Originally Posted by poutanen

Did you just say Kemper was a no-name company? They're long gone, but no name they were not! I'd hazard a guess that at least 50% of people that started boarding in the early 90's either rented a Kemper as their first board, or bought one as their first board.

That said, if the OP can talk the guy down to even $70 or so I'd say pick up the combo, use it as is for a bit as a first board, and pick up a new board in 2 months when the end of season sales are on. Win-win...