Review of the CWB Prodigy 140 and CWB Vibe Bindings

First off, I’ll say that I’m a big fan of Rob Struharik’s riding, so I was looking forward to riding this board. I was definitely hoping that it was not the disappointment that the Parks 143 board had been for me - That board is way too aggressive for my ability level and riding style.

I’m a solid intermediate rider, with both HS and TS grabbed 180’s being probably the most difficult tricks that I’m pulling off consistently right now. I’m starting to work on BS180’s, so that should give you an idea where I’m at. I ride most boats at 75’ to 80’, and I like to pop more up than out. My personal board is currently a ’01 Premier 140 with ’02 Parks bindings. I’ve been really happy with almost everything that the Premier does, but I find it a little “slow” at times when edging. I ride it with the center fin in place, and have tried it without the center fin, which I did not like at all.

I rode the Prodigy with the CWB Vibe bindings, and my first impression of the bindings is that they have quite a bit of forward lean. I tend to be a more upright rider, so it was pretty awkward for me to get into these bindings. After getting them on they seemed very comfortable. My only comparison bindings are the ’02 Parks and the ’01 30/60’s, and I can say that these are as comfortable as the Parks bindings. They were also very supportive in the ankle area, which I’m pretty sensitive to. One thing that stood out to me was the lack of leverage because of the flat footbed on the Vibes. They definitely don’t have the same leverage due to the footbed being designed as a flat surface. The footbed is not nearly as thick as some of the “double thick” footbeds, and I think this detracts from the appeal of the bindings, because it definitely won’t cushion you on some of your bigger landings. I also didn’t like the forward lean of the bindings, but this is a personal preference, so take my opinion for what it’s worth. I took one very solid faceplant, and had one foot eject when I would have expected it to. After a lot of thought, while I think that there are some good points to these bindings (support, comfort), I think that there are better bindings available.

The board itself seemed pretty heavy off the water, but no heavier than the DoubleUp Pro 142 that I’ve ridden. It has 6 molded in fins, 3 on each end – I wouldn’t mind the option of removing the center fin, but that’s a mild gripe. Not much of a channel to speak of, and according to CWB, has a subtle 3 – stage rocker, although it does not completely flatten out in the middle. On the water, the board tracks and edges extremely well. It exposed my poor front foot weighting on my TS edge (my rear leg would drag in the water), and forced me to do a better job of weighting my feet properly. It accelerates at a moderate pace, not too fast, but not terribly slow. The pop on this board was excellent, without being too bucky – I had excellent pop throughout my sets, and I was very comfortable on takeoff. I was landing farther out in the flats that normal, and I think that’s due to the better edge that this board has than my current setup. This exposed the one real weakness that I found with the board, which is that the landings are a little harsh. It is very stable on landings, but is a bit harsh on the knees and heels than I would have expected from such a wide board. I really liked most everything this board did, and it didn’t take me long to get used to it. It edges very well without being too aggressive, still is loose enough to do powerslides, and pops very well. The landings could be a little softer, but it wasn’t unbearable. It’s possible that it was the bindings contributing to the harsher landing, since the bindings that I normally ride have a double thick footbed.

Overall, I was very impressed with the CWB Prodigy 140. In the past, I’ve been very loyal to Hyperlite. Only recently have I started riding other boards, and I can honestly say that this is one of the two boards that are on my list to try again before I buy a new one. It did a lot of things very well, and has a better edge than my current rig. I can’t wait to try it again with my own bindings and get a better idea how it feels with that setup, since I’m pretty sure that better bindings will help make the landings softer.