Boards and Rider Skill Levels

pet575 · Posted: Jun 20, 2006 9:33 am Post subject: Boards and Rider Skill Levels

Hey guys! 2 things:

1. Thanks a TON for having this site. Without it, I could have NEVER gotten up on a wakeboard. Me and a buddy of mine tried for 2 weekends and couldn't make it up and got pissed off. I found this site and figured out what we were doing wrong right away, got up for the first time last weekend. I am HOOKED now!

2. I have been riding a 1999 Hyperlite Vashon 140 that a friend lent me. Only been up a few times now, but I am quickly figuring it out. I grew up water skiing, kneeboarding, and skateboarding, so a lot of it is familiar stuff. My friend is moving away this week and is taking his board with him so now I have to buy one for myself. I'm confused by all of the info out there regarding rider levels and boards.

When does one become "intermediate"? Are there certain things you should be doing, other than cutting/carving and crossing the wake? Do you have to be able to jump W2W or be able to turn surface tricks to be an intermediate or what? I ride goofy foot and I can ride/switch to reverse already, but I'm not pulling any tricks or jumps yet. Does that make me an intermediate or am I still a beginner?

I'm asking because I've got my eye on a CWB Sol with Torq bindings. I'm wondering if I this board is "too beginner" or if it will provide the ability to get some good air and do tricks later down the road? I'd hate to buy this thing and "outgrow" it by the end of this summer and then be looking for another board as soon as next April.

I'm riding behind an old ski boat with an I/O and without a tower, so I'm not expecting to be able to pull any huge air or see any big wakes in the immediate future. What do you guys think about the Sol? Should I be looking for something else?

ozwest · Outlaw Joined: 13 Jun 2006 Posts: 112

Any chance you can demo boards in your area? That would be my first suggestion. I learned to ride many years ago on an advanced level board since it was the only one around I could use. I've got no regrets there since I wouldn't have known any other way. I've tried the beginner/intermediate boards since then and found them to be more forgiving on edge contact (less faceplants sometimes) but not as much pop as the higher level boards. Some of the newer beginner/intermediate boards now provide more pop.

The CWB Sol is a good beginner/intermediate board that has quite a bit of pop from what I've read in rider reviews. Once you get used to the forgiveness of the edges on the Sol you can move up to the CWB Marius.

I hear ya' on the whole don't want to outgrow it quickly thing. I bought a CWB Lotus 131 last year and have already replaced it with a Liquid Force Nemesis 131. Much lighter board...I like the shape better too and it's more aggressive on the water. Now I have a CWB backup board or potential coffee table.

As for the bindings...the Torq's are a good intermediate binding. See how your feet like them first. I love my Liquid Force Minx boots...they are a HUGE improvement over last year's CWB Mobe's (but they are also a higher level of boot with a higher price in all fairness to CWB and their Mobe's).

pet575 · Posted: Jun 20, 2006 6:05 pm Post subject:

Thanks man. I appreciate the advice. Anyone else got anything to add? I'm really trying to get as much info as I can here. Don't want to be one of the several messages I've read on here involving people who didn't do enough research.

onomado · Newbie Joined: 07 Sep 2005 Posts: 45

As long as you tell me that you are a Chiefs fan, I will offer up my advice.... Wink

I personally like the Obrien Natural series. I have a 139 Obrien Player, and the Natural is a new and improved version of that board. It rides higher in the water, has a HUGE pop, and rides much faster while approcahing the wake than the Player series. I now have one of each, and I hardly ever ride the Player now that I have the Natural. It all depends on what your ridign style is. I would say that if you are super aggressive in the water, you may want to look at CWB or Hyperlite more for their aggressive riders' boards. For me being older and bigger (200#), the Obrien is a great combination of all types of boards.

pet575 · Posted: Jun 22, 2006 5:45 am Post subject:

I am absolutely a Chiefs fan. Very Happy

Glad for the input.

Can anyone give me some tips on when you "cross over" and become an intermediate or advanced rider? Just would like to know that for future board purposes, as I tend to give myself credit for being better than I probably am when it comes to this type of stuff.

wtbamoomba · Addict Joined: 10 Sep 2003 Posts: 808 City: raleigh

check the trick tips on the main section, usually intermediate is when you are landing backrolls, tantrums, and spins

pet575 · Posted: Jun 23, 2006 12:00 pm Post subject:

Thanks WTBA.

I have one more annoying question: are bindings interchangeable? For example, can I put CWB Torqs on a Liquid Force board? I've got another friend who has an older LF board, but the bindings on it are crap. I'm thinking of just buying some nice bindings and then upgrading to a blank and switching the bindings over later on.

Is this possible?

jpminter · Posted: Jun 23, 2006 12:06 pm Post subject: