Help me decide on a board/bindings

[BoardC3]

Hey this year i started wakeboarding with some really cheap hyperlite that was under $100 with the bungee bindings. I did it for the last month of summer off my jetski but i learned 180s off the little 6 inch wake, so this year my friend is going to have a 20 footer and im looking to get a new wakeboard. I HAVE $550 TO SPEND ON IT. just sayin that so people dont try to get me to buy some $800 board. I want ALOT of vertical pop so i was thinking a parks bio 138 but then i dont know what bindings to go with it. I found some ultra sucs for 160 and the parks for 390 so i could do that but im not quite sure yet. Im getting this for my B-day in march and im going to florida in april and hopefully to the orlando cable park so try my stuff once before putting it away again till june/july (i live in upstate,NY)
thanks for whatever help im given,
chris

[BoardC3]

Are the Liquid Force Helix boards good because i can get them new for $170 and it says that the original retail was 660? or should i stick with the parks?

[noneya]

If you can try and go to a local board shop and rent some stuff b4 you buy. Down here you can apply your rental to purchase. I have heard that the Parks boots have a lot of forward lean (I've never ridden em), I have tried the Ultra Sucs and I didnt like em, but I know a lot of people do.

[seedickride]

Are you looking for a board that is pretty loose unless you're up on edge? If that works for you, then the Helix will be a good choice. If you want a bit more grip and bigger pop, then I'd recommend the Substance. From O'Brien, I'd recommend the Player, from Doubleup, the new Nelson, and from Blindside, I'd recommend the Billy McKee Pro model. Of these, I'd say the Player would have the most aggressive tracking. Let me know if you need more details about any of these. You can see all of them on our website at the link below.

[ross carter]

look at the cwb absoloute or prodigy

[TeamCOWS]

how big are you (height/ weight) and what exactly are you looking to accomplish? Spins, flips, just carvin around, sliding? Do you snowboard, if so do you ride a wakeboard like you do a snowboard? Do you like a loose feel on the water, a super agressive feel, a mellow controled feel? And what are you looking for in a binding?

You said your looking at a 138 so here are some suggestions: Parks 138, nelson 138, wolf 137, byerly 137, premier 140, balance 140, substance 136, origin 138. You could hardly go wrong with any of those boards.

Bindings: parks, belmonts, 30/60, highbacks, ultra sucks, exos and collective developements stuff looks really good.

[BoardC3]

Im 5'9" 155lbs. I can not try anything because there is only one maybe two other small groups (3 or 4 people) on the lake that do it. I will have to buy online. I often ride in rough water so i cant have something that slides around alot. My goal for this year is to be able to be able to do backrolls and front rolls. I want a LOT of vertical pop, a very aggressive feel because i dont wakeboard to chill out i wakeboard to compete with my friends every time because its just more fun that way. I dont snowboard (I twintip ski by the way) so i cant really say anything on that.

But to recap im 5'9" 155lbs, board has to do well in rough water, i want an aggressive feel with alot of vertical pop, and im looking to be doing atleast atleast one type of invert consistently by the end of the season.
thanks again for everyones help
-chris

[BoardC3]

by the way i HIGHLY doubt ill be doing any sliders.

[seedickride]

The board you're looking for might not be able to be really good at big vertical pop AND be able to handle rough water really well. The board you want for pop is one with a 3 stage rocker pattern, and those boards don't typically handle rough water as well. If pop is more important than rough water handling, then a 3 stage will be good for you. If rough water handling is most important, then maybe a continuous rocker would be better. I'm guessing that pop is going to be more important, so I'd recommend the Substance from Liquid Force, the Luke Wulf from Doubleup, the Billy McKee from Blindside, or the Player from O'Brien. The Luke Wulf actually is a continuous rocker board, but due to its width will give you really good vertical pop. Another couple boards to consider would be the LF Balance and the LF Team. The Balance has a mild 3 stage rocker, so it gives you good pop, but will handle rough water fairly well. The Team has a continous rocker pattern, but has good width in the tip and tail for big pop off the wake.

[JRock*Girl]

definatly look into a CWB absolute and prodigy The kick ass. Check out e-bay, you can find new boards there for cheap.

[RUSSIAN]

If your going to owc then you should wait and try a couple of boards there, I think they demo equipment. One thing to think about, at a beginner level you won't need a brand spankin new board, there are great deals on the 02 stuff on all the websites. For bindings, anything is going to be better than sandals, try to find a good high end binding for a decent price, again look for 02 stuff. good luck

[TeamCOWS]

Your 5'9'' 155lbs, I'd say that you dont want a board any bigger than a 138, and if your goal is to lear flips off of a small wake you might want something more around a 135. True a bigger board is better for rough water, but for learning flips you might want something thats easier to manuver in the air. I'd say that you want something thats light and between a 134-138 since those are basically your size options, I wouldnt really get something bigger or smaller unless you really come up with your own style that requires one. Liquid force and double up have some of the lightest foam boards, and liquid force has really light bindings. If I were you I'd get one of these boards (If getting new): nelson 135 (could get delta edition and save some $$), wulf 137, balance 135 or substance 136.
But since your a beginner you might seriously want to look at 2001-2002 gear, you'll get to find out what kind of stuff you like and save some serious cash. You should be able to get a board and bindings for around $400 or less, that would leave you some $$ to get a new handle a life jacket and maybe even some boardshorts or something.

[BoardC3]

The substance is looking like that would be pretty good, but what bindings would you suggest?
thanks for the help again
-chris

[seedickride]

Are you looking for bindings with laceups or straps, or do you want more of a no-frills pair of bindings? Also, do you want a stiffer binding to protect your ankles, or something with more freedom of movement? If you want a no-frills binding with excellent comfort and hold, I'd recommend the Ultra Suctions. You can go a lot of different routes with laceup bindings, but the ones that we offer that I'd recommend are the Liquid Force Exo Suctions, O'Brien Systems or Ions, or the Doubleup Luke Wulfs, Kranks, or Sockets. The bindings with the most support would be the Systems.

[BoardC3]

I can get a 2002 Belmont 131 DNA and 2002 30/60 bidings for $500. The Belmont DNA is supposed to be under 6lbs and should be great for spinning and flipping. But i havent heard much on the bindings. It sounds like a great deal but id like some input. For bindings i just want something that will be comfortable and have a little movement in the ankle, getting in and out easily would be nice but not that important
-chris

[seedickride]

That sounds like a pretty good deal. My only concern would be that the 131 would be too small for you, especially if you might still be growing(you didn't mention your age). I'd recommend the Exo Suction bindings for you to get a binding with pretty good support with a laceup system. If a lot of support isn't crucial, then the Flex Suction would be a good alternative at a better price. Let me know if you're looking for prices on any of this. I think we can set you up with a good deal (if you decide not to go with the Hyperlite package, that is).

[garveyj]

Not to start any wars, but if you only have $550, then you will not get very far with Hyperlite, since the parks board alone is $400. Personally I would go with a liquid force board or CWB board and get some good bindings to go with it. I made the mistake of getting cheap bindings last spring, and I just decided to get better bindings, so you could save yourself the money now and get something that you want instead of kicking yourself later for not getting the good stuff first.

Personally I ride the LF Balance 140 with EXO bindings, but the Trip is a great board as well. Like everyone else says...Demo if you can...That is how I made my choice.

[chubby]

ummm, you can pretty much get any board you want for 300 or so with enough persistence and taking the time to look around. bindings about the same or less

[Cowie]

Its been said before but demo if at all possible somehow. You will be amazed at how different various boards feel, and everyone has a differnent style and preference. We tried around 20 different board/binding combos ( have a good friend that owns a wakeboard shop) and i ended up getting balance 140 with ultras, and brother got CWB absolute with Jobe t-backs. If you need rough water handling LF balance is much better. CWB needs a bigger centre fin than standard to be any good for rough water. Balance has really good pop and is a very smooth riding baord. Lf balance and trips are definitely the board of choice among our crew with CWB prodigy and absolute second. Hope this doesnt confuse the issue.

[Cowie]

Its been said before but demo if at all possible somehow. You will be amazed at how different various boards feel, and everyone has a differnent style and preference. We tried around 20 different board/binding combos ( have a good friend that owns a wakeboard shop) and i ended up getting balance 140 with ultras, and brother got CWB absolute with Jobe t-backs. If you need rough water handling LF balance is much better. CWB needs a bigger centre fin than standard to be any good for rough water. Balance has really good pop and is a very smooth riding baord. Lf balance and trips are definitely the board of choice among our crew with CWB prodigy and absolute second. Hope this doesnt confuse the issue.