Yellow Loogey Or Liquid Force Custom Thruster???

I was planning on getting an Inland Surfer Yellow/Green Loogey but came across a Liquid Force Custom Thruster 4'6". I want a universal board that can be easily surfed in the pocket but also can spin and get air as I improve. Any opinions or insights would be greatly appreciated from those with experience with either board. I'm 5'9", 150lbs, and riding behind a Malibu 23LSV. Thanks.

I've never ridden the Thruster 4'6". I'm a big fan of the Yellow.

Loogey is a fun board for sure. I've heard good and bad about the LF Custom. Some seem to really like it, others not so much.

What about one of Matt S's boards. They look like great all around boards.

http://www.smedwakesurfing.com/

I was hoping someone (else) would give an exhaustive comparison! I'm a little concerned about your experience level, Rye. If you're a relative newb, you don't really say...you should be aware that there is this phenomenon with folks. When they first start out it's all they can do to stay with the pocket and wind up requiring a longer boad, but after that first season then can drop 18" off the length of their board. If you're in that boat, I'd recommend you rethink your choices.

As Matt E points out, your weight and height open up a ton of options. One of the best places to look at the various boards available to you is at Wakeoutlaws.com. They are good folks and have a fairly exhaustive store online.

Now, back to your specific question. You mention yellow/green. The newer Green is a better choice than the older yellow. The folks at IS continually improve their products. The green has one significant improvemnet over the yellow and that is the nose. The older yellow had a nose shaped like the tail and it was so full that it tended to catch on hard bottom turns. The green's nose now comes to a point, eleminating that issue.

The Green is wider than the custom, and they are very close to the same length. The extra width on the green will make it a tad less responsive rail-to-rail than the custom. Conversely, the extra width of the green offers it more wetted surface area and it is faster than the custom - noticeably so.

I think I have pictures of traction - I want to post those...hang on let me look.

Ok, I only have a picture of the 4'2" custom...but it's useful:

If you look at the traction on the nose. The custom leaves a huge gap to allow the logo. The custom thruster that we had access too had aftermarket traction, so I'm not sure what it will be offered with at retail. If you intend to do a cheater 5 or even a more advanced shuv, you'll want to be sure there is some traction at the nose. One of the first tricks that folks learn is a cheater 5. It's very easy without traction of some kind to have your leading foot slip off while learning that trick.

The green is a twin, the custom is really a single trailer fin with the addition of two side bites...I just can't bring myself to call it a thruster! The single trailer is a bit slower down-the-line. The tail will also feel more tracky with the same size fins as a twin. The custom will ship with a fairly small trailer. This will allow the tail to break loose.

IMO, the twin fin configuration offers a better combination of drive AND a feeling of a loose tail for lip slides.

The custom is probably a good 2 pounds lighter than the green. This will tend to make the custom feel more responsive.

In my experience, all other factors being the same, a board with MORE bouyancy will tend to make spining surface 3's easier. IMO, it's a toss up here. The custom is lighter, the green is more full.

Lastly, the green has a more substantial "build" it has more glass and epoxy plus the layer of wood. As such, the green will handle more abuse Which is one issue that I face - I swear I drop every board I get on concrete before the first ride!

IS is really developing it's distribution channels, but for now, LF is far and away more available. More than likely you can find LF at your local pro shop or Costco

Keep us posted on what you decide and I'd be interested to know what you consider your experience level to be.

Sorry Jeff. I made a tally of boards that I've ridden on the new Centurion Crew forum. The count comes out to 29, but I forgot that I rode a Shred Stixx Piranha, a Trick Boardz Surf Skate, and an Inland Surfer Orange, so that's 32. On top of that I have built or am in the process of building three homemade boards so the board count will soon go to 35. I bet you have had at least twice that many under your feet.

My wakeboards have been LF products. I have yet to ride a LF surfer I have no basis for comparison.

While thinking about that number of boards that I've had the opportunity to ride I realize that I owe a lot of that to you Jeff. Sure I worked to organize events but I wouldn’t have done all of that with out your invitation and guidance.

Many of us owe Jeff some thanks for the detailed, unbiased, and thoughtful product reviews and other wakesurfing advice and leadership.

So Thanks Jeff, now get back to those taxes.

Thanks for all the input Jeff. I would consider my experience level to be at a step above beginner, but not quite intermediate. The Yellow Loogey I was referring to was the 2007.5 version where the nose came to a point, so I think it's the same as the Green Loogey, just $100 less. I am from Canada, and in my neck of the bald prairie I rely on the internet to get my boards, so I'll probably end up going through Boarders Mall as I found them to have the best prices and free shipping (to a US address). My friend is getting either a IS Blue Lake or Red Woody, so I will have access to a longer board while I try to improve my surfing. I have seen the Liquid Force in person. It is super light, but seems pretty fragile. I'll maybe wait for a little more WakeWorld input, but you have me leaning towards one of the Loogeys. I couldn't get my pictures to work, but a pic of the LF Custom Thruster 4'6" can be seen at http://boardersmall.com/xcart/home.php?cat=262&partner=bm

Again, thanks for the help!

Unless your friend is huge or your wake is small I'd recommend that he go with the Blue.

I am about your size ( 5'8" 155) and have a lot of fun on the Yellow. It's a good hybrid surf/skim board, and is VERY fast. However I haven't ridden the LF thruster ..

I have ridden a bunch of boards and my yellow loogey is by far my favorite.

the custom is a pretty fun surf style board. it actually makes you pump the wave instead of just sitting there in a neutral position. it does have a ton of buoyancy too...so you're less likely to sink an edge. you can easily hang 5 no problem...the lack of pad on the front hasn't been an issue for me, but i'm not doing any tricks really.

i'm actually looking for something different. i'd like to have something that is more conducive to frontside aerials.....any suggestions?

Aerials are a function of two things. One is speed up and into the wake. If you look at some of the pictures from the Mobgroup, those guys (many professional surfers) run really fast. Their boards tend to be bigger and generate more down-the-line speed. They also have a great deal of fin area - 4 to 5 inch fins in thruster and quad configurations now.

I believe it was Jerry Price over at Shred Stixx that had a display ad that said something to the effect of fins = speed = air. Speed is the bastion of surf style boards and there are a ton of manufacturers: Shred Stixx, TWP, New Wave Vehicles, Vernor, Placebo...sheesh the list seems endless. Two good places to look are www.wakeoutlaws.com and then also www.thewakesurfshop.com

The second component is an ollie, like a skateboard ollie at the lip. If you've watched skakteboarders - that front foot sort of slides forward - the further up towards the nose, the higher the ollie will be. In order to effectively do this, though, some rocker through out the board is helpful. Too much rocker slows the board down, but the right amount allows the board to boost.

Folks like Drew Danielo can boost on anything - he's a natural talent. IMO, "conducive" to aerials would be more in the surf style realm.

Dependent upon your weight and height, you might want to check out the offerings from Shred Stixx, The Walker Project, Placebo, the Calibrated surf style - I can't remember the name of it now, New Wave Vehicles...shoot...too many for my old brain to remember! The two online stores above cover just about all of the offerings.