No worries Tony
I know most of my posts are long and some folks skip the long winded replies.
The regular Monk 132X41 was a great board for me, but I did not go upwind well when the lulls hit.
If I was well powered, it went great..and is an absolute pleasure to ride, just a great well designed kiteboard.
Mark Shinn knows his stuff and the whole line of boards are really well designed.
I don't agree with the thought that that the next size up was going "ruin" the ride, but I never did get the bigger one, so I can't say that John B and Mike Birt are not right.
The first thing I said after my first ride on the Monk 132X41 was that the tips could stand to be a little firmer and that I would like a 135X41 or 133X42 or 135x42 sized Monk.
I guess it depends on where you kite, Chris at Kite Naked likes the 130X40 Monk and Chris is 200 pounds, but he rides at Sherman Island which blows hard all the damn time, so he sees a typical day differently than I do.
He rides the Joke 134 also and I bought the Joke 138X41.5 at 180 pounds.
Wainman recommends the 138 for people my weight/size, and the 138 Joke is perfect for me.
From what I'm reading, Mark Shinn did the things that I (and lots of others I'm sure) said needed to happen, to make the Monk Forever even better than the Monk.
It was already the best board I had ever ridden, the new one is probably out of this world.
I think a 132X41 Monk Forever would be perfect for you now that they changed it a bit, but I also think that if you went to the 134X42 you would love it as well.
I would recommend the Monk over the Joke to most folks, only because I know the Monk has universal appeal..nobody would ever ride the Monk and not like it.
On the other hand, I've read feedback about the Joke complaining that it takes a lot of power to plane and some say it feels too much like a wake style board and it is it too stiff.
I don't agree with any of that, ....it is not a stiff board, but it does not have the super softy tips that lots of the more popular freeride boards have now.
I don't think the Joke is a wake style only board, it has a bit of rocker and it has thick solid tips and is channeled on the bottom at the tips and it is longer like a wake style kiteboard, but I ride straps and I'm an old man and I am no wake style guy, and it feels fantastic to me.
I decided to get the size that Wainman says on their website for my weight and that took care of the need for tons of power, even the magazine reviewers tried the too small size for their weight.
At 138X41.5 the Joke planes well and goes upwind great.
I like the Joke because I can't flex the shit out of the tips and make it feel mushy.
The flex is through the whole board equally and that feels more like a good racing snowboard.
The rocker on the Joke makes it carve great and goes through chop fantastic.
The load and release on jumping feels the best ever, and the damn thing somehow allows you to land really wrong and not crash, which is good for me because I'm sloppy and not precise.
The only reason I say the Joke is not for everyone, is that it feels a little loose when you first demo it which might put a few people off on their demo ride, it is longer and stiffer than the shorter freeride boards also.
After you've been on it for a half hour, it no longer feels too loose and you realize you have tons of edge without needing the big fins the Shinns have.
I can't say the Joke is better, I will say that it is different and interesting and fun and I like it a lot.
I was ready for something different and had an open mind about it, and it turned out to be something special.
Chris at Kite Naked told me it was great for a year before I finally decided to give it a shot.
If you want to play safe and get a sure thing, the Monk is a no brainer, all the Shinns are great.
If you are ready for a new piece of strange, the Joke is a bad girl and will make you smile and laugh.
It is also built beautifully, the Austrian ski guys really make a clean board.
Ed-I sold my Makos after getting on a Shinn.
The original Monks do ride a size small, in my opinion.