I am building my third board and have noticed that a lot of the new boards are thicker under the straps and thinnner towards the ends and at the rails.
Is this just for weight reduction? Or is it for flex &/or edging?
e.g
The Underground FLX don't have as obvious a line but seem to taper towards the edges. Is this necessary?
None of the 3 i would say. Its based soley on looks and whaat is cheapest to make.
All the production abs railed boards (for the most part) are made in exactly the same way and usually even in the same factory, its up to you how much you wanna get shafted for a pop out.
FLEX..
The flex is probably house like most other kiteboards. I love it when people grab a board push it in the middle and saay "yeah its got some nice flex, probably go alright" without actually knowing what that flex does, most times its a sloppy mess with no flex zoneing at all. Especially exagerated when most kiteboards have zero rocker.
Even better is when they say "Oh yeah and its wood core to!" Whats impressive about thatt? wood is cheaper than divincell or extruded... and if you dont properly layer the wood core you got a sloppy mess, like most kiteboards.
WEIGHT..
This would save a little weight but pretty much unnoticable, i would say its probably done more to save money than anything else, and also to appear more expensive along with tthose 3D shapes in the deck.
EDGING..
Not going to make a difference edging. If anything a shaper thinner rail i feel actually spins out more than a softer thicker rail. In much the same fashion that a thinner sharper fin will spin out and create more drag than a thicker rounder one. (to a degree)
Waakeboards are thicker with softer rails and they hold alot better edge than a sharp railed kiteboard.
However if the board is made with some sort of knowledge a tapered tip could be used to give you better flex in the tips.
p.s. I feel "Flex" is a very misunderstood thing these days.
There's good and bad flex though Rowdy... Bad flex that feels like a Noodle under your feet.. And good flex that's nice and springy to give you a smooth ride. Not everyone's got butter flat water and boots to load up with...
Even some of the high end boards like the SS Lunacy are quite flexxy this year - It's a trend - next year everything might be rock solid...
Obviously there is good and bad flex, never said there wasn't.
I dont ride butter flat water, and whether you have boots or not won't change a bad board into a good one.
Flex i agree is a trend of sorts... but there are alot of boards out there that use this "flex trend" to pass off thier terribly flexy poorly constructed pop outs. This is when you see the old "look at our flex" line come out.
There are boards that use flex properly, i know slingshot has there flex contruction down pat on the wakeboard side of things and that the lunacy is of the same construction, however i also feel that for the construction to havee any benifits you need more than 3cm of rocker in a board. Which makes me think it wouldn't really make much of a difference.
Yes the lunacy is quite flexy but nothing like the cheap nasty pop outs, it has a really good rebound and stiffness to its flex.
There are quality boards out there made properly, but for the most part you are getting completley ripped off.
*not a brand attack most kite board companies offer the same bull*****
Those 3D shapes on your board actually form lines of weakness, where the thick bit with be relatively rigid and the thin part will be relatively flexy, often with the 3D shapes there is no progression from thick to think so it goes from rigid to flexy forming a weak point in your board whilst actually achieving nothing except making it look "pretty" (I think it looks gimmicky). I snapped a Jaime Pro across the nose of the board along this line where thick meets thin. Then like rowdy says shop guy will put his knee in the middle of the board show you how much it flexes like your supposed to be impressed. I think most production boards in general are rubbish, not much thought gone into them. Massive fins (preference).
*not a brand attack most kite board companies offer the same bull*****
Thanks for the input Rowdy. Sounds like your right Spacemonkey
Hi guys,
I think that although there is some truth in what you say, quality modern boards are a far cry from what we were buying years ago.
The first boards were foam inner with timber panels under the heel areas, glass and some carbon and were very stiff, heavy and broke easily. Mostly no bottom shape, badly foiled fins and uncomfortable lousy footstraps and literally 5mm thick foot grip (you couldn't even call pads 
The modern boards do have progressive flex and depending upon what you are after, there are many good boards to choose from to suit every style. I agree that there are some nasty Chinese pop outs with poor flex design and even at 800 they are way overpriced.
A quality board like the 09 Airush FS, 09 North Jaimie Pro for general freestyle riding or on the 09 North Mallory for New school/wake are just wicked. They have good flex where you need it, are strong and comfortable to ride in. Although they are a lot of money, they will last you for years if you look after them. I loop mine pretty hard and haven't managed to break a board in quite a while. Most quality companies will warranty a broken board so really thats what you are buying, a nice ride and peace of mind.
Rowdy, you get better edging due to the locked angle at the ankle from the bindings. Most boards will edge better in boots, especially if they are made for boots like the Mallory.
I love the new boards, they advance your riding so much if you buy the board that most suits the way you want to ride. Buy the wrong board and you have to "put up with it" and try and convince yourself that what you parted with a grand for, is a quality ride. Soon as you jump on something quality, you'll know you made a mistake.
Good winds,
It's great to see people making their own boards. It's a creative thing - being about to ride something you have made gives a lot of satisfaction. If you're not afraid to experiment a bit it can be truly rewarding. We used to make our own surfboards as 16 year old kids. I had a new board every six months, they looked crap but we were proud of our efforts.
Even if it was semi addressed to you
All of my posts are written more for the people who don't post on here but are regular readers. There are countless noobs who read the forums trying to learn from reading threads and yet never contribute. This is why I write such detailed responses and comments to most threads. 
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