Has anyone ridden the Obrien Cartel 141?

Hi Folks.....

I've been offered this board as a warranty swap for a player 138. I love riding finless. Does this board have enough grip to do this and how do people rate it???? Thanks

Simon,

I just rode the Cartel 141 last week, 4 sets. I've also ridden the Natural 144, 139 and Player 143.

Here is my opinion -
Player - Great pop but not very consistent (for me), good tracking finless.

Natural - Faster, good pop and very consistent, good tracking finless.

Cartel - Fast also, great pop but less consistent again, OK tracking finless.

I think I'm going to end up with both the cartel and natural. The Cartel really did the trick for me last week when the water was smooth. I love loose boards on butter! For choppy water I'd take the Natural for two reasons. It tracks better in chop on the way to the wake and it has more consistent pop on an inconsistent wake.

More observations - The Cartel sits lower in the water when edging. This seems to allow for strong edging with less fins. I also found I needed to wait longer for the pop on the Cartel than the Natural or Player, but when I hit it right, up I went. I think this is because the Cartel has a more aggressive 3-Stage.

Anyway, I hope this helped some. Post again if you have any specific questions.
Lantz

Lantz,

Curious what you thought about the 139 vs 144 natural? Difference in ride? Preference? Trying to decide which one to go with myself.

Thanks

I rode the cartel a couple of weeks ago. I am coming off an old CWB absolute for comparison.
I noticed is was much faster and held a great edge. It has really good pop for a board that seems kind of narrow. In my opinion it has too much fin but I like a really loose board. If the molded fins were about half as big I would probably plunk my money down.
A friend of mine has a natural that I am going to ride on friday so I will let you know a comparison between those two.
I doubt you will notice too much difference between the 139 and 144. It is really only two inches longer. Bigger boards usually land softer but I didn't notice the Cartel landing hard.

Gordon,

I ride the Natural 139 is my regular board, but last week I took my friends 144 for a spin. I didn't really notice any big difference except the 144 floated a little more. I was able to doo all my normal stuff on the 144. I am 6'1" 180. Hope this helps.

Here is a link to some comparisons between the Cartel and the Natural:
http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/messages/65919/406147.html?1169949982

(Message edited by jjakober on September 12, 2007)

Cool Guys. That's been really helpful. It looks like the natural is the best bet, but that I would be pretty stoked the with cartel (if they do a straight swap!!!!)

I read somewhere else that the cartel is super light. I just hope that it edges OK for my weight (180lbs) without fins.....

I ride the Player and I've ridden the Natural and Cartel and the Natural seems to a bada$$ cross between the Player and the Cartel I'd go with the Natural hands down just my .02 . . . . Finless of course

Gordon - Very similar ride for me between the 139 and 144 natural, but I'm 6' 215lbs and the 139 did tend to sink a little more on hard landings and slower turns. I could get used to either, but the 144 fit me better.

The Naturals and Cartels are light boards, so if I were on the edge of weight/height between two sizes I'd go up. But if I always had butter conditions, then I might go smaller. Bigger boards always ride better in not so good conditions, for me.

Can you demo both boards?

I rode the natural today. I prefer the cartel. It seemed to pop a bit higher and it was looser on the takeoff. I thought the natural was too sticky but I like a loose board. If you have really good form the cartel will boost you higher but if you are not as consistent you will have a nicer time on the natural. If is very user friendly.

Got my cartel today. Unwrapped it then rode it. WOW! This board is totally different from the Player. Super thin, super super light... It even flexes a little which is strange for a wakeboard. Anyway, it pops twice as high as the player, carves the water like a knife and cuts loose really easily too. I LOVE IT.

Many thanks to all who gave advice - am really chuffed with my decision. The finish on the board is way better and it just seems such a polished item. I just hope it lasts well as is it just soooooooooo light!!!!! Better fill out that warranty card. Hehehehe...

Simon

Glad you like it and we could help out.

rode the cartel all last summer. SICK DECK!

-very fast
-super nice pop
-yet forgiving on landings

you can't go wrong with that deck at all.