Moving up

[needmoreair]

I just went from a 10 year old board with sandal bindings - no rocker - - I taught myself on it. It was a connelly - single directional. I got it at a garage sale for $20 bucks - it's now going up on my wall as an antique. I bought a hyperlite essence - 141- for $250 at Sams club with Spin bindings - I did this because it looked like a pretty good value, and, a board that I can grow in to over time. I posted the board a while back and there was some controversy about what year the board was. It is definately not pictured on hyperlites web site. But it's brand spanking new.

A few questions:

- how will the rocker effect the overall ride.
- I'm 145 lbs. 5' 9" - will I find this board too big?
- coming from sandal bindings - how the hell do you get in these new bindings - and better yet - when I take a fall - I would often come right out of the sandals - which seemed like a good thing - are wipe outs harder when you remain attached?
- I have yet to try it out (I know, demo, demo , demo first... oh well too late for that) the water here in MI is 51 - the weather has sucked so far.

[Buergday]

The rocker mainly effects the pop off the wake and the smoothness of your landing. A 3-stage rocker usually delivers more of a punch off the wake and sticks more on the landing, whereas a continuous rocker is mellower on the takeoff and usually smoother on the landing. A deeper rocker usually means more pop and more air. It also effects the way that the board carves through the water and the overall speed of the board.
The size of the board will probably be fine. It may be a tiny bit too big, but you'll love it compared to your old board.
To get into the bindings, just make sure you have some binding lube. You can get it at a boat shop or you can just use a little bit of dish soap. The bindings usually won't come off of your feet when you crash - unless you really plant hard. It's nothing to be concerned about though. The wipeouts aren't any better or worse. Actually I think it's probably easier to get smacked in the face by a board that comes off than one that stays attached.
Sounds like you got a pretty good deal on a board that you can use for a few seasons to learn on. You'll probably want some different bindings as you start to progress though. Have fun man!

[needmoreair]

Thanks for the helpful info...it's going to take til July to get the water to 65 I have a shorty wet suit - but i'm not that desperate yet -

SO - no lube = no get in bindings eh? Glad I asked!