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WATERSKI MagazineIt's almost as if you could predict where kneeboarding was going by where wakeboarding had been. First, it was the extended pylon to keep the rider in the air longer with an upward pull. Huge kneeboard layouts became commonplace. Then, the water bags beefed up the wake size for more vertical lift. Guys on their knees began to get aggressive with full inverts and twisting moves. As soon as the stand-up guys started going big both forward and reverse – thanks to symmetrical square tails that provided excellent lift no matter which way they hit the wake – kneeboarders figured out a way to do the same. Introducing the twin-tip – for your knees.
The concept is simple: Build a kneeboard with a fat tail for incredible lift, but make the front end exactly the same shape, with a spitting-image rocker for riders who want to take off or land with their backs to the liquid wall. Now, with the new design, the kneeboarders are pulling off moves the wakeboarders have yet to try.
For starters, North Carolina boarder Billy Rossini (shown sailing O'Brien's Lowrider) has been riding away from double front flips during intense training sessions. Not double back rolls, mind you, which have just recently been performed by a handful of boarders. But double front flips. On his knees. Off a standard inboard wake with a couple of water bags in the back of the boat.
Second, we hear that Rossini and the McDonald brothers, David and Jonathan, are getting ribs bruised and busted by attempting triple back rolls with the new fiberglass.
“We're doin' stuff you just won't believe,” says Jonathan McDonald, as if he's just given birth to a new era of insane riding. “The new boards are so quick, light and responsive that it's taking kneeboarding to a new level – fast.”
It's not just the twin-tips either. David Jennings has been seen throwing scarecrows, vulcans and numerous other full-twisting inverts on his revamped, directional twin Joker with ease, thanks to its new light weight and super-square tail. Its hard rails and thin profile make it exactly the type of board new aggro-minded riders need – and want.
Yes, the guys are getting better, but the boards are helping them push the envelope. Instead of being designed as a traditional, competition-type trick board for surface and wake spins, the new breed of kneeboards is built for lift first, flight second.
O'Brien's Lowrider is a prime example of a board that was made specifically to propel the new age of kneeboarding forward. The brainchild of former pro tour kneeboard champ Jonathan McDonald, the Lowrider features a combination of hard edges and a thin profile to cut through the wakes fast for frighteningly large lift. This gets the board up in the air in a hurry. To soften the landings from such hang time, McDonald incorporated channel grooves and a shovel tip and tail. The result is a board that goes big, lands soft and maybe most important, rides as well forward as it does in reverse.
“The possibilities for new tricks are endless when you can get this kind of height,” says McDonald. “With the tip and tail being essentially the same, revert tricks and back landings are easier than ever.”
HO followed a similar path with its Mako, an all-new twin that complements the streamlined Joker by being a true twin with hard rails. It is interesting to note, however, that HO's original Edge 540 – which debuted in 1993 and has since been discontinued – was essentially a twin, although built more for slalom than tricks.
It doesn't end there. O'Brien is offering a recreational version of the Lowrider, the Ricochet, while Connelly (Phenix), Jobe (Razor) and StraightLine (SL) have new fiberglass-wrapped foam – all under $400.
“I think what you're seeing is really a reaction by the industry to what today's aggressive riders are demanding,” says Joey Losson, a top rider and designer for StraightLine. “The new age of kneeboard rider wants to go bigger, take off and land revert, and be comfortable. These new boards do just exactly that.”
