Choosing a wakesurf board
 

Im looking to get a board, it will be my first one. Please help, here is a little summary of what i want.

Ive only surfed once before and i loved it except it was a skim style so it felt too loose for me. This made me think i want a surf style board. Ive narrowed it down between the shred stixx ringer, an the byerly hazard.
I like the shred stixx because i heard it is a fast board which would help me stay in the wake which i had problems with, and it would be more stable than skim but i can still carve.
I also likethe hazard because it is very customizable and i heard it is technically surfstyle but it is similar to a skim board so iget the best of both worlds basically. Also it is 100$ cheaper

I dont have a boat yet but we are mostly looking at mb sports b52's, so i think the wake i'll be using is pretty big. And im 5'7, 155 lbs.
Any information or recomendations on either board would be helpful, thanks

Between those, Ringer... but you are gonna hear alot of options on here. If you want to get into surf style with a real board though a thruster setup is a good place to start. I have an older shredstixx board and its slower than my new board (soulcraft btw) but that board taught me a lot about technique (pumping, turning, looking cool) you aren't going to get that in a lesser board... for 100 bucks more you gotta just step up.

Thanks ben! Thats some really good info. Has anyone else tried the hazard board?

That Byerly is way heavy, and I have not heard any positive notes on it. The SS is a way better board! If those are your choices, I would go with the Shredd Stick. I'm going to suggest taking a look at Soulcraft, because I'm a Soulcraft rider for life, and they are by far the best boards I have ridden, but thats just my own opinion ( and a lot of others :) )

At your height and weight you can also consider a Shred Stixx Skywalker, which is significantly less expensive than a Ringer and Hazard. Retail is $499.

Honestly, the small hazard and the ringer are a little too big for you. They will be easy to learn on, but you will probably want to seek a slightly smaller board.

If you choose a Skywalker, I can add canard fins giving you more fins options. The Skywalker is very similar to the soul craft jetty, but a little faster and designed more for above the lip surfing.

Hazard... yeah 'best of both worlds' but champ of neither. The hazard is generally a step-up from the hyper broadcast, and designed by the same person.

If you PM me or give me a shout we can talk about getting you the right board for you off the shelf or custom.

Nick
5127992153

Thank for the input, but the soulcraft are little out of my price range, but I'll keep it in mind for my next board!

Nick you need a dealer here in OR so I can ride your new shapes....

shredd sticks makes a good stick but i dont know much about them. i would suggest doing research on custom hand made surf style brands. Day1wake, the walker project, soulcraft, shredd sticks. etc. theres a lot out there. i ride a walker project its a great board. i am demoing day1wake surf boards tomorrow and they are going to custom build a board just for me. i say spend the money on a good board. boards like byerly ronix and large name brands are mass produced and are cookie cuter boards. i rather have a board that someone took time and built then a machine pressing them out. inland surf are good to. but they are mass produced.

X2. I've been looking into getting a surf-style board. Soulcraft and Shred Stixx are at the top of my list, as well as the new surf-style line coming from Phase 5.

Ben, are you the one with the Shred Stixx in Bend? That thing has been posted forever!

yeah Mason that's me, no one surfs real boards over here so they don't understand why they cost what they do. We keep the board on the boat still and ride it from time to time ocean surfers tend to dig it but I've dropped 40 pounds and progressed a little bit so the board isn't a fit for me any more. you still looking for one? Come over the hill and ride with us... we have a few soulcrafts and my older shredstixx we can setup goofy for ya...

Hey Ben, yeah we do, let me know if you know a good shop that carries premium boards. Otherwise, I can probably send you out some stuff to try in the future.

Nick

Ben, Mason, sounds like Nick will hook you guys up! I can remember riding a SS Ja Mako back a few years, and really liked it! to bad my buddy sold it! It was a fun board!

Everyone needs to ask their local shop to stock real wakesurf boards. As much as I love shipping out boards around the country, I think the sport would benefit so much from better distribution and availability of quality boards.
It costs a lot more and makes shops less money, but if shops see that they are losing sales and that there is a demand they will stock them. If you always order online, shops have no reason to become dealers (let alone have a demo program).

Ha nice! I think I might of even thrown you an offer back in the spring. Good for you, hold steady and I'm sure someone who knows what it is will pick it up for the price you are asking. NWBoatSports in Portland (Bryan) carries a few Soulcrafts that I've been wanting to demo. If I am ever in Bend/Redmond/Madras, I'll have to get ahold of you. Where do you guys usually ride? Lake Billy Chinook? Prineville Reservoir? Nice to see some fellow Oregonians here on WW.

Nick,

You should try and get in touch with Active Water Sports or NWBoatSports. I went in to Active Water Sports the other day and their surf section was lined with Ronix, LF, and Byerly boards:banghead:. It's tough to find shops who have legitimate boards (Phase 5, Shred Stixx, Soulcraft, Inland Surfer, Victoria, Triple X, etc.) I've never been to NWBoatSports, but as I previously said I think they have more of a selection when it comes to independent board shops. I can not stand the Wakeboard companies surf board... cookie cutter and produced by the thousands overseas. If you are ever looking for individuals in Oregon to try some of your products out, feel free to PM me. I usually get out 1-2 a week with a good sized group of people who surf up-and-down the Willamette River and surrounding lakes.

I hope so. I've always heard good things about Shred Stixx.

I couldn't agree with you any more Mitch. Do you know of anywhere that carries Victoria skimboards in Oregon? I have a 51" Phase 5 Danielo Pro Carbon, but I have been itching to try a shorter boards... say a 48" board.

Mason, try this link https://ocean.victoriaskimboards.com/dealer-locator/
There are a ton of Victoria dealers in Oregon, but I doubt any carry their wakesurf line. Victoria is probably the largest skimboard company in the world so they have great distribution. They are still growing their wake line, but any Victoria dealers can order the wakesurf boards.

Most boat/wake shops don't carry the small brands because many of the really small board companies will sell from under the dealer, give super low margins, and the boards are generally harder to sell because it's such a niche market. But I don't know why more shops don't carry Inland Surfer, Phase 5, Soulcraft and Shred Stixx, they are great for both shops and customers.

Cool, thanks for the link Mitch and explanation... much appreciated!

so update. i just had a surf session with the owners bryce and johnathan of Day1Wake and there pro trevor miller on sat. they are going to be building me a custom board and i am stoked. the customer service they have shown me is bar none. there product is amazing and they have boards for all stages of surfers. and price very well. check out day1wake.com and give them a call. 206.280.6223