Thinking about upgrading to a newer board. I have been riding my Crazyfly 132 for about 4 years (brought it off this website from another member, good memories). I like the smaller board because it's fun to whip around on but lately people have been telling me I should go with a slightly larger board 136/134 to get some extra pop. I weight 165lbs. Any advice??

for explosive freestyle pop u want stiff and fast as you can tolerate.

for wakestyle , a CAB custom about the same size134 or so. the heavy rocker is just rip spin power ready ..choppy stuff not so fun with it, def need flat spot to get it to peak.

you have a decent board stiff and slick...a little more width will add some pop but kinda sketchy as speeds get higher for boosting .

really look at the spot you ride if choppy go with some flex

if you got regular flat spot go super stiff (orwith some rocker for wakey throw arounds)

add width only if you need go in lighter air at 165 it would be over kill

I just switched onto a Naish Monarch 134. Quad concave bottom shaping means it just flies over the chop, It also gives you really soft landings. Speed is fine though the strongest wind i have used it in is 36kt. It was fast stable and did not spray water at you!

Its mid rocker and fairly stiff so it pops really well. getting better pop than any other board I have tried. Upwind drive is top draw aswell.

The new Apex bindings are the best footstraps on the market until evryone else catches up.

The other board I was trying was the Raptor Pro Ltd. This board has more flex (not as flexi as older Raptor Pros though) and is lighter than the Naish. Otherwise performance is actually quite similar.

The Monarch beats it on dealing with chop and smooth landings + The footstraps. I would at least try it if you are looking for a new freestyle board and also the Ltd version of the raptor comes in 136.

I love my crazyfly except that it will spray you in the face all day long and I pretty much can't take it anymore. The board meets my expectations in pretty much everything else. My riding conditions are all over the chart. I take my twin tip in the surf, ride choppy water and into buttery flat spots, so the board needs to do everything with a slight tilt to wake style (starting to get more and more into unhooking).

Right now I was looking into a North Jamie 136/41 or 133/40.

Here I go again...

Ocean Rodeo Origin... does everything well. Shame it's too big for what you want :D
Their freestyle boards might be worth considering - http://oceanrodeo.com/products/jt-pro-board especially the price.

Same goes for Switch boards... http://switchkites.com/products/boards/freestyle.html
Check the specs for sizes...

And I'd still like to try one of these: http://axiskiteboarding.com/?page_id=53

I like the Naish boards too but DAYUM they're expensive here!!!

Yeah. I got £100 discount and it was still stupid expensive. I tried a lot of boards though and it was the one....

@Mostly Harmless - The Raptor Pro Ltd has a double concave bottom which seems to cut out the spray. It was a 2012 i tried. I'm not sure if they are all the same.

Also check out Slingshot Asylum if you are thinking Wakestyle. Are you going to put boots on it?

Apex bindings - $150 or double that here :o total scam...

£140 in UK - so $220 US

Best footstraps/pads you can get at the moment though. I'm sure everyone else will have something similar soon enough

Ah, meant the Digit - US$150 or Y28,000 which now is $280 :o a year back, that would have been $500!!!

Definitely no boots, this would be my do everything board.

I like the Axis boards and also the aggression boards. The Switch board looks great for the price but being so new how good are those boards? Are they going to hold up or fall apart in a year?

I think quality is only getting better and better - construction has changed over the years, so the boards are lighter and stronger.

the super stiff boards like JL , lifetime units there....u need considerable wind to really get all of it, and they will mow down the chop. .the light sandwich laminates have crazy range esp. at the lower end. ... they break up in 1500 hour range the screw pegs inserts are first things to go round 300hour mark but multiple gives back after failure..blanks are in the 2-300 $ range u get about 2 years...and they have gotten better and stiffer! pop fades where as others like JL they just break, or nick easily but can far out last most laminates.