Anyone ride a Bing Levitator Type 2?

[Sax-son]

From my perspective, you can't go wrong by riding any of the Bing models. You just have to zero in on your personal criteria.

 

[applebutter]

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Hit me up in late Jan probaby Feb of '23, got a Lev2 9-6 on order....

me too!

 

[walkingtheplank]

i owned a 9'6" Elevator (hated the color, so ended up selling) & surfed the Outer Cape w/it for an entire season. best bloody noserider for fast EC beach break - period. tucks right into the pocket on steep waves, & you can actually make the drop. looking for something similar now, as i sold my Levitator I & (more recently) Mayo Nu Noserider. You won't find a better stick for the Island...

 

[Gulfzer5]

Hit me up in late Jan probaby Feb of '23, got a Lev2 9-6 on order....

jmon_wellfleet: How's it going with your Lev2? Would love to hear an update.

 

[Sax-son]

i owned a 9'6" Elevator (hated the color, so ended up selling) & surfed the Outer Cape w/it for an entire season. best bloody noserider for fast EC beach break - period. tucks right into the pocket on steep waves, & you can actually make the drop. looking for something similar now, as i sold my Levitator I & (more recently) Mayo Nu Noserider. You won't find a better stick for the Island...

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That board looks like it has "fun" written all over it. I don't care what color it is.

 

[applebutter]

I just got mine. It’s gorgeous. Can’t wait to take it out. Will report back when I do

 

[Glide&Flow]

So here is my too long take on the Levitator II.

Got my 10'0 last fall and have had some great sessions on it. I can surf just fine but am not a ripper. Noseriding isn't really my focus, but I'll sneak up there if the stars line up. Just cruising and turning on longboards, going as fast as I can is what it's all about for me. Coming into possession of an 11' glider has been a revelation and getting off it is tough. That being said, I was intrigued by Matt's video description of the new Levitator. The outline looked great and I love me some edge in the tail. Now after having one, I think his explanation is very accurate and this is what I've come to understand about his intentions with the design.

It is not slow. It isn't as fast as my glider or Parallax, but it moves quick and doesn't lock in at all like a traditional NR. For a log, I would say it hauls ass. In the video he mentions that he had to incorporate some other elements in order to make it noseridable, which may be to the expense of some of the speed, such as the wide point being forward. In the Bing video, Beach Daze, you can see that Matt is up on the nose, so it does work. For me though, this board is about being on the middle, just trimming along at speed completely comfortable, and moving to the tail for pretty easy turning. Not whiplike like on my 9'11 Apex, but much easier/smoother than a similar sized 10' traditional NR.

His mentioning of the board being able to get around sections isn't something that I have really been able to confirm as I've really only taken it out in chest high+ and sections at that size are really hard to get around on a big board. I have run the 10" Larry Allison volan flex fin that came with it as well as a 10.5 volan 4A.

So for me it's a great board that complements my glider-centered surfing. Just a really fun, fast, stable, easily turnable log that does have noseriding ablity. Plenty to explore and the board is absolutely gorgeous.

I have a 9'8 Pintail Lightweight II coming, that along with the Levi II, I'm hoping will complete the glider-centric aspects of my quiver.

 

[jmon_wellfleet]

Got 3 sessions on the Lev2, and 2 of them were what I call ‘maintenance session’ and the third was long waits for meh waist waves in RI but had a couple required a drop into the peak and hard pivot turn for a short but satisfying ride from middle maybe 1/3 forward ( not anywhere on nose). Board works as I read about . It swings around faster than one would think, rails are pretty knifed for a 9-6 / 23.5”. Fin is a 9.5” Volan have to check what model it’s not a NR per se fin. Fast ish. It’s not on par with 9-4 Spence Sam for speed but not far off and way more forgiving than Sam on take offs and positioning. Def more user friendly I don’t have that first couple waves talking to myself on the Sam about subtle angle on take off and balance. I have to think with the Sam on some sessions . Not had a section maker wave but should be capable , well if the driver is, that is. I really enjoy the board and see it being a long time hold if not forever. Could not say that about my last Bing a LW Nu NR just felt slow and one trick and not great beach break, with the demise of a favorite sand bar the Nu NR lost its appeal and niche.for me this is a nose rider, I don’t see Getting a straight up nose riding focused log . At 23.5 it’s a wee bit wide for my wings and I wonder if could have gone a wee shorter. If did not have. 9-4 Sam probably would have.

Side note, board showed up damaged and I blame Bing for poor packaging + shipper mishandle. Bing instructions should change and say open even if no sign of hurt and make truck wait. The ends of the box had at least a foot + of open air and the shipping company must have stood on end, board slammed down tail was damaged. Tail end inset cardboard was loose a few staples so I removed it made guy wait and bubble wrap was perfect when pulled out. 100% make the shipper wait and open the box and remove wrapping material. No proof at time of delivery = nothing more than 93$ claim from shipper. Bing offered add in 50. Never collected kind of pissed me off for a while and let it go. And shirts are sized small ha. Actually blame me, shipper, and Bing equally I guess. Could have been packaged better no doubt. Gripe over.

So I give it a 10/10 board design and 10/10 on beauty glassing. Customer service 10/10. I’m just grumpy sometimes so Owner 6.5/10 emotions on damaged board.

Oh I did have it made 666 (or was it 6/6+4) all S glass with deck and tail patch.