2014 Polar Bear - Thank you once again Wake9!!

[st68]

Just got back from Lake Berryesa in Napa from the Polar Bear event. I wanted to shout out and say than you to the Wake9 crew for all the hard work and effort they put into this. We had perfect weather, 75 degree water and lots of enthusiasm for wakesurfing!! The boat line up was awesome, the new Z3 with AVX is much responsive and noticeable than I expected... it certainly allows you to mellow out the wave or steepen it... based on preference and on the fly. We had a surprise visit from Charlie Pigeon and other HQ staff on Saturday... was great to talk to him and meet him... pretty excited to hear what Tige is working on in the future. If you have never been I would HIGHLY recommend putting this on your 2015 of things to do and attend, you will not be disappointed.

[jbort]

pics.......where are the pics???

[Bad05]

Pics x2.....and please elaborate on what Charlie said they are working on for the future!

[st68]

Haha, I didn't take many personal pics as I was busy and didn't want my camera or phone to fall in the water while transferring boats... when I get some from others I will post... here are the only two I have!!!

Lake Berryesa.jpgCenturion Surf Pockets.jpg

The surf pockets are from the 2015 Centurion FS33... best surf pockets I have ever seen. It is no secret that Tige is behind in the surf system arena... he was there to scope out the surf systems on the other boats amongst other reasons... I would make a strong bet that a surf system beyond AVX will be coming... Charlie's word's... the market wants them and the demand is there for them. He also made sure the new Z3 got more weight for the 2nd day of Polar Bear... the rep ran only factory ballast on Saturday and it did not go over well with the crowd. Sunday morning there was an army of ballast bags and Tsunami pumps at the dock... the Z3 disappeared for a while... feedback at the end of Sunday was much better with the added weight!!! Surf X was better than expected... however it also is a little overkill on the setting options as you would not realistically use the lower and higher settings... you would stay within 3 or 4 settings out of 11 options to set it at... we were not allowed to take the remote with us while surfing so it would not get lost!! We were told a wrist band is coming out to wear it like a watch to avoid losing it in the water. It did have a Tige key float attached to it but it would still get easily lost in the water.

[Bad05]

I agree the full 11 settings (0-10) are probably not going to be used by most users, however, once you are out with all your gear and people the settings do allow you to adjust the wake beyond just the TAPS. Running at 8-9 is a totally different wake than at 3-4, even with the same speed and weight. With the years of development of the VX and now the AVX, I wonder what Charlie sees for Tige in regards to a "Surf System" beyond AVX? My understanding of the added weight on Sunday was only a few hundred pounds of lead and some counter weight using the stock ballast? Does that sound correct?

[st68]

It was important to have TAPS down versus up to have the wave dialed in... What he was referring to on a surf system is a level riding surf system like what everyone is doing... in the conversation it was pretty much do it or be left behind. I don't know what the set up on the 2nd day was... I rode that Z3 on Saturday when it was just factory ballast. Ask Majestic... he was one of them dialing it in on Sunday. I hope others will chime in on what they thought of the other boats... the Axis had 5 or 6k lbs of ballast... the wave was awesome but he burned 100 gallons of fuel on Saturday and I have never gotten more wet on boat from wind spray... it was a packed boat with ballast, boards and people but yet the wave was pretty fun!! He also had the loudest boat of all too (sound system wise)!! The ladies complained about how loud the music was but I think those in Utah appreciated it

[topaz surfer]

I agree the full 11 settings (0-10) are probably not going to be used by most users, however, once you are out with all your gear and people the settings do allow you to adjust the wake beyond just the TAPS. Running at 8-9 is a totally different wake than at 3-4, even with the same speed and weight. With the years of development of the VX and now the AVX, I wonder what Charlie sees for Tige in regards to a "Surf System" beyond AVX? My understanding of the added weight on Sunday was only a few hundred pounds of lead and some counter weight using the stock ballast? Does that sound correct?

Yes there was only a few hundred pounds added but it was mostly just moving the weight around into the correct spots. Saturday there was no counter weight and we added that for Sunday. I was one of the few who got to dial it in and surf it again. After the adjustment hands down best wave of the weekend. All of the other boats were very fun as well just different. I believe we are now getting to a point in the sport to where there are more boats out now that make good waves but they are not all the same. You need to find what you like. As for the avx here is the cool thing. There is a ton of adjustability in the wave without losing push. Another interesting thing with the avx is we surfed it at 10.8 and unless you were told that you wouldn't have known it. The wave is much firmer than others. The avx at 10.8 felt like others at 11.5 or greater. So RJ and I did a test while I was surfing. I had him keep running the speed up and at each increment I could fall all the way to the end of the wave and stay there with little effort. The wave kept getting longer but didn't lose any push. We went from 10.8 to 11.8 and I could have kept going but we stopped there. It was crazy how firm the wave got and I could do like 5 pumps and then air with more energy off the lip and really solid airs. We also ran thru all the avx settings and even at 0 you could surf it easily. As far as the remote goes it's more of a neat feature than anything. I was able to take it and try it out and yes it does work but then you have to hold it or like will be coming is a lanyard and then some more improvements. Anyone interested in this boat will certainly enjoy it. I know we have tons of pics and hundreds of gigs of video so it should be great when it all gets put together. Anyone who hasn't made it to this event should seriously consider. You will not be disappointed.

[007]

Sounds like an awesome event. A hell of a road trip from Missouri though! I would love to know more about the amount of weight added and where on the Z3. I moved up from a 2014 to a 2015 and got the AVX. I have nothing to contribute on the other boats, other than to say competition is good and innovation pushes the sport forward. I can say the increase in ballast to the surf X system was needed for the Z3. The stock 2015 wave is much better than the 2014 straight from the factory IMHO, but even adding 2 adults as ballast...ummm, I mean passengers...and moving them around still makes a noticeable difference in wave. The AVX is nice for that little bit of extra dialing in and preference on wave shape. I am finding I am running a lower taps with it and enjoying a longer pocket. We've only gotten a couple of surf weekends out of it, but so far I love it.

[Bad05]

Great feedback everyone and some really good info on the speed and AVX settings! 100 gallons in one day......no thanks!!!!! Sounds like I need to try and attend next year!

[JohnnieMo]

Great feedback everyone and some really good info on the speed and AVX settings! 100 gallons in one day......no thanks!!!!! Sounds like I need to try and attend next year!

Agreed. This is totally going in my calendar for 2015.

[ragboy]

Obviously we are working on pictures and video, but with 4k pictures and 420 GB of video, its a bit to go through. ;-)

I will say this, we finally got to give the Z3 with AVX a good rogering. We gave the feedback that it needs much less movement and much finer control, as running surface of the boat it is very sensitive. The lower settings are just bad, it needs to only move in the good range near the top.

They basically said, "done".

We have had our red Z3 for 3 seasons. It is the best wave we have ever been on and many others have felt similar. We have been scared to let it go because the next boat has to be a step forward, not backward. We have held out. The red Z3 is the basis for this new boat and system, and they did it. This new green boat was direct of the factory line, nothing special done to it. Here is what RJ said, he is the one that dialed the boat in on saturday night for regular riders, and then Sunday night for goofy riders:

"Dad, I have not yet ridden anything that makes me want to replace the wake9 Z3 til now. It is AT LEAST as good and then much more adjustable. With more time, I am sure it will even be better. I want one."

He has never said that in these 3 years. That made Danny and Charlie happy and so we are going to be placing our order. Its legit, it works, and the wave will be as good or better than our red Z3. You know I have never said that. It just needs more weight to be as good, NOTHING else.

We will be testing our Wake9 Z3 bags soon, and adjust if necessary.

[turbonine]

I will also add that the new Z3 with the Raptor motor was very smooth and very quiet.

[Stingreye]

Haven't heard anything about the Pavati. Did it have a better showing this time?

[ragboy]

They cancelled at the last minute, we used the Wake9 Z3 as a backup with RJ driving.

[chpthril]

I will say this, we finally got to give the Z3 with AVX a good rogering. We gave the feedback that it needs much less movement and much finer control, as running surface of the boat it is very sensitive. The lower settings are just bad, it needs to only move in the good range near the top.

How do you think that applies to the other hulls? We all found out early, that the Z3 didnt like to be setup anywhere near like the other Tige hulls. Is someone demo'ing the other Tige hulls fitted with the AVX.