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yeah sure aklbob... have you actually :
1)riden any of the SS boards?
2)riden them with different fin set ups?
3)seen the original gorge proto?
and 4)witnessed the likes of Mark Doyle, Julien Suddrat and Ben Wilson cleaning up on there production SS skate series boards?
Maybe next time you see them you should mention to them that there boards are ineficient and slow!!
get a life

4)witnessed the likes of Mark Doyle, Julien Suddrat and Ben Wilson cleaning up on there production SS skate series boards?
Maybe next time you see them you should mention to them that there boards are ineficient and slow!!
get a life

This is funny! You think that a slow board is necesarily a bad thing, it's not. The speed of the board needs to be matched to the speed of the kite. Faster kites like faster boards.

I would suggest the slingshot kites (2002 models) also arn't the fastest around the window. Not as fast as lift's, airblast, x2's etc... This would probably make the slingshot boards a great match for the slingshot kites! and slingshot probably would have planned it this way!

A slower board actually lets you take out more kite area too, because it is easier to depower the kite!

It is a general feeling that the SS skate boards are slower than some boards, not as slow as some but slower than some as well, I have ridden a SS Drake and compared to my previous undergroun DT and my current undergroun WT it was harder to ride fast, I could ride it fast but it was twitchy and uncomfortable...

There is a good side to all that rocker: Sweet "S" turns - either on a wave or just on flat water. Just re-direct the kite down low and lay into the opposite edge. More rocker means better deep, committed carves IMO.

I would suggest the slingshot kites (2002 models) also arn't the fastest around the window. Not as fast as lift's, airblast, x2's etc... This would probably make the slingshot boards a great match for the slingshot kites! and slingshot probably would have planned it this way!

I think the sport has finally reached the point where boards are being designed to match kites. Or kites are being matched to boards!

It was the same at the top level of windsurfing.

Look at Naish. Lot's of fast directional board riders on that team. The x2 is released with a thin fast profile that likes a fast board that can get on a plane easy. The kite has poor low end grunt, maybe because a directional board doesn't need good grunt.

The Underground boys have been riding some x2's and report having to use smaller WT's to match up well with those kites.

I have heard that some wake boards require more front leg pressure than back, but that Wave Trays require more back leg pressure than front. Can someone please explain this as it relates to board design and fin size and number? Thanks

All twin tip or wake style boards have extra grip when the front leg is pressed. This extra grip is pretty similar with all of these style boards. Some wake style boards are slippery in the tail and therefore FORCE YOU to use LESS back leg. The slippier tailed boards I've riden were narrower tailed, and or tiny finned.

Boards with very rounded outlines, fat middle, narrow tail, are slippery in the back and need larger fins to compensate.

The WT doesn't have to be ridden with heavy back foot pressure. It rides like any TT, but can be (if you want) ridden with strong back foot pressure because the tail has better than usual grip for a TT. I would rate the WT foot pressure as average for most twin tips, but slightly less front foot pressure than a convential slippery tail wakeboard with tiny fins. Put big fins on a wakeboard and the balance would probably match a WT.

I totally agree with Dwight....

A slow kite doesn't like a fast board. The X2 suits a fast board... It'll still work with a slow board but you have to be real powered up.

Slow boards are definately NOT bad... A lot of times when I go out I change to my lunchtray bacause it's slower than my directional.

A slow board makes you handle more wind for the same kite... and what happens when you jump using the same kite in more wind????

Enjoy the view.....

BLOWN AWAY

I think board efficency is very important, and for the average recreational rider, having to ride completely maxed out to get the performance you want out of a board isn't safe at all. If wind conditions change slightly you are either way underpowered or you are teabagging out of control, bailing out big time! Maybe what I'm trying to say is that a slow board doesn't have as large effective range that it will work in, directionals work in the largest wind range for a skilled rider because they are fast! The matching of kite to board is of course an issue, and I have seen and ridden the drake, but found you do need a lot of power! And once you are powered up, great, and if you have every kite in a range you can rig to suit (I.e like team riders!)
slow board ---- -----------<---- underpowered ------- powered------- overpowered --->
fast board < underpowered ----------------powered --------------------overpowered---->

also I make no claims to fame...
A truly great rider can make any board work well for them.

Dwight, interesting comments about X2 riders wanting the smaller Wavetrays, which I can believe, as I would like a slightly smaller WT than my 147 for almost all levels of the windrange of the X2, which contradicts the idea that for wakestyle boards, you need low end grunt to get them moving. Other comments say the X2 has no low end grunt.
I'm confused, as I find the low end grunt to be excellent on the X2, even in 10 knots with a 12m!! It gets me planing as easy as my directional! (with 1 or 2 more knots!) (My only frame of reference is a wipika freeair and a wipika Airblast) (the X2 12 has way more low end grunt than my 11.8 did in the same wind!)

I also find directionals have a bigger wind range than my wakeboard.

The X2 suits directionals definately in it's lower wind range. The X2 I find can be used with wakeboards but only when real powered up. Go slow... boost big seems to be the plan of attack with the X2 powered up.

BLOWN AWAY