Slingshot boards and boots?

Ok, I have heard a little about them befor but have never seen untill the other day. Rocklin Watersports has three in, 2 recoils and 1 response. I set up the response with the Driver boot and without the fins on, got in and was impressed about the flex in the board! The comfort level was nice as well. I want to hear from people who ride these boards, are they loose on the water? are they comfy while on a long set? Suprised about such a flat ride surface on the boards.

I just got my setup from BBB a few weeks ago, and I haven't really been able to ride the board a lot because every time i have gone out its been really choppy. But the few times i have ridden it, I really loved the comfort of the bindings. They are a bit of a pain to deal with all the laces, but well worth it for the comfort level.

I havent ridden another board since trying a slingshot, and dont think I would have as much fun as I do on that thing riding a regular board. But some people dont like them at all so you gotta try it for yourself. On my drivers I cut everything off except for the outer two cinches so they were just as easy to get on and off as any other binding.

With the 1" fins they track VERY well... I much rather ride teh .75" or finless...

the boots are fine for longer sets...no pressure points at all.

I was initially a little worried about the slingshots being rather featureless on the bottom. I thought they would be really slippery, but they are actually very easy to control. it might take a while to figure out how to control the board, like any other new board. The boards are grippy when you want them (set on edge) and loose and "slippery" when you want too

I have taught one 100% newbie so far on one, and he did well. A lot of my beginner friends do well too. I would say it is a pretty beginer-friendly board, despite it's appearance and features.
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The boots are some of the most comfortable boots i have ever put on. The LF vantages however, surprised me this year with amazing comfort (as far as i could tell in the store) but i opted out of the vantages because of the lack of closed toe and lack of 4 hole binding placement. I am a huge fan of the 4 hole base plate that slingshot rocks. and i am liking closed toe too.

Long sets are comfy. I personally belive the boards to be great in chop. They seem to bounce arround a little more maybe, BUT the flex definitely compensates and saves your knees. I can ride longer in chop on the slingshots than my traditional boards before i feel my knees getting tired and wobbly

(Message edited by wakerider111 on June 14, 2008)

I got the 07 142 Recoil on BBB and you can read my review. I'm not a fan of snowboard style bindings where you do not release on hard falls so I'm not crazy about the driver bindings. Others love this style but not for me.

The board lives up to the hype about pop and soft landings but the board is SLOW and takes more energy out of you riding it because it is so sluggish. Maybe the Response would be a better fit for me.

*********Hijack*************
Anybody want to trade? I will trade an 07 142 Recoil with size 10 Driver bindings (liners have not been heat molded) for a similar sized 08 Response deck (no bindings). Hijack over.

bmartin, if you pull the black lace out of the boot you will eject much easier. That was how I rode them last year, it also makes them a lot easier to get on and off.

yeah, if you don't mind less ankle support taking out the inner lace will make them much easier on falls

Bmartin- Tighten down the inner laces & keep the outer(s) a bit looser. You will eject with the inner booties on. It's not how I ride, but works for others. BTW, I've never thought of my Recoil as slow, but the Response is def faster..........

The driver bindings are comfortable but I have torn the neoprene at all four stitch points on the boot handles and blew the bottom out of one putting my foot in without dishsoap. I can't find replacement boots anywhere. Does anyone have any ideas? Also will the slingshot kite board scags work on the Recoil?

i blew the outside laces off my drivers and Slingshot sent me a new pair 2 days later... call them up

SS wake and kite deck fins can be swapped out. I'm on an 07 response riding the .75 fins which are the same as on the glide kiteboard.

Call SS about a replacement boot. Great Customer service.

Shaun - get a hold of their customer service...they are super good about making things right!

They sent me a new set of driver bindings when mine broke. The mounting plate came off the boot, got a brand new pair.

Hey thanks for the advice I'll get on it.

i've been riding the recoil since last year. i picked up some pb floyds at the beginning of the season. the floyds are the best bindings i have worn to date. the comfort & flexibility are unmatched. the only negative thing i can say about the recoil is that i tend to lose fins. the flexing of the board causes the screws to back out & strip the fins. i put some metal hyperlite .7 fins on it & no problems. maybe they'll fix it next year. other than that... it's perfect super soft landings & crazy pop!

chuck

I have the same exact complaint about the fins. I and others have made comments (mostly on wake world though) about slingshot making metal ones for about a year, but i have yet to hear anything on it actually happening.

i just lost one a week ago despite the lock-tite i put on it. good thing i requested extra fins ;)

i have not put hype metal ones on BUT i have thought about it. The only thing i am worried about is that hyperlite fins are flat based and slingshot fins are curved based.

i'm thinking about grinding them down to give a better fit. did you grind yours at all?

***tangent/ hijack over***

Just tried out my response/driver set-up. It didn't blow my mind like some other people on here, but having said that, it was a very nice ride (I honestly don't remember a board that blew my mind). I usually ride 3 stage, but with the flexy-poppy thing going on, I didn't really notice a big difference in that regard. Pop is more about your edging than rocker line. The bindings were also super nice; there are a lot of lace, but the support makes up for them.

The one thing I didn't like was the massive and heavy pulls on the binding laces. They kept coming unhooked and they were slapping all over the place. Do most people cut these off????

Overall, it's a really good set-up. I've tried just about everything and must say that so far, I am super impressed with the slingshot. The flex really adds to the pop; if you load up right it pops better than anything I've ridden. It's also fun to slide and press around on, but it still edges well (again, any board edges well once you figure it out). The best thing is the super cooshey landings. The flex seems to really soak up any impact.

Wow, this post got way too long.

long post??? Nahh, I've topped yours ;P

As for the laces, there are several things individuals have done. most re lace the boot so that there is only one lace to mess with on the front instead of two. The gorila grips can be taken apart to shorten the laces as desired. you can get rid of the gorilla grip/hook completely too if you desire. You can tie the laces like a normal shoe. and or put the (shortened) lace through the loop in the back of the binding or inside the binding... just a few idea for ya

no, i didnt grind the hyperlite fins down. there is a little gap on the short side of the fin, but it doesnt effect the feel. i recommend it because of the amount of fins i went thru.

as far as the fins go. i put a little bit of super glue into the holes on the fins...then screw them in (DON'T glue them to the board!). this seems to have solved my problems with the fins falling out.

Shaun - did you contact them?

I put locktite or "permatex" on the fin screws and so far no problem. Do not use glue unless you want those fins on there permanently.

Glue won't keep the fins on permanently, I was still able to crack the seal and back the screws out.

yeah, the glue will come undone when you want it too.

I'm pretty sure I've seen a guy at TSR with metal fins on his 08 response....not sure what they were though, didn't think much of it at the time.

Jay How many sets of Boots have you busted now? And I know you broke I slingshot deck too!