The Ultimate Wakesurf Board Review Thread

[Slurpee]

24 minutes ago, Kojak said:

If you're looking for a surf style board but not ready to go custom just yet, look at Phase Five. I had the 2017 Ahi and replaced it with the 2021 Ahi this year. I wouldn't be on the water without it.

That’s how I feel about my p5 Aku. 

[wdr]

Our most used P5 is our Trident Carbon Pro in a 53 which I don’t believe they make anymore.  It was designed for a heavier rider up to 200lbs which was the claim at the time we bought it. I normally weigh in at 196 my wife a lot less. My wife has no problem with it, but it took some getting used to. Most other friends in our crew don’t like how fast or loose it can get without all 3 fins. We normally run just one 3/4” fin. Typical of most skims though. 

[Hemmy]

13 hours ago, cfdavey said:

I'm thinking of getting the Matrix in 53" as most of us are 5'9" and 170 minus.  

What board do you guys think the girls will like. All 3 are light with my daughter being the tallest at 5'7". 

The Matrix should be a good board for the girls.  My wife is small and she rides our Matrix.  She has ridden it with 1, 2" fin and also all 3 fins in.  The Matrix is great because you can ride it easier for beginners with all three fins in it and as you progress, you can remove fins and even go to smaller fins.  It is fun to try the different set ups as everybody improves.

[Sparky450]

22 hours ago, cfdavey said:

I'm thinking of getting the Matrix in 53" as most of us are 5'9" and 170 minus.  

What board do you guys think the girls will like. All 3 are light with my daughter being the tallest at 5'7". 

HL Shim. That is our beginner board as well. Everyone can ride that board. Ours is an 18 era. 5’3”.  
At 230 I will even jump on this some times. As will my 120# daughter. 
The experienced riders gravitate toward my Victoria Captain. Or my old 07 era Tsunami. The Smaller guys typically ride the Tsunami. 160 pounds or less. I run a single 1” fin on the Captain. 

Edited November 17, 2021 by Sparky450

[cfdavey]

Does Phase 5 do anything special for Black Friday? I wanna buy this Matrix on there. 

[Gene3x]

So I have read through a little bit and am overwhelmed with the choices in boards.  I have had a phase 5 oogle since before surfing was a real interest to anyone and I primarily wakeboard.  The Oogle looks similar to several of their boards with a different name now.  Typical rebranding of a shape.  I am looking for a good hybrid board that I can carve and spin on.  Was suggested to look at the Shim, and did, i liked it but not sure what else is significantly better for my purposes since this is not my primary sport and I don't have time to demo 10 different boards to see what I like.  I am about 210 lbs and ride my skim pretty proficiently (360's , switch, and half a** shuv attempts for which I am close on.) 

The "surf style" boards seem way to locked in for me based on this.  Is there a real surf style board that can spin easily also and really dig in on a carve without burying the nose of the board? 

 

I want to narrow it down to about 3 boards and try them and not sure a custom board is in the cards for me right now as I don't see myself getting super serious about it long term but want to get significantly better than the typical boring 360 routine and other "party trick"  stuff behind the boat. 

Suggestions from seasoned riders would be appreciated.

[Cole2001]

@Gene3x

I’ve ridden a lot of different boards and taught a lot of different people on different boards. 
Any true surf style board will perform very different to a skim style when it comes to spins and shuvs. I’ve found the Kanuk Burnsy pro to be one of the best for all around being able to spin, shuv, air, etc on a true surf style. It is a high performance board so there is a bit of a learning curve which can discourage riders at first and make it harder for those not at the proper level. 
Also, the Oogle you’re riding now is a good board. But I would definitely say you’ve out grown it if you’re comfortably landing 360s and trying shuvs. I would suggest looking at either a more performance based dedicated skim or surf style if you want to progress.

The shim is more of hybrid style. Traditionally hybrids tend to be big slow, and unresponsive. 
You aren’t going to be able to do shuvs or airs very easily on a hybrid, the fins are more for stability and don’t like to break free. Where as on a true surf style the fins are what generate speed and with a little practice easily released. 

 

[vanamp]

5 hours ago, Gene3x said:

So I have read through a little bit and am overwhelmed with the choices in boards.  I have had a phase 5 oogle since before surfing was a real interest to anyone and I primarily wakeboard.  The Oogle looks similar to several of their boards with a different name now.  Typical rebranding of a shape.  I am looking for a good hybrid board that I can carve and spin on.  Was suggested to look at the Shim, and did, i liked it but not sure what else is significantly better for my purposes since this is not my primary sport and I don't have time to demo 10 different boards to see what I like.  I am about 210 lbs and ride my skim pretty proficiently (360's , switch, and half a** shuv attempts for which I am close on.) 

The "surf style" boards seem way to locked in for me based on this.  Is there a real surf style board that can spin easily also and really dig in on a carve without burying the nose of the board? 

 

I want to narrow it down to about 3 boards and try them and not sure a custom board is in the cards for me right now as I don't see myself getting super serious about it long term but want to get significantly better than the typical boring 360 routine and other "party trick"  stuff behind the boat. 

Suggestions from seasoned riders would be appreciated.

 

Hybrids are fun boards but if you want to take that next step in progression it might not be the best choice.

IMHO people give up a little too quick on surf style.  There is a steeper inital learning curve to surf style spins but overall the difficulty is about the same as skim. People feel like they are easier on skim because they spin easy but the tricky part is the back half of keeping control and sticking it.  The tricky part of a surf style spin is getting the spin started so you don't get that instant gratification of spinning.  Once you learn to get the fins to release its a whole new ballgame. 

Some surf style boards will spin easier than others but it still takes practice to get the fins to break free.  Tail shapes that have harder corners or "wings" in the rail in front of tail create release points that can make a spin easier.  

If you had to choose a style which would it be? Small technical tricks or big powerful tricks?

[Gene3x]

6 hours ago, vanamp said:

 

Hybrids are fun boards but if you want to take that next step in progression it might not be the best choice.

IMHO people give up a little too quick on surf style.  There is a steeper inital learning curve to surf style spins but overall the difficulty is about the same as skim. People feel like they are easier on skim because they spin easy but the tricky part is the back half of keeping control and sticking it.  The tricky part of a surf style spin is getting the spin started so you don't get that instant gratification of spinning.  Once you learn to get the fins to release its a whole new ballgame. 

Some surf style boards will spin easier than others but it still takes practice to get the fins to break free.  Tail shapes that have harder corners or "wings" in the rail in front of tail create release points that can make a spin easier.  

If you had to choose a style which would it be? Small technical tricks or big powerful tricks?

If I had to say it would probably technical tricks as I am better at those on a wakeboard.  But would prefer to learn a few crowd pleasers as the Raley is to wakeboarding so power might be the way to go.  Since I am larger and heavier this may not be as ideal though. 

Maybe this is what I need to hear as far as not trying to find a do it all board.

[vanamp]

18 hours ago, Gene3x said:

If I had to say it would probably technical tricks as I am better at those on a wakeboard.  But would prefer to learn a few crowd pleasers as the Raley is to wakeboarding so power might be the way to go.  Since I am larger and heavier this may not be as ideal though. 

Maybe this is what I need to hear as far as not trying to find a do it all board.

Your weight is not an issue.  Its not until the upper 200's where board choice gets limited. 

Coming from wakeboarding and skim style we usually see riders gravitate to a board with more of a downrail since they tend to be used to using edges vs. Pumping fins.  We are soulcraft dealers so I have a lot of ride time on their boards.  A board to take look at is a Soulcraft Honu It has a downrail mid-section for easy "front foot gas pedal" speed.  Traditional pointed nose to keep a decent amount of manuverability in a fast board and a big wide tail for extra push which also helps for boosting off the lip for big airs for a little more "wow factor"

Those same design characteristics exsist in other boards so might be a good starting point in your search if you decide to look at surf style boards. 

[Robcam67]

Anyone ride the Ronix m50?

what are your thoughts?

[vanamp]

10 hours ago, Robcam67 said:

Anyone ride the Ronix m50?

what are your thoughts?

Hopefully some one can chime in with some first hand experience but in case no one here has been on one I can give it a shot based on its design.  

Overall shape seems like a board that would sacrifice a little speed for a bit more manuverability.  Hard rails make speed generation a little easier with front foot gas pedal speed but can be slightly less forgiving.  The snap in fins are convenient but not a standard so fin selection would be limited.  

I would probably not put this board on a small wave or with a beginner rider. Bigger steeper waves intermediate riders.  

I can't really comment on construction or quality since I have not seen the board in person.  Non FCS or Futures fins would be a dealbreaker for us but we take things a bit more seriously than most. 

 

[Olddognewtricks]

Hey guys.   Hopefully this is an appropriate place for these questions: 

1) suggestions for next step wakesurf board.  
 

2) help with getting adult newbies (or big kids) up for the first time

 

Background:

grew up on slalom skiing barefoot and a little trick ski. 
off the lake for years and recently back.

2022 23 lsv, M6 (love it) and all new to surfing.
most have done great - gotten up and getting more comfortable by the day, but my son has struggled to get up. 
He is 13, 6’1, 180 lbs and still getting used to his size.    

Only board we have is Liquid force rocket. 
So on the one hand, looking forward to our next board that allows us to do more.

On the other hand, is there a better board for the bigger kids (and adults) to get up and have some success?

open to just about anything and interested in trying skim style   

thanks!

 

 

Thanks!

 

[shawndoggy]

27 minutes ago, Olddognewtricks said:

Hey guys.   Hopefully this is an appropriate place for these questions: 

1) suggestions for next step wakesurf board.  
 

2) help with getting adult newbies (or big kids) up for the first time

 

Background:

grew up on slalom skiing barefoot and a little trick ski. 
off the lake for years and recently back.

2022 23 lsv, M6 (love it) and all new to surfing.
most have done great - gotten up and getting more comfortable by the day, but my son has struggled to get up. 
He is 13, 6’1, 180 lbs and still getting used to his size.    

Only board we have is Liquid force rocket. 
So on the one hand, looking forward to our next board that allows us to do more.

On the other hand, is there a better board for the bigger kids (and adults) to get up and have some success?

open to just about anything and interested in trying skim style   

thanks!

 

 

Thanks!

 

To have fun and make progress, on a boat like a 23LSV that puts out a great wake, each rider will want to basically be on the smallest board that's appropriate for them.  So what works for someone who is 6'1" 180 will be the wrong board for someone who ways 240 or 130.  It's not uncommon for us to head to the lake with 4-6 boards in the racks and 4 people in the boat (my wife and I each have our own personal "right sized" skim and surf style boards... so that's four boards for the two of us).  A "one size fits all" board is going to "short" somebody, unless all crew members weigh the same amount.

For skim, I really like victoria.  CCX and PCX are great.  An agent is a little less advanced but would also be a lot of fun.  Again, assuming it's appropriately sized (and probably a touch small, given the LSV's great wave, if you are on the bubble).  

Edited August 3, 2022 by shawndoggy

[PopsA22]

22 minutes ago, Olddognewtricks said:

Hey guys.   Hopefully this is an appropriate place for these questions: 

1) suggestions for next step wakesurf board.  
 

2) help with getting adult newbies (or big kids) up for the first time

 

Background:

grew up on slalom skiing barefoot and a little trick ski. 
off the lake for years and recently back.

2022 23 lsv, M6 (love it) and all new to surfing.
most have done great - gotten up and getting more comfortable by the day, but my son has struggled to get up. 
He is 13, 6’1, 180 lbs and still getting used to his size.    

Only board we have is Liquid force rocket. 
So on the one hand, looking forward to our next board that allows us to do more.

On the other hand, is there a better board for the bigger kids (and adults) to get up and have some success?

open to just about anything and interested in trying skim style   

thanks!

 

 

Thanks!

 

Rocket is a decent board for newbie’s. I’ve taught many to surf. Here’s my suggestions. 
1. Don’t waist time or gas filling ballast, using wedge, or gates. Don’t need to use this when teaching someone to stand up and learn foot position. 
2. set speed at 10.8 and pull up gently. 
3. “Stay down low and stand up slow”. I say this a million times. Arms straight. Heals closer to heal side of board. This makes the board flip up flat against bottom of feet as the boat idles forward. 
4. If arms and hands get overwhelmed they are not staying low,  butt to board. 
5. Lots of good YouTube videos to see what I’m talking about. 
6. When boarder gets up flip the switch for surf gate and you will his BFF for life. 😉
good luck. 

[Trizzil]

Buy this board:

https://www.boardco.com/products/hyperlite-broadcast-wakesurf-board?_pos=1&_fid=9ab269e3d&_ss=c

 

Have him watch this video:

This combo has helped every rider no matter age or experience get up on their first day.

If you can, take him out just the two of you. Might help with the nerves.  

 

Edited August 3, 2022 by Trizzil

[wakesonthesnake]

I bought a board from Doomswell. 

 https://www.doomswell.com/ 

If you call them and tell them your needs they will set you up with what you need, that is why I would recommend them in your case.  There are other good options as well.  I am guessing you will probably need more than a couple of boards on the boat as shawndoggy said.  I would not recommend getting another beginner board for you son as he will out grow it after a couple of weeks.  He should be able to get up on that board if he takes a wide stance.  Often ones starting out don't have there foot all the way back on the kick pad.

[rennis]

On 1/6/2022 at 6:22 AM, Robcam67 said:

Anyone ride the Ronix m50?

what are your thoughts?

I have one.  Very recent purchase. It is incredibly light, fast, responsive and very easy to break loose. I can tell already it will be my favorite board. You gotta give one a try. Go find a demo!!! 
 

they are hand made by the same guys who make Vapor skis. In the Barn, at Radar Lake. Seen it myself! 

Edited August 4, 2022 by rennis

[CaptainMorgan]

3 hours ago, Olddognewtricks said:

Hey guys.   Hopefully this is an appropriate place for these questions: 

1) suggestions for next step wakesurf board.  
 

2) help with getting adult newbies (or big kids) up for the first time

 

Background:

grew up on slalom skiing barefoot and a little trick ski. 
off the lake for years and recently back.

2022 23 lsv, M6 (love it) and all new to surfing.
most have done great - gotten up and getting more comfortable by the day, but my son has struggled to get up. 
He is 13, 6’1, 180 lbs and still getting used to his size.    

Only board we have is Liquid force rocket. 
So on the one hand, looking forward to our next board that allows us to do more.

On the other hand, is there a better board for the bigger kids (and adults) to get up and have some success?

open to just about anything and interested in trying skim style   

thanks!

 

 

Thanks!

 

I'd also recommend using a side tow point on the tower to keep them out of the prop wash (if you dont have a real one, I just use a caribeener from home depot to loop through the tower). Can also turn slightly towards rider side as you start to give similar aid.