Demo'd HL Premier - Comparable Option?

First year rider here. Been riding a 140cm Doublup continuous rocker all year and wanted to try something with a little more pop. So demo'd a HL Premier this weekend. The Premier had a noticeably larger pop than my Doubleup and I liked it a lot. I rode it finless and found it very stable, predictable, landings were alright, but it felt really slow in the water. I kept finding myself getting off balance on my cuts because I wasn't use to something lagging behind in the water so much. What would be another comparable 3-Stage intermediate board to try out that would be a little faster, have good predictable pop and still enable me to progress as a rider?

I was thinking LF Substance 138, CWB Absolute 140cm, and a CWB Marius 140cm?

the blindside billy mckee board is similar to the premiere and faster. try it out if you can get find it.

the substance is incredibly easy to ride. I don't know how it compares to the Premier, but it doesn't feel sluggish to me, but it's not fast by any means.

Thane....how is the Substance in rougher water? That board is pretty light, so I was wondering if that would hinder its performance in rougher water or maybe that wouldn't have anything to do with it. Thanks.

My theory is: the wider the board, the harder it is to ride in rough water. I don't think weight has anything to do with how it rides in rough water. How a board planes in the water and how deep it sits in the water would affect how it would ride; I would think.

Thane, sounds like you could be right on with your theory...makes sense.

I'm not sure what size I would go with if I choose the Substance. I'm 5'10" and 175lbs...seems like I could go in either direction as far as the 138cm or the 142cm. But my tendency would be to go with the 138cm.

Check out the 06 O'Brien Natural. It is the fastest 3 stage board I have ever ridden. No drag, but still has sweet POP and very soft landings. I quit riding 3 stage boards a few years ago because they all seemed to slow for me. This year I hopped on the Natural and it was like I had been riding that board my whole life. I rode in a local contest 1 week after switching to the Natural and I won my division and stuck everything I knew how to do. I hadn't done that all year.

Check it out if you get the chance.

Later,
jjakober

Try to demo the GB Militant. I rode a Premier 141 for most of the summer, then switched back to my old Ricky G because I liked the faster/edgier feel. I just got the Militant and was blown away - exactly what I was looking for in a board - the pop of the Premier (if not more) with a more responsive ride. Quite possibly the best board I've ever been strapped into.

Andrew - I would say go for the 142.

Thane: Thanks for the feedback on the Substance...142cm at first glance seems huge, but it is a pretty light board...so maybe I can get away with it.

JJakober and Maestro: Thanks for the input...I'll check into the two boards that you've referenced to. Thanks for jumping in!!

in sticking with HL you pretty much said you want a 3DS or TFD.

the above two boreds (two different model years with slight changes) are, like the premier, aggressive-continuous rocker boards. The 3DS, however, is Much faster and has the what I believe the smoothest landings of any other board out there. Exchange the 4 stock inch-something fins with some 0.8 P/A-wing fins and the board is dialed in!

I rode the 3DS 139 after riding the Premier 141 for a month or so and the 3DS felt way longer than the Premier. I loved the speed of the 3DS and the way it rolls over edge to edge, but the pop was definitely lacking. I like to feel myself get booted, and the 3DS just felt like I was going through the wake and not getting pushed up by it. I rode it with the 1.1" fins and it was too sticky for my preference as well. That's just my opinion though - if you can demo the board and see how you like it.

Maestro...the way you are describing the 3DS is the way I feel on my Doublup 140cm continuous rocker board. Its easy to go to the flats which is cool, but I don't get booted up at all...kind of just launched across. Yesterday, when I rode the Premier (first 3-stage board I've ever riden by the way), I felt like I was get thrown up into the air like on a trampoline or something, it just felt like it took forever to get to the wake and I was getting off balance because I think the rest of my body was ahead of the board since I was use to such a faster board. So, if I can find something that pops like the premier but moves a little faster in the water (and doesn't just plow water which is how it felt), then I will be all to the good. I'm hoping that something like a Substance or Absolute is my answer. But guess I'll have to demo them to see. $25 a pop for demo sucks, but alteast it goes towards the purchase price...just hard to find a dealer that has HL, LF, and CBW under their roof.

"CWB" I meant to say....

Obrien Player....with or without fins.

Rich,

If you like the Player then I think you will love the Natural. It takes all the best stuff from the player and tweaks it some and then adds the extra speed to make you forget you are riding a 3 stage board.

One of my friends that has ridden the Premier for the last season took my Natural out for a spin and when he got back in the boat he had the biggest grin on his face and he said that he would be riding the Natural next year!! He said it was the best set he had taken all year.

Later,
jjakober

Try a gator board ricky g, they ride like the premier and look cooler 2, support the rider owned companys,