new to wakeboarding and need help buying a new board

[nailem]

Hi all, im new to wakeboarding and looking at some close out boads.

let me start by saying im 30 with a family (two young girls) and just boght our first family boat at the end of the season. its a 86' 20'
sun runner cuddy. i know this is not the ideal boat for wakeboarding but thats not going to be its primary use. i have wakeboarded a few times before and had no problem getting up or moving the board around.. i snowboarded and ski my whole life. also i live in Erie, PA right off of lake Erie. nice lake but not a whole of good weather. maybe a few months of good boating a year. so needless to say im not looking at going pro but when i do something i like to full bore. i will be building a tower for the boat and doing the best i can with what i got.

so back to the boards im looking at. they are all on clearance im 5'10" and about 160LBS this is without bindings:
O;Brien Edge 138 $74.99
Hyperlite:
static 141 $74.99
Calbre 139 $99.99
Solution 139 $89.95
Logic 141 $74.95

also if you have any other suggestions on boards or bindings i would appreciate it. thanks in advance.

 

[Captain Obvious]

Re: new to wakeboarding and need help buying a new board

I'm pretty much in your situation.

33 years old, and this year bought a 1988 19' bowrider that my son and I have been working on. Our boat needed new carpet, and we're replacing the wood in the seats so we can use it full time in '08.

I bought a Hyperlite "Drive" (meant to engage the edge to get speed into the wake) 141 this year and like it. I used to wakeboard about 10 years ago when boards were much more stable due to longer fins and thinner designs. The modern boards are much wider, looser, and have lots of pop.

I looked at that Calibre and thought it was a great looking board, and the cost you found sounds great. I bought mine with bindings for $250 and thought I got a deal. The Calibre is a more expensive design than mine.

I'm taller and heavier (6'6" and 185lbs) so I should ride a bigger board, but I wanted to share the board with my son. Our board rides good, maybe a bit loose for me, and too stable for him at the moment, but I think it's a good compromise.

Our board feels like a snowboard to me if I don't really lean back to engage the edge, it's really loose. When I really lean into a turn, it holds well in smooth water, but if it's choppy, I've got to be more deliberate or the tail will slide out on me.

The longer the board, the more stable it will feel, and in my opinion, you only lose the ability to really spin and ollie higher by getting a shorter board. I don't know those other boards very well, but liked the look of the Calibre (if you didn't guess), and think the length sounds great.

I kind of adopt the "don't know what I'm missing" mentality. I figure if I can't ride this thing well then it's much more likely to be the indian than the arrow.


Good luck, let us know what you end up with!


Rob

 

[75sd]

Re: new to wakeboarding and need help buying a new board

HI

Wakeboarding is in my opinion the best of the water sports where any can enjoy and progression is a personal thing.

I am very similar in size to you and rode competitively on a Hyperlite 137 Belmont, Slightly bigger is easier to learn on but becomes cumbersome later
I rate hyperlite and crossed ovrer to the Obrien Evil Twin hen ut first came out and was utterly underwelmed by it. Hyperlite may be a bit pricey but you get what you pay for.

On Bindings we lived by 'if your feet aint asleep after 15 mins in them they are too loose' , you should need lube to get them and out. More injuries occur from loose bindings than tight one fot in one out is messy

cheers and happy riding

 

[nailem]

Re: new to wakeboarding and need help buying a new board

well i ordered a Hyperlite Solution 139 with helos bindings. from what i found the solution is the same as the calibre just different graphics. now i just have to wait about 5 to 6 months for the weather to come around.

i should be getting the boat out of storage in march so i will start the tower project then.