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I've been riding a Slingshot 5'4'' Angry Swallow (strapless) all summer and am ready to upgrade to something snappier. I rode my friends Cabrinha Skillit today and loved it. So much snappier on the bottom of the huge ramps at Sherman. This board is no longer made, so I'm looking for others to chime in with their favorites. I've also heard the Axix Climax and New Wave are awesome.

You should go back to Sherman and demo the F-One Mitu today. Rode it for a week in Punta San Carlos and it's a super fun board. The Mitu comes in a few different sizes, so depending on your size there's probably one you'll like more than the others. They might not have all sizes at the demo though.

aquaman55 wrote: So much snappier on the bottom of the huge ramps at Sherman. This board is no longer made, so I'm looking for others to chime in with their favorites.

I'd be curious to know where you plan to use the board the most. I have three surfboards that I use depending on the spot. For Sherman I really like my Firewire Vanguard and Litewave DV8-G2.
For the coast, I prefer my Loyd Kite Rocket, but if the waves are small, I'll use my Vanguard.
I've not been a fan of Cabrinha, but I'm liking some of their new boards. For Sherman, the Squid Launcher would be my choice. The quad fin set-up and profile would excel there.
For a more all-around shape, the Spade would be more ideal for both Sherman and Waddell.
Since you ride strapless, I'd look at boards that are dedicated to that. Strap inserts add weight and the reinforcement negatively affects the flex. Boards without inserts tend to be lighter and livelier.
If you go this route, check out Firewire, Tona, Axis, F-One, and North.
I've not had the opportunity to ride these, but the Axis Kapua and the new Climax look awesome for both the coast and inland. The F-One and North strapless surfboards are some others to consider. The Tona Pulse was nice, but I found it a little too stiff and high volume for my preference. YMMV.
As you mentioned, the Axis New Wave and the equivalent Litewave DV8 offer a great alternative to the traditional surfboard and have an awesome ride quality.

Tomo Vader or stretch josh mulcoy

I loveeeeee my Tomo Evo for regular surfing, but since I don't have it in the kite construction I don't want to snap it so haven't kited it.

Ridden and own the Vanguard, and Vader as well. Love those both (even though my vader is a little too big for me at 5'3"). I'd say each has their own character but if I was to own just one of those two for kiting it'd be the Vader.

Firewire EVO is the board.

I have the Vanguard/Vader/Evo and the Evo is the best out of the 3.

5'1" or 4'10" is the size to get.

But really as long as you are out there riding with a smile on your face what ever board is under your feet is the right one .

mbzporvida wrote:Firewire EVO is the board.

Curious about where you found/got your Evo from?

+1 for the Evo, I love to ride mine both at Sherman and on the Coast.

I got mine from Real. At 190lbs I'm riding the 5'1", but it feels like I could have gotten away with the 4'11". The kite construction is significantly lighter than the Vanguard kite construction I rode before.

Picked my Evo up on the Dark Side Of The Moon.

mbzporvida wrote:Picked my Evo up on the Dark Side Of The Moon.

Thats where boards cost $ 900+
and dont come with fins :0)
or pads or straps