I'm looking to buy my first land-board. Looking for something with a mid-size deck to cruise and maybe try jumping a little. I weigh approx. 165 lbs and have been kiting for approx. 4 years with a 3.6M and 6M twin skin.

All suggestions welcome (be gentle).

If you want to buy used or are budget constrained, look in the For Sale section, I think you will find some boards that still haven't been snatched up.

If you have your heart set on something new and shiny, Kent currently has a bunch of new 2009 Ground Industries boards boards at reduced prices and with free shipping.

You can find them at:here.

All of them use Bionic Torsion Trucks, GI Vegas Hubs/MAK Tires, and Talon Bindings. Don't worry about the terminology. This is just a heads up that these boards are the same (except for color) with regards to these components. You can find detailed info on these components on the GI Site.

Basically the differences in the boards are length/width, deck material/construction. In no particular order (have left the Lil' Bomber off the list because the 2009 model was geared towards young riders).

AK 103 BIONIC - $268:
LENGTH: 40.5 inches/ 103 cm
WIDTH: 9.75 inches/ 25 cm
WEIGHT: 14.5 pounds/ 6.6 Kilos
DECK CONSTRUCTION: 9 Ply Canadian Maple (will flex the most if you jump due to pure wood construction).

Flight 93 - $280:
LENGTH: 36.6 inches/ 93 cm (Your stance on the board might feel cramped depending on your height and inseam length due to short deck).
WIDTH: 8.5 inches/ 21.6 cm
WEIGHT: 14.5 pounds/ 6.57 Kilos
DECK CONSTRUCTION: Bomberlite (Combination of Maple and Fiberglass layers).

Patrol 106 - $299: <--- Probably best bang for the buck on a feature by feature vs. cost proposition, given your requirements.
LENGTH: 41.7inches/ 106 cm
WIDTH: 8.5 inches/ 21.6 cm
WEIGHT: 14.9 pounds/ 6.77 Kilos
DECK CONSTRUCTION: Bomberlite (Combination of Maple and Fiberglass layers)

Flight Lite 100- $399:
LENGTH: 39.4 inches/ 100 cm
WIDTH: 9 inches/ 22.9 cm
WEIGHT: 14.25 pounds/ 6.46 Kilos
DECK CONSTRUCTION: Inverted Cap Composite (Wood core, composite "shell". Construction is meant to reduce the chances of delamination/damge to deck edge when doing board slides and such.... not a concern if you are just cruising)

Hope that helps.

ATB,
Sam

Thanks Sam. This is great start. I'll check these recommendations out.

aronma, if you're somewhere local to me (or going to be at Wildwood) I've got a barely used AK103 Bionic + Sherpa bag that I'd sell you. A mere $200.

Great deal (Even the 2009 Sherpa Bag on clearance goes for $60 and the Bionic Torsion Trucks go for about $170 per pair).

Top notch seller

Quick, before Mav's meds wear off :o

ATB,
Sam

Thanks Mavin. I'll keep that in mind. I'm only 2 hours north of you.

And by barely used, I mean I rode it down a grass hill a couple of times, clipped a bush, hurt my shoulder, and decided that I like buggies.

It is the 2009 Sherpa bag, which means that it doesn't have the wheels on the outside. The board is one of the AK103 Bionics that Kent at awindofchange.com sells, so it's got Talon bindings on it. You'll even get both HD4 (stock) and HD3 (slightly softer) torsion cubes for the Bionic trucks. Torsion cubes are what the Bionic trucks use to adjust the turning resistance.

Maven,

I'm in. We'll just need to coordinate a date.......

Cool. U2U sent.