm lookin' forward to checkin' it out.