What Kind Of Wakeboard Should I Buy?
How To Choose A Wakeboard
When a new wakeboarder reaches out to us to buy their first board, we get super excited to welcome a new athlete to the sport. There’s such a great selection of boards out there with our top brands innovating and researching to create the best ride for new and experienced users alike. The perfect board package will fit more than just your shoe size and your weight – it should compliment your current ability and give you room to grow if you want to advance to more aggressive jumps and spins or maintain a softer feel with greater stability. Let’s talk beginner to advance boards, covering size, rocker style, fins, and bindings. Choosing a wakeboard can be a very exciting time!
Wakeboard Size Chart
The first important step in choosing a wakeboard is figuring out what size of board will work best for the rider. Got more than one person riding? It’s easier for smaller person to ride a larger board than it is for a larger person to ride a smaller board (unless they’re more experienced). Check out the general sizing chart below for some industry averages. Keep in mind, most companies will have unique sizing for each board.
| WAKEBOARD SIZING CHART | |
| WEIGHT | BOARD LENGTH (in) |
| 25 -70 | 111-118 |
| 40 -85 | 118-130 |
| 65 -110 | 124-134 |
| 70 – 130 | 130-138 |
| 100 – 170 | 134-142 |
| 150 – 225 | 138-146 |
| 170 – 250+ | 142-146 |
Should I Size Up Or Down On My Wakeboard?
If the weight of the rider is right on the cuff of two different sizes, most riders size up. Usually, only the advanced riders size down.
Sizing down does offer a more aggressive ride with faster spins and quicker transitions. While that is fun and all, sizing down a board may bring the risk of harder landings and increased nose dives into the water!
Sizing up a board is what most people buy; it will ride slower and be more stable. With the larger board, the rider will have softer landings and less of a change of catching the edge of the board. Yeah, less face plants!
Choosing a Wakeboard For Beginners?
You don’t need to break the bank for a beginner wakeboard and buy a real advanced board, you will end up with a too fast of a board that you are way too loose on. Beginner wakeboards are slower and more forgiving which is exactly what you need to learn on and stay dedicated. When you are looking for a beginner wakeboard, you may want to look at a mellow 3-stage rocker board that has rounded center rails. This type of board will be more forgiving and will help you progress. For beginners you should purchase an asymmetrical wakeboard.
For Beginners, We Suggest These Wakeboards:
Hyperlite State 2.0
Ronix Vault
What Wakeboard Should I Buy For Intermediate Riders?
So, you’re not a beginner but your not a pro yet? This is the time where you can start looking more at the feature and specs of the wakeboard to ensure you get what you want in the board and on the water. For the intermediate wakeboard rider, choosing the board length size for your weight becomes even more important. Wakeboard widths are pretty much standard so that’s not a concern. You are going to want a lighter wakeboard, they have a faster ride with great maneuverability and control.
For intermediate wakeboard riders, there are a couple different shape and designs of boards to consider, the continuous and 3-stage rocker.
The continuous, is made of one, smooth, fluid arc. This shape allows for a smooth, fast ride and turns easy. Continuous shapes create a lengthier jump that shoots you further into the flats with softer landings.
Continuous
The other shape is the 3-stage rocker and is shaped with three flat planes that form a concave angularity. This shape is slower and feels like a looser ride, but the 3-stage board offers huge jumps off the wake.
3-stage rocker
For Intermediate Riders, We Suggest These Wakeboards:
Ronix District
Hyperlite Baseline
Visit us at Wakeboss.com or stop into our store to purchase your new rad wakeboard package today! We have a wide variety and all the hottest boards!