Help me choose a Wakesurf Board

[supremedevice]

My beginner board last summer was a Byerly Volt, and it worked perfectly for most everyone with the exception of the really big guys. We had a ton of fun on it. The trouble is you get hooked, and eventually want to go more advanced for next year.

But for me, the tough part about graduating into the more advanced realm of wakesurfing is how hard it is to find a place/person to demo boards to find out what will work best for you. Unless you are part of a larger surf community or you know others with lots of boards you are most likely going to throw down a ton of money to experiment with all different sorts and shapes of wake surfers. It's an extremely expensive way to eventually land on that perfect shape for you. I just wish demoing boards would be more accessible to boat owners is all.

[murphini]

Few years ago my threads were all about "I CAN"T SURF"....it should have been "I HAVE THE WRONG BOARD!". I had a CWB RAZR--I think it's been discontinued. Too slow and couldn't hold my 6' 200#. Then I bought at Inland Surfer Blue Lake and went ropeless for the first time. I also bought an Inland Surfer Squirt for the people 100-150#, but now I can ride it too. I'm sure there are lots of new boards that are better, but the Blue Lake has been the think I have found most stable and easist to learn on, and for lighter people the Squirt has been great also. Good luck

[Ewok]

I'm a friendly boater and I've idled up to a few boats wakesurfing (when they are done or changing riders) and offered a pull behind my boat at which time we all ride each other's boards. Because of this I've ridden an IS Blue Lake (my board), IS Sweet Spot Pro (my board, and my favorite), IS yellow Luggie, IS mucus, IS black Pearl, Ronix Coal, Ronix Carbon Thruster, CWB ride, and 2 boards from Phase 5 but I don't remember which models, but I discovered I prefer surf style. There are lots of reviews but all these boards feel very different from each other. I would stick with the CWB as a good beginner board, unless you get a good deal on a used IS blue lake. Then in next year you will have more knowledge and experience and possibly get a chance to try out other boards throughout the summer either from friends or maybe make some new friends on the water. Then you'll be able to make a better decision about what type of performance you want out of a board.

[Wakeman22]

Well stated Ewok.

How did you like the Ronix Koal shape and ride compared to the others? Other than the IS boards which did you like? I have found that each board I have ridden took a little time to really get a feel for its ride and style and not just 10 or 15 minutes. Some I did not like at first impression turned out to be a good rider. I have also experienced the same "I have the wrong board" statement murphini has made. I rode the Broadcast as my first board. It is one people recommend all the time. I struggled but also had no teacher. Learned on my own. Once up it felt similar to a wakeboard ride and slid a lot. Then I got brave and rode the IS Blue Lakes that came with my boat and wow what a difference. I was up and riding with confidence and never rode the Broardcast again. Moral of the story is a board really makes a big difference in the learning curve. Also try to ride something first if you can and try as many as you can before you buy. Don't just rely on the reviews especially in the literature describing the board and its features.

[Dandy]

I don't see alot of mention on here about Slingshot, especially with wakesurfing - some on wakeboarding. I feel they make a great product and are a good company to work with - great service and really back up their products. We purchased our boat last year, with the intent to pick up wakesurfing. We started with a Ronix Cortez while we waited for Idol to finish up our custom boards. Didn't care for the Ronix much and seems newbies, including us challenge with it + it is a heavy board, so a bit difficult to flip and get on. I picked up last years version of the Slingshot Skimbender (had a differnt name). This has been a good board for alot of people. It is pretty fast, so it helps get people back in the pocket pretty easy and yes, sometimes running up on the boat. From my little experiance I have found that the skim boards tend to provide more room for error, since they are faster to make recovery easier for newbies like my family. Don't get me wrong, I do like riding the surf style boards we got from Idol, I just don't have the feel yet to recover with it from as far back. Check out Slingshots boards in the link below and feel free to give them a call, they are a great crew of passionate watersports people over there:
http://www.slingshotsports.com/wake/...s/wakesurfers/

Good Luck

[tony@tige]

Wickedcummins

Ronix Carbon Thruster Enough said...

You crack me up! But i do like your style

[Wickedcummins]

Wickedcummins

Ronix Carbon Thruster Enough said...

You crack me up! But i do like your style

Just sayin... Once you ride one you can never go back.. Yanno once you go black you dont come back lol!

[bwstx]

Some of you have me regetting that I selected a Broadcast as first board for my family to learn on. Oh well, it's coming with the boat.

[JohnnieMo]

Just sayin... Once you ride one you can never go back.. Yanno once you go black you dont come back lol!

Can you give me some insight as to why it is the best? Is it for advanced riders only? How about for a guy at 250lbs?

[Wickedcummins]

NO other way to but it other than ride one you will see how great it is.. Great for the guy starting off or airing it out!

[skippabcool]

Some of you have me regetting that I selected a Broadcast as first board for my family to learn on. Oh well, it's coming with the boat.

I have a Broadcast Hyperlite and we use it all the time. It is especially great for those starting out, you don't have to worry about ruining a high dollar board. I wouldn't regret it.

[robert theisen]

I also have a Hyperlite Broadcast. It's a great board to start out on as it helps you develop your fundamentals.

[whiteflash watersports]

We outgrew the broadcast quick and it is prone to pearling. We now have a phase 5 danielo that we love and an inland surfer tako that is way better than the broadcast for newbies and cruising- never pearls, is fast when you want it to be and my buddy who is 6'7" 295 can ride it. Also can play with fin set ups to change from a skim feel to a surf feel. Compression molded so holds up well and wont break the bank it is one of inlands less expensive boards.

My daughter rides a 2014 Obrien Nalu pro that she got form Tara Mikacich last fall before they came out and she really likes it. It is super light and only has 1 fin so really loose and fast. Before that board she would just cruise on the broadcast now she has been trying to learn 360's - great confidence booster. I think they are available now from Overtons

[jrj701]

Thinking about adding a Carbon Thruster this year. What length would be ideal for 5" 11" 225lbs, the 5'1 or 5'7

[Ewok]

NO other way to but it other than ride one you will see how great it is.. Great for the guy starting off or airing it out!

Thinking about adding a Carbon Thruster this year. What length would be ideal for 5" 11" 225lbs, the 5'1 or 5'7

For your weight I would go with the bigger board. I've ridden the 5'1" board and it's ridable on big wakes but it definitely felt small for me.

To add to Wicked's post about ridding the board, it definitely has a feel all to it's own. It's almost like a hybrid between a true surf style board and a skim board. I personally prefer the feeling of a more locked in tail in a surf board, and so far my favorite of the boards I have had a chance to ride. I have it set up with 4 fins, two standard fins in the forward middle slots, and two little buddy fins on the outside slots. All the surf boards can change their performance drastically with different fin configurations too, so thats just another mystery to figure out, and that alone can be expensive. I really wish I could get the time away from work to go to the polar bear event since they have many different boards and I'm sure fin configurations to try out. I know the carbon thruster has 5 fin slots and many different configurations and tons of fin sizes and styles on their website.

So basically I'm saying unless you have a good shop nearby to demo boards it's almost a crap shoot. I was surfing with WABoating after he got his carbon thruster and he thought my board was loose while I thought it was more locked in, and I thought his board was loose and he thought it felt more solid. I choose my SSP because I had a Blue Lake and wanted that locked in surf feel, but in a shorter, sharper turning board. I read a few reviews and the video from RJ and Ragboy which helped to steer me to the SSP, and I feel I got the board I was looking for.

Good luck on your searches, and if you find a board you like, get it. If you don't like it hopefully you can trade it into the dealer or get a good price for it on classifieds here or on CL or Ebay.