PS3 or Watson Vs. Substance

I have ridden a LF Substance for the last 3 years and think it is a great board. I am looking to upgrade to a PS3 or Watson this year. Yes I going to try to demo, but I am looking for opinions on those who already have. The reason I am looking to change is that I hear both the PS3 and Watson land softer and pop higher than the Substance.

My concern is speed. Now the substance isn't a fast board but I certainly don't want to sacrifice speed. Can anyone compare the speed of the PS3 and Watson to the Substance. After looking at the shapes, my guess it the PS3 is faster than the Watson, but how does the Substance compare?

Hey Jessica, I have been riding a LF Substance for the past couple years also. I have been wanting to upgrade my board for the past 6 months but did not want to sacrafice the pop of the Substance. A lot of my friends ride Hyperlite and I never liked them because I always felt that I was "stuck" to the water.(almost like a suction cup) Then I rode the new Murray board and I love it. I probably won't ride my Substance at all this year. The new Murray gives you the same great pop as the Substance but also seems like a faster board.

Mike

From what my shop tells me, and by looking at the LF board matrix you might want to demo the Shane as well. The PS3, the Watson, and the Shane are all loosely based off the Fish. So the advantages you are looking for exist at least to a point in all 3 boards. The Shane however is supposed to be the faster of the 3.

Hey Jessica, from what I've heard the Watson is a very different feeling board from the Substance. I rode the Substance for a long time and loved it, so I know what your talking about. I'd check out the PS3 or the Shane. They are all going to edge slightly different as they have a rounded "fish" style edge now. I'd definitely recomend demoing first.

If you are considering any other boards I've heard great things about the Murray and I personally love the CWB Pure. It felt like a supercharged Substance with softer landings.

DEMO, DEMO, DEMO!

Evan - sounds like I might need to ride a CWB Pure. Squid has ridden the Watson and the Substance right?

Hi, my name is Thane, and I've been riding a substance for 3 years.

Thane, the watson is nothing like the substance. Its slower and has much more line tension but it dose give you a bigger straight up pop.

Evan, is the Pure the old absoulte shape J-rod rides?

Demoed the PS3 and the Watson about a week ago and posted what I thought on our local forum - here is what I thought of the boards

Demoed both today, and if you've been reading reviews on these boards, then you may be just as conFOOsed as I was. Some say the PS3 is faster than the Watson, some say it is slower, basically everyone has a different opinion, so I decided to post mine and add to the confusion.

Keep in mind this was the first time I had ridden since October or November - rode my 05 Substance first to get the feel back and then went to the PS3. To be honest, I couldn't tell that much of a difference in the PS3 and my Substance (I rode the 137 PS3 compared to my 141 Substance) - I thought the PS3 was a little looser than my Substance, which goes against all the reviews I read (and by loose I mean it felt a little squirly (sp?) when not on edge, and it took a little more to lock in the edge). It had softer landings than my Substance, but besides that, I really couldn't tell that much difference in the pop, speed, or any other aspect of the board.

Next I rode the Watson (138) - thought the Watson was faster, more aggressive, and tighter on edge than the Substance and PS3, and by faster and more aggressive I mean it really locked in and accelerated quickly when you put it on edge. Although the edge and tracking were great when cutting hard, the Watson was also very easy to slide around in the flats, on the wake, etc - probably due to the huge spine it has running down the middle of the board. The landings on this board were also better than the substance, and maybe a little better than the PS3. If you use more of a mellow cut, the Watson has the best pop by far, it really boots you straight up for wake to wake riders. The only thing I had negative to say about the Watson is that I couldn't find the sweet spot for the pop when edging in hard for raleys and other tricks I wanted to take way out into the flats. Not saying the pop was bad, I just know I didn't find the sweet spot. Its also necessary to note I was dead tired by this time and that pop I couldn't find may have been rider error, or rust from not riding in a while.

Anyway, thats my opinion of the two boards. If I buy one, I will get the Watson, but probably the larger size. Hope this conFOOses everyone more!



(Message edited by rhettb on March 17, 2006)

I'm confused as all hell. I'm just going to keep riding my substance........forever. I'm a junky. It's like an old friend.

Thanks for everyones opinions. I'm like Thane - even more confused. I guess I better start trying them out soon.

WITH ALL THE TALK ABOUT SETTING THE SUBSTANCE TO THE SIDE, I'LL BE HAPPY TO TAKE ONE OFF SOMEONES HANDS! 136 AND UP IF ANYONE'S LOOKING TO OFF LOAD ONE

Squid, yup. It's the same board. I love that thing. It's really smooth up the wake, but goes huge and lands really soft. Plus when you put it on edge hard it goes....

Thane, give the Pure a ride if you haven't riddent that old Absolute before. It's a sick board. Definitely my two favorite boards of all time are the Pure and the Substance.

Thane, you just need to get your girlfriend to loan you her board. The nyou eill know true joy. Hope the knee is feeling better. Will I see you guys at CLWCs first stop?

I had the watson but took it back for the shane. to me the watson was slow and didn't track well. now the shane hauls ass and holds an incredible edge. my .02

Evan, I will need to try it one time when I am out with you or J-rod.

Evan - I will give the pure a ride when I can.

Stephan - I think Erica is going to the Spring Ride since they're going to be filming for The Chick Flick. I should be there though. Knee is feeling good.