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...