Need Help....Which Wakeboard...

[mgswed]

I am a beginner to wakeboarding but already have a lot of balance on the board and am beginning to do tricks. I dont have my pylon yet but can already land a 360 off the wake (but tend to fall after). There are so many out there i just want some opinions. I plan to get a lot better and throw some bigger tricks.

I am looking for something that has some good stability in the landing and is pretty light. Im pretty tall (6'3") and light so i dont need a big bulky board.

Any thoughts???? Thanks.

[bkhallpass]

MGSwed,

At your height and weight, I don't think you'll find many boards to
be too big and bulky. I would think you would want something
at least 138, and at 6'3" I'd be looking at a 141, or 142.

Most of these pro riders are small - 5'6", 5'7" somthing like that,
and many of them ride a 138.

If your legs are even average length for 6'3" person, I'd encourage
you to at least try the 141 or 142. When you get into shorter boards,
your stance may be too narrow for your height. I'm only 6'1" and
my stance is nearly all the way out on a 141.

At your weight of 190, you could ride a 138, but again the stance
will be narrower, and you'll probably need to ride a little faster
to ride at the same height in the water as you would on a 141.

Take it for what it's worth, free advice from someone whose
certainly not a pro rider.

BKH

[bkhallpass]

MG Swed, don't know where I got it in my head that your
weight was 190??? Sorry. Anyway, I still think at 6'3" you
ought to at least consider a board over 140. BKH

[mgswed]

BK, im 170 (skinny but athletic). I race on snow skis and like to snowboard. I was looking at the obrien valhalla (138 i think but now maybe the bigger one). Its a bit pricey so i was looking for something about 1/2 to 3/4 the price but still has some good grip and is soft in the landing, but can still get some good air. Ive been using my cousins Blideside DV8 140, and my friends obrien daniel watkins (about the same size) but they just dont have the feel. Both my cousin and friend are beginners so i dont know what some intermediate and advanced riders are using. Any thoughts will be muchly appreciated...

[bkhallpass]

MG, I'm hoping that a more advanced wakeboarder will jump on and offer you some advice. I'm an intermediate at best. I know lots about how to help beginners, and about beginning equipment. I leave the
high end stuff to the experts. Some antedotal thoughts.

DV8 - my brother had one. They are old school by wakeboarding standards (the sport is only 10-12 years old, and every year equipment
makes big advances). He bought a Hyperlite Temet 138 this year, and loves it. I can see his riding is better on the new board.

Better boards - I've only ridden the Hyperlite Belmont 141 (my board)
and a CWB Prodigy Platinum. I liked both, but personally prefer
the Belmont.

I bought my nephew a Double UP Nelson 139 on clearance for $99
and the kid (21) is tearing it up. Really his first summer of frequent
boarding, and I'm sure he'll be hitting some inverts before summer is over.

I think you need to narrow down some basics and go beg, borrow, or
. . . well, just beg or borrow some boards to pick out your board:

Length - with your height and weight, anything 138 and over will be great

Rocker - 3 stage or continuous. Most pros now use three stage. Theory
is stable when on edge or the flats, but really pops you up hard at the wake. Most guys going big like the 3 stage, but not all. I like continuous
rocker personally. I do more spins, suface tricks, etc. and am not so
concerned with air. Note Sean Murray uses continuous, so there is no
hard and fast rule. Ride one of each and see what you like.

Number of fins. My board has six fins, and I like it. I find it helps
me get back to tracking straight if I miss. Do you plan to do rails?
Many people like molded in outside fins if they plan to do rails. Some
take the middle fin out when doing sliders.

Sharp edges or softer, more beveled edges. Sharp, or even cupped
edges make it easy to get on edge and cut sharply, they also make
it easy to face plant if you get sideways. I personally like something
in the middle.

Other features have to do with technical stuff like concaves, grooving, etc.
I don't know much at all about these types of things. I just ride the board, and if I like it, that's great.

Again, there are some great boarders on this forum, I hope they'll chime
in and let you know what they ride, why they like it, etc.

Hope this was at least of some help.

BKH

[mgswed]

BKH, thanks for all the info. Itll help out a lot when trying to find a good board. Yeah i plan to build a rail pretty soon.

[WAKE...UP!!!]

Totally Board

Your riding style has alot to do with it as well(more pop, tracking, wake to wake tricks, landing in the flats, size and shape of your wake, etc.) Most ride shops will let you demo/rent boards before you buy. Try to ride several with different characteristics to see what you pefer, don't get stuck with a board you don't like. Wakeboarding Magazine puts out a buyers guide each year that is very informative www.wakeboardingmag.com

[patoloco]

I'm 6'1 and about 185....I ride the 142 Temet board with a continuous rocker. I've riden quite a few boards and reached a couple of conclusions for me.

- 4-5 Years ago I would have bought a shorter board (137) because I was riding at 20-21mph, shorter line length, and only clearing the other wake every few times. I felt the board gave better pop and was easier to spin at those speeds...and I still prefer a short board when I'm learning something new and want to slow the boat down or not take it wake to wake.

- Now I ride at 22 mph or so, full line length, longer board and clear the other wake and get much bigger air than before...now when I ride a small board at those stats, it always feels like its slipping out on hard edges and I always feel like I'm going to fall over the top on landings.

- For me...I love the 3 stage but would only own one if it was glass most of the time. On small wind chop it feels slow and way too unpredictable...I find myself concentrating really hard on exact timing and still only getting the right pop about half the time.

But thats just me....

[fyerfytr]

Try the Liquid Force Trip 141

I have the 143 but weigh 250, 6'3. It is a good board for a larger person.
It has great pop off the wake and lands nice and smooth. Just a thought.

Mark