The Ultimate Wakesurf Board Review Thread

[NorrisMike]

Long story short - I ended up purchasing a Victoria Factor PCX. It is a great skim board that will take me far. Once you learn how to edge the board properly it becomes a whole new animal.

[dezul]

Long story short - I ended up purchasing a Victoria Factor PCX. It is a great skim board that will take me far. Once you learn how to edge the board properly it becomes a whole new animal.

Are you offering any test rides on it? I am in the market for a skim board and the PCX has been mentioned a few times. It is tough to drop the money on one without riding one first.

[shawndoggy]

I've been riding my factor more and more. It's a much different ride than my soulcraft. Like peanut butter and jelly.

[Afun]

I've been riding my factor more and more. It's a much different ride than my soulcraft. Like peanut butter and jelly.

Its nice to have those two types of boards. A soulcraft and a skim.

Edited July 28, 2014 by Afun

[IXFE]

Speaking of skims... has anybody tried the Ronix One Carbon skim board?

Just something that caught my eye at the local pro shop the other day...

[petrie141]

Speaking of skims... has anybody tried the Ronix One Carbon skim board?Just something that caught my eye at the local pro shop the other day...

I haven't, but the two fin design kind of intrigues me. Especially if you could get one with two small fins instead of a small and a large. I've always wondered if we'd see something truly bidirectional like all new wakeboards. I think if it would've have been worth it someone would've made one (or many) by now, right?

[skurfer]

4'8" Soulcraft Da Honu. Finally had a chance to ride it on Friday! Best board ever and I've ridden a lot. I have a OG Flyboy and I like the Da Honu better.

CWB Tsunami, surprising awesome board. Fun, surf/skim hybrid.

[IXFE]

4'8" Soulcraft Da Honu. Finally had a chance to ride it on Friday! Best board ever and I've ridden a lot. I have a OG Flyboy and I like the Da Honu better.

CWB Tsunami, surprising awesome board. Fun, surf/skim hybrid.

I wanna try! Is it a demo board?

[NorrisMike]

Are you offering any test rides on it? I am in the market for a skim board and the PCX has been mentioned a few times. It is tough to drop the money on one without riding one first.

I boat on Norris, feel free to contact me if you are heading up this way. Actually, we might be going out in a few hours......

[Lance B. Johnson]

I have a review on that Soulcraft Jetty Fang that I got for my wife. I am surprised to say this but I absolutely hated the board. I sold it on ebay after a few times out. I had a few other people ride it and they hated it too

My brigade Zulu is light years beyond the soulcraft. Speed, stability, balance, release are all vastly superior on the brigade.

I know people love this board but that is my take on it. It felt off balance, slow with slow release, tippy and not maneuverable. I am a very solid surfer and have ridden everything from a tiny skim board to a 6 ft ocean surfboard behind my boats and this was the worst ride out of all of them. Makes me wonder if soulcraft boards are more hype that anything. I would like to try another one before I make that claim....

Surfboards are about as personal as the brand of underwear you buy. My soulcraft opened a lot of doors for me. I will say that my fang wasn't quite fast enough to ride behind the surfgate boats I rode behind.

I just rode a Dahanu and liked it better than my fang.

[Afun]

My buddies Doomswell 4'6 Gnarly Fin SetUp....Review should come hopefully after this weekend

image by Afun2011, on Flickr

image by Afun2011, on Flickr

Edited July 29, 2014 by Afun

[Lance B. Johnson]

Speaking of skims... has anybody tried the Ronix One Carbon skim board?Just something that caught my eye at the local pro shop the other day...

Have you ridden your board as a twin? Just wondering how it went.

[IXFE]

Have you ridden your board as a twin? Just wondering how it went.

I took the fin out, then never rode it. In fact, I haven't ridden that board (Parks Thruster 5'1") since my first outing of the season. I've been too enamored by the Inland Surfer Sweet Spot Pro I've been riding.

My wife still rides the Thruster... she asked me to put the fin back in. So it's back.

[Lance B. Johnson]

That sweet spot looks like a fun ride!

[IXFE]

That sweet spot looks like a fun ride!

I like it... but I'm not ready to declare it my favorite. I just know it like it ALOT better than my Thruster, which feels long and heavy in comparison.

I simply haven't tried enough boards, and I struggle to know how/where I can try more. There simply are NO demos.

[Lance B. Johnson]

I don't think I'll ever get to try enough boards.

[IXFE]

I don't think I'll ever get to try enough boards.

With all the focus on surfing, surf boats, surf systems, etc. clearly there's a strong market for surf boards, but it feels like there's a real gap in the channel / supply chain for boards that nobody is filling.

On the one hand you have all these people buying new boats to surf or tweeking their current boats for surfing. On the other hand you have literally dozens of companies making wakesurf boards.... what's lacking is an effective market bringing those sellers and buyers together. Online is not a good "go to market" channel for surfboard makers. As this thread demonstrates, it's just way way too personal.

I wish somebody in my local market would build a decent quiver of demo boards. I've talked to my dealer about this, but there doesn't seem to be an appetite for it.

[Raimie]

Basically if I want to try a board, I will have to buy it online, then try to sell it locally if I don't like it.

My dealer is an hour away, they have a few demos. I am hoping to get a couple for a weekend sometime this summer to at least try something besides my board. Its a pain though because I have to pick up on Friday and drop back off Monday...

[shawndoggy]

Wakemitch is a great resource too because he's one of the few who has seen ridden and handled a wide variety of these boards.

[IXFE]

Wakemitch is a great resource too because he's one of the few who has seen ridden and handled a wide variety of these boards.

Yeah, but talk is cheap. What one guy loves, another guy hates (e.g. Soulcraft Fangtail, among others). There's also a HUGE variable in that all surf waves are different too.

You need to try for yourself behind your own boat. The golf industry has figured this out (admittedly a much bigger industry).

I just wish my own dealer would make the investment in aprox. 20 demo boards that they never intend to sell. In doing so, they need to embrace some of the boutique builders (today they only carry Ronix, Hyperlite, Liquid Force, and Slingshot). I bet this would DOUBLE their surfboard sales, at a minimum.

[shawndoggy]

The problem with that is that the boutique guys are changing their board designs very quickly. A year old soulcraft jetty is no longer cutting edge for instance. It would suck to invest $5-10k on a demo fleet that's outdated after a season (or less).

[petrie141]

With all the focus on surfing, surf boats, surf systems, etc. clearly there's a strong market for surf boards, but it feels like there's a real gap in the channel / supply chain for boards that nobody is filling.

On the one hand you have all these people buying new boats to surf or tweeking their current boats for surfing. On the other hand you have literally dozens of companies making wakesurf boards.... what's lacking is an effective market bringing those sellers and buyers together. Online is not a good "go to market" channel for surfboard makers. As this thread demonstrates, it's just way way too personal.

I wish somebody in my local market would build a decent quiver of demo boards. I've talked to my dealer about this, but there doesn't seem to be an appetite for it.

I'm going to spin off this. I see more wakesurfing boats than I can keep track of every time I go to the lake, (lake Austin) so I would think places around here would be more open to carrying surf-specific brands. I was incorrect. I thought about this a lot when looking for my newest board and came to the conclusion that it was over my head and I just need to deal with it the best I can. I saw it from a few different sides. (all views are just my opinion).

If you look at it from the local retailers side (boat dealerships, marinas, local boardshops...etc), the boards are expensive. Why order and keep in stock boards that cost the consumer $650 to $900 (and sit on them for months) when you can keep the doum skim in stock for $350 or a broadcast for about the same and sell them all day long (both good boards by the way). There are more beginners out there than there are pros/advanced riders, so the retailers are keeping the bottom line in mind and staying where the money is. Plus, most advanced boards would only be ridden by one person. The father of 2 doesn't want to spend $600+ on a board for the little kiddo, another $600+ on his older brother, then another $600 for himself and his wife. I personally feel like the cost of everything hand made is getting out of control, but I also feel it's justified.

Looking at it from the custom board makers (non wakeboard brands) side. Hand-making boards is probably stressful, exhausting, and can be hard on your body, so the boutique dealers are often justified in asking for nearly a grand (after shipping) for a hand made board. Sanding all day in a non-AC'd room or glassing with a respirator on your face for hours a day doesn't sound like a blast. Heck, I bet some of them have to keep other full time jobs just to cover the cost of supplies to make boards that they may or may not sell in a short amount of time. Would it be helpful to have a dealer or marina start carrying the custom board maker's line instead of selling online only? Not sure, it depends on how you look at it. The more people/dealers that request your boards the more your responsible for (making boards, filling orders on time, minding warranties, keeping costs down so the dealer can make a profit too... etc). Some people welcome that pressure, others might shy away from it. So once it's all said and done, is it really worth it? I think it depends on the level of commitment each maker has.

The rider's side (this is where I get selfish). As a rider... my answer to the "would it be worth it to be picked up by more shops" question would be... YES! I want to shred. Plain and simple. I want to be able to throw tricks as other boats pass by that make them think "dang I wish I could do that". If the gear you're supplying can help me do that, then I say yes. I want it to be on shelves, I don't want to wait a month to ride it, and I want to demo it before beforehand.

So what do we do? What can we do? What can the small hand-made companies do? I don't know if what I thought is right, but here's how I answered those questions.

What can we do? - We make forum posts like this so others can be informed. We tell the truth. I'm sure it's hard to say you just spent $700 on a brick, but if you did, let us know about it. Or vise-versa, if you have a board from a wakeboard mfg that you're shredding, let us hear about it so others can know too! Also, obviously suggest that your local dealers start carrying surf specific brands.

What can the small hand-made companies do? - GET MORE SOCIAL MEDIA/WEB EXPOSURE and/or USE YOUR CURRENT SOCIAL MEDIA/WEB EXPOSURE MORE EFFECTIVELY I love watching videos of pro-level riders shredding, and they are 100% necessary, but if someone is wanting more information on a board, what do they learn from watching the top level guy land a big spin? So if the videos don't help, we head to their websites... but each description we read are all starting to sound the same. Ever heard this? "This board has a ton of pop, with great lines, can generate speed easily, and is great for the intermediate to advanced rider." How many times have we heard that? Something easy that I think could help are short clips of their riders or rider/reps explaining why they love their boards, their favorite features, and show themselves and others riding it (to help interest people who might buy it as a "boat board")

I hope any of this made sense. We're on the right track with forum topics like this.

Edited July 29, 2014 by petrie141

[mrnate450r]

^^^^^^I had college term papers shorter than that post!!! Lol!!

[petrie141]

^^^^^^I had college term papers shorter than that post!!! Lol!!

I thought I'd chime in a little and that's what happened. I'll return to only posting videos soon. I didn't think I knew that many words... You know how have a long drive home and all of the sudden your home and you don't really remember driving the whole way? That's what happened up there ^^^^^

[skurfer]

I wanna try! Is it a demo board?

It's my personal board, we are sold out of them but have more on order. I am headed to the lake for a week. you can try it when I get back. Just can't keep it for over a month like last time