2011 137x 43 raptor pro

I previously rode a 135x41 bulldozer which I think is an awsome freestyle/freeride board but is a little stiffer ride which some may not like for freeride in the chop.

Having not ridden any previous raptor pros this is not a comparative review.

First of all the board is a beauty. At first glance it appears to be a pure freestyle board. It is very flat in the midsection and has a smooth progressive scoop rocker that I measured to be about 3cm of rocker. So, very little rocker which makes this board fast and great for jumping.

The concave is completely tip to tip not just the section under your feet which made the board feel very locked in on edge. During the first ride I wasn't sure if I liked it better than my bulldozer, but once I got dialed in on this board it is has a very nice feel and is extremely versatile. The crazy flex tips are apparently a new design for this year and are the stand out feature IMO on this board. The flex is incredible and NOT flimsey at all, it is the type of flex the doesn't slow the board down and increases potential energy for pop better than any other flex characteristics I have tried on a twin tip. The flex allows for great carving with excellent control. A board with more rocker and that is stiffer would feel more skatey and less locked in on a carve. if you want a board that carves heel to toe with superb control this is it. It took a few rides to get dialed in; the potential is a little more technical than say a slingshot sx which is very skatey and slippery.To push the raptor into a carve requires weighting your back foot more and really powering through a turn. I love the locked in control and drive through the turns as there is very little loss of speed because the board flexes where it is loaded and conserves momentum very well.

The Mid section is quite stiff and when the board first arrived I was wondering if the ride was going to be any softer then my bulldozer. What I found is the board still has the solid fast feel of a stiff board with very excellent upwind ability and shock absorbtion where you want it without any flimsey feeling. When I say flimsey I mean a flexability that can be too flacid and has very little recoil properties that slow you down and damper pop. The flex on this board increases pop and allows speed to be maintained when loading and the board reamains stable will not get away from you when loading for a jump. although it can be technically tapped into the raptor is very stable and easy to ride for a new kiter and the type of board that you will grow into and never need another twin tip in my opinion. The concave all the way to the tip gives good torsion control too, which means there is less twisting along the heal to toe axis at the tips which contributes to overall board control.

Bottom line: this is the board that does everything and is super easy to ride. For my weight 185lbs dry, this is the perfect all around size and never feel over powered on it. I had it out the other day at Ocean beach in San Francisco and there was an occasional gust to 50mph and I was never over powered on the board with average speed at or near 30 mph.

Now for the negative: : The STRAPs and pads have an overall great fit and they are comfortable. A little less cushion than the previous 09 pad but better for board offs. The straps fit great and require very little work with your toes to hang on to the board and they are a great fit for my 10.5 inch feet. Here is the bad part: The velcro sucks.... in fresh water you will probably be ok, but in salt water the velcro will come undone as it did 5 times with me in a 2.5 hour session, each time having to return to shore and park the kite on the sand depowered in pause mode to reset my straps. What a dissapointment from an otherwise awsome near perfect board and straps. I have a friend who is an out door gear sales rep and said crapy velcro will come undone when lubricated with microorganisms in salt water. So, this must be crap velcro because the 09 straps never did this and the adhesive properties of this velcro is less tacky and easier to undo even when dry. Bummer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Crazyfly FIX THIS. and yes the straps are installed properly I already confirmed this.
My idea to fix this is to sew in a piece of industrial strength velcro and see how that works.

Great board and strap/pad setup just watch out for the velcro.
Hope this review helps and please email any questions.

The end

I have had several sessions on this board now and want to update this post.

IMO this is not a good freeride board and even more dissapointing is that it is pretty awfull in very choppy conditions secondary to the worst face spray I have ever experienced. My understanding at this point of why I am experiencing such awful face spray is... the fin position and tip to tip concave. The downward concave in the tip deflects spray into the fin and then into your face and it feels like someone sprayed me with a garden hose ( it has perfect aim, right between the eyes and buckets of water). You can over come the spray by riding with more back foot pressure to a degree, but when the chop is really bad it is hard to overcome and who wants to ride around worrying about how to keep the spray out of your face.

After so many reviews of how great this board has been over the years I am dissapointed in it because it is a very fun board in flat water or smoother chop conditions, but in full blown chop it is a pain in the eye. The worst face spray I have ever had. who wants to ride around trying to overcome this problem. I have never had this bad of a problem with face spray on any other board.

Another negative is again the straps and pads. the straps continue to come undone or loosen if you ride more than an hour and they always come unvelcroed in the surf and yes they are installed properly as I made sure with the distributer. Bottom line is I am going to get different straps and pads for it. The pads have a stiffer topsheet and smaller texture and to me they feel like gravel under your feet and are too stiff.

On a positive note I still like the speed and stability of the board and it jumps so easily. However, the landing is worse than my 09 bulldozer which is stiffer. new raptor is quite stiff in the center probably nearly as stiff as the bulldozer, but with the bulldozer when I land I can carve out the power and speed because of a better rocker line. The raptor has flex in the tips, but it is a very reactive flex and thus if you try to land and carve out the speed and power your actually find that you accelerate the board. the flex charateristics make take off and pop incredible but don't really ease the landing. This board wants to hit the water and actually accelerates with rear foot pressure because the tip refectively pushes back so hard and the rocker line is a smoother line at the tips, basically less scoop rocker than the bulldozer which for me makes landing the bulldozer so easy and soft inspite of it's stiffness.

I want anyone thinking about this board to have a good preparation for the positives and negatives. I really loved the bulldozer '09 but right now I am going to say overall the bulldozer was an easier board board to ride and although it had face spray at times it was nothing like this raptor is in the choppy conditions i frequent in the areas I ride.

My recommendation very humbily to crazy fly is to get rid of the concave all the way to the tip and give the raptor a little more flex and it will probably fit better as an all around freeride freetyle board. right now it is a pure freestyle board that likes more ideal conditions and doesn't accommidate the frequent choppy conditions most people probably ride in. Plus who wants to pay over $800 to upgrade to the limited raptor so you can get rid of the face spray problem that they have claimed with that board. Obviously, the face spray was an issue, sadly .

I wish I could trade in for the limited! Now I am probably going to get the Shinn Monk, I have heard great things on this board for my style and conditions.

Anyone with there opinions would be interesting so let me know.

Good and honest review, Thank you !

spray in face is a combination of persons physical specification (height, length of legs and neck, riding stance etc) and the board. i have had boards that seem to spray just in my face among 20 people that have ridden it and vice versa.

regarding chop and flexibility - it`s not the concave that makes raptor worse for powerful chop conditions. it`s the extra flex. you just cannot cut through the chop like you used to with the bulldozer.

also note that the raptor has 2cm narrower overall stance compared to the bulldozer. wider stance helps you dig deeper in the chop.

what you might be after in your next board is extra stiffness. CF have 2 very good boards that are stiffer than the raptor. one of which comes with 4point fixation double velcro pads (the pro tour 2011).

I just got a CF Raptor Pro LTD.........I haven't ridden it yet but I hope it's the chop eating machine that others have proclaimed it to be. It was between a Liquid Force Kaos and this board. After the good reviews on the LTD, I had to give it a shot. Of note: The double concave isn't very subtle, it's actually quite pronounced. It's funny how similar the LTD and the Kaos (which I have ridden and liked) are in specs, shape and bottom. She'll get tested in the Bahamas this weekend.
Can't wait.

Rode my new 2012 Rapto Pro 137 X 41 at my Outer Banks vacation. I’m 190 lbs (84 kg). I could tell immediately that this board was looser than my other TT’s. After 5 minutes to get used to this I was doing everything better than my other boards…up wind, jumping, S-turns, Ollies to toeside. On high speed runs the board cut through the chop and kept giving me confidence to look for even more speed, never out of control. I really like this board and its efficient ride through the water. I had no trouble with spray in the face. I like the 2012 footstraps and pads with the toe grabs a lot. I feel like my riding is going to progress with this, now my favorite, board. Love the colors and grahics. Like the bright colored bottom in case the board gets away from me and is upside down in chop.
I have to think hard to find negatives, but I did feel that (1) my heels occasionally slapped the chop so I moved the footpads about 1 cm up towards my toes direction. And (2) I felt like this board slows down more at the exit completion of a toe-side carving turn. It could be that I’m just comparing it to my other larger more floaty 142cm board, and I now have to learn to keep the power on more now. (3) I have the older CF G10 fins on it. I declined the thermoplastic fins without even riding them.

Hi,
I had the same spray problem with my former CF Shox board (2010). In some conditions I got the spray right in my face and it wasn't fun. I'm sure it can be different from person to person depending och length and so on.

I'm about to buy a Raptor Pro LTD and I'm quite sure that it won't spray your face. I have Cabrinha Custom 2007 and because it have very high rocker it don't spray in your face at all. Never get any water in face regardless of condition. I believe that one of the things that give less spray is the high rocker.

have fun on the water

/ch

Amazing board, zero spray to face due to his rocker..
Have fun