Turfboards ? MPLS warehouse selling them out for $60

[RobH]

ANyone know anything about the turfboards/mountain boards ?
Found a add on craigslist - MPLS warehouse group (skygroup) is reselling new unasembled turfboards. Looks like they would be the ticket for summer field ridding. Below link shows them on amazon - however you can pick em up here with no shipping at the warehouse for $60
http://www.amazon.com/All-Terrain-Mount ... B004GIJP7Q

I have no connections skygroup, thought it was a bargin and others might be interested.

[Matt V]

One of the local windsurfers here in Omaha got one. I hate to speak for him, but I will try to get him to post on it later.

My take on them is they are built really, REALLY well. The decks are really awesome construction. The trucks are amazing too. Definitely worth the money for down hill. The guy here loves his for down hill.

The bad parts and the reasons why I will never get one. The company is out of business so you will never parts like tires for them again. But then again, I can't find tire tubes for my MBS 8" wheels even now. Next, they weigh a TON! That may make them impossible to actually jump with a kite. You need snowboard bindings to attach to them although the guy here with one has made some homemade copies of the "Freebord" "S2" bindings after seeing them on a Freebord. And lastly, There is no way I could see anyone side slipping one of these like a mountainboard. There is just too much height. It is kind of like our skatesailboards that we use in that we made the decks a little higher so the leeward side digs in and stops you from sliding. With a kite, you want to slide sideways.

The only use in the sailing world for these that I can see is for a windsurf landboard. Those tires have less resistance to rolling on grass than my MBS 8"ers.

[RobH]

Great information and something I would have never thought of from a wieght perspective and slidding. Might have to rethink this one. 60 bucks seemed like a sweet deal, but not if its to heavy to enjoy. Thanks for the update - if anyone wants to find out more from people selling these - John at SKygroup is the person I talked too at 612-722-1200

[wyatt]

I picked up a flexifoil board a few years ago and have had a lot of fun with it. I will say that the learning curve on it is pretty steep. You don't have the freedom of movement with turning the board like you do on the snow or the water and the impacts from falls are much more painful, for obvious reasons (the likelihood of bloody road rash is high your first time out).

The thing that scares me about this particular board is the snowboard bindings. Personally, I feel like I've gotten over the learning curve on mountainboards, but I wouldn't want to be strapped into one. Most boards that I've seen are set up with sandal bindings like a water board which gives you the ability to bail out. You have very little stopping power with a mountainboard (edging is difficult at best) with your two options being to turn upwind or get the kite going in the other direction (which can have its own set of consequences). I'd take performance over price any day, but I would strongly recommend that you check out the compatibility of different binding options before making the investment.

[JERRY]

and it has brakes...............something I could use if Jimbo's in the area

[Matt V]

I hate to be a nervous nilly, but be careful about bailing out of a mountain board. If you get one foot out but not the other, you get knee surgery and lots of time to watch kite videos on the internet. Most people feel that staying in the bindings is the best way to go. No matter how fast you think you can get both feet out there is always the chance that the board will start to twist and lock you foot in the binding that you are trying to come out of last.

The Freebord "S2" bindings are worth it if you cannot stop yourself from trying to get the board off instead of going to your knees. Since I sold my Freebord, I am planning on purchasing some S2's separately and putting them on my mountain board. They look like nothing in the pictures but they have sweet adjustments and are super comfortable.

My current method is somewhat more simple in that I wear loose skate shoes. If the binding holds the shoe in, my foot slips out of the shoe and I get dirty socks but no surgery.

[MK]

$700 board for $60 looks attractive. Maybe if I were in another sport I'd grab this. The thought of adding a brake handle to manage along with the kite rules me out.

I too own an MBS mountain board and would love to marry the skill of riding it with a kite... It just hasn't happened yet. I did have a few fun light wind days last summer on it; the balance and falling off took more of a toll on me than I can tolerate. If I were only more like a cat...