Jump to content

Welcome to TheMalibuCrew!

As a guest, you are welcome to poke around and view the majority of the content that we have to offer, but in order to post, search, contact members, and get full use out of the website you will need to Register for an Account. It's free and it's easy, so don't hesitate to join the TheMalibuCrew Family today!

21VLX - Looks awesome!


geroyk

Recommended Posts

First time poster...reading other threads on this forum and find them very helpful.

I was eyeing up the 22VLX/MLX and started crawling around the 21VLX.  Was very pleasantly surprised at the quality in the 21VLX. 

Sales staff at the local dealer were also fantastic...service manager also came over and walked me through some features.

I guess knowing bigger is always better, is there any significant down side to the surf wave on the 21VLX?  I am 190lbs and a beginner...would someone "outgrow" this wave in short order?

I am drawn to the 21VLX based on price and the fact that my kids are 6 and 9...mostly ZUP and tube, so the smaller wake is nice for them....I still ski a little, so being able to comfortably would be nice.

I am also looking at a 2018 Tige Z1....any thoughts on the TAPS 3 vs Surf Gate/Wedge?   I would guess the wedge is a tremendous advantage for a 21ft boat.

Sort of rambling...but this is a HARD decision...I used to surf behind a  Prostar 190 until we almost sunk it, so I know all the boats are better equipped these days.

I think my biggest issue is I am in Canada...sort of thinking of buying something blind as there is still 3 ft of ice on my lake....no chance to test drive before boat show deals expire....

 

Link to comment
ahopkins22LSV

Welcome to the forums!!

I have no experience with the Tige, but I drove the 21 vlx for about 5 hours pulling multiple surfers last year for an event. I was seriously impressed with the stock wave with a 4-6 adult crew. For the money I have to believe it’s hard to beat. The only better value to wave performance Axis imo. I wouldn’t hesitate to buy a 21 at all. It’s going to perform. I even took it up to 34 mph to look at the slalom wake and it looked pretty good! Didn’t ski it though. 

I believe @inlandlaker surfed the same boat I drove so maybe he can give a better review of the wave. Everyone I pulled complimented it though. 

  • Like 2
Link to comment

Surf gate and wedge will be way more user friendly than the taps 3 on a Tige. Much easier to use and less finicky. As far as size goes, that’s a tough one to answer. You’ll never regret going to a larger boat in my opinion, but you shouldn’t do it unless it’s well within your budget to do so. I assume you’re drawn to the 21 vlx over the 22 vlx/max because of its price though, so I’d save the money, get the 21 vlx, and use the extra money for more trips to the lake, surfboards, etc.. It’ll be an awesome boat  

Like Hopkins said, you can get a bigger Axis for the same money though. If budget was a concern and I wanted a bigger boat, I wouldn’t hesitate to go down that road either. 

  • Like 2
Link to comment

Thanks for the feedback. Very helpful.

I found the Islandlaker post as well. 

I actually initally went to see the Axis.  But all the new stock was out at a boat show 200miles north  

Talked myself into the 22VLX/MLX and then found a good deal on the used Z1.  

Went back to look at the 22VLX for a last decision and then saw a new 21VLX. 

Too many options!  Good first world problems. I can procrastinate for ever on this! 

Whole flock of Axis coming in this week so I will go back to look at the 2019s. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
ahopkins22LSV

If you are looking at the Axis line, my personal favorite is the T22. Good size, but not too big, and it’s arguably the best wave for dollar spent. The new A22 is very nice too but it’s a bit more and I’m a traditional bow guy. If new is in the cards for your budget I’d go new unless it’s a screaming deal on something used. 5 year warranty is worth quite a bit and both Malibu and Axis come with 5 year warranties. 

Link to comment

I was in the same position this fall as you @geroyk.  I went looking for a T22, or T23 after having been surfing behind a 21VLX.  I found a killer deal on a 2017 22 VLX and ended up buying it.  I was close to buying a 21VLX, but the additional space in the 22 with the additional beam made the decision easy for us.  I'm happy with our purchase as we still have warranty and the boat has less than 100 hours  and was well kept.  

 

Good luck in your search and FWIW, I'd go Malibu all day over a Tige'.  JMHO and I know there are other members here who are Tige' owners, but they aren't for me and that's ok. 

 

 

Link to comment

We are a family of 4 and I was in the same situation last year, narrowed our search down to the NXT22, Tige R23 and the Malibu 21 MLX.  After test driving all 3, went with the 21 MLX.  The MLX had by far the best wave out of the 3, easy to set up and did not require any additional ballast.  The NXT required additional lead and was a very basic boat, although a foot longer and several inches wider, fit and finish was good.  The Tige also a bigger boat, the surf system was very hard to dial in, wave was okay, fit and finish was okay.  On the other hand the MLX is easy to set up and ready to go out of the box, fit and finish was great, alot more options for the money. We put close to 150 hours on it last summer and it performed flawless.  The MLX is also 500# heavier than the VLX, due to the pickle fork bow and base price is a little more than the VLX.  

  • Like 3
Link to comment

I have a 2017 vlx. It puts out a decent small to medium size wave with factory ballast and wedge. I added 1100 PNP ballast in the back lockers and it has improved the wave but the boat has so much bow rise that you can't see in front of you without standing up. I added 300# of lead weight bags in the port storage compartment where the amps are and this has helped some, plus I move everyone to the front. With a full boat the "big boys" can get some push. I wish that I had gone bigger. My decision wasn't just cost; I already had a slip space with custom decking that fit the 21 perfectly. Any bigger and I would have had to pull up some decking and redo my cradle. I may still do this later on down the road.

Link to comment
37 minutes ago, ahopkinsVTX said:

@Weaklink 1100’s are wayyyyyyyyyy too big for that boat. You need a balanced boat. 550’s are reccomended for the 21 vlx. I’d honeslty try filling them half full.

👆🏻 This.  

I owned a 2017 21vlx before my 23lsv.  I ran 550s in the rear, with a 600# bow bag and it worked really well.  Wave was impressive for a 21foot boat.  1100 is way to much weight in the rear, especially without a bow bag. 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
56 minutes ago, ahopkinsVTX said:

@Weaklink 1100’s are wayyyyyyyyyy too big for that boat. You need a balanced boat. 550’s are reccomended for the 21 vlx. I’d honeslty try filling them half full.

 

16 minutes ago, SCMike said:

👆🏻 This.  

I owned a 2017 21vlx before my 23lsv.  I ran 550s in the rear, with a 600# bow bag and it worked really well.  Wave was impressive for a 21foot boat.  1100 is way to much weight in the rear, especially without a bow bag. 

550 x 2=1100.  I was guessing he meant 1100 total between the two.  I don't even think you could fit 1100 in each rear locker on the 21VLX.  The 550's in mine fill up most of the space in the rear locker.  I am looking forward to adding the 600# bow bag this year.  I am interested to so how much this changes the wave.  Last summer my bow weight was a 5 year old.  

Link to comment
2 hours ago, ahopkinsVTX said:

@Weaklink 1100’s are wayyyyyyyyyy too big for that boat. You need a balanced boat. 550’s are reccomended for the 21 vlx. I’d honeslty try filling them half full.

550 each side. 1100 total. 

Link to comment
ahopkins22LSV

Ok sorry I took that as you added 1100’s.

What speed and wedge setting are you running? The boat I drove didn’t have any extra bow weight, and the bow was high but nothing that I had to stand to see. We ran about 10.6-10.8 mph and wedge (power wedge ii) one-two clicks more aggressive from ramp. 

Link to comment
6 hours ago, Weaklink said:

I’d like to try a bow bag as well. I’ve suspected that would be the ticket.  Which bag did you use? I hate to lose those seats though. 

I used a 650# sumo sack from wakemakers.  Sucks to lose the bow, but it makes a HUGE difference in the wave and ability to get up to surf speed. 

Link to comment
ahopkins22LSV

In the shorter boats like my VTX and the 21 VLX they definitely benefit from bow weight because there isn’t enough space for a big bow tank or enough boat length to give you a good “lever” to offset the rear weight. I plan on picking up s bow bag this year too. But it’s only because I want to get the absolute best I can out of my boat. Not that it wasn’t good with a few hundred pounds of either a person or lead in the bow. 

Link to comment
22 hours ago, ahopkinsVTX said:

Ok sorry I took that as you added 1100’s.

What speed and wedge setting are you running? The boat I drove didn’t have any extra bow weight, and the bow was high but nothing that I had to stand to see. We ran about 10.6-10.8 mph and wedge (power wedge ii) one-two clicks more aggressive from ramp. 

That's right about the speed and wedge setting we like. At full wedge the boat wont hit that target speed. which prop are you running? I've heard that makes a difference also, but I don't want to lose anymore top end. I'm already struggling to catch up to those tri-toons when we head across the lake to eat!

Link to comment
8 hours ago, 23LSVOwner said:

You would be surprised at how much a partial fill on the back bags/tanks, full fill on the front and playing with the wedge will do also.

Trust me I have played with many combinations over the last year. No replacement for displacement.

Link to comment
52 minutes ago, Weaklink said:

That's right about the speed and wedge setting we like. At full wedge the boat wont hit that target speed. which prop are you running? I've heard that makes a difference also, but I don't want to lose anymore top end. I'm already struggling to catch up to those tri-toons when we head across the lake to eat!

Full wedge might be too much with your rear tanks and pnp’s full.  I was also told if I added a bow bag, the factory prop would be just fine. 

Link to comment
5 hours ago, Weaklink said:

will order today. Thinking about the ronix 8.3

 

That should work great.  It will make a huge difference.  As others said, make sure you are not running full wedge either. I would have mine set at 2-3 clicks from ramp when running my PNP full with the 600# bow bag.  I thought it was the perfect set up for that boat. Wave was long and clean with lots of push. 

Edited by SCMike
  • Like 1
Link to comment
ahopkins22LSV
13 hours ago, Weaklink said:

That's right about the speed and wedge setting we like. At full wedge the boat wont hit that target speed. which prop are you running? I've heard that makes a difference also, but I don't want to lose anymore top end. I'm already struggling to catch up to those tri-toons when we head across the lake to eat!

I don’t know about the prop. Is was a boat I was driving for an event, not my personal boat. 

Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...