what board for me?

Az · Newbie Joined: 26 Jun 2005 Posts: 6 City: Turku/Finland

So i've been wakeboarding several times with my friends boards or rental boards and now it's time to get my on gear..
I wouldn't consider myself a rookie anymore, although i haven't been wakeboardin for more than 15 times, but i can do some nice tricks, and i've been snowboarding for 10 years.

I still have very little knowledge about wakeboarding and i need some info about what kind of board and what length i should get?
I'm 5'8" and 160lbs.

I was lookin at hyperlite boards because there's a dealer nearby me (I live in Finland, Europe so there really ain't too much stuff available). So is there any specific board from hyperlite to fit for me or is it about the same which one i'll get? also some info of the bindings would be nice.

Oh yeah and i just got back from action, rided with my friends liquid force squirt, don't know about the lenght or year, but it felt like a nice board, fun to do slides with.

Thanks.
-Andy

bhamglassman · Soul Rider Joined: 21 Jun 2005 Posts: 338 City: Bellingham

I would recommend reading up at hyperlite.com, liquidforce.com and any other manufacturers you might be interested in. It seems to come down to one's riding style. Some boards are designed to get more distance, some more height. Some are designed to hold to the water (lots of fins) and some are designed to be really loose. One thing you'll want to read about is rocker, which is the curve of the board. You've got your good ol' continuous rocker which is just a regular curved design, forgiving and easy to ride, but doesn't provide a lot of pop. Then you've got what the majority of the pros seem to ride, which is your 3-stage rocker. It's shaped more like a skateboard deck where you're nose is angled up, the middle is pretty much flat, and the tail is angled up like the nose. This is supposed to give you a lot of pop but is more difficult to ride. This is the design that will allow you to go bigger.

Some boards are designed to be shorter and some longer. The advantage of a shorter board is there's less swing weight. But if you get a longer board you'll have more surface area to absorb the impact of landings. Also, some boards are designed to be a lot wider for this same reason of absorbing big landings, but this increases the weight of the board. An example of this is Parks Bonifay's board, it is wide and if I remember correctly a little longer than most boards.

Also, fins are important. The more fins the more the board sticks to the water, making it easier to have an aggressive edge in towards the wake, but making it difficult to do powerslides and stuff. Some boards don't even need fins at all, like the byerly, because the surface of the board has rails designed in it to allow for turning (byerly is my personal favorite).

As for bindings, just find something that's comfortable and appealing. The only performance relation with bindings I know of is heel-lift. The less your heel lifts when you jump/move around in the binding, the better the binding is. Also, make sure you get a binding that isnt too tight because if the binding is too tight and doesnt release your feet when it needs to, you can end up with a broken ankle or a soar back.

Anyways, you can find everything you need at hyperlite.com and liquidforce.com and probably obrien.com and some other places.
My biggest recommendation would be to take a trip on down to that nearby hyperlite dealer after you've done a little research, and demo a board that you think you might like. The shop in my town lets you demo a board for free for 3 days, you just have to give them a credit card number so they know youve got some money and so they can charge you for bringing it back late and stuff.

Good luck, post what you end up buying.

patrickengler · Posted: Jun 26, 2005 8:10 pm Post subject:

If you're not a rookie, check out CWB. For your weight a board around 134-135cm will be good. I ride the Prodigy Platinum and fell in love with it after 2 pulls. Was a little skiddish at first, but now I wouldn't trade it for the world.

Az · Newbie Joined: 26 Jun 2005 Posts: 6 City: Turku/Finland

A guy offered me 2003 Hyperlite Buerly 137 board and hyperlite split bingings for a reasonable price..

Any comments about the set?

frostymcwake · Criminal Joined: 17 May 2005 Posts: 65 City: Tampa

I dont mean to hijack your thread or anything, but I'm realizing that I'm probably riding on a board that's too big for me. I'm 5'10" and 175lbs and I just bought a CWB Tatoo 143. Its pretty big but I've always rode a bigger board (snowboard) than most people and it was the best one the store had where I bought it. I've ridden it a couple times and I can handle it pretty well. I've gone w2w for the first time with this board and just hit my first slider 2 days ago with it...chipped it a little tho...bummer. Anyway, it's probably a rhetorical question but, "Do you(se) think I'd improve my riding if I got a smaller board??" Thanks

Cool

Ride Hard.

Nephilim-777 · Posted: Jun 27, 2005 3:53 pm Post subject:

frostymcwake · Criminal Joined: 17 May 2005 Posts: 65 City: Tampa

Yea thats kinda how I ride when I snowboard. I use a longer one when I'm just shredding down the mountain, then I switch to my shorter one when I'm hitting jumps or jibs.

Cool

Ride Hard.

patrickengler · Posted: Jun 28, 2005 7:46 pm Post subject:

Az, How much?