3 new vids from Slingshot

Jeff house
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbXVRk__Jeo

Jeff mckee
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXimFbYZDP0

The slingshot team
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36-bwvZbA4Y

pretty dope, wish I knew of somewhere I could demo one of those

Jeff house got steeeeeeze

Interesting how Jeff is on a 142. I see so many riders on a 136 or 138 that are like 5'10" 180-200lbs. Jeff is like 5'7" 160 nothing. It amazes me how so many people ride a board that's too small.

Very nice House kills it!!

I remember him saying he messed his shoulder up on a rail and wasn't riding... I'm guessing that was the rail

dunno if he's just chillin' the day they filmed, but i've definitely seen house go way bigger on the cwb.

house rips...that skeeeezer was dope

i just like to say skeezer

Not asking this as a smart a$$, b/c these guys definitely tear it up and are better than I'll ever be. But how was their riding that much better than someone not riding a flex board? Their tricks didn't seem to jump out at me as that much greater b/c it was on a flex board

why should wake tricks stand out necessarily? If anything would be made to significantly stand out more i think it would be rail tricks because the bend would allow for an easier press and "tweakage" (if i can say that?) i would think (thus the reason most every company is using some form of flex board for this). I am not so sure i would be as bold to claim that flex boards make tricks "jump out" at people.

I mean, does any board from any company necessarily make tricks jump out at others? or even a 2008 board vs a 2000 board for that matter? If anything, these boards (older vs newer, one company vs another, flex vs ridged...) improve riding in such a way that is only mostly recognizable by the rider, and maybe the people watching the rider ON THE DAY THEY SWITCH BOARDS, or so is my feelings and experience

No i don't think your a smart a$$ nor do i mean to talk to you as such, so hopefully i am not misunderstanding or seemingly talking down. I agree that there is a lot of "EXCITEMENT" going around about flex (slingshot especially). I admit that i am one of these primary Excited individuals. It has not been my intention (or anyone else i don't think) to imply that flex boards will make tricks stand out. maybe make some of them easier, funner, etc. "BIG air/pop" is probably the main contributor to the idea of "stand out tricks," am i right? "No effortless 15ft airs in the video" could be a thought your (or anyone else) is having right?

Maybe the riders are just "playing around?" maybe they have adjusted to the "effortless" pop since they first rode... in a "desensitizing" BUT IN A GOOD WAY, kind of way(just throwing out an idea). Whatever the riders saw, or rather EXPERIENCED in the boards from the beginning was enough to make them switch (like myself). Even Heather Johnson (despite the claimed tests that "hyperlite secretly did to disprove slingshot" - as rumored by Marine Products Reps) switched.

Should everyone switch? Not necessarily. Should everyone give a new generation flex board a try? I Strongly Think so!

the board doesn't make the rider.
... i think if there was a board that made you ride way better than you are it would sell like crazy...

just get one one sometime, it makes wakeboarding more fun than it already is

Just wanted to make sure it wasn't taken in a negative way. I'd like to demo a slingshot but there aren't any retailers around here of the brand.

I really got to thinking about it this past summer at a small grassroots competition (only one in NE Ohio). Rob Struharik was the pro/judge for it. He did a run in the middle of it and was nearly flawless linking trick to trick, 4 passes and maybe one fall. When the comp. was over and they were cleaning up the towboat, I saw his board and it was the same one he rode in Free4all, which is what, like 7 years old? Just made me think about how necessary it was to have the latest and greatest product. I agree w/ Nick, the board doesn't make the rider.

....I thought this might open a can of worms.....I have watched all the videos the jeremy has posted...and in the back of my mind I always thought what looks wrong.....its hard to put a finger on it but the board in those videos dont seem to explode off the wake like traditional boards.

common sense would seem to suggest that the flex board would absorb the energy of the wake somewhat making it look like it isn't getting the full pop. While it is claimed that the rebound would give you " hard hitting at the wake for unmatched pop " it just doesn't look like it on the videos.

Further more if you focus only on the landings they are often sketchy...but being pros they always pull it off. (one could argue the board is forgicing on making mistakes on landing)

also just trying to encourage discussion on the board no harm meant!


having said all that looking at the videos you can def. see the board flex on the landings,....which woudld support the argument they could be the softest landing boards out there.

(Message edited by absoluteboarder on March 06, 2008)

i have a response and i really like it. it's different but i think it's made me a better rider. i remember the first time i rode my axis after having ridden that response all fall. i was amazed at how much more in-control i felt of the board. it did feel like i got a more "solid" pop from the axis. but at the same time riding the SS was pretty efforless. i dont know that was a while ago, i think i'll ride them both this weekend in back to back sets and see what's up...

the SS boards are like springs, and common knowledge lets that go two ways
1. absorbs shock (like in a car)
2. Adds shock - (Trampoline)
-or if used correctly/wrong can do both


Slingshots can do both, if you don't figure out how they pop it can be counter productive... but once you get it dialed you can completely control how you pop

if you want to roll in and pop so you do your trick, land on the other wake's transition it is possible, on the opposite note you can load the board (like you would load the rope) and get launched... you have more control over pop then previous board designs...

my ibex was just BAM, everytime... I had no control over how much it kicked, the slingshot I can tone down if I want, or just bigger than ever just by the way I load it

i think thats with all boards nick...

isn't board size mostly prefrence

No offense or negativity taken Mike K (mike2001) as i said, i didn't think of your question as a dumb one

same to you too michael z (absoluteboarder)- we wont need to eat fried worms...

All i can say is i second Nick Tomsyck. nick probably said it better than i could, or at least deffinately quicker/ simpler, i tend to elaborate much for my writing style.

jr (and others),
as for nick's comment about "having more control over pop," (if i may interpret) is that you can use more than just speed and loading the board and using different degrees/transitions of the progressive edge to control pop. The key word i believe in his statement is "loading the board" just as you would load the line, or as a "spring" (also mentioned by nick) If you compress a spring half way then you will only get half the spring action if you had compressed it all the way before releasing. jr, you are indeed correct that you have controll over pop of other boards, but with slingshot there seems to be a bit more ability of control.

this "control" may be a good explaination to pair with my idea that the riders featured in the vids are just playing around. maybe i am shooting blanks, but when riders go "free riding" (what slingshot is all about) they generally do not go HUGE every time, they kind of "take it easy and flow with it" WITH EXCEPTION to riders like the VANDAL, respect the man, whoa!

as for landings, I have noticed in the past that it took time getting used to. the bottom is quite featureless and quite slippery... mostly i found it fun and forgiving... maybe too forgiving ;)

Last statement-- personal experience of riding SS and traditional board back to back:
(i'll try to be as honest and as simple but yet detailed as possible)
Boat- old small moomba Slammed with weight considering its size.
Tower Extender- home made, boat would tip if cut out too far/hard
Wake- Large but not "HUGE" as ive seen in pics on WW
Boards- SS recoil 142 vs Hyperlite Imperial

Max air as reported by people in the boat- SS recoil gave me 10-12ft (biggest air i have ever gotten, and felt like it too) NOT DOUBLE UP by the way(unless there were some small natural waves or rollers that i don't remember which i admit is possible, but still.). all day i was getting air that scared me and often caused me to crash.

On the Imperial (a board i was really excited to try) Average air that i normally get, 5-6 feet or so maybe 8 at very most but i doubt it. I only got half of what i was getting on the slingshot.}

NOTE:
I have personally (in person) introduced slingshot to about 10 people (we will use 10 for statistical means) 8 LOVED it, and wanted one NOW! 1 saw a ton of potential in it but was "wondering if the flex or the boots were making his current knee injury worse." 1 didn't seem to like it or get it at all. surprisingly she looked absolutely terrible on the board.

(Message edited by wakerider111 on March 06, 2008)

i'll be glad to hear your experience of back to back riding too jr. no matter what results you get.

......well if I was with slingshot,I would def. be paying you jeremy!


oh would love to see a pic if you could get one some day...of a jump!

(Message edited by absoluteboarder on March 06, 2008)

Cool vid.!!! Man, Jeff House makes those blind landings look easy.

---

quote:

By Jeremy Byrom (wakerider111) on Thursday, March 06, 2008 - 3:57 pm:

Max air as reported by people in the boat- SS recoil gave me 10-12ft (biggest air i have ever gotten, and felt like it too) NOT DOUBLE UP by the way(unless there were some small natural waves or rollers that i don't remember which i admit is possible, but still.). all day i was getting air that scared me and often caused me to crash.

---

wow, you go way bigger than slingshot's pro riders.

i think the best way to prove this once and for all is to do what they do for parks double or nothing contest. count the frames that people are in the air and at the same time just look and see how high they are. now you could get a pro who is expirenced with the SS and someone different for a regular board and go at it. that was there is no excuse. i dont know i would just like to know if anything SS says is true, not that i dont believe them but id like something better then a theory. while they are at it you might as well through Liquid Forces flex board in with it. should be interesting

IMHO I would like to see someone like Lyman or Harris ride one just to see what their riding looks like on a flex board. If someone was going to load that thing up and get pop out of it, those two would be at the top of my list in doing so.

i'd like to see jeremy riding it and getting 10-12' of air. most of the users here are regular joes and don't ride like lyman or harris (i wish i did).

jeremy, i'm curious, what tricks were you landing pre-ss and what tricks have you landed since ss?

like i said joe, I didn't say it, it was the guys in the boat (3peeps, and by the mouth of two or more witnesses shall every word be established)... so you need to put quote: quote:.....but i guess since i didn't use the quote mark then one will be fine}. But definitely it was near 10 if not over. I have felt 10 +/- only once or twice and will never forget it.}

i quoted it just fine.

it was probably more like 14' from what I hear

I am kind of a "pansy." (ive said it before on other threads) I can get enough air HS and TS and don't try stuff too often. I consider myself Intermediate.

Wakeboarding for about 10 years (-2 for a serving a mission to taiwan for church of jesus christ of latter day saints) Get out at best once a week between may and oct each year, except for the past 2-3 years where i have had no access to a boat.

Tricks:
several grabs (not good with names)
Heelside back roll (60-70% success)
Front flip (only landed a few times)
180 toe and heel w/ and w/o grab
wrapped 360 (plan on working on handle passes)
working on scarecrows last summer (none success)
actually got the nerve to try a railey, but the following day i went to the chiropractor and massage therapist office (1st time ever in my life) who told me the only patients more tensed up are individuals in car crash (i asked them how bad i was in comparison).



Again, if you consider 10-12 ft exaggeration, don't point the finger at me. consider it a lucky break(we have all experienced them i am sure), give credit to the tower extender, whatever you want. Most important point noted is that i could deffinately tell a difference between the SS recoil and imperial.

I am not trying to Brag by any means. OK?!?!

(Message edited by wakerider111 on March 06, 2008)

14'?

where'd you get that number?

I know people

Tim, your account says your from florida. this happened in utah. clue me in here? or are ya just playin with me?

(Message edited by wakerider111 on March 06, 2008)

I just watched all 3 and after all the hype I see in WW about SS all I saw was average to below average pop especially for pro level riding. Maybe there is a sensation of more pop from the board when you are on it but I don't see it. Maybe there are better videos out there.

i own a ss, and i got it basically free, so youd think id be biased but on the contrary i think they kind of suck. ive been riding a long time and know how to progressive cut and load the line. Theres a reason everyone thinks those pros look a lil off. its becuase they arent getting the same pop. anyone notice how all the tantrums and tanny b's tend to go out the back about half way through? and the boards get a wierd lil bounce on the landing. Dont get me wrong, they are a blast to ride, and everyone should at least try one, but i dont think they are for everyone and i really think they have a ways to go to perfect this new stuff. ive taken 3 sets, 2 behind boat and one on cable, and i got another set on sunday so we shall see how it goes. I think Jerermy that you blow the whole slingshot experience out of perspective. but i just call it like it is, and if sunday goes great behind a loaded 230 (could it go bad?) ill definately post what i find. i really think these boards need huge wakes to perform at a high level. The two times ive ridden it have been behind unloaded boats, however, ive ridden my hl premier behind the same two boats unloaded and gotten a lot more pop!

Kevin, if your looking for a great replacement for your Premier and you like the general feel of the Premier check out the Byerly Monarch. It's a lot of jack but it's a sweet board. Like the Premier but better in every way. I came from a 05 Premier.

thats what i hear, i just cant afford a 500 dollar board unfortunately

It's actually a $700 board. but I picked mine up for under $500 (told the dealer and rep that I wouldn't blab about how much I paid) because is was a blem model. There might be some more blems out there. Got mine through Sports LTD in Woodland Hills, CA.

I only bought it because they said, if you don't like it, bring it back within 3 weeks and we'll give you your money back. After about 10 min on the water it was like "ooooooo..... guess I have to figure out how to pay off that rediculuous amount of money I just charged on my CCD for board and NEW bindings"

Sorry about the tangent I'm going off on here.

When i say "max air" i am speaking of one jump. not all the jumps were that big and i also admitted that there is a possibility that there never was. I am not blowing anythig out of proportion. Eliminating the fact that there was an extended pylon and other facts would be an example of "blowing out of proportion." For the Third and last time, i am quoting others, there was other factors at hand, including an extended tower pylon (rope was like 12 feet up in the air in of itself) but because i rode the imperial on the same set up and didn't like it as much i felt the scenario was still a just comparison.

Many of you i am sure can testify of a "freak pop" you got on every board you have ever owned. i experienced one on my 1997 obrien evil twin, one or two on my first byerly, one on my newer byerly, and one on the slingshot, which i am not sure i even landed for that matter and on one of the first times trying it.

I feel like some are picturing me as some chump with shaded face and boastful eyes looking down and a bragging tongue. If any don't picture me that way than thank you, and sorry if i appear to be accusing any otherwise.

maybe next time i should keep my review to the common, watered down version as thus, "i rode the SS recoil and the hyperlite Imperial back to back and felt the SS really gave more pop"

(Message edited by wakerider111 on March 06, 2008)

Here are some photos on a slingshot. The wake is a 210 loaded with about 12 people. I thought they popped pretty big, but that wake would have popped anyone.

.. Nice to see Aaron from Nor-Cal. Rock On!!!!!!!!!!!

Josh Weitekamp u can demo them at NorCal MasterCraft, send me a pm for more info.

...well I believe it is Jeff House...who says these boards are great "their poppy".....I think if these boards were really extra ordinary he could say something like unreal pop or industries best pop etc.....but then jeff deed seem to be pretty melow.

hey jeremy thanks for all your input into the topic.....it has fostered this discussion on the flex board which is no different than the discussion on other boards...some like some dont etc......but the picture of these boards has become clearer after all these flex thread discussions.....now all I actually have to do is try one some day....but at this point am less enthused about doing so.

(Message edited by absoluteboarder on March 07, 2008)

And I really wouldn't take any of this as negative if I were SS. They deserve credit for trying something innovative in this industry.

House ducking the tall grass and McKee getting mad at the handle had me laughing pretty hard.
Great videos!

Great videos. In my opinion, some people will really like the slingshot boards and some people want. There are many different board companies and board shapes for a reason. Everyone likes something a little different in their boards and that is 100% okay. I was skeptical of the slingshots and had no where to demo one. Finally, I decided just to buy one and give it a try. I actually really fell in love with the board and especially the new boots. I bought an 08 recoil and the 08 D2 boots. I love the setup and can't think of a reason why I would ever want to ride anything else. My previous setup was an 07 LF Shane setup and I also loved it. I only wanted to try the slingshot because of all the talk about the soft landings (I have a partially torn ACL). I tried it and agree that it lands better than any board I have ever ridden. I can now take everything out into the flats without pain. As far as the pop goes, I rode my Shane and SS back to back and asked my riding buddies to be the judge on the air I got on the two boards. The verdict, it was basically a wash. I will say that to pop the SS, you have to stay very honest and edge all the way through the wake. If you don't do that, you will not pop as high as a conventional board. Anyway, just wanted to throw my thoughts in here on the SS and give you my experience. I really love the SS but can definitely see where it is not a board for everybody. Everyone is different.

Ive been blown away by Jeff on a slingshot. Check out Spencer Norris's video to see him ride both a Slingshot and CWB in the same section.

Joe U,
sorry i just realized i didn't quite answer your question directly. all the tricks i listed were pre SS, except for the ScareCrow attempts, which i didn't start trying till the last day i went riding last year. Take into account that i only got to ride 8-10 times last year, because i have no boat. Half of the time i thumbed a ride from complete stranges (the SS board worked pretty good as added leverage )


Mostly all i did was play around with the board and just air it out as high and as far as i could (as well as most of the people who i had try it), with some little spins, grabs and an invert here and there, enjoying the soft landings. Koosh is one of my highest priorities in judging the gear. maybe the type of pop "feels" like its "tons" more, but it seems to suit me, even despite my usual dislike to "loose-snowboardy-feeling" boards.


where is this video 404? link anyone?

ohh and thanx for the input wake-boats and everyone else too

ohh i almost forgot, nick mentioned House with a messed up shoulder. I cringed when i saw the crash on the video, i cant help but react as if i were the one riding when i see that stuff.
How bad is it too keep him off the water? any details?

I got 12 feet of air once.......












......I feel off my buddies garage a long time ago, it wasn't very fun!

Jeremy, think about six or seven feet of air. I've rode in some good company before and on some good size wakes(like most people these days). Other than raley based tricks, I don't know how many of my friends I would let jump me. If you are boosting that big thats awesome and I would never ride another board. Keep up the good work!

I'd have to say I was a little disappointed watching the videos also. Being an avid snowboarder I like the idea of the flex and being able to press and butter, as long as you don't compromise the pop off the wake. Everything in the video was wake to wake, I saw no butter type tricks and none of the jibs were getting pressed out. Again, I really like the idea and I want to ride one, but everything that was done in that video can be done the exact same way on a regular wakeboard, so what's the point?

I just asked jeff if he wanted to ride on whatever day we were going out next and all he said was his shoulder was a little banged up from a rail... i didn't ask anymore questions

the point is its just different. sometimes different isnt necessarilly better but sometimes it takes someone to try something different in order to spark change and progression.

one thing they have done is made a board that pretty much indestructable. when i talked to one of the reps last year ab the durability of the board he told me that they had only had one board come back broken, and that's including their riders too. he coulda just been blowin smoke but i kind of believe him after seeing the boards and gettin some sets in

I just got the boots in for my new deck. The D2's are pretty heavy once all assembled. Put them on the deck and the overall set up is pretty heavy. I just came from a Marius platty and answers though which is probably the lightest setup that I have ever felt besides an 08 coda with xennons that my buddy rides. I of coarse jumped around in the living room like a dork and really like the way that the bindings feel. They are very supportive yet still flexable side to side some and as much front and back as you want. I like them with or with out the ankle harness. Without you still get some heel lift and there is less side to side stiffness. I think that this will be ideal for the cable park or just hittin rails behind the ski, also because with the harness out you can get in and out of them a little quicker. With them in you really get that locked in feel that I am used to and I think that this is the way to ride them behind the boat. They seem very sturdy and durable and are not far at all from a kick ass snowboard binding. I must say that I tried bouncing around on the new deck with some old watsons that I have and they just didn't feel as though they were going to work as well as the D2's. It seemed that the D2's centered up on the board much better and do provide more feel for the board as well as NO and I mean NO heel lift. I was impressed with the board cause I could do a nose press so hard that the board was almost perpendicular to the ground and not have to hold on to anything to keep my balance, the flex on it is insane. Feels like it will ride quite well and be very responsive, but there is no way to tell with out getting on the water. I hope I get the chance this week, or I may just have to wait till the weekend. I will let you guys know how it goes.