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WATERSKI MagazineIt happens every year: While the snow falls, then melts, then falls again, you surf the Web, read the mags, dog-ear the catalogs and start dreaming about this magical new board that will revolutionize your riding. One day you're hyped up on the new Byerly Finless. The next day it's the O'Brien Swindle that's going to make you soar. But wait! Your buddy swears that last night on the Internet, he read that Rob Struharik's Signature Model is the best new board since the Flight 69. Meanwhile, your last trip to the pro shop up the road brought tears to your eyes with row after row of highly laminated glam.
Before you know it, your head's spinning faster than it did the night of your 21st birthday, and you still don't have a new board. If someone would just tell you, definitively, what the single best board for 2000 is, you'd go buy it, right?
Unfortunately, it's just not that easy. The truth is they are all good. And that's not a cop-out. For every new board, there is a rider who will love it and a rider who will hate it. The trick is to find out which type of rider you are before you buy. That's where we come in.
WaterSki is bringing board tests back to the three most important questions: What works, why and for whom? Our testers were asked to ride each board for performance in four key areas: surfing, spinning, inverts and double-ups. They also experimented with everything from rough-water handling to tracking to sliders. You'll find all kinds of valuable information in their comments. They were finally asked to give an overall impression of each board and to place it into one of four categories.
Performance areas:
Surfing: Smacking the lip, pulling hard carves, butter slides and S-turns are obvious here. But what our testers also looked for was how the board handled on the water: things like tracking, release, bottom-design performance, etc.
Spinning: Our testers threw every rotational move in their repertoire — frontside, backside, wrapped and blind — to see how each board popped and more specifically how it felt in the air.
Inverts: Not just front flips and rolls any more, inverts include Raleys, S-bends and wrapped moves. In this category, how a board performed on landings was just as important as how the board felt into the wake, off the wake and in the air.
Double-ups: How a board handles double-ups will separate the men from the boys, so to speak. You will need a combination of tracking, release, in-air feel and landings to get the best boost possible.
WHO ARE YOU?
The recreational rider (R): You're looking for a board that suits you, your friends and your family. This category contains most of the all-around and beginner boards. They're easy to learn and progress on, and they surf well and jump easily. Softer rails, bigger fins and a continuous rocker characterize these boards, making them stable and forgiving.
The intermediate rider (I): You might only be doing two or three moves, but no one plays harder than you. You need a board with supreme edging and major lift (for double-ups) as well one that maneuvers on the surface of the water (for carves, butter slides and S-turns). You definitely want a board that will be accommodating as you progress and learn more.
The transitional rider (T): You need the most from your board. Right now, you're an intermediate-level rider. Maybe you know two or three moves, but you are quick to learn and have every intention of moving up. You are at the point where you can tell that the doors are about to blow open. The good news is that 75 percent of the 2000 board lines are made for you. The bad news is that you have to choose one.
The pro (P): Your name is being whispered as “the next big thing.” You are more than the best rider on your lake; you have a definitive style, and you excel at the local and regional contests (if you enter them). Chances are you even have a quiver of boards to choose from: a wakeboard, a wakeskate, a kiteboard and a finless. Your favorite board — the one you ride every day — has good speed into the wake, excellent tracking and amazing lift. It spins and flips without fail, and you feel like you were born on the thing.
But don't just take our word for it. All good pro shops offer demos. Take advantage of it and test out several boards. If you can't do that — Mom's at work, Dad is under the hood of the last “big thing” you wanted to buy and you don't have any friends who drive — at least try out as many of your friends' boards as possible. Even if they're older, you'll still be able to pick out what design characteristics you like. That's what it's all about anyway: you, the board and the water.
