slingshot comparisons

i'm looking for some board comparisons between the response and the marius, and also the response and the recoil. i've always ridden shorter boards (right now a marius 134), don't know why, but after riding a couple 140+ boards lately i'm totally stoked on the soft landings and confidence they lend when going big. i'm especially interested in the response 142 and marius 140, again for the soft landings. to anyone who has ridden both: which is softer, which felt like it gave you more pop off the wake? obviously the best way to pick a board is to demo, but i'm unaware of any local shops that carry slingshot so i'll have to rely on y'all's responses. also i'd be really interested to hear any noticed differences/preferences between the response and the recoil. it seems like there are always a lot of responses up in the for sale forum and i'm wondering if they're sponsored riders selling their extras or people who weren't satisfied with the board. any info/advice would be much appreciated, thanks.

i'll try to help...

never ridden the marius, but it is my feelings that flex will always out do any bottom feature of any board when it comes to soft landings. I know there are a few who disagree, but there are more people who DO Agree... at least from what i have read, heard, remember from this site. (speaking of those who have actually ridden a slingshot to make a comparison... there are still more people who have not tried than have)

I have ridden two different sizes of both the responce and the recoil. BUT each time i rode them it was behind different boats (i was thumbing rides)... so, not the best way to compare. I have always loved the aggressive pop of three stage so i stuck with the recoil.
The response is a bit faster and probably lands a bit softer than the recoil (not saying the recoil lands hard by any means) just because it is continuous rocker shape.

I have not ridden as many boards as some, but any board besides a slingshot just feels like a tank to me now. I can hardly stand the thought of riding any other board. (more than just to try a new model out) I am 100% converted to flex.

Some say the flex takes away a bit from the pop and some have said it increases. I personally am FOR the later. BUT, even IF i were sacrificing a li'l pop (i don't believe i am), i would not care. the soft landings and the overall feel and fun the board offers to me would more than make up for that

cwb boards are still relatively stiff compared to some of the others. In this case the response will be a fair bit softer landing. I have the 2008 lyman and my friend the 2008 cwb absolute (which is advertised to have some flex) but the absolute is still stiff compared to the lyman.......so in any event I dont think the marius can keep up with slingshot for landings. I also have the 06 marius...and while it lands really soft...it is a stiff board.....my lyman still lands significantly softer...and i believ so will the slingshots(due to the flex_)

(Message edited by absoluteboarder on July 24, 2008)

If you want soft, Slingshot is the way to go. I bought the Recoil 142 on one of those BBB deals and before that I was on a PS3 137 and there is no comparison on how much softer the landings are. The Recoil is a good bit slower than other boards I have ridden and I wish I could have tried the Response before committing to the Recoil.

Having ridden both the Marius and the Recoil I will say that each lands softer in different settings. I don't think the Recoil lands softer if taken to the flats and you land centered on the board. In that setting it lands pretty rough. A Slingshot lands soft if you land tail heavy and allow the flex to absorb impact. You have to train yourself to let it come in on the tail. If edged correctly a Slingshot will pop like crazy, I could never get used to the fact that if you didn't edge just right you would have very little pop. Definitely need to try them out before you buy.

The Texas Ski Ranch has some boards that you can demo and Boardstop, the boardshop at the Malibu dealership, also carries Slingshot.

The dealer in austin, or mcqueeny? I hope that TSR picks them up next season.

as for the post, the response is awsome, i came off a marius onto the respose and it was a very easy transition, the boards ride pretty similar but the response is much faster. If you are riding the marius without the center fin then you will appriciate how loose or locked in the response can be with the .75 fins. The landings are very soft and if you hold your edge all the way through the wake you will get booted everytime. I have never ridden the recoil but my buddy rides it and he hates my response so I would venture to say that the two ride very differently. The main thing that he said he didn't like about the response was that it was too fast for his preference but he came of a premier so he is used to slow boards. I agree that you don't get the soft landings 100% of the time but when you do it is sweet. Also thier bindings are great.

...yeah well the the lyman lands softer than the marius in all situations...as it flexes and has bottom features .....so we win...try the lyman!

i am also wanting to switch to a slingshot but don't really know which one to go with, the recoil or response. I currently ride the 05 135 3ds and do love the speed, but switched up and rode my buddies 138 substance. To begin with i loved how much lighter the substance was and the pop was very nice. i guess my real question is how slow is the recoil? i felt like the substance, even though being three stage, still seemed like i could get on edge and go. also 138 or 142 really can't decide on that either

I think the recoil is 10x faster than my ibex or byerly's have ever been... its not THAT slow.

I dig the recoil but have always loved 3-stage boards

if the board seems slow then speed the boat up. its not that difficult of a concept.

Slingshots take a longer learning curve, IMO. Most people aren't going to go right out and figure out the ride right away as they are a bit different than a "normal" board. It took me a whole summer of riding one on and off before I was convinced. Then trying to ride my Obrien Natural(great board) was a huge challenge once I was use to the SS. I am sold on the boards, the bindings are still to busy for me. I miss the simplicity of my transits. Simply put, I can't say for sure I'm a better rider but I have had more fun wakeboarding since I went to a Recoil..............

I sell both the boards and my personal board is a Response. I've ridden most of the boards out there and prefer the slingshot now, just cant beat the landing's and the pop when you edge through the wake properly.