18 Jan BUYERS GUIDE 2018 (BOARDS)
BUYERS GUIDE 2018
When you can’t choose the best gear on the market, you should always ask. Either his wife, his boyfriend or a pro rider like Daniel Grant. So let yourself be guided and read what Daniel has to say in this Buyer’s Guide 2018.
How did you choose a board ?
To choose a wakeboard most people go with a size between the shoulder and the nose anything below or past this point, Your wakeboard will be either to small and you will be sinking on the water or will be too big making it difficult to control.
I ride my Liquid Force Eclipse 161 for riding all the features in the park and going big off the kickers. With the board having bigger surface area, this helps for more control on features and creating a skimming effect off kickers rather than sinking when I land
If I’m looking to spin that extra 180 on a transfer or load up some air tricks my weapon for choice is the Liquid Force TAO 145. The smaller board helps rotating faster than bigger board but landings will be slightly heavier but loading the line this guy will give you pop.
– D.Grant
BUYERS GUIDE 2018
The Solo is a completely unique crossover board designed by pro rider Dylan Miller and legendary Slingshot shaper Tony Logosz. Never before have we been able to incorporate so many unique performance features into one board. The result is a board that appeals to every riding environment.
The Contrast is a female-specific board with a classic user-friendly shape that provides unmatched maneuverability and speed. It is a board that appeals to every riding environment. Tapered Flex Tip Technology creates an entirely new sensation for riding rails by allowing the rider to lock into presses without having to fight the rigidity of the board.
//// SLINGSHOT-GUNNTERRAIN \\\\
The Gunn Terrain is the perfect board for riders looking to improve their rail riding skills in the park. The extra soft flex pattern allows for big presses and helps riders understand the feeling of locking on and holding a press.
The Nomad has inspired the birth of a whole new category of wakeboarding in the past two years. The concept is simple: The more surface area a board has, the more user-friendly it is. Whether it’s the slower boat speeds, increased stability or drifty wake to wake airs that tickle your fancy, long-board wakeboarding has inspired an appreciation for the more casual and mellow side of wakeboarding.
The Pill is a high-flying boat board built to be ridden with energy and speed. Perfect for advanced boat riders, the Pill features dual NACA tech channels and a firm flex pattern for big traction and instant pop off the wake. A three-stage rocker helps give the board more lift off the wake, and a center V-Spine profile helps to break up surface tension on the Pill’s massive landings.
The 2018 Shredtown brings back our tapered Flex Tips. When it comes to park and street style riding, the Shredtown Crew and their pro model board are blazing the trail into the future. A continuous rocker makes the Shredtown fast and efficient for short run-ups, while chined rails, Fusion Sidewalls and the Ballistic Base give the board the bomber durability the Shredtown crew demands.
//// SLINGSHOT – SUPER GROOM \\\\
The Super Grom is a youth-specific board designed for the up-and-coming generation of young rippers who will one day be the stars of our sport. As the original flex board for kids, the Super Grom is the perfect shape to get youngsters to experience the magical feeling of flexing on a rail or popping big off a wake like their favorite pros.
The Terrain is the perfect board for riders looking to improve their rail riding skills in the park. The extra soft flex pattern allows for big presses and helps riders understand the feeling of locking on and holding a press.
The Valley is our female-specific park board designed for riders looking to take their rail riding skills to the next level. The extra soft flex pattern allows for big presses and helps riders experience the true feeling of locking in and holding a press. The flex also brings new excitement to the simple moves like carves and sprays.
One of the most difficult feats in wakeboard design is achieving an ideal balance between traction and speed; one is often sacrificed to achieve the other. The Whip, however, has both, thanks to Slingshot’s signature NACA Tech Channels. These precision laser-cut channels increase the board’s traction on edge without sacrificing glide speed.
The Coalition is an evolution of the reflex and former park favorite. It is the foundation for several of the other park boards in our line and is the perfect choice for rail riders who like to keep things simple. The Coalition features a classic outline and tip shape that allow for some of the smoothest slides in the park. Chined rails protect your edges while sliding less than perfect surfaces and are a great help in perfecting your MJ slides.
The Windsor board has a special feel in 2018, maybe its because James can stare down at his beloved home country while riding. For years, James has been asking for a park board that is stiff in the center with a significantly softer tip and tail. The stiff center helps maintain pop off the water, as well as speed through big kicker landings.
Why the assymetrical sidecut you ask? Here is why… Take a standard wakeboard stance, draw a line through your feet to the edge of the board. This points to where the side cut starts at the heel and toeside edge allowing you to drive and initiate turns from your feet rather than a rail which is further from your center of gravity. This creates a a shorter quicker turning radius similar to a snowboard.
You can’t put a label on this board. Side-Channels the special Blended 3 Stage Rocker turn the Fychte into an allround Weapon for cable as well as for boat riding. Channels in the tips stabilize the board and provide some extra reliability at high speed. Extra strong Sidewalls and our sintered ParkBase are only some of the extra features, which make the Fychte “ShreadReady” to clear all you wake park obstacles with max control.
Nick Davies and Aaron Stumpf deliver again with Nick’s new Hashtag Cable Wakeboard. With more surface area, thanks to a wider profile and blunt tip and tail shape, the Hashtag supports the biggest air tricks. Tip to tail base channels increase the Hashtag’s edging ability and the exit tunnel concave delivers a solid feel on pipe rails. A refined Airstick Core combined with High Density Flex Zones in the tip and tail provides the perfect blend of flex with minimal swing weight. Nick prefers our Abrupt Continuous Rocker, for a smooth ride and locked in presses. Ride it, share it and tag it as you continue to progress your Wakeboarding.
The Scandal is shaped and constructed so ladies will get the most out of themselves and their riding at the cable. Starting with the popular Wishbone mold we’ve dialed in the flex specifically for women’s riding. Blasting off kickers, hitting your first feature or pressing the snot out of the tail, the Scandal makes it easy. The crossover flex core and our power press rocker combined with Hyperlite’s Satin Flex deliver a ride like no other. Durability, the Scandal has it – with ABS Sidewalls and a fully Sintered Enduro Base this board will stand up to any abuse you dish out.
Unanimously, this board is very versatile! Semi-rigid, with a fairly smooth 3-tier hybrid rocker, it is particularly easy to access and is just as efficient in cable or boat. This classic of our range is also a best-seller. The DARK is the favorite toy of the MW team’s young guns who share their time between jib and air tricks.
This board is ideal for all programs: boat or cable. Particularly easy to access and more rigid than the other boards in the range, the JUMBLE is a real air tricks weapon. In boat, it attacks the wave and brings a lot of grip, without effort.
It’s the most suitable board for the park. Specially designed for a ride engaged on the modules, it is the absolute weapon for shred. Extremely flex in nose and tail, without classic drift and designed with a rocker 3 levels aggressive, it will allow you all excess in press! For the uninitiated, it is the board to venture into new tricks; it is tolerant on receptions. In short, if you want to gain in style on the sliders, don’t hesitate any more, it’s the one for you!
The most awaited board arrives with a new shape without concessions. Use cable and boat, ultra versatility is the keyword. Particularly robust and reinforced, this board will accompany you on the most committed modules and the most powerful kicker or air tricks receptions without damage. The new 3-level rocker combined with the double channels and its measured flex make it a healthy board with big pop and intense edge grips.
The female model is designed on the basis of the OCTOPUS. Lightweight, flexible board, easy to drive and formidable on the modules. Slightly softened compared to OCTOPUS, it gains an additional size this year.
The waskeskate is one of the most sought after boards by riders. Rugged with its hybrid structure and 3-axis fiber reinforcement, the WSK8 is also equipped with a grind base and ABS edges. The rocker 3 levels and the weight of this board have been specially studied to offer the best possible pop, whether flat or wave.
You want it all? Featuring our new DIAMOND head shape, 3C+ reinforcement, our BLT Base, and FLT Rocker the Apik enhances jibbing to rip in the park and offers on-water control that lets you take every slash and aerial maneuver to the next level. With a brand new graphic this board offers the uncompromising performance and aesthetic perfection that can even satisfy all the girls shredders out there who will settle for nothing less than the best.
//// MOFOUR – BAD ADMIRAL \\\\
Brand new for 2018 is the Bad Admiral. With a fresh new shape, new technologies, and an extended size range, this new model takes our flagship Bad series to the next level. Perfect in any conditions and for any kid of shredding, even for boat and kite riders, the Bad Admiral combines our DIAMOND head shape, FLT Rocker and our 3C+ Flex for precision performance on Jibs, and it features our tough new BLT Base to handle all the abuse. Now available in sizes 141, 146, 151, and with a fresh new graphic, The Bad Admiral allows every rider to push their boundaries and take their skills to the max.
For all of the women shredding the park, here is your new board! With its high performance freeride feel, the Stiletto will take your riding to new levels. The smooth, transitional flex pattern of the Fusion Core makes the board firm enough between your feet for an explosive pop off kickers, yet soft and flexy at the tip and tail for effortless pressing and impact dampening. Its concave base keeps the board riding high on the water; reducing drag therefore minimizing fatigue, so you can keep charging all day.
//// RECKLESS – R.A SERIES 2018 \\\\
The Reckless R. A. board. Series has been known for its cable qualities for some years now. Its medium flex and softer spatulas make it easy to squeeze while absorbing kicker receptions. Its channels ensure a very good grip in the cuts!
Wood core / Bi-axial fiberglass / Epoxy resin / RKLS Indestructo sole / ABS Champs / Made in Hamburg.
//// RONIX \\\\
KINETIK PROJECT, FLEXBOX 1
The cable kingpin is intentionally created with less rocker for more contact with the water resulting in more top water speed and control on the water. We realized that there are 2 styles of high-end park riders, which is why we created Flexbox 1 and Springbox 2, each with distinct pressure points both on features and leaving the water. Flexbox 1 is created for riders that like a softer mid-section allowing the center of the board to really bend into a press. Once in a press, the slightly stiffer tip/tail allows the rider to really pivot off the feature. This Kinetik has more of a solid snap off kickers, and works better for air tricks because a rider needs that added support when they flick off the end of the board.
//// RONIX \\\\
TOP NOTCH, NUCORE 2
A cable fun board featuring all-over flex, a super clean bottom design, and a spoonful of added rocker. For high-end cable riders, the Top Notch is a must in any quiver as an alternative board with its loose, skate-like free feeling on the water. The board is also the perfect choice for any level rider that just doesn’t want the locked in feel of a Kinetik or the added boost of a Highlife. Every cable lap on the Top Notch will feel so different than a traditional board with the freedom to break loose or really exaggerate a press from the soft tip-to-tail layup and the thin profile.
MORE NEWS IN THE 2018 BUYERS GUIDE
