Wakeboard Recommendation

Larry, I'm 43 yr old 5'10 175lbs and have been riding LF trip for about 4 years. I've been a LF guy since I've been into boarding and have loved both boards I've owned. I did try others before I purchased to see how they rode but stuck with a LF. Have your son check with buddies or even anyone you happen to run by on the water to see what they ride and how they like it. Most folks have offered me a chance to ride theirs. Some skishops will have "Demo Day's" and offer a chance to try some of the boards they carry for a small fee and take it off the price of a board if you buy it from them. E-bay is where I got my last board. I got a $300.00 board for about $130.00 because it was the previous years model.

What Morfoot says; try (to try) before you buy. There's so much out there and it's all personal preference so it's hard to make a recommendation. If he can try different shapes and different sizes and tell us what he likes it'd make it a whole lot easier.
LF's Trip is (almost) everybody's friend and is very affordable, there must be some '09 closeouts out there. Maybe more important: get some good boots!

By the way, what boat is he riding behind in that picture and how is it set up?

Yeah, that wake looks pretty good. I bet it doesn't take much weight to cause that boat to displace quite a bit and that's really all that is needed to make a good wake. I bet if you just brought along 1 or 2 extra people it would boost it quite a bit. I would assume you have an extended pylon? It looks like the rope is up fairly high.

I've heard the PS3 is a pretty good board...kind of more in the intermediate to advanced area. I think the edges and rocker are a little more mellow on the PS3 than some, but I've seen a couple guys that are intermediate to advanced riding them and really liking them.

Make sure he gets really good bindings too. Now that he is getting to that level he needs maximum support around his foot and ankle and they need to securely hold him in. One foot in, one foot out crashes can do some serious damage. Do you know what bindings come on the PS3 at West Marine?

There are all kinds of sources online for good deals. Most places online are closing out '09 gear and I'd bet you can get a better price than he can with his discount.

   I have a Witness and a Watson. Both are great boards but I can't get away from the Witness. That is just a great board. Another one to look at is the Obrien Player. Everyone who rode the Player I had(still have) has liked it, though it's not the lightest board. they can be had very reasonably . The trip is also an excellent board and as someone else mentioned, with closeouts he may be able to get a nice set-up as cheap anywhere else, even with his discount at work. I have seen LF Trip board/binding packages at the Kittery Trading Post(in the winter) for short money.....Like 50-60% off short .
   Check out Border's Mall (Border's Best Buy). Also, if you are not local to a board shop, I see no problem shopping on Flea-Bay, and I've seen some tremendous deals on there.

   Mike
     

I have tried several different boards since I started boarding LF(first board don't remember which one), CWB Absolute(didn't like), Hyperlite Murray, Obrien Vision(oldy but loved it for begginers and to intermediate transition) and now LF Substance. I too prefer LF to all. Although I still have the Obrien Vison that I loved for a continuous rocker board, it is now my "boat board". I ride a LF Substance 138 and will eventually go with a Watson when I feel like spending money on a new board. The PS3 is a nice board also, I think it rides similar to the substance with a little variation. You can get some really good deals out there on 1 or 2 year old new boards. I also second getting some good bindings. Once again I recomend LF. A good set of bindings makes a world of difference once you get to the intermediate stage. The whole 1 in and 1 out landing kept me from riding for a couple of weeks one time due to a sprained ankle. I have a pair of older LF transits ltd(camo) in Large/Narrow that are in good shape, they just need new laces. My feet were always to big for those(my feet would cramp after about 15min) and I finally upgraded last summer.

We tried a few last year, and by far preferred the Hyperlite State. My 20 year old son really liked that board. It is an asymetrical board. One edge is cut slightly different than the other to allow for toe side/heel side strengths/weaknesses. A good all around board. Should be able to find good deals on them too.

75,

I personally like hyperlite wakeboards. They have the best warranty, and the style of ride fits me best. They really do make great boards, and as a testament of how good they are, I still ride my older Scott Byerly signature model hyperlite and it is still in perfect shape. O brien and other brands seem to show wear much easier than hyperlites IME.

But, you really should try out as many as you can. if you can find a good dealer, go through them to try out a few brands and styles.

As far as the boat set up. I think your hull is like mine on my martinique.   You really need to have a few bigger guys at least sit in back, or do what I did and take the seat bottom out in back, and replace it with a fat sac. It's comfy to sit on as it is, and adds a decent amount of weight. I do have a fly high pole, and that works nicely, but one other thing I have in addition to the fat sac seat bottom of wakeboarding is that my redesigned interior/ flooring is probably 500 lbs more than stock. That really helped too.

This hull is tricky to get right compared to any of the newer wider boats. Even a regular SN with a fly high is a pretty good rig out of the box, and add a few fat sacs and it is really pretty nice. I have been behind newer SANTE's and while those are definitely nice and effortless, there is something crazy and wicked about the wake that the older boats put out when weighted a bit.

+1 for the Witness by the way. Great board, perfect for intermediate riders to progress on.

I have ridden a trip a while back. LF does make good boards. That press for 200 is a good deal. Buying a last year model board is always a way to get a lot more board for the money.   

Liquid Force Witness is a good model. It's a intermediate board the the pros love to ride. The shape hasn't changed in the past three years so finding one two or three years old for cheap and being new is pretty likely. I rode a CWB Pure last year and am on the Witness now. I do like it and it is lighter.

I would go with liquid force witness.It is an intermediate board which the beginners love to ride.It is quite lighter and i like to ride it a lot.I would recommend this for you.
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Wakeboards

I am sure Larry appreciates the replies but this post is two and half years old.. I hope he got the kid a board by now.

JoeinNY wrote: I am sure Larry appreciates the replies but this post is two and half years old.. I hope he got the kid a board by now.

I was going to say something, but I appreciated the replies.(Besides, look at the last line at the bottom of this post)

AAM196 wrote: Update... 2yrs ago, Larry never bought his kid a wakeboard so the kid got depressed and let himself go...

Fortunately, that did not happen. Now at 19

He is still a rider



A periodic slalomer



An occasional drummer



A volunteer fire fighter (something he got into since moving to NC and he has recently completed EMT traiing as well, in addition to being a full time student)



Plus my Number 1 driver.



But now I am feeling guilty, as he has done all that with that same old board. Maybe now it's time for a new one...but hey, in addition to all that, he has a part time job. Let him buy his own board.

Very well placed spam on the spammers part, almost not spam. At least he is selling wakeboards and not knock off watches.

I have a Hyperlite Forefront that I'm happy with, although, it may not necessarily be an upgrade for your son's skill level. The bindings were a huge improvement over my old board. Having comfortable feet makes the whole thing a lot more fun.