Is this a good (decent) wakeboard?

[Sea Ray]

My kids have decided they wanted to give wakeboarding a try.

I have three kids ages 12, 10 and 7. They weigh 105, 80 and almost 50.

I was hoping I could get one board for the 2 older boys to start with (the youngest isn't quite ready yet).

I was trying to get a decent board that would last long enough for the youngest to grow into but something big enough for my oldest boy to start with.

I found a 121cm Hydroslide Edge at Sports Authority. All I know about this board is that is it made by Nash and it has Chase JR bindings. It was on sale for 30% off and I paid about $150.00 for it.

The oldest wears size 9 1/2 shoes. I wear 10's and the bindings were very tight on me (I had them on dry though).

Is this a decent board or should I invest a little more for something better? Did I get a good size for my needs?

As far as the kids' skill level goes - we just started boating earlier this summer. The last 2 times out the oldest was able to get up on 1 ski and stayed up for a while. He hasn't got out of the wake yet but I don't think it will take long. The middle child is skiing really well on 2 skis but hasn't been able to get up on one yet.

Thanks!!

 

[Liquid_force]

Re: Is this a good (decent) wakeboard?

eh - for kids to learn it'll work.
It's a dept. store board, but for $150 I'd say it was an OK deal.
Boots may be a little on the snug side for the 9.5's, but there are a lot of ways to lube them so they're easy to get into.
We've used baby oil gel in the past which worked real well. More recently when I was in a friend's boat I used some tanning oil - it had a pump on it and worked great. I may have to pick up a bottle.

Anyway -- 121cm is VERY small. Again, fine to learn on and get the basics down, but the 105lb 12 y/o will probably be, what? 120? 130? in a year. I would go with something around 135cm which SHOULD last many years.

If you're handy with ebay it isn't hard to find a QUALITY board/binding combo for $200. Free Motion (FM) is a good brand to keep an eye on. They are a Liquid Force subsidiary and use many of LF's designs, but sell at a lower price.

My current set up would/should have gone for $500 new - probably $300-400 at the time I bought it. Total invested is $180.

 

[ISF_badognobiscuit]

Re: Is this a good (decent) wakeboard?

one note try to stay away from the tanning oils in the boots. eats the rubber and is hard to "wash" the oil out. what we have been doing is buy some 1.00 dish soap and using the old bottle to fill up about 1 inch of soap and the rest with water. Makes it easy to get into the boot. rinses off before the boat takes off. I do recommend using something that is more eco friendly but waiting till the price of that stuff gets cheap. good recomendation is to buy as cheap as possible and let your kids try it a few times. They have to stick with it. don't think they can just pop up and ride, unless they can ski. This way you are not selling your $300-500 board on ebay too for 100.00. I do have a lot of beginer vids on my U tube they can watch to get the idea. message me if interested.

 

[sabastianunf]

Re: Is this a good (decent) wakeboard?

That board will last 1-2 seasons and then they will be looking for a better board and bindings. Check e-bay you can get way more board for the money. Stick with Hyperlite or liquid force. They may cost a little more now but they will be good for a long time. Here is a great board and binding set up to to progress on
http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-HYPERLITE-WAKEBOARD-Motive-134cm-State-Std-Boots_W0QQitemZ330096391177QQihZ014QQcategoryZ47363QQcmdZViewItem Check the binding size on that - if not the right size they will probably set you up with what you need. I reccomned shave cream or something designed for bindings - I have heard that dish soap also degrades the bindings - My old ones tore out probably b/c I used dish soap. With the front lace bindings you probably wont need anything but a little water.

 

[Sea Ray]

Re: Is this a good (decent) wakeboard?

Thanks for the replies.

We looked at larger boards and thought that the maneuverability would suffer (especially for the 80 pound boy). That this board would be used as a starter board for all three kids - I just don't want to have a piece of junk that they won't have any fun on and get discouraged.

If they do well and have fun we can pick up a larger board for the older one next year. Maybe even one big enough for me to ride too

We haven't used it yet so it could still be returned. Do we plow ahead with what I got or return it for something better?

Thanks again!!

 

[sabastianunf]

Re: Is this a good (decent) wakeboard?

I had an 80 lb 13 year old girl riding my 140 cm hyperlite motive 2 weekends ago - she got right up and was turning and getting outside the wake. We are talking about centimeters of difference in length. That small difference in length will not make any difference for a beginner except the larger board will be easier to get up on and more stable - not any harder for them to turn. The size of the board only comes into play when you start riding an edge and getting air - they will not progress to that point until next year at the earliest - by then they will probably be a few inches taller and 10+lbs heavier and have out grown the 121. I think your whole crew - including yourself - could ride the 134 cm. Unless you are going out this weekend I would return it and get a better board that you will be happier with in the long run. Also - never try on bindings dry - a little water goes a long way AND finding a creek with smooth water and little to no boat traffic is essential. Choppy water makes wakeboarding very hard.

 

[Sea Ray]

Re: Is this a good (decent) wakeboard?

Update....I did some more looking and short of ordering something online, which I didn't want to do because the kids start school tomorrow and they wanted to wakeboard before then, I couldn't find anything else that appealed to me.

So we kept the Edge board and took it out today. The kids had a blast. It took them about three tries to get up the first time out but they were "popping" right out of the water a few tries later. They were getting in and out of the wake, doing small jumps, power sliding and trying to do a 180 (they called it a "revert" from their skateboarding I guess??).

The 7 year old didn't try it but the older two had a great time. The middle one even slalomed today for the first time. He got in and out the wake doing that too!! I think the wakeboarding helped, he did that first. It at least inspired a lot of confidence.

We will pick up a bigger, better board next year and this one will still work for the 7 year old, atleast. They were having way too much fun for me not to try it too!!

 

[J-one]

Re: Is this a good (decent) wakeboard?

I work at a shop and have a few pointers for you.. Binding lube is not as cheap as the alternatives that have been mentioned above. I would recommend using shaving cream, thats what we used back in the day. The hydroslide will be a fine board for the first timers, as far as you 7yo I have a 9y/o nephew that has been riding since 5 and he is a tiny lil guy so He should be up and riding if he desires to.

 

[orion25]

Re: Is this a good (decent) wakeboard?

Along the same topic..... I picked up This Board off Ebay for a good price. How will it fare with a 180lb rider? That is after I fix the velcro problem on the binding, it really is not that bad. I figured this was a cheap board to try wakeboarding on. Was I right?

 

[Sea Ray]

Re: Is this a good (decent) wakeboard?

Well, I am not fully educated yet but it looks like you did pretty good. That is a great price. You can get some more info about that board at the link below:

http://wakeworld.com/boardguide/getboard6.asp?ProductID=2493

It looks like 180 is the limit for it.

A further update on the board I started the thread with. We have had a chance to use it a few more times and the kids are having a lot of fun with it. They are now getting a little bit of air with it too.

I bought a Liquid Force Witness 136 for myself and the older boy can ride it just as well (if not better) as the Hydroslide. I didn't have fins for the Witness but I just got them. I am looking forward to trying the board with them. It has been like trying to ride a greased pig on ice the 2 times we went out. It was still fun but I was all over the place. The kids thought I was doing great because I was doing 180's and grinding the top of the wake. Truth is I wasn't trying to do anything but stay upright!!