Toby,

I get the jist of your point and agree to a large extent. It's probably best to stay open minded to function and not get attached to brand names.
Even I, the king of Best bashers, the day I saw the waroo, changed my take. I am pretty open minded, so I would prefer to not be lumped in there, thanks.

G.S. (at this point in time) absolutely makes one of the best stubby boards for medium/light winds, imo.
His other boards rock too! But, I also ride an underground 137, a SS Glide and now an RRD board.
For kites. I have a 12 Contra, 11m Ozone, 12m Flexi, 9m RRD.

I love the topic though.

How bout this one. How much weight does a sponsored rider's opinion hold?