Wakeboards
For a sport still relatively in its infancy, wakeboarding has taken over the waterways. Combining elements of surfing, skateboarding, snowboarding, and water skiing, the sport can be relatively easy to pick up and tons of fun. When buying a board it's important to consider that the wakeboard  you choose should reflect your skill level and boarding style since different features will affect how a wakeboard performs.
Which Wakeboard Is Right for You
Ability Level - Beginners
- A square railed board will provide more control and stability. However, they do make it more difficult to land tricks without catching an edge in the water.
- These tend to be less advanced than newer, more rounded models, and therefore, less expensive, which is good when you are just getting into the sport and learning technique.
- Advanced
- Advanced riders will prefer a board with round rails since it makes tricks easier to land without catching an edge.
- Round rails enable the board to go faster and provide a quicker lift on jumps.
Board Type - Single-Tip
- If you're from a surfing or water/snow skiing background, you will probably prefer a single-tip board.
- This design has a more pointed front and a square back. It tends to be rare these days.
- The point of this design is to aid in one-directional wakeboarding.
- Twin-Tip
- If your experience has been primarily in snowboarding or skateboarding, you will be more comfortable with a twin-tip board.
- Twin-tips are more rounded in both the front and the back. These are the most popular types of wakeboards.
- Best for carving, switching, and doing tricks.
Wakeboard Models for All Abilities
Beginners
About.com -- Check out this wakeboard expert's recommendations for beginner boards as well as the popular models below.
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CWB Sol Adequate for a beginner learning basics, but adaptable enough for the novice to grow into with progress.
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Jobe Crypt This board has lots of pop and plenty of potential to advance with riders as they improve their skills. |
O'Brien Myth Recommended for the youngest of the bunch, a.k.a., "groms," since it only supports up to 100 lbs. |
Liquid Force Synergy This is a full featured board meant to cater to a beginner or intermediate rider in need of developing the basics. |
Boards for Ladies
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Liquid Force Diva Three models of an easy-to-ride board with potential for progress cater to women of all sizes. |
Liquid Force Star Picture the Diva, but built for little divas in training. This lightweight board is great for girls getting into the sport. |
Hyperlite Divine Once a bestseller, this inexpensive model is still a worthwhile ride aimed at creating grace in the air. |
Gator Boards Lexy Loved by many, featuring a smooth feel and good responsiveness. Plus, it grows with you. |
Intermediate/Advanced Boards
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CWB Marius This is a very wide pro board with an innovative shape and a dual center spine for soft landings. |
Liquid Force Shane With a hard edge and rock, this is an aggressive, fast spinning, solid, yet soft landing board.
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J-Star Titan Speed, solid pop, stable hold; everything you could want from an aggressive board. |
Hyperlite Parks Offers a hard edge for cutting turns, serious speed on straight aways, and super soft landings. |
Wakeboard Construction
Dimensions -- Choosing the Proper Length and Width
Most boards indicate what size and weight rider they support. Choose accordingly to get the best fit and read on for some tips. - Length -- 47- to 60-inches long
- When in doubt, get a longer board, especially if you are a beginner.
- Shorter boards will not perform well if the rider is too large or heavy for it.
- Shorter boards offer less stability in starts and turns, making it better for an advanced rider than a beginner.
- Width -- 15- to 17-inches wide
- The narrower the board, the lower you will ride through the water. Thus, by creating more wake in an otherwise calm one, you can get more pop off the water to do jumps and tricks.
- Wider boards are ideal for beginners who have never done water sports. will allow you to float more on top of the wake, which can be good when it is medium or large. Keep in mind that wider boards make it harder to pop and that you will have to rely on your edge and not as much on your fins to get off the water.
Understanding "Rocker"
The amount of rocker is a wakeboard's bottom edge where the board curves at either end. It is measured in either inches or centimeters. Wakeboard rockers have three major categories: continuous, continuous/progressive, and three-stage. So how to choose? Think of where you ride the waves. If the wake you ride is typically smaller, chances are that you will need less of a rocker to pop off the wake. If you end up getting sprayed in the face often, that probably means that you have chosen a board with too little rocker.
A higher rocker gives the board a more rounded bottom and makes it easier to land jumps, while a lower rocker gives the board a flatter bottom, making it accelerate better and easier to control. - Continuous rocker
- It has a smooth curve from tip to tail, and offers stable performance.
- It accelerates smoothly and generates a comfortable pop off the wake.
- Continuous /progressive rockers
- These are similar to continuous rockers through the belly, but they become more angular around the feet.
- You might also hear the term hybrid in relation to this type of rocker.
- Three-stage rockers
- This is designed for enhancing acceleration and giving an aggressive lift off the wake.
- They typically have a significant flat spot in the middle of the board with a slight bend under the feet and a flatter tip and tail.
Fin Styles: What's the Best Shape?
Fins keep the board traveling in the direction in which you point it and prevent it from freely rotating on the water. Wider foils move more water and create drag and lift under your feet, while thinner foils push less water and let the fin guide your board without resistance. Having a few sets of fins can give you almost as much versatility as owning a collection of complete boards. - A ramp style fin is a good place to start for beginners because it will help you learn to control the board. It is considered the most universal of shapes, and it seems to work for a lot of different riding styles.
- Molded fins are really just large ruts and channels built into the board.
- A long base shape with different depths and foils offer a great deal of riding variety. They also allow for quick release.
- Sharp and deep edged fins are more aggressive and good for choppy conditions or extra control in new maneuvers.
- Small, shallow fins are better for smooth, free-riding conditions. They allow for an easy release.
- Multiple fins have good hold on sharp edges and create more control.
Materials
Wakeboards are made of the same materials as water skis; a polyurethane or foam core wrapped by fiberglass or fiberglass/graphite. The lighter the board you can get the better. (Unfortunately, this has a direct relationship with price.) The less weight a board has, the easier it is to pop, ride fast, and transport. - Nexes -- Rough feeling creates the illusion of speed by popping the wakeboard slightly above the water's surface. In turn, it will help enhance the board's speed and grinding ability.
- PBT -- Smooth and shiny, yet surprisingly not very fast.
- P-Tex -- Perfect for grinding.
- Urethane -- Not as durable as P-Tex for grinding, but still a good choice. It will be slower than P-Tex too.
What's a Wakeskate?
If you are shopping for wakeboards you might happen across wakeskates, one of the newest things in water sports. These are a cross between a wakeboard and a skateboard. The first thing you will notice is that these boards do not make use of bindings. Instead, grip tape, texturized EVA foam, or Astrodeck is what keeps your feet from slipping from the board surface. Another thing that sets these boards apart is their construction. Many skates are made of wood, whereas boards are often made of polyurethane foam. Skates also tend to be around 10 inches shorter than a board. That makes skates more capable of doing certain tricks than a board, and vice versa.
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