Features we should demand

why doesnt every board have a infinite stance option strip?
why arent there bindings with flexible plates to avoid deadspots in flex?
Why aren't all boards built with top of the line cores?

I don't see why features like these are being implemented. I can't see any reason that hyperlite's (but really burton's lol) strata strip shouldn't be put into every board on the market. Thats a feature that really appeals to me, and i am bummed its reserved for the 700 dollar nova core boards from 1 company, and the other company that has used it, ss doesnt even have it on its entire lineup.

EMS bindings in snowboarding were really really dope. and ik this is the second burton innovation i want to see brought to wakeboarding but still i think its a really important idea. When you have a binding with a hard baseplate......as all wake bindings do......you make it so the board underneath ur binding is stiff. Burton started making bindings without stiff baseplates, to allow the entire snowboard to flex without dead spots. WHY HASNT ANYONE MADE WAKE BINDINGS LIKE THIS Ittd be awesome to buy a phoenix project s and feel the entire board flex, not just the nose/tail out past the bindings

and i feel like riders are constantly being ripped off by the "top of the line core" boards. Is it really that much better/more expensive? Someone with knowledge please share.

Bottom line im frustrated that there are features i could think of that havent been implemented yet and i take that as a sign of slow innovation in the industry. All these flexboards/hybrids/baseless plates have been cool. But i think we as riders should ask for more like changing shapes every year, not every 2 years.

If every single wakeboard was made with the best strongest fastest everything, they would all be super expensive. Not every person needs a nova core (Hyperlite) or time bomb (Ronix) construction or the lightest strongest cores and boards that have a strada track. Thats why they have different series and levels of wake boards, and why everything isn't the same. Different wake boarders want different features. The average recreational wakeboarder looking to clear the wake doesn't need a Murray Nova core. Many people are more than happy with a simple package board like the LF trip and thats all they will ever need. If every board had all of these options, there would be no need for multiple wake companies creating new innovations, or having a unique product.

Burtons EST Bindings have the hard plastic (or whatever it is) outside base, with the soft footbed. Basically the exact same thing that Ronix does with their boots. There has to be some kind of hard shell, otherwise the binding would break right off or not hold any shape what so ever.

As far as changing board shapes every single year, if something isn't broke don't fix it.

(No thread is complete without pics!)

i agree with travis.. I don't want to have to pay $600+ for every board i buy.. Given, I buy hybrid core boards for my rail time at the cable park and they do hold up pretty well.. and as far as the Strata system goes.. i ride my boards all the way out and buy boards my size so the stance always feels close as it can be when i switch boards.. if it is off a little bit.. I don't notice it enough to throw off my riding.. But I like the ideas for sure.. Thats just me personally.

I heard somewhere that Ronix bindings were either made by or designed with Burton's input so that would make sense.

Why not start your own company with all those "must have" features and let us know how it goes? I'm kind of with most people on this...not everyone wants or "needs" those features.

until company and ss came into the industry it did seem pretty stale as far as board tech and progression, we can only hope that these new companies keep pushing the older companies to innovate and keep the industry fresh. Slingshot is definitely the most progressive to me.

Because those infinite stance options suck and break easily, that's why you don't see them on every board.

Originally Posted by yeahhh

until company and ss came into the industry it did seem pretty stale as far as board tech and progression, we can only hope that these new companies keep pushing the older companies to innovate and keep the industry fresh. Slingshot is definitely the most progressive to me.

Everyone always spouts off about how progressive Company was. What exactly did they invent?

lol not the support i was looking for, but i guess my rant was dominated by the fact i am a broke college student who hardly has enough money for a new board, and am bummed my 400 dollars doesnt take me further.

This kind of thread comes up every year or so, but I feel like it was forgotten last year so it's time for me to try and make the case again for Pressure Release Bindings.

If you told 2001 Erik that in the futuristic year of 2012, release bindings for wakeboarding wouldn't even be on the horizon, but these 500$ hot bath mold, microwave mold, closed toe SHIN COFFINS would be the hotness, I'd have slapped you. Because in 2001, I saw a provisional patent drawing for them and I loved it. It was something I even thought about investing in but the person with the mechanical knowledge lost interest and the project died. I can't believe there isn't even a small company making these made to order - even if they cost a few grand a pair, and even if they required a special board. Unless I am missing some tiny ad in the back of Water Ski or Transworld Wakeboarding, then this is being completely missed and in my opinion we should be absolutely ROARING for it.

Originally Posted by TheHebrewHammer

Everyone always spouts off about how progressive Company was. What exactly did they invent?

The Vandal board had some pretty kool features. it was one of the first boards with a urethane sidewall. the core layup was deffinately different from the description. ie. there were wood stringerrs in an x shape fasion that helped with torsion and response... if i am remembering it right.

personally i thought their hardware for mounting the boots was the most inovative thing they did. the boot could be mounted pretty much anywhere on the board: left right, forward backward, angle this way and that. they had more stance options than the strata/ fast track systems had, all while still using the traditional insert system that most boards had. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1x5J7m0Kopo (think this is the right video cant view it right now)

Originally Posted by VinnyA

lol not the support i was looking for, but i guess my rant was dominated by the fact i am a broke college student who hardly has enough money for a new board, and am bummed my 400 dollars doesnt take me further.

if your ok with being one year behind $400 can go a long way if you buy at the right time and place. 2011 gear is flying out the window right now... at least the places that have marked them down already

i think 5 years (ever since the LF vantage released) i was wanting replacable velcro straps.

Slingshot is the only one to answer that call.

*CWB kinda did, but you cant really get replacement straps... and even if you could. the CWB method of attachment is purely velcro, no hardware. so eventually that will wearout too

Originally Posted by juniorhawk

This kind of thread comes up every year or so, but I feel like it was forgotten last year so it's time for me to try and make the case again for Pressure Release Bindings.

If you told 2001 Erik that in the futuristic year of 2012, release bindings for wakeboarding wouldn't even be on the horizon, but these 500$ hot bath mold, microwave mold, closed toe SHIN COFFINS would be the hotness, I'd have slapped you. Because in 2001, I saw a provisional patent drawing for them and I loved it. It was something I even thought about investing in but the person with the mechanical knowledge lost interest and the project died. I can't believe there isn't even a small company making these made to order - even if they cost a few grand a pair, and even if they required a special board. Unless I am missing some tiny ad in the back of Water Ski or Transworld Wakeboarding, then this is being completely missed and in my opinion we should be absolutely ROARING for it.

how about this
http://www.wakeworld.com/forum/showt...72#post1732172

Originally Posted by wakerider111

how about this
http://www.wakeworld.com/forum/showt...72#post1732172

WOW. Jeesh talk about time appropriate. I knew nothing of this. Thanks for the link!
Jeesh... As I sit here with a plate of titanium in my leg, with 14 screws in my tibia, I should be ashamed for trying to be out in front of this exact specific issue and knowing nothing about this.

Humbled. Seriously.

Originally Posted by juniorhawk

WOW. Jeesh talk about time appropriate. I knew nothing of this. Thanks for the link!
Jeesh... As I sit here with a plate of titanium in my leg, with 14 screws in my tibia, I should be ashamed for trying to be out in front of this exact specific issue and knowing nothing about this.

Humbled. Seriously.

hey, i just found out about it like 10 min before your post. i emailed it to myself and thought id wait till i got home to post it. I read your post and decided i needed to post it right away


Now someone needs to hire the kid!!!
hope some Industry Big Dogs are seeing it and pair it with the hundreds of posts in other threads in the past demanding this kind of thing.

Originally Posted by VinnyA

why doesnt every board have a infinite stance option strip?

Depending on how it would be implemented it would be weaker and could result in screws loosening or binding position slipping. Even if it can be done to be as good as fixed position stance, it would be a lot more expensive, like the other options you mentioned. I'm no pro. I love to get out and ride every chance I get, and I spent a lot of money (for me anyway) on my LF board and bindings, but I took a long time to buy them and read a lot of advise first since I can't afford to buy new gear every couple years. I'm not rich so I'd rather have a good setup that I like and will last, then spend my money on gas so I can ride.

If most people are like this and use a setup for many years or until it breaks, I suspect the market for really high dollar gear is much smaller than the market for lower and mid-range gear. Less demand == less incentive to R&D and produce.

Originally Posted by TheHebrewHammer

Everyone always spouts off about how progressive Company was. What exactly did they invent?

They invented a board that Chris'O rode for about 14 months straight before it broke. Thats enough for me.

Regarding bindings with a release funktion, i think the chances of getting injured is far bigger than bindings that wont release. Imagine one binding releasing and the other foot is left on the board with a lot of momentum. "Pop the goes the knee". I've seen a guy pulling out his backfoot on a frontflip. he broke his femour.
I guess it's the same reason they don't use it in the snowboard industri.

There's only so much demand to go around in the wake industry. The amount of money spent on R & D is a direct relation to the amount of boards the companies think they can sell.

COMPANY along with SS pushed thin boards, thinner board = better contact with the water, sidewalls, flex shapes, simplified bottom shapes. Great looking graphics that didn't copy snowboard grahpics (LF).. it was only after company and ss that lf started working on the FLX series, and now finally hyperlite has made a thin board, its crazy that thick boards like the Marek are even around still.