LF Escalades

has anyone had any experience with these? i know they are made for kiteboarding, but i love the flex of the shanes and the open toes on the watsons and these seem like the best of both worlds. any opinions?

those are sick, I would sport those for sure

Is that kiteboarder riding a standard wakeboard? I thought kiteboards were like 150cm+ - much larger than the standard wakeboard?

those are awesome! i love the shanes, but personally i hate shane bonifay so i could never ride his bindings

wow HATE is a strong word...so ru a hater or what?

not all kiteboards are super long, some are even smaller
shane is sick, don't hate

yes i guess i am and i guess i don't hate him, i just think he's a tool. i could never ride his board or boots

Entrust:

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quote:

"you know what i really want in a girl? ME!"

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While you're pointing the finger, 3 are always pointing right back at you.

you are probably right but that doesn't change the fact that i don't like him. he's a great wakeboarder, but i just don't like him, you how there are those people you just don't like? well he's one of them.

I think Shane is a little misunderstood. I've heard people make negative remarks before about his attitude and such. He's a little shy and somewhat reserved, I think that gets confused with arrogance. My son got a pic with him at the Del Mar slider show. Then at the LF/Lagoon event HE approached my son to say hello. My boy is 9 and was super stoked... We should remember that ALL of us have a bad day at work, weather it be performance or attitude. All the pro riders deserve that understanding as they're the ones promoting our passion!!!!!

Shanes an animal on a wakeboard...

I dig his style, and I met him once at the LA boat show, and he was way cool. I can say I respect Shane because it seems like he's the kind of person that won't just ride for a check. He's an individual, and his products show that. A lot of people try so hard to be different and end up looking like idiots, but Shane always manages to be different, always teetering on the edge of the canyon of conformity, and making it look effortless.

So back to the bindings - are those available for normal wakeboard usage? Why wouldn't LF cross-promote those with their wake line?

yeah it doesn't make sense? it looks like they would totally work

sweet looks like im trying some new bindings on my shane board ... ill see if i can get hold of some and ill test them out

LF also makes the Union bindings for kiteboarding though, and those are exactly the same as a pair of Ultras. i wonder why... but those Escalades look so cool!

I was looking at Performance Ski and Surf's website yesterday and they were selling these boots for use on your WAKEBOARD. I think they said something to the effect that they felt better than the Watsons. So apparently, they do work for wakeboarding.

yes, they work for wakeboarding. I have a pair coming in for kiteboarding and wakeboarding. They are more like Watson's then Shane's, they just look like Shane's. They are designed to be easy to put on in the water (since there is no lube in kiteboarding).

Kiteboards are just like wakeboards, only with less rocker. They are designed to be fast in the water where wakeboards are designed to be slow. You can ride a wakeboard on the kite, just takes alot of power and work.

just talked to the guys at Performance Ski and Surf and they said the escalades are just like the shanes only open toed and with a different lace system allowing them to be put on one handed. lower cut and more flex than the watsons...sounds like i may have found my new kicks

(Message edited by praisinplaya on May 22, 2006)

MATT --- that is completly false

I just talked to a rep at liquid force, and he told me they are exactly the same as the watsons with shanes colors. He said that it is not a good idea to wakeboard in them because they do not have the same kind of hold down. They do not have dual laces so you can not tighten your heel in, instead it is just one big lace that comes all the way up and at the top they are just singtle strings that tighten off, not a loop. Kiteboarders have different demands in support and hold and the escalades shouldnt be used for wakeboarding, they are for kiting.

Also, they are not lower cut than the watsons, and they do not have more flex than the watsons. They are the watsons with a different color scheme

I thought they were just the watsons with a different color scheme, if you look at them they look exactly the same. I like the look of the LE Watsons better anyways.

look at the laces... not only are the lace loops located differently, but its jsut once loace (not duals) so you dont get much tightening down on your foot, just more support on ur ankle..... also look ath the laces, there just strings, not loops.... and one goes off for each side.. tehre difffernt

William, thanks for that info...i wonder why the guys at performance would say that? oh well...thanks for the real info...i appreciate it!

laces ares something very easy to alter.

i agree with kristian, it would be really easy to make them into a dual lace boot, but if they are the same stiffness and everything as the watson there would really be no reason to, unless you just liked the color scheme. and for what its worth, the guy at performance also told me that he had ridden both the watson and escalade and said that the consensus in the shop was that the escalade was more comfortable...

I wouldnt doubt if they were a little more comfortable. As a kiteboarder, you need something that you can get in and out of easily, and one handed. I will know in the next day or two when they arrive and let you know.

Jason

Hey Jason,

When you get them in, slap them on your wakeboard and go for a rip. Then tell me how the support, stiffness and the all around binding is for wakeboarding purposes.

Escalades are SICK! They are pretty much like the Watsons. They have some solid support and I find them the most comfy of anything Ive had my foot in. I didnt find the Watsons particularly uncomfortable, though.

Jason, did you try them on your wakeboard or kiteboard? and how did the lace system work..as compared to the watsons?

I was kiteboarding, but my kiteboard is pretty much a wakeboard. I do the same tricks and ride the same way in both sports.

The laces differ because there is only one lace for the entire boot, and at the top of the boot, there are little clam cleats to secure each line. So you pull the strings tight, snap them into the cleat on each side, then put the magnets in their place and you are off. The only real difference is that the Escalades lace system is designed to be able to do it one handed.

For you guys who havent tried kiteboarding, you should give it a shot. I remember when I was skiiing and kneeboarding in the 80's, and we were reaching the boundries of what could be done. Then wakeboarding came along and there was this entire new opportunity to progress on what we already knew. It seemed limitless compared to the old mediums. Kiteboarding is the exact same thing to wakeboarding as wakeboarding was to skiing. If any of you old school wakeboarders remember how fun the newness of wakeboarding was and the daydreaming of new things that have never been done, kiteboarding is in that same infancy. It is a very cool time. if you havent tried it, you should.