Just wondering if anyone has tried any of the new 07 Underground FLX range, I had an 06 FLX 132 until it was stolen and I was quite happy with it. I was thinking of the underground 138x41... or should i not be a brand snob and look at other boards? thoughts?

Schmiko,

I have an underground FLX 132 and now a Cardboards 126. I have found the cardboards to be a much better board I do not know specifically why it is just more comfortable and lighter I now only use this. Different riding styles may suit different boards. But for my money go the cardboards. ( submit your own custom graphics as well ).

I got my self teh light wind weapon: 148x46 FLX with very little rocker and no concave. I got a pre 07 prod off kitepower that had been used as a demo and in their lessons.

It's a bit scratched, a little heavy and the pads/straps are not as good as on my Caution Redline. I was thinking that this board would be very average. Then i rode it!

A sparrows fart of wind gets you up. This thing hauls ass upwind. Seriously, this thing goes upwind better than i thought would be possible. It has pretty stiff ride which feels very nice at high speed.

Of course there are drawbacks to having a stiff ride and very little rocker: sliding transitions are hard (it's a big mofo too), in chop the nose can catch and **** you up. I rode it in chop a lot and got used to it. Then i took it out in really flat water.... OMG! in really flat water this board is da bomb! No catching the nose and goes upwind even better! It's light enough to jump but sux to spin in the air. Being so big it can hurt a bit too if you land flat.

mike

I would agree with Harry, the cardboards are great boards, I have ridden a 132 07 flex with the wood core and personally found it too stiff for my preference, also felt a bit on the heavy side.

Gave a biased comparison (because I bought the cardboard) on the cardboard and flex in weight and shape... on the "thanks cardboard for the awesome board" topic.

This is tough for me I sell both and I support team riders on both boards.

Underground are the original designs, Cardboards have reproduced every innovation that Underground made over the last couple of years. I'm not making a judgement on that, and its not like the concept of reproducing a good design is something new in this modern world we live in is it???.

Underground was first with everything that Cardboards have produced, in the last couple of years, correct me if I am wrong on that?

The very first protos of the new 07 wood core Undergrounds were approx 15% heavier than the 06 foam core boards, some of which had breakage issues (hard to detect inconsistencies in the foam). From what I have been told by the owner of Underground I believe foam cored boards engineeered really (as thin as the current Cardboards and 06 Undergrounds) thin will have breakage issues, that thinness is utilising the foam core at the very limits of its strength. Both companies have been excellent about breakages, Underground (and Kitepower) in particular, as many customers will testify!

The latest full 07 production wood cores from Underground are similar in weight or lighter than the 06 boards they replace, but the 07 boards have better flex and pop characteristics than any foam board I have tried, from any brand.

I like the Cardboards, but I think the Underground is still leading the charge and offers a superior ride, but admittedly it is a subtle thing especially now that Cardboard are reproducing the current Underground double concave design. If a rider is well experienced they will tend to be able to feel a difference, however some still choose the feel of a foam cored board??? but most people who demo both prefer the wood core feel.

Cardboards is 100% Australian owned and produced, you can get custom graphics, for a sometimes slight delay and sometimes increased charge (more often not though) and sell for $850

Underground is 100% New Zealand made, and are produced using a very dedicated, and highly experienced team. The guys at Underground are unmatched in the kiteboarding industry for R&D and depth of experience with composite materials design and watersports board design and manufacture. They retail for around $100 to $150 more than a Cardboard.

Two areas where I personally think Underground are still leading is the ride and the actual engineering of the board.
The quality of the internals of the Underground are superior to anything on the market, and consistency of quality has bee superb over the last few years. There are some new things still to come for the 07 Underground range.

And then there is Nobile/Shinn!!!

Cya and

Goodwinds

Steve

steve whats the main difference from the flx 132 2006 to 2007?, thinking of ugrading again ??, also can you tell me about the 555?, everyone tells me this is a good option for flx users?
cheers

The main difference between the 06 and 07 Undergrounds is the core, the 06 are high density closed cell PVC foam, which was milled extremely thin towards the tips.
Thin tips and the spine like double concave gave those boards that unique stiff between your feet and flexibility at the tips. This trnslated to a smooth controllable ride through almost any chop, excellent heel to toe transition stability, and excellent pop.

The wood core delivers all of that and more, and will not break, unlike a small percentage of the foam core 06 boards.

The graphics are different, customs can be ordered, but otherwise the the boards retain the same outlines and bottom and deck shapes.

There is a couple of new sizes, the 1.38 x 41cm, and the 1.42 has now gone to 42cm wide, the 1.52 x 44cm is now standard and the new super lightwind machine is the 1.48 x 46.

The Nobile 555 is a single concave board, made with first class materials, and designed for all round riding and comfort in chop. They are generally a little wider than most other boards of similar length. They have a fairly straight outline, go upwind really easily, and have one of the best strap and pad systems on the market IMO.
Nice boards, well finished and engineered, and they are selling well, especially the 1.30 x 39 and the 1.35 x 40cm.

We have demos of the popular sizes in both brands.

Cya and

Goodwinds

Steve

not quite sure how much of a leader underground is as wood cores have been used since day dot by addiction kiteboards ( at least 5 years ) as for double concave not sure about that either as it has been used in every water craft design you can think of and is least effective on kite boards as it causes too much lift and as stated in the underground promo video that they had to make 18 proto 's before they could find one that rode as good as the single concave.
so this year there "it " next year their" not ". its all about the marketing.
graphics, not sure about that either this was given to the world by snowboarding and it"s called sublamation printing and can also be found on coffee cups ,ties and footy jumps .
it seems that underground get the better reviews over cardboard because of the great retail mark up on them.
in the great words of ACDC
come on, come on listen to the money talk

Quote.[Underground are the original designs, Cardboards have reproduced every innovation that Underground made over the last couple of years.]
Well it may seem that way to people that have only recently started to take notice of what we are doing here.
In fact we have been producing ABS side wall style boards since 2003!!!! And we were running full concave boards well before underground ever did!!! As a matter of fact all of our innovations came from our time spent in Europe and specifically the board shaping rooms at Tarifa in Spain.
Quote. [Correct me if I am wrong] So yes Steve i am correcting you... NO Underground are not the original designs and they certainly weren't the first with everything Cardboards has produced. Sorry to say Steve, YES you are wrong!!

Yes UG have a much larger market presence, this in not necessarily because of a superior product it is mainly because they already had a known name thanks to their wave tray era, i am not knocking UG in any way,i think they have done very well for themselves. A bit of competition in the market place is always a healthy thing.

We understand that other brands such as Underground offer a larger mark up and hence get pushed more onto the customers by the retailer. Cardboards keep the Rrp as low as possible for the benefit of the end customers.

Cheers Dan
Cardboards