Looking at wakeboards again

Well, last time I was here I had settled on a Flame 141. I thought that they were like computer parts, and would just get really cheap as the year went on. I didn't realized that they would just go out of stock, so I wasn't able to get one. So now, I'm looking for a Christmas gift, and I was just looking around and saw an 07 Pure 140 with 07 torq bindings.
I'm sort of a beginner. I haven't really done any fancy tricks yet (unless getting just a little air is considered fancy), but I want a more intermediate board just because I don't really have the money to get a beginner board first then step up, so I want something that I can use for a long time. Also, I'm around 180lbs, maybe 185. On wakeworld, it says the Pure 140 is for riders 150lbs and up, so should that be fine as well?
Also, binding sizes... I'm 16 and my shoe size is somewhere between 11.5 and 12... would I be better off getting L/XL bindings or XXL?

Just looking for your input, anything is appreciated. TIA!

Oh, and are there any other accessories that are necessities? My grandpa has the boat and life vests, and we have a rope (though not one of those expensive $50 ones).

If you can, get one of those expensive $50 dollar ropes. It will help more than you think and it's one of the best investments for accessories. I was a firm believer they couldn't do that much difference, till I tried one.

Ya Tyler the 07 CWB Pure, Kink or Faction would be a great board for you with Torqs, but I would say to check out the Pure, Kink and Faction package with the Vapor hinge Binding, worth the extra 20bucks in my opinion. I WOULD GET A WAKE LINE AND HANDEL FOR SURE.

My Bad Tyler the Kink and the Faction package with Vapor Bindings is more like 50 bucks more, but the Pure is only 20 bucks more with the Vapor Bindings, instead of the Torqs, worth it in my opinion.

Tyler..I ride CWB now but I can recommend a good board/binding pkg that progress with you. I noticed wakeside.com was advertising a Liquid force Omega/fushion combo for 299. Last year I purchased a similar package.

The Omega took me from my first W2W to several spin variations and inverts. Its a great intermediate board without costing you a ton of money. They come in 4 different sizes and the shape hasn't changed in 3 years so you might be able to get a late model for really cheap.

http://www.wakeside.com/page/W/PROD/liquid_force_wakeboards_packages/liquid_force_omega_package_07

Thanks a lot for the input guys. I'm going to look at all of them, but my cable is currently out and I"m on dialup so it takes forever. Just wondering, where are you seeing these vapor binding packages? All the packages I've seen are just the Pure with Torq bingings for $350. And what do you think makes the Vapor bindings worth the extra $$?

As for that Omega board, how does it compare to the Pure? I mean, if the Pure will last longer I don't mind paying an extra $50 for it. I need to get as much use out of it as possible, at least 2 summers before I head off to college. I've only ridden on a Realm board so far, so I really don't have much to compare these to.

And if yall press for that expensive rope/handle so much, I'll think about it. The one I have right now is made by Accurate... I'm on dialup so I'm not going to look it up, but it's a white line with a bright orange handle. Think it was like $25. Also, we don't have a tower or anything, so the rope is down low on the boat (in case that makes a difference as to whether or not I should get a better rope/handle).

(Message edited by ar1stotle on November 29, 2006)

The Omega is a great all around board and a step up from a beginner model. It's one of the boards on my to demo list and all it takes is one look at Ben Greenwood shredding it up on the board to be convinced you can do alot with it. I don't know how it compares to the Pure but I will stand behind the Omega as a solid board.

As for the rope, it doesn't have to be expensive just get yourself some spectra. It doesn't have to be coated or anything and if you're already running Spectra don't worry about it. Spectra line will still make a nice impact with or without a tower.

There are a bunch of boards on ebay right now and you can usually get a killer deal on boards that are last years models. Take a look. I saw a few Flames on there this week.

Hmmm, just checked ebay... yea, I see some of those nice Flames. However, none that I saw came with bindings, which are like $2xx from other online retailers. So really, doesn't seem like I'd be saving much money there. However, I did see some Kink/Vapor packages on eBay. They retail for $400, $50 more than the pure 140 and torq. However, if I can get one a bit cheaper off ebay, think I should go for it? Would it be a better package for me?
And yea, still thinking about that Omega as well. Just since I'm a wakeboarding newbie for the most part, CWB sticks in my mind better than Liquid Force.

Still accepting whatever input yall wanna give. I appreciate every bit of it

Hmmm, wish you could edit posts more than 30 minutes old... anyway, last post still applies.

However, just wanted to make a comment.
How are the Liquid Force Alpha bindings? They are packaged with the Omega for $350, just like most of the other packages I'm looking at. They don't seem to have the hinge stuff, which I really seem to like. But I just looked and it says the retail price of the Omega with the Alpha bindings is $590, as opposed to $450 retail with the Pure and Torq. As a computer guy, I usually think that stuff that normally retails for more is better, so if I can get both for the same price...

Input please?

Tyler, read my post again. I sent a link of several omega combos?

Wakeside has both the 2006 Alpha/Omega pckg for $299 and the 2007 Omega/Fusion for $299.

But if you feel like wasting 50 bucks...

You dont see the Pure with Vapors yet online because the shops are just starting to get them in stock, the Vapor binding is new for 07 and has a little better support then the Torq, its just a higher end binding then the Torq. Not to say that the Torq is not a great binding, it is, I just think its worth the extra 20 bucks with the Pure Package with Vapors. I got some Vapors in a couple days ago and they fit and feel great.

Sorry Matt, I completely forgot about that link. I'll look into it... I'm really wanting to try to get that Kink/Vapor combo off ebay at the moment though... for cheap of course. I probably won't have the highest offer though. But like, I have sorta wide feet and those alpha/fusion bindings just look a little tighter. I looked at reviews for the 06 alphas and several people complained about their feet feeling squished. The fusions also look a lot like the alphas, so I'm a little skeptical.

And Jeff, I see what you mean about the vapors. Hopefully some online retailers will offer packages with them soon, otherwise I'll look on ebay or just look at the Torqs.

I have them in stock Tyler.

Tyler, Have you thought about going to a board shop to try these on? I'm not trying to steer you one way or the other but if its at matter of $50, your comfort should be the #1 concern. If you use the board 10 times, I know I'd pay 5 dollars a trip to keep from having sore feet.

Believe me, invest up front and your comfort will benefit in the long run.

(Message edited by spicoli512 on December 01, 2006)

Problem is, Matt, there are no board shops around me ;) New Orleanians don't seem to be into watersports hehehe. Well, there is one place that might... but I dunno because they advertise more as a skateboarding store, but I think they mentioned wakeboards somewhere. I'll give em a call and see. I just now thought of them.

And yea, comfort is certainly important. Though I could cope with slight discomfort for tons of fun, if a little extra cash can make my feet feel great then it's worth looking into.

Edit: Just called em. They don't have the Torqs or the Vapors in stock

(Message edited by ar1stotle on December 01, 2006)

If nobody else has answered it yet, I think you should go with the L/XL bindings and not XXL's, I wear a size 13 and have no problems with L/XL Torq's.

Alright. Been trying to look some stuff up, and my parent's are looking for my Christmas list. So, one thing that I don't really have an idea on:

What exactly is the difference between the Kink and the Pure? I'm leaning more towards the Pure because I like the black + it's cheaper. On Wakeside, I noticed that they have a little meter that when you mouse-over the boards, it rates them on ability, pop, loose/tight, stuff like that. The Kink and the Pure are rated exactly the same for everything. The only real descriptions I can find of either are the ones that are meant to market them. So what is really different about the boards that could possibly make one cost more than the other? Or is it just so you can brag about who has the most expensive board?

And I've heard good stuff about the Vapors... so I'm thinking of getting those.
As for the rope, if I can get a deal on one I might go for it, but if not this package is already a little expensive so I might hold off.
We already have normal life jackets, I really don't see a need to shell out more cash for one made for wakeboarding. Seems like they'd do the same thing.
Helmet? What do yall think? I've really only smacked my head once, and it gave me a little headache but I'm not going on rails or doing anything crazy yet, just trying to get up in the air and actually clear the wake, maybe spin around once or twice.

Thanks again for any info you can provide!

Don't want this thread to disappear. I really need quick advice on the Pure vs. Kink.

Anyone? Please? If there's really no difference besides price, just say so.

The only difference I can see is that the Kink has a mellow 3 stage and the Pure has a 3 stage, so the Pure may give you a tiny bit more buck, but they both have the same amount of rocker so thats a minimal difference.

Tyler there is very little difference in the boards, The Kink is a little wider in the tip and tail then the Pure. The rocker amount is the same at 2.80 on the 134's, but the Kink is a mellow subtle 3 stage and the Pure is a 3 stage. In my opinion at your level, you wont even be able to tell a difference between the two. Get the Pure and you will be happy. If you had a place to demo I would say demo both and see what you think, but since you cant, you will be happy with the Pure its a great board.
Jeff
Innov8

No difference really. The tip and tail profile have shifted a bit, but otherwise they are the same and will ride basically the same.

A bit of advice.... If you can find a '06 Pure or Flame, then go for that. Last years decks were made side by side with their pro decks and as such were a total steal. The '07s are cool, but the '06s were a better riding board, IMO.

A bit more "buck"... like not quite as smooth a transition between the water and the air? If it's just a little difference, I'll stick with the Pure then ;) It'll probably be nicer than the Realm in either case.

Thanks for the quick reply!

Edit: Wow, I posted after Roddy's post, and now there's 2 more. Thanks for the info. Thinking......

(Message edited by ar1stotle on December 05, 2006)

OK, about the 06 boards. Would they really make a difference for me? I mean, if I got an 06 board, I'd really be interested in the Flame 141. That flame graphic is just uber cool. But, anywhere I see those on the internet, they either come with the 06 Torqs or they come without any bindings, and buying them both separately would be more expensive than getting on of the 07 packages. Are the 07s necessarily worse than the 06s? I mean, it's great that the 06s were made next to their "pro boards", but does that mean that they still wouldn't try to improve the 07 models?

If the 06s were actually cheaper, this would make more sense to me. However, they seem to be the same price, so I'm just a little confused.

And are we even talking about a noticeable difference (for me) here?

Thanks

Just got my 07 Kink and new Zues Bindings yesterday! Wohoooo!

Dude. I have an '06 Flame 141 with '06 Torq size large. I'm 5'11" 175# and wear a size 11.5 to 12 shoe. This set up seems to fit me very well. My buddy wants to sell me his '06 Watson so I've been thinking on getting rid of the package and taking the Watson off his hands. Email me if you are interested raider69@hotmail.com">praider69@hotmail.com maybe we could work something out.

Tyler, mainly the pro models are changed for the new season. They don't even make a flame for 07. The old 06 Flame shape is the kink I posted above. The 06 Flame and 07 Kink are actually the old 04 absolute platinum shape with a different top deck.

So, throwing everything but the performance/price ratio aside, if I could get an 06 Flame/Torq cheaper than the 07 Pure/Vapo or 07 Kink/Vapor, would it perform just the same (assuming there's physically nothing wrong with it)? Would I essentially be getting more performance for my buck? I mean, heck, I'm not rich so if J Wilson's used combo will perform just as well as a brand new 07 combo at retail price, I just might do that.

I would demo both first if you have a shop around that let's you do so. You might hate both boards.

Yea, but there are no shops anywhere around here. I can't dunno if yall know anywhere in either Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, or Florida who are open for demoing, but at the moment my grandpa's boat is broken and I don't have any wetsuits or anything. I don't see how I could really hate any of the boards, and I only have one other board to compare it to and I adapt to most things pretty easily. I don't think I could hate something unless it was simply impossible to get up on or something.

This discussion is very interesting to me because I'm pretty much in the same position as Tyler.

So Tyler if, in your search, you find a good deal on any of these packages let me know.

Alright, so, is the consensus that basically, the Pure, Kink, and 06 Flame will all ride the same, so I should go with whatever I can get the cheapest?

Bump. Read the above post. Quick replies appreciated

Ya Tyler, they will all ride basically the same.

OK, turns out I need your advice yet again. I tried to get a new Kink 141 with Vapors. My offer of $305 was rejected, but they made a counteroffer: $345 shipped. They claim it's brand new. I was hoping to get it for $305, but I guess that didn't work out. Would you all consider that a worthy deal?

(Message edited by ar1stotle on December 06, 2006)

i say anytime you can get 07 CWB board/bindings for $345 its a good deal.

I would jump on that deal. Especially when you consider that I can't find the Pure/Torq combo for under 350. Where did you find that deal? Ebay?

Yea. Well, I jumped for it (rather, I convinced my parents to). Ebay is great So long as it's as advertised, I think I've come out with a nice bargain! Can't wait till I get our boat fixed and it starts warming up so I can use it!

Thanks for all your help! Have a Merry Christmas!

(Message edited by ar1stotle on December 07, 2006)

Well since the 07's retail for $280 and the bindings go for $265, I'd say you got a great deal?

Hello again. Just letting yall know, my Kink 141/Vapor combo arrived today. Everything was factory sealed as far as I could tell (well the bindings were on a wrapped board) and the CWB baggie with what I guess is a fin and some other stuff was inside the wrapping. And wow, I just tried on the bindings to make sure that they were the correct size, and wow they really do hold my foot in much better than the Comp bindings I used over the summer. I can't wait till it actually warms up down here so that I can try it out (which, it's actually about 75 right now, but the river is freezing).

Thanks again for yall's suggestions and input!

Thats great Tyler, Enjoy your new setup.