Surf Dad- Help

[Coach]

I wanted to get your opinion on what type of board would be good for me to get. I am 6'1" 225 lbs. I have never done any surfing of any type, but just picked up my first wake boat and really want to try out the wake surfing. I have been boarding for 6 years and snowboarding for about the same.

My neighbor (69 Bug) has a CWB Ride that I plan to try out in the near future as well my other neighbor has a Hyperlite Landlock. I am assuming either will work fine for me (both neighbors are tall guys who both weight over 210 lbs). We don't ride together much in the spring and summer and I will need my own board. Any recommendations would be great.

Coach

[stevie_b_1]

Liquid Force

I'm 6'6 225 and have a 5'6" Liquid Force Venture Just started surfing this fall and this board made it easy. A guy I met on Lake Austin, that's been doing it for 3 years, recommended this size for me. I believe they make a 5'0" as well.

[Coach]

Stevie B 1-
Thanks for the tip. I will check one out. That is a big board, but I am sure it will make things easier for my big butt.

[Surfdad]

Both the Ride and the Venture are pretty poor choices and can cause two negative effects. The first is frustration with the learning process, making you tired quickly and the second is poor habits. The realtively poor design with the nose and tail rockers will cause you to position yourself in a manner that makes progressing more difficult. Both boards you mention are little more than wakeboards that have been elongated. With that being said, if they are your only choice you can certainly learn to ride on them.

For learning, bigger is easier. There is a huge misconception that a board needs some thickness for bouyancy, but that just isn't the case - most skim boards are 5/8" or 3/4" and perform quite well. The biggest factor for behind the boat is surface area (as opposed to ocean surfing where folks paddle into waves).

Personally, I like the Inland Blue Lake and Shred Stixx Stixxstreme at 5'8" for folks just learning. Both boards offer adequate nose rocker to prevent pearling and enough surface area to float someone of your size. I also prefer the tri-fin or thruster design of the Shred Stixx as the trailing fin offers more straight-line stability. When you're learning you don't really need the extra issue of struggling to keep the board tracking straight...further, a thruster will provide a little more down-the-line speed making keeping up with the pocket easier. The primary newbie problem is learning to adjusting weight to stay with the boat.

So my recommendations for someone of your size, just learning and without any surfing background, would be a board with these characteristics:

1) Adequate nose rocker
2) 5'6" to 5'10" in length
3) Thruster (Tri-Fin) 3+ inch depth

That said there are a number of boards that are commercially available, some more expensive than others. I'm reserving comment on the Trick Boardz line right now because Larry is converting all of his designs over from wood to fiberglass.

Softtops, XBC, Shred Stixx, Inland Surfer, Stripes, Awakesurf...there is a fairly long list. More than likely, price and availability will wind up being the deciding factors.

If you need more input, just shout...I'll be happy to put my 2 cents in.

[Domsz06]

wow, thanks for the info!

[Coach]

Thanks for the info. I saw the Shred Stixx and Awakesurf sites and really liked the designs of the boards.

What would you buy? It looks like most of the boards are $450+ that are nice. And do you have any used boards that would work for me that you would like to sell?

[Surfdad]

I prefer the Shred Stixx for a few reasons. First is that it's the only board that comes with tip and tail protector's. Not really a problem with the Inland Boards, but all of the other boards will have some vulnerability of either poking a hole in your vinyl or winding up with a crack and delamination. Also, the Shred Stixx has the most complete EVA foam traction. Many, not all, of the boards will have a large section towards the nose that isn't covered and your foot will slip when you start learning 5's later. I also am a big fan of Future's Fins.

There are a few downside aspects. One is that they won't fit in a rack, so storage is a problem and as you've seen they are pricey. One way to minimize the cost is to inquire about blems and returns. Most of the manufacturers also have demo boards that they'll sell at the end of the season for a substantial discount. Of course, you have to wait.

Another option is there are a number of gatherings where manufacturers will have demo boards available and typically you can purchase one of them there at a substantial discount - typically 1/2 price. The Scioto Wakefest in Ohio will be one such event. Ed Sullivan is the man behind that gathering and you can find him posting on Wakesurf.net or Wakeworld.com.

I currently don't have anything suitable. Although I do get tons of boards to test and some are given to us in exchange for feedback, so if I get anything along those lines, I will let you know.

[Coach]

SD-
Thanks for the great info. I think I will be waiting until spring time for a board, but will be looking for some deal on the first one. If you come across anything let me know.

Thanks

[Domsz06]

church have you tried ebay?

[evil0ne]

I'd like to get into this surf thing too, but $450 for a board is pretty steep. If you come across one of those blowout sales no matter what time of year it is, I'm down so let me know.

[race fan]

Surfdad,
I spoke with both the owners of shredstixx and inland blue. They were both very helpful. I weigh 240# and am trying to decide which board i will get. Shredstixx suggested there 5'10 board and Inland suggested there red board but I would like to get your opinion. I am a rookie at wakesurfing. I have gotten up no problemb but on boards that were way tooooooo small for me. I have a 06 22v. and will be adding a little ballast but not much. Any suggestions would be greatly appriciated.
Thanks

[sagmanaur]

Surfdad,
Looks like we'll be getting my wife a new board soon, she is getting really excited about the surf season starting in a few months. We've pretty much narrowed it down between an XBC and a ShreddStixx. Any comments between these 2 boards... BTW, she is 5' about 115 lbs, and intermediate rider. I think she will be going for a 360 this year. Hopefully she will let me ride it also, I'm 6'-2" 175 lbs.

Thanks,
Love hearing your comments, we are very fortunate to have your surfing wisdom on this site.

[Surfdad]

I really like the XBC Grom in the 4'9" length and that should work well for both you and the wife. I don't believe that XBC will be offering the Skate this season and, I did NOT like that board. I think the rest of the XBC lineup will be more board than you or your wife needs, especially if she is working on surface 3's.

The Shred Stixx is a very nice board also, but you might want to wait for Jerry's '07 line to be announced. I know that at the World's Chase Hazen, one of Jerry's sponsored riders was on a custom diamond nose board that I am expecting will be offered at retail. That design might prove very interesting for intermediate to advanced riders.

The Shred Stixx, however, will more than likely require a bit of tweaking to make truly a high perfomenace board. You'll want to remove the trailing fin and more than likely reduce the size of the side bites from the stock 4 inch to 3.25 inch - which is the standard size of the fins that come with the XBC Grom.

I also have one additional concern with XBC. Gary Graham started XBC and was the driving force behind that company, he sold his interest late in the year and I am not sure how the change in ownership will affect the operation of the business or board quality. Compare this with Shred Stixx where Jerry has owned and operated the business since it's inception back in the 70's.

In terms of board quality, they are both about the same, both use futures fin boxes and I'm sure for the '07 year both will be offered as EPS and Epoxy construction. The Shred Stixx wil have an EVA foam surface, with a kick tail and the XBC most likely will offer aftermarket traction.

In the '06 year, Shred Stixx was the only surfstyle manufacturer offering tip and tail protectors...a feature I really liked.

[Surfdad]

One other board that I think might be worth a look is the new LF Custom. It's a hybrid, foam core like a surfstyle board, but with a single fin like a skimstyle board. I'm not sure how it will ride and I'm guessing it's more like a coex than anything else. Interesting concept in that it's EPS or POLY U rather than a molded popout. It was just introduced at Surf Expo.

http://www.liquidforce.com/surfers_custom.htm

[$eeker]

275 lb Surfer needs Performance Board

SurfDad --
I have to say that it is really great seeing all the support you give this sport and those looking to get into it.

I grow up surfing the west coast. Now I am landlocked in Colorado -- Love wakesurfing. I am looking for a performance board that will float me 6'3'' 275lb. I am looking for a new surfstyle board -- production or custom. Surfing behind an 2006 22VE.