Rider: 75kg's - Advanced
Style: Wakestyle
Weather: 15-17 knots
Build Quality: 10/10
Satisfaction: 9/10
Disclosure: Work for Kitepower QLD
I know everyone thinks this board is a joke because of it's name... But design wise, it's really been built for wakestyle, REAL wakestyle.
From the box, it's obviously VERY different to the FLX, this is not a feather light board, it doesn't flex, and it's got some DEEP channels...
- Rocker line is only a bit more than an FLX, and it's smooth the whole way thru the board.
- Quad concave runs right to the tips, and there's flat sections in between each concave. Putting the board on a slider showed that these flat sections sit perfectly aligned on the surface, so there's going to be minimal damage/marks from any sliding.
- The centre channels run thru to the tip, and are deep enough to give you a bit of traction when goin finless.
- It's wide... 133x42, like a real wakeboard...
- There's more binding inserts than strap inserts - and they are wide, the widest stance was way to wide for me.
- The tip shape is more pronounced than the FLX and Zephyr. VERY bat like...
- Flex is very very solid, It take a lot of power to get it to bend - I like this a lot...
- Board thickness is exactly the same as the NEW Flx. 1-2mm thinner than last years boards. Who knows how they got it so stiff with this thickness board.
- No handle inserts - Duh
- 30mm Fins standard
Riding:
VERY cool, it doesn't have an unbearable amount of rocker so it just rocks upwind. The concave works really really well to smooth the chop out and give traction with no fins. The extra width means you don't have to be on a 138 just because you've got boots on.
No spray in your eyes....
Pop is really snappy, especially when you load up your front foot as well (Cable style) and landings are nice, not exactly soft but nice. There's a nice loud slap as she hits the water... It breaks out of the water nicely with the little fins on, and will sit comfortably sideways if your switching back and forward from Blind/Wrapped...
This board really was designed for bindings, I think you'd have trouble edging with it if you had straps. In fact, with straps, i'd give the board 5-6 out of 10. The extra width means you need to edge HARD to hold it in line. None of this "I only ride with my boots done half up" crap. You've got to have a SOLID connection with the board, and that means DO YOUR LACES UP!!!
So - Apart from the name, these guys have done their research and come up with a board that works really well for the guys it's targeted at. It delivers in everything, and i'm really happy with it...
Kitepower QLD has a Demo 133 Steeze, 135 FLX and 128 FLX...
Board In general....
Tip Shape
3 Biinding Inserts, 2 for Straps...
Thickness when compared to the 09 FLX... Same!!!
Note the flat section on each concave spine...
FLATNESS...
I'm surprised they didn't put the bindings on the bigger board. 133 is short for most binding boards, even at 75kg's the better board size would be around 137/138 because of your stance width required for bindings. I know you mentioned the extra width, but all binding boards are very wide, 42 is pretty much standard for a board with bindings.
www.undergroundkiteboards.com/steeze
They also make the "sir ROWDY" Steeze in 139 x 43
Sydney's got a 139 with Escalades..
This is my personal board but I went for the 133 so we can compare it against the other boards we have here for demo... Otherwise we'd be comparing apples with oranges...
