Deep Purple (SX 141 kiteboard)

[V]

This board feels real good. Yesterday, the wind was sketchy at best. Tim and I arrived at 1pm to see the wind switching from SW to NW with lulls of 10mph and gusts at 30 (or more). It was crazy. I went first. Launched without problems doing an EOW launch with the Guerilla 13m. Tim handed me my board and sat down to put my feet in. Before I knew it, I was looking down from 6-8 feet in the air. I landed relatively softly and proceeded to run back into the water to get my board on before the next gust. The wind proceeded to toy with me in these conditions. Lofting me 5-10 feet out of the water, then lulling and falling like a sack o' potatoes. Once going, the gusts were more manageable, and the SX 141 held lots of wind for its size. It was easier to edge than my last board. Definitely more maneuverable, as well. Once pulled off edge, I could carve the SX back into the water by slicing in the tail and leaning into it. It was therefore relatively easy to recover from a skipping board, or rogue gust.

The board planed up well, but it needed wind. It was really hard to tell how well it planed up due to the conditions, but I was surprised to see myself heading back in and pointing higher than the launchzone on one of my runs later in the day, even though the wind was sketchy and I was certainly getting blown downwind with each gust or lull. Then, the wind completely died for about 3-4 minutes and I couldn't even get back. At that point I came in 100 yards downwind, but still a good read on the SX 141's performance when well powered. All in all, I think once I get a chance to ride with smooth winds, this board is going to be my fav.

Tim was next, only to suffer the same fate of lofting, then lulling, then lofting (repeat ten times)...he left for his soccer game and that was probably the best thing to do.

Cesar was out on his 10m getting some rides. Brad got one great jump on the 14m before lulling out at the apex and his kite hindenberging to the water. He was forced to swim in only to have some guy on the beach grab his kite, then his bar and relaunch his kite into the bird-fence, creating a tear in his kite and snapping a line. We were all amazed by this stranger's complete lack of common sense! Sorry to hear about the damaged kite, Brad. He put up his 12m as a last attempt to get some rides, which he did.

Gus and Mike showed up with Eduardo, as well. Gus on his 9m only to see the wind die out with me pumping up my Slingshot 18m to try and catch the last of it. Mike and Eduardo pumped up, then packed up, not getting any water time due to mother nature's toying...

[V]

Its been another 3 months now since I got the SX and I love this board. It holds an awesome edge, its fast, its light so I can maneuver it very easily and do tricks, and it planes up quickly for its small size - probably attributable to its width. But, its not too wide. Many have also tried the board and loved it, as well. The size has more benefits.

Its light to carry to the beach, first of all, so the long walks like at Michigan City in the summer down that sand path its great. Usually my arms get tired from carrying a big, heavy board (like my old Litewave). The SX is a lot easier to carry.

Its also small enough to lay down in the back seat of my convertible. Huge bonus here! Now my girl and I can drive with two kiteboards and three kites in the back seat and we are both comfortable. no more board laying between the front seat digging into my dashboard.

On the water there is a huge difference. Even with the 2003 LiteWaves. Rode a 2003 litewave this weekend and it was super heavy in comparison. A big difference IMHO.

For jumping and spins its awesome. I cannot even get into it, but in comparison with any other board I tried, even the smaller Naish Hazmat, the SX141 is the lightest and most maneuverable. Slingshot did a really nice job on this board.

Performance: it seems almost effortless to ride upwind and point hig upwind with the six fin configuration. For more speed, 4 fins is the way to do. But, to load up and hold the edge, I find the 6 fins a much better setup. All in all, only one complaint....the screws to hold the footstraps down have to be retightened every week which is a pain (this is similar to a lot of boards, but not the 2002 Slingshots) So I gotta go get some locktite, or some silicone to lock the screws in to relieve this duty.