Beginner Child Wakesurf Board

[HollywoodBall]

I need to find a wakesurf board for my youngest niece.  Older niece and nephew are approaching adult size and are likely good with board already in our crew, so they're good.

She's 5'5" and about 110lbs.  

Not looking for anything fancy, as she'll probably outgrow it quickly.  Any thoughts on what I should look for?  Beginner.  Never surfed.  But she's likely to excel quickly, I think, once she figures it out.  

[malibudog]

You probably already know this, but there are two basic styles of boards - skim boards and surf boards.  Not sure which one you already have.  There are exceptions to everything, but skim boards are generally shorter in length, have less fins on the bottom, are wider, and easier to do tricks where you spin the board (spins, shove its, etc).  Surf style boards are often longer, narrower, and with bigger fins.  They tend to be much more stable, and want to track in a straight line - easier to do tricks like kneeling down, fire hydrants, supermans, etc.  Surf style boards are also generally better for jumping, and getting air.  Eventually, you would probably want one of each style, so if you already have one style, I would consider getting the other.  As far as where to start, we usually get first timers up on a longer surf board, because beginners can typically ride it longer while they are building confidence.  For a beginner, brand isn't going to matter much, and at 110 pounds, your niece should be able to get up on a bigger surf style board (flipping it up is often hard for riders under 60 lbs).  Hyperlite and Connelly both make cheap but serviceable surf style boards, and if you don't have a beginner surf style board, that would be a good place to start.  If you already have a surf style board, I am partial to phase 5 skim boards, but everyone has their own preferences.

[dizzygti]

4 hours ago, malibudog said:

For a beginner, brand isn't going to matter much, and at 110 pounds, your niece should be able to get up on a bigger surf style board (flipping it up is often hard for riders under 60 lbs). 

Little more explanation on this, surf style boards tend to be more buoyant than skim style boards due to their inherent design of softer/taller rails (side edges).    70-90lbs kids trying to learn on our adult surf boards struggled like said above to PUSH the heel edge down to get the board to flip up to give something to push against to stand up.   Like also said, at 110lbs, probably not an issue.   Kids start on the Hyperlite Gromi on my boat, at 46".   Good luck!  

[Cole2001]

Personally, I do not like teaching beginners, especially kids on a surf style board. For a smaller rider it is harder to flip and also harder to learn and progress on. With a skim or a hybrid you learn much more control and proper body movements which can translate to easily learning beginner tricks. I would look at a beginner skim board probably around 48". Phase 5, liquid force. hyperlite.. 

[mxmark4]

My kids are using a Connelly dash I believe. Skim style board. They are 60 and 65 lbs and both can ride ropeless without any problem. Think its rated to 100 lbs or so. My wife has ridden it shes about your neices size. 

Edited December 4, 2023 by mxmark4