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2012 Liquid Force SST vs 2011 Hyperlite Model G

 
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AwSl
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PostPosted: Feb 06, 2013 8:18 pm    Post subject: 2012 Liquid Force SST vs 2011 Hyperlite Model G Reply with quote

Im just looking for some opinions or experiences with these skates. I had a LF impulse 40.5 but that cracked pretty quickly...I need a composite board that will last the season.

Im mostly w2w riding and I saw the model G was made specifically for that...but the LF was also made for it and has a springier deck since I ride on a smaller wake. I also found the model G for substantially less money.

Also I was wondering what size to get...Im 6 foot 150lbs

thanks
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knox
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PostPosted: Feb 06, 2013 9:42 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Typically on this website, most people will tell you "LF and Hyperlite are huge wakeboard companies, support real wakeskate companies, core bro!" Typically, I'd agree with that sentiment. Laughing Here's my real opinion on these decks though.

First off, no board is "Made for W2W." That is just a marketing strategy in my opinion, if you have a good wakeskate then you have a good wakeskate. It'll work everywhere, and I advise against buying a board that is advertised this way.

I'm definitely going to recommend that you don't get an SST if you are looking for durability. I have seen 2 or 3 break in person, they definitely don't seem to last very long. I've ridden them a few times, and it wasn't my thing at all. That being said Danny Hampson definitely shreds on the SST.

I have never ridden a Hyperlite wakeskate that I liked. The Brian Grubb series of boards comes across as a very strange shape. While it may work for him, I'll be honest I've never known anyone else who liked that board at all.

If you want to stick with one of these brands and get durability, the LF Tao is probably right up your alley. It's a composite wood mix, I've seen Andrew Fortenberry absolutely RIP behind the boat riding one, and it looks like a really solid concave skate. I haven't ridden it, but Daniel Grant and Andrew Fortenberry make it look really, really good.

My real advice though is to support a company that puts time, money, and effort into wakeskating! (Liquid Force does quite a bit so I'm not calling them out, haha.) In my opinion, independent companies make vastly better wakeskates than larger wakeboard companies, mostly because some of the best wakeskaters in the buisness run them. They know exactly what goes into a wakeskate, and they put that knowledge into their boards.

Watermonsters is run by the Pastura brothers, and is my favorite wakeskate to ride. I love it for wake to wake, and I only get to ride boat when I'm living in Gainesville so I can definitely vouch for it there.(Like a said though, a good wakeskate is a good wakeskate, if it's good in the flats it'll be good everywhere!) I have yet to break one, and I've definitely smashed them into a few rocks while winching. It's a rad company that I definitely recommend checking out!

http://www.watermonsters.co/

Remote is another amazing company owned by passionate people with a sick team who support wakeskating fully. I've heard nothing but great things about the boards, and they are rapidly growing in the international scene as well. They've got a huge following and I have a lot of friends who swear by these skates.

http://www.remotewakeskates.com/

Virtue wakeskates is based in south Florida and is owned by one of the raddest and nicest guys around, Jeff Skulnik! The boards look sick and I've seen Chris Pate shreds the stew out of em, they're definitely worth a look!

http://virtuewakeskates.com/

Southern wakeskates has been making a name for itself lately as their rider Nick Robinson blew everyones minds at the wakeskate tour last year. They've got a sick international team, and they just took a trip to France that was covered by the wakeskate magazine. I haven't ridden the boards, but they look great and the team shreds em!

http://www.southernwakeskates.com/

One more company that is widely respected and is known to be extremely durable is Integrity. They make composite skates with a wood core, and they have a great team that puts up some wild videos from the Bayou. The guy who runs it, Erich Schmaltz, has been making wakeskates since 04 and has a lot of respect from this site, as well as the wakeskate community.

http://integrity-wake.com/



I hope that all of this helps! I'm sorry if there is too much information, I got a little carried away. Laughing If you're new to the wakeskate scene, I'd definitely recommend checking out http://thewakeskatemag.com/ for great articles and videos, and subscribe to the mag if you want the best publication in wakeskating that there is delivered to your doorstep!

Have a good one!

-Marcus
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miller
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PostPosted: Feb 06, 2013 10:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The Kid, nailed it
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electricsnow
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PostPosted: Feb 06, 2013 10:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Wow miller, you look like you're sponsored. Smile

You're a great advisor the kid. Cool

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miller
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PostPosted: Feb 06, 2013 11:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

electricsnow, you have more more sponsors than me
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electricsnow
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PostPosted: Feb 07, 2013 1:02 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I don't understand your joke!
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puckhead
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PostPosted: Feb 07, 2013 9:02 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

You should also check out Oak. Very well made skate that's solid and fun to ride. Slightly less concave that the WM or Remotes...

http://www.oakwaterskates.com
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knox
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PostPosted: Feb 19, 2013 2:46 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Damn..... I don't think AwSl ever came back. Laughing
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PostPosted: Feb 19, 2013 6:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Information overload. Wink
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Obscura
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PostPosted: Feb 25, 2013 8:41 am    Post subject: Re: 2012 Liquid Force SST vs 2011 Hyperlite Model G Reply with quote

AwSl wrote:
Im just looking for some opinions or experiences with these skates. I had a LF impulse 40.5 but that cracked pretty quickly...I need a composite board that will last the season.

Im mostly w2w riding and I saw the model G was made specifically for that...but the LF was also made for it and has a springier deck since I ride on a smaller wake. I also found the model G for substantially less money.

Also I was wondering what size to get...Im 6 foot 150lbs

thanks


If you like the shape of the Impulse for wake to wake riding, but want to try a compression molded deck, maybe you should consider the Obscura Mod. The Mod is shaped to just like the Impulse. The concave is almost identical, and the rocker line is dialed in to make the floatier compression molded board sit and ride lower in the water like a wood board. The Mod also comes in a 40.5" or 42" just like the Impulse.

The Obscura Tao is also a great board with amazing durability. It can take whatever you throw at it, or throw it at. It does have a bit faster rocker line since it was designed for cable and winching, but I can attest to it's performance behind the boat as well.

That being said, I strongly disagree with Marcus's comment about wake specific boards being nothing but a marketing strategy. To say that a board that is good in the flats is good anywhere is absurd to me. At OBSCURA we have been riding a wakeskate in every form (boat/winch/cable/ski/etc.) for as long as anyone. Our designer has been shaping wakeskates since the Cassette days and knows what he's doing. Rocker lines, edge profiles, displacement, width, length, weight, they all affect how a board rides, edges, and pops. At OBSCURA we design all of our boards to be ridden in all situations, but each board in our line is created for a reason and a purpose.

I don't want to be misconstrued. I'm not saying any other brand's board is not good for boat riding. You are the only one who can decide what board you like so try and ride as many as possible. Find a local dealer who supports wakeskating and demo some boards. Many of the companies that Marcus mentioned do demo tours where you can link up with them and try the product. Just keep up with their websites, or check back here or to the WSM. ESnow keeps us informed. Obscura partners with Liquid Force for their Free 4 All tour. We visit cable parks across the country, take it over for a day, and let everyone ride the entire product line for free. It's a great time and a great place to meet wakeskaters in your area, and there will be at least one member of the Obscura team at all of the stops.

http://liquidforce.com/f4a/

Or keep current with what we are up to at:

http://www.obscurawakeskates.com/

Thanks,

Aaron
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knox
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PostPosted: Feb 25, 2013 10:18 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Obscura, There are a few reasons why I am opposed to boards that are marketed as “good for wake”.

I don’t disagree that there are boards that are better for wake to wake than others. I’ve ridden boards that were great at it, and boards that suck at it. My argument is that there is zero correlation between boards that are marketed this way and whether or not they are actually good for boat riding.

Unless I am very mistaken, (please tell me if I am) you and Danny don’t write the board descriptions that are up on various websites selling Obscura’s product. Someone in marketing writes them to sell boards, and it is obviously a good strategy if AwSl thinks that it means something that a description of the board has a “made for wake to wake” seal of approval. It has an effect on people who are new to the industry.

Never once have I ridden a board that was marketed this way that was significantly better behind a boat than a board that wasn’t marketed this way. My favorite two boards to ride wake to wake over the last few years weren’t marketed towards boat riding at all, but they were great wakeskates. I’ve also ridden boards that sucked at wake to wake that were marketed for it. In my experience, this description means nothing toward the actual feel of the board. I advise that AwSl doesn't buy a board based on that marketing strategy because anyone can throw that onto the description of their wakeskate with absolutely nothing to back it up.

In my experience, and I have been lucky enough to ride a lot of wakeskates, a good board is a good board. I stand by that statement. I don’t like the idea that this type of thinking encourages, the sentiment that you should have to have multiple wakeskates for different areas of wakeskating. You shouldn’t need a boat board, a cable board, and a winch board. You should be able to buy one that is good at all of these things, and I believe you can.

Like I said earlier, I don’t have anything against LF, and I have seen Andrew Fortenberry absolutely destroy in every area of wakeskating on the Tao. Which is the way it should be. Wakeskates for wakeskating. Not for boats, winches, jet skis, or cable. Boards that are marketed this way are almost never better at their assigned task than another board not marketed this way, because there is no correlation.

tl;dr Marketing has nothing to do with how a wakeskate you buy will feel behind a boat.

-Marcus
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WERDna
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PostPosted: Feb 25, 2013 11:47 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

The Kid wrote:
You shouldn’t need a boat board, a cable board, and a winch board. You should be able to buy one that is good at all of these things, and I believe you can.


Why not? I know people that need longer and heavier boards for boat riding and shorter lighter boards for flat water and rails. If you ride better in those areas with different boards then more power to you. A universal board isn't necessarily what someone needs.

The Kid wrote:
Wakeskates for wakeskating. Not for boats, winches, jet skis, or cable.


Not everyone is as committed to wakeskating as you are. The mass majority of wakeskaters are localized to either boats alone or cables alone; for that very reason I think a board geared toward wake to wake primarily is a completely understandable thing to do. The board will most likely make the production cost less and will allow for those less committed riders to be spending less on the board that covers their necessity.

The Kid wrote:
Boards that are marketed this way are almost never better at their assigned task than another board not marketed this way, because there is no correlation.


That depends on the credibility of the site or shop that is marketing it. Although it isn't a matter of experience in wakeskating to determine whether someone is being colourful in their choice of words when describing a wakeskate. Embellishing a product and giving it a real distinct and understandable purpose is Marketing 101 and any sensible person can discern fluff from fact. Unless, we are dealing with a child then your reasoning holds some weight.

The Kid wrote:
tl;dr Marketing has nothing to do with how a wakeskate you buy will feel behind a boat.


If information cannot be summarized don't summarize it. When you try to simplify it that much you are painting it too black and white and giving the OP a sense of distrust in informative sources that may not deserve it.
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knox
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PostPosted: Feb 25, 2013 1:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

WERDna wrote:
Why not? I know people that need longer and heavier boards for boat riding and shorter lighter boards for flat water and rails. If you ride better in those areas with different boards then more power to you. A universal board isn't necessarily what someone needs.


I like the idea of a universal board because it is cost effective. The biggest problem with wakeskating is that it is expensive, so any way to keep costs down looks good to me. That is the main reason I am opposed to this type of mentality, especially because there are so many great wakeskates that I feel are more than adequate for any area of wakeskating.


WERDna wrote:
The mass majority of wakeskaters are localized to either boats alone or cables alone; for that very reason I think a board geared toward wake to wake primarily is a completely understandable thing to do. The board will most likely make the production cost less and will allow for those less committed riders to be spending less on the board that covers their necessity.


I don’t disagree with you there, I have just never ridden a board that was marketed toward a specific area of wakeskating that was actually better at that task than any other board. Not necessarily worse either, I just don’t hold stock in these claims after personal experience. Others may feel differently.

WERDna wrote:
That depends on the credibility of the site or shop that is marketing it. Although it isn't a matter of experience in wakeskating to determine whether someone is being colourful in their choice of words when describing a wakeskate. Embellishing a product and giving it a real distinct and understandable purpose is Marketing 101 and any sensible person can discern fluff from fact. Unless, we are dealing with a child then your reasoning holds some weight.


I’m not against marketing and I have a rudimentary understanding of how it works, of course companies should do their best to push their product. It would be silly of me to assume that just because of the way a product was marketed that it actually wasn’t good at the area of wakeskating it was aiming at, and if I have made that impression I wish to correct it. My original claim was entirely to warn AwSl that just because the Hyperlite Model G was “made specifically for that,” it doesn’t mean that he’ll be more comfortable on that board wake to wake than one that wasn’t necessarily marketed that way. Again, I personally distrust these claims because they have never, ever held true for me. That is my personal experience, others may feel differently and I totally understand. This is just my perspective.

WERDna wrote:
If information cannot be summarized don't summarize it. When you try to simplify it that much you are painting it too black and white and giving the OP a sense of distrust in informative sources that may not deserve it.


It was an oversimplification, I apologize. I do not want AwSl or anyone else looking at buying a wakeskate to have a distrust of the information on the boards they are looking at. At the end of the day, the board you ride comes down to personal preference. If you want a different board for different styles of riding then that’s totally cool, my opinion shouldn’t mean anything to you. These are my opinions on one very small way that wakeskates are marketed, not the way wakeskates are marketed overall.
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POPTART
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PostPosted: Feb 25, 2013 5:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

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