Flex board input needed please!!!

I'm thinking about buying a flex board this year and I live in Alaska so theres no chance for me to demo one before i put money down on one so I really need quality input.
I'm 6' and weigh 230 so I'm wondering how my weight will effect the flex and if they will hold up. I ride a natty now and love it but my background is mostly snowboarding so the flex looks really cool to me. One the hardest habits to break was not ollieing and letting the board pop so the chance to just naturally pop off the wake would be nice. I also love riding my covenant and my brothers roam but we both ripped the inserts out of them.
I'm really looking at the SS response. The reviews sound good and their customer service sounds steller but I still have some reservations. I can only afford one board this year so I want to be as sure as I can. I was also wondering about the 8'' holes and the new 6'' bindings. Do they not work together or can you make them fit?
I know this post is long but I figured this would weed out the smart ass questions and hopefully get me the quality input I desperetly need. Thanks guys.

They will definately hold up. Im 6foot 210. If it were me I would be looking at Slingshot and Humanoid. Both have great qualities and I go back and forth between the two (usually in the same set even.) I feel the that Humanoid has way more pop, but the Slingshot lands alot softer. Im on the slingshot recoil which is a three stage, and the Humanoid Oracle which is a continuous. Even though its a continious I feel that I get a lot more pop. I would also say that the Humanoid is 2-3 times faster. The slingshots land soooooo soft though and they have a lot more flex to them so that buttering around is a lot more like on a snowboard.

With either one though it is ALL about the progressive edge. If you back off you arent gonna get the pop. If you can really load the line, both boards will really boost ya.

The other thing is Slingshots are readily available and Humanoids have not released their final products yet. Should be soon though. Hope that gives you some unbiased insight into two competitors. I have yet to ride a Company board yet, but from some inside sources I have heard that they are made in the same factory by Slingshot for Company (and thats coming from someone on the inside of one of those two companies). I have been told they are extremely similar in construction but I have been told they have different riding characteristics. I still want to demo one for comparison.

Sine is another company on the market but I havent tried that one out either. They look cool though

I am 6'1", 220 lbs, and I ride a 142 Recoil and really like it. I've ridden the Response and didn't like it, for me the Recoil had way more pop, I have traditionally ridden 3 stage boards so I think that is why I like it better than the Response. The Slingshot bindings are really nice, but other bindings will work if you're not buying new bindings, as long as those bindings aren't 10 years old.

I wouldn't have any reservations as far as inserts or the board breaking, Slingshot does have great customer service and they will take care of you, if anything does happen.

I have had no experience with Humanoid or Sine, and Company boards are built by Slingshot. They are not designed by Slingshot so they will ride different.

company and slingshot are two different companies....though ridiculously similar and made in the same place, you'll see company start to have much different boards than slingshot in the coming years

SS!

enough said.....

FLEX SS

Hey thanks for the good input there Kevin and Gumtree. I appreciate the fact that other big guys replied and gave first hand info. I think I'm gonna go with slingshot since they have so much more time as a board company and the positive things I heard about their customer service. I too am used to a 3 stage but I think I'll go with the response. I have the natty so if I want to I can still ride that sometimes if I want to and I'm really looking for a replacment for the roam/covenant that will hold up. I could clear the wake with the covenant so I think I can get used to the continuous edge.

So now I have to decide on bindings. Are the D3's made without the internal ankle brace this year? I thought that would be nice to have if I tweaked an ankle.

Anyway thanks for the info and if anybody else has something to add I'd like to hear it. While cool to see a picture with "nuff said" doesn't help much.

Thanks Guys!

the '09 ss boards have 6 inch mounting besides the 4 hole mounting. '08 ss have 8" and the 4 hole. '07 ss have only the 4 hole.

the overall shape of the '07 and '08 boards are identicle. the '09 boards have a better, tapered edge for a bit smoother ride

if you decide that the ss boots ARE for you then you could save more $$ by getting the '07 board (also it will look 'cleaner' without the extra mouning holes)...that is IF you are not planning on getting a newer '09 board because of the improvements made. BUT another thing to consider is that if you decide you did not like the ss boots so much then having the traditional holes might be a good back-up?

as for the interior ankle harness, i have heard they discontinued it in the '09 boots, but i have also heard that they can send you one from the previous years, just ask them and request it. and if that don't work, then maybe you could buy an XXL pair at an atheletic store to slip over the liners.

Using the SS boots will save a total of 4" of flex potential through the length of the board (compared to using 6" base plate bindings) some say its significant others don't, so you can decide with those numbers ;)

the 09 bindings do not come with the ankle brace, however if you want one like he said all you have to do is email them and they will be glade to send you one. I just bought the 09 PB Floyds and I love them, super comfortable. I also am riding the 09 Recoil and love that too...overall great company to deal with!

I haven't ridden my Co. Recruit yet and I am thinking about taking it to TXMC and riding the 2.0 with it. Will the base get messed up alot? I think it is the same type of base as the 08 Slingshot boards.

I hate to be the bearer of bad new, but you should really ride one first. I bought one and found it landed like a tonne of bricks. If you don't land tail heavy, the board totally flattens out and it's like landing on pavement... felt great wake to wake but landing out in the flats (which is 90% for me) is a different story.

Blazer, you bought the Recruit?

I actually have the response. Not sure if the three stage of the recoil would help with the landings, but the physics are the same so imagine it would still flatten out. Riding the Monarch now...