Hi!
I'm choosing between these two boards but find it hard to find decent reviews. I want a board with great, easy to access pop, a really smooth ride in chop, good control, and really soft landings.

I rode my mates money shot and totally loved it! It's a very very nice board! I was almost going to order one for myself, but then I demoed the Cabrinha custom. The reason was that I wanted a board that gripped and rode like the money shot but I wanted it to be longer than 135cm but not heaps wider. I figured that the one aspect that I wanted in a board for comfort in chop was rocker, and the cab custom has the most rocker of any dedicated kiteboard. Its got all the grip pop blaa blaa blaa, that people apparently want, but for me it's just so chop friendly. I use the larger of cabrinha's fins on it, for maximum grip and am really enjoying it. It isn't slow like some people suggest. Infact slow to describe a board is just a fallacy, it does require you to be powered however, no light wind kiting with this board. The sync binding are super comfortable as are the Naish bindings.

Ok the help with your choice. If 135cm for a board is enough for you then go for the Money shot! It's and awesome board. But if you would like a little more length, the I highly recommend the cab custom. Both are very good chop riding boards!

Both boards are excellent, for a good edge control id rather favor the money shot, for comfort on chop id favor the fifty due to its rocker its unbelievable good in chop. Both have excellent performance, pop and comfortable landings. Money shot is a more classic freestyle board (flatter, hard flex, awesome pop) while fifty is a wakestyle rocker type of board (more rocker, longer to compensate the extra rocker, awesome pop, eats chop, can take it to sliders...). You wont go wrong with any but if being confortable in the chop is your priority go for the fifty

What? no way! The Fifty50 does not have more rocker than the money shot! if you put them back to back, which I have done, there is not more rocker in the fifty50 than the money shot. There is a slightly different rocker in both of them, but definitely no more! Also the Money shot is not stiffer than the Fifty50! Have you even tried them? Come on dude! Also... the fifty50 a wake style rocker? Seriously? I cant understand your statement if you have never seen a wakeboard before, buit if your have then please explain how the fifty50 has more of a wake style rocker than the money shot. Seems to me your response is based on the marketing hype that you read on websites or in magazines. I am so passionate about this because I have been looking for kiteboards that have a wake style rocker and have been comparing boards back to back to see which have more rockers than others and reading what their marketing guys have been saying about the products. Amazingly, most boards have the same rocker!

All the north series have the same rocker. Which is the same as the money shot and the fifty50. Which is also the same as the Underground styx boards. The only board that I have seen more rocker in is the Cab custom. I must say however that I havent had the opportunity to compare the liquid force boards, or the Hadlow wake board, so I cant discount any of those boards having a more of a wake rocker.

Its not your fault speedy rider, there is so much bulls ** t in marketing hype, that of course we the consumer is to be confused. Its nice of you to try and contribute to the original post's question, but I recommend we all do a little of our own research on some of the hype that we are fed by companies in this industry.

I take no offense m8 just trying to contribute as you said
Ive ridden the fifty, really smooth in chop, maybe its a hard flex board but doesnt seem like it.

Havent ridden the money shot, yes the thorn, and i thought the money shot was a continuation of the thorn, if its not the case then im wrong and probably as you said has the same rocker than fifty and a smooth ride in chop

Thanks for very interesting thought and good reviews guys!
I just had the oportunity to try the Money Shot today! I have to say it felt like a really great board in flat water with awesome quick pop and great edging and control! But when I tried it in chop it felt too stiff for me and I got tired in knees and thighs really quickly because the board didn't "eat" the chop.
So, now the question is, if the 50fifty is just as stiff and has the same low rocker as the money shot as you say WildDuke, then I still don't know what to choose

try fifty is really smooth in chop is my opinion based in actual riding the board and not from reading about the board

As far as I can tell the moneyshot and thorn are quite different. I would definitely try it if I were you.

WildDuke: You seem to know about wakestyle boards..how about the Naish Arcade as a wakstyle TT? I really have no idea, but it seems to me that is the board in the Naish range designed specifically for boots and rails.

AlohaSurfer: Funny you think the moneyshot is tough in chop...I find it super smooth, but my last board was a thorn which was very direct. Goes to show different people are

If you want smoother board than the moneyshot there is two things you can do..you might want to see if changing the footstraps a little. To me a wider stance softens the ride a little and adds to stability when I land. It might be just in my head though. I really do not know if this is actually the case.

Or look for something a little more narrow and with more rounded tips...maybe something like the haze? Sorry I don't know the other board you are talking about. In general you'll find that super soft boards don't pop as well. It is a common tradeof for TT. To me the moneyshot is the best marriage between the control and softness / ease in chop I've had so far.

Here is a picture of the rocker on my 50/50 139x40cm.
This is not a stiff board! I would say medium flex.
Super nice in chop.

Hey tautologies, no not particularly, its just that I was looking for a board with a bit more rocker in it and reading company blurbs, they describe their boards to have more rocker or "wakestyle" rocker than other boards in their range. However where I got disappointed was when I compared this claim about one particular board against another, I found no difference! I looked at the Arcane briefly and remember it to have a really thick tough base, but I didn't compare its rocker to any of the other boards, so sorry I cant give you an answer specifically on that board.

Thanks kuczwas for posting the picture of the fifty50 rocker. Its very interesting, I havent seen another board like it. Correct me if you think i'm not seeing this right, but the rocker appears to be in the middle of the board, with the remaining 1/3 on both ends almost flat. Of all the people I've spoken to rides the fifty50, I have never heard a bad word said about it. I think that because the Fifty50 are usually longer boards than most boards on the market, their length contributes to helping it eat up chop.

I chose the Cab custom this year and reckon its rocker and length assist it to eat chop and soften landings. Mark Shinn wrote a great article about how boards all have the same speed, and that there is no boards that are faster or slower than others. Its just that due to drag, created by extra rocker etc., require more power to pull through the water. I think the key for chop is having a board that will allow you to almost balance your weight 50/50 on the front and rear footpads, and know that the front tips are not going to catch the chop and duck dive. I think that there are only two ways to achieve this... more rocker or longer boards.

I am so glad we are all having this conversation. There is so much talk about kite handling and performance, I think a lot of people forget that that the kite is only half of the sport. The board is the other half. I am really interested in board design.

Speedy rider, thanks for not taking me the wrong way with my reply earlier. I re read it this morning and realised that it could have come across as a little agressive, but I promise, i didn't mean it to be! Cheers!

Ok, I just found this just now. http://www.kiteforum.tv/index.php?optio ... ow&id=7782 Interesting watch. Keep in mind that it is a marketing promo vid, but I think some of the information is relevant to our topic and seems quite reasonable. If you know of any other videos or great articles on board design, please sare as I'd really love to check it out!