Wakeboard comparison by speed
 

Is there a review source that compares boards by variables such as speed, landing, forgiveness?
I am thinking it may be good to have a little slower board than my Watson to try new spins and inverts on.

I think the best resource you'll find is right here, asking about specific decks in comparison. It's hard to quantify things like speed and forgiveness.

I'm curious as to what your thought process is that says a slower board will make things easier to learn. First off, the Watson is relatively slow, second changing from what you are comfortable with can mess you up. I say stick with what you got and make it happen, no excuses.

"Is there a review source that compares boards by variables such as speed, landing, forgiveness?"

It's definitely an interesting idea. I'm pretty sure you could set up a load sensor and get objective speed data for each board. You also might be able to calculate speed based on the rocker shape. I don't know how you could get objective forgiveness data. But you could certainly get landing data by calculating flex or by developing some type of accelerometer and devising a repeatable drop scenario. The data has to be objective and repeatable or it isn't worth anything. The most important thing I've learned from wakeworld is that subjective data is almost always garbage.

I was thinking that coming in fast affects your ability to time things just right. Just like a fast ball is harder to hit, the take off for the tantrum would be harder to time the edge change. Also someone made a comment that made sense regarding a fast board may make it more likely you'll arrive out of control and let off, loosing position.

A similar argument that beginners and intermed riders, should stay off the pro level boards until their skills are better.

Thoughts?

Have you ever ridden a faster board? The Watson is already a pretty slow board compared to some. I prefer the fastest board I can get because its easier to get your speed, for more air. I agree with Big Heavy, you should just stay on your Watson especially since its already a great board to learn on. By the way, I landed my first backroll on a Lyman in 2008, which is a super fast board. Plus I learned extremely fast on it, 2 years later and I just landed my first crow mobe 5 this past week

I havent ridden alot of different boards, but this is faster than my Player and the Marius and Absolute that I have ridden.

Still looking for a board comparison site, even a comparison within a manufacturers lineup that they report

The 2010 Alliance Gear Guide did a board test. It rated a few boards on speed, edging, ollie, pop & swing weight. Just remember that generally the more fin and rocker a board has, the slower it will be. More rocker also = more pop. More fin also = better tracking. Everything is a tradeoff.

A slow board does not make it easier to ride. I personally like fast boards for the same reason Benj said. I think a fast board may even make spins a little easier because line tension may be slightly easier to manage for a beginner.

I would suggest demoing boards to see what you like. Unless you just hate the Watson, I would work on your riding foundation and the rest will come no matter what board you ride. Save your money and do a one month subscription to LearnWake.com.