Product reviews are worthless!

The product reviews on wake world are useless. I was going through the board reviews and found that almost every single review was positive. I would love it if some of the people who tried the boards and did not like them put down an opinion. I would like to find an intermediat board that works well for me, but the only place that rents board around here is Sport CHalet, and they do not have the best selection, only carry HL for rent. So i buy and see if i like it, but it gets expensive that way.

Just blowin off some steam

Ride Well
CHirs

Not many take the time to review. The best thing to do is start a thread here to ask people how it rides. You'll get lot's of feedback that way.

Which boards are you considering?

I agree with you to and extent, but J-rod did offer the most viable option, next to demoing of course.

Litmus, Era maybe premere..... those types of boards.

I felt very comfertable on my Ricky G, but i lost it when we were moving. The only thing i did not like about that board was the hard landings.

I have a transcend, but honestly i just dont feel like it grabs enough when i am trying to progressive edge. I want to get more comfertable with my edge then go back to the transcend.

You lost it during a move? I have found the Ricky G has super soft landing. I love the deck.

xtremrider, on the transcend take a slower cut to the wake and let the board sink in then get on the edge. Don't turn into the cut so fast you need to let the board sink. This is where the huge pop comes from on this board. It lets you build a huge slow edge into the wake then it will explode off the top. Give is some time you will soon enjoy it.

Aloose board like the Transcend could force you to improve your edging. Choosing a board with a tight edge hold could worsen your problem imo. But, you might try a substance. IMO they land hard.

You might try a CWB Absolute. It's sort of a faster, lighter, softer landing Era. It comes with two sets of fins so you can adjust the hold.

The Ricky G and Era boards are very similar. If you didn't love the RG, I wouldn't get the Era.

I haven't ridden the Litmus.

Listen to Squid he knows what he is talking about. You have to ride the Transcend very mellow. It takes some effort to get it going. But once you learn what a true edge is and are able to set it the Transcend locks down hard. That is one of my favorite things about this board is it's hold once on edge.

Wow, you think the Transcend is loose? Hahaha, whoa, it grips like crazy to me. Of course, I ride the Absolute finless as well, so something with any fin at all is grippy. Really though, if you are slipping out on your edge the problem is not as much the board as your edge. Why do I say that you ask? Well, I rode for an entire year on a '98 Jobe Tantrum with NO FINS. No molded fins, no bolt on fins, no channels, just the little dimples they used to have in the bottom of boards. Try that for a while, you'll learn how to edge properly. Bold statement? Yep, but my edging is 100% better because of that one year I spent riding with no fins and I don't rely on my fins anymore.
Ok, enough with the lecture, the best way to know what a board is like is to demo it, second best is to ask people on this board if you can't demo. Yes, you will get the occasional "buy a Parks because it is obviously the best" type of post, but generally you will get some pretty decent advice.
I would highly reccommend both the Absolute and Transcend, they both have good pop and hold edge great. The Absolute pop can be a little unpredictable until you get used to it, but you can get serious air on that board and the landings are soft. Both boards have a spine built into the bottom for landings. The Absolute Platinum comes with two sets of fins.
Later
Tiff

Xtremerider - Since you mentioned the Era, I will provide my feedback that can sway your decision one way or another.

First off, I'm not an expert by any means, I'd list myself as intermediate. I have an '04 135. The only difference between '04 and '05 is that the molded in fins on the '05 are slightly larger. I'm riding the board with '04 Era bindings as well.

I absolutely love this board. I was coming off a HL Motive where I had bought a board that was too big for me, and just wasn't looking for the edge I needed. The biggest thing I like about the board is its ability to hold an edge. When taking cuts into the wake, I find the board does best when making a medium cut and allowing the subtle 3 stage rocker kick you up into the air. This board has the ability to go big and honestly has caught me off guard at times when I time things perfectly.

I suppose the only thing that bothers me is the occasional (and let me stress occasional) hard landings I take and feel in the ankles and knees. This usually happens out in the flats, or overshooting the 2nd wake. This board is meant to go up, not out, I partly blame myself for these landings.

The board is pretty light, and I really love using the Era bindings with it. I'd at least recommend a demo of this board.

Other boards I demo'd before I bought the Era (Motive 134, and 137 Byerly)

Its not that the transcend is a bad board, and when i get my timing down it really launches me, i will try it for a few more weeks then see. I heave maybe 4 or 5 weekends on it and i still dont feel super comfertable yet.

How about this for a change, Don't buy a Parks! It is way to grippy! I have one and then bought a CWB Absoulute and I have never been happier with a board. (Although mine is an '03) Not that I dislike Parks himself he is a great rider, but I just did not love my Parks. It makes} a great wall hanging now. (I don't even have binding on it.)

I hope I never hear another person call the Trancend 'loose'. I sometimes wonder if these people ever took the time to learn how to really ride/edge a wakeboard. Some people sound like they would never be able to ride a wakeskate or a roam.

Well trust me...It is NOT the board. Learn how to edge. But "The Book" and do their edging drill, then you will know how to truly edge and once you get that feeling you wont have any more problems. Dont change boards, just get some technique.

xtremerider... I never accused you of saying the Transcend is a bad board. It just may not fit your style of riding, and from what you say, it doesn't. If you don't like the board, don't try to force yourself to like the board. What boards are your friends riding? Will they let you take a set on their board, that's a great way to demo boards.
Paul.. haha, that's what I said in my first post. Maybe we should start riding with the 4.5" fins again...yeah, that should do it...
Later
Tiff

Paul, Because I think the Transcend is loose I must not know how to edge?

In comparison to many other boards with stock fin configurations, the Transcend is a loose board (compared to the Substance or TFD for example w/fins). You can certainly disagree, but no need criticize a rider you don't know. I can ride the Roam and I ride the Marius finless. I actually like boards that I consider to be loose. I was simply comparing boards for xtremrider. You took my description of "Loose," to be a bad thing.

"It just may not fit your style of riding, and from what you say, it doesn't. "

Tiff, you actually recommended the very board he said he disliked.

J-rod, I reccommended the board after his initial post saying it didn't grab enough.
"I want to get more comfertable with my edge then go back to the transcend."
Therefore I recommended he stick with it.
After he said he just didn't feel comfortable on the board after 4-5 weekends, I withdrew that recommendation, as it says in my second post.
"I heave maybe 4 or 5 weekends on it and i still dont feel super comfertable yet."
There is a difference between the board being a little loose for you and just not feeling comfortable on the board in general. After that length of time on the board you should be pretty comfortable on it, if not, it just may not be the board for you.
Hope that isn't confusing, it makes sense in my brain... but that doesn't mean anything.
Later
Tiff

No disrespect to you J-Rod as I have come to the conclusion you are one of the few people that always post and always post with informative information that is actually correct...

Just blowing off some steam I guess... Boards vary on how loose they are but my point is basically.. take the loosest board out there and there is NOTHING loose about it as far as messing up someones riding given they know how to edge. So given that, some people prefer boards that I will say 'track more grippy'. I just want people to know that you should go out there and learn how to wake ride a Roam to the point that your no longer thinking about your edging..... then switch to a board that fits all your needs.

and for those who don't a whole lot yet... I think J-Rod considers the Trancend loose because it has a huge three stage rocker and when in neautral postion only the flat center bottom with no channels is tracking through the water.... Some people don't understand that.

Wow, people seem to have a tendancy to take things to heart dont they. No need for anyone to get defensive. Its all about style anyway, i was just asking if anyone new a board that would help me learn my progressive edge a little better. I was starting to get more consistant at it with my Ricky G. but i know i have problems with my edging, which as you can see was my reason for getting a board that was slightly easier to practice on. Yes i do find the transcend a little loose, but so what. I am going to try the recomendation of starting my edge slower to allow the board to sink. Maybe i have just been trying to rush it. As far as the wakeskate: i have been practicing alot, trying to learn controlled edging on that, i feel its helping me with my wakeboarding.

I have a torn PCL so trying to board with it is like learning alot of my fundimentals over again.

Thanks for everyones advice.

Maybe if it will help for recomendations, or tips for riding style i will take a sequence shot of my edge to the wake.

I think switching from HL wayyyyyy back to LF helped me because I no longer had a big center fin and had to rely on the small cupped fins of LF. Now I can't stand fins at all. I used to ride a TFD not long ago and changed to 0.08 A-wing fins and eventually to no fins at all.

In answering your question Xtreamrider.... I just don't know. I would say you can NEVER go wrong with a LF Trip. Pro or beginner they board can suit anything.

Try the murray, I think you will like it. Also, I liked the TFD...or 3DS as it's now called.

FWIW I started on an LF Rythmn, and now ride a Byerly. In the middle I have ridden Premiers, Eras, a Subjekt, and a State.

Eric

Ya know Eric Fox is on to something...... You like the Motive...... You want to step up from that though....... The best way to do that is to ride a murray, or a temet, or even a belmont!

wait, your not the Motive guy........ still great boards but disregard

I wouldn't say the product reviews on WakeWorld are "useless." It's pretty much human nature for people to review the boards they like rather than those that they don't like. Plus, most riders don't usually spend a whole lot of time on boards they don't like, so they don't really feel like they've invested enough time into it to be commenting.

Anyway, there are some negative reviews in there and most of the positive ones go into enough detail that they can help you to make a decision based on how they describe the ride.

I think I'd rather have the resource available to me than nothing at all.

dave, should i start posting reviews on boards i didn't like?

I can do that........ ready for this?!! Gonna start yelling?!!! Trancend! Hate it!

Yeah, definitely. However, any review that says, "It sucks" doesn't help anybody. Make sure you state why you didn't like it so that others can benefit from your experience.

Paul, if you can't find any negative product reviews, you aren't looking hard enough. I know it's not a wakeboard, but apparently the 2003 O'Brien Base bindings took a pretty good hosing on this site. Have a look for yourself. Pretty funny actually.

http://www.wakeworld.com/boots/getboot2.asp?ProductID=1745

I took some good advice in my riding yesterday. I took a shorter cut, and started slow to get the board to sink. It helped alot. Now i feel a little better after this saturday coming up i think i will feel comfertable. I just need to work on standing up at the wake to get the hieght. Anyway i am a little sore today from attemting 360's. I got the handle pass and everything, but i landed nose heavy.

Mike, that review from Ryan is hilarious. I don't think I will be buying those bindings after that review.

Ryan Jewelz on 1/16/2005
Comments: These bindings are by far the worst boots on the face of this earth. dont even waste a penny on these pieces of crap..my brother broke his ankle while riding these disgraces of a binding. ok first of all...they are ugly as hell, second of all my freakin toes fly out the front like baby carrots, and third of all i cant even wake jump without my feet flying out and looking like a flaming homo flying thru the air. they should have a freakin warning label on these bindings that say WARNING: DO NOT BUY THIS PIECE OF ANUS DISGRACE! trust me...spare urselves....they should have the theme song to them the My Chemical Romance "Im Not Okay". terrible bindings...the only thing ull get out of them is broken ankle, less girls, and temper tantrums against ur boat friend. stay far away from these if u cherish ur health, ur social life, and your anus. by the way im selling them on ebay...ne takers?

yeah, that one made me laugh!!

I like the board reviews. But I have never figured out some of the ratings. I just wish the speed and tracking ratings were as follows.

slow - medium - fast
loose - medium - grippy

That would mean more to me and more accurately help me pick a board that suits my style.