Hi! I'm new to this forum!
 

Hi all, I'm new to your forum and wanted to say hi! I'm a kiteboarder that wants to start wake boarding in the wind off season. I have a few good mates with great boats that I can join, but I need my own board.

I am 5'10 and 205 lbs, and am competent on a wake board. I can jump wake to wake and throw in 180's. last trick I've been attempting is a HS back roll. I really want to improve my strength and flexibility as well as my board skills. At this stage I'm leaning towards a 145 Hyperlite Marek Nova. I LOVE the look of it and am glad to have a larger board. I ride a 140cm kite board and like faster moving boards that sit high on the waterline. I also like the stability that a larger board has for landings. Is there anyone out there that thinks I might be making the wrong decision with this board?

Problem I have is with my boots. I have bought a pair of LF vantage CT boots, but I don't feel that I can squeeze them tight enough. When I crash my ankles lift and half pulls out out leading to a lot of pain. I have size 10 feet usually, these boots are 10-11 sized, so I think might be a size too big. What do you guys think? Is the heel lift ankle pulling out thing normal with you guys?

I have no info on your board choice, but for wakeboarding it is normal to eject from your bindings. If you are only ejecting halfway I assume that your bindings might be too tight.

Too tight as in they wont eject and might be the cause of of your ankle soreness

Welcome to WW! As far as your board of choice, why are you looking to ride a 145? That's a pretty big board for your size, but bigger boards will have a little more pop and softer landings. Only problem is you increase swing weight so if you're looking to get into spins it will be a little tougher than say riding a 140cm.

As far as the Vantange bindings, they are set up to be more of a park binding. The straps allow you to adjust to preference so that you can poke and press things out to the max. They aren't really the best binding for behind the boat. They work don't get me wrong, but I've found them to be very unsupportive when riding wake to wake, especially when landing in the flats. If you still want some flex in your bindings, try out the shane CT. If you want something very supportive and stiff, go with the Watson CT or the Soven CT. I believe the Soven's are or were the stiffest in the LF line. Good luck and welcome to the site

I am not a kiteboarder but is there any flex to kiteboards? Might be good transition to go with a flex board like slingshot such as the kine or hooke. I love mine. Good board for all levels and you can find last years models cheaper

My brother is pretty new to boarding and rides a ronix district which he loves, some of my more advanced buddies also like it alot.

I'm 5'10 / 160 lbs. I kiteboard a decent amount, and ride a crazyfly raptor pro when kiting, and a hyperlite marek bio 141 behind the boat. The marek is a great choice, fast and buoyant. I think you'll certainly like it alot. But I tend to agree with Dave O here, you may be better suited for the141 over the 145. I can tell you, wakeboards no matter what size they are, land a hell of a lot softer than kiteboards do, so you're covered there regardless of size choice. Being that you're used to a lighter board, you may appreciate the nova core. But if you're planning on hitting any kind of obstacles or taking it to the cable, the bio might be a better choice for you. For that reason and $, most people are riding biolite..

Wow thanks so much for the warm welcome! I do appreciate all of you opinions! Well , it seems most of you think the 145 is bigger than I need so I take on your advice and look into the 140. All of my riding will be behind the boat and don't expect to be hitting kickers or sliders. Curt, I have a question for you about the nova vs bio boards, is the nova actually lighter in real life? I doubt a couple of ounces makes too might of a difference, so is the $300 price difference between the nova and the bio really get you a much lighter board?

I was interested in a wood board as all kiteboards are wood core, and I can attest to its durability, however I know it sounds stupid, but I don't like the graphics of any of the wood boards that I have seen. Marbe next year there will be a set of wood boards that I might like, but this year, I'd only really be keen on the SS Hooke, or LF BOB, but I don't want a octopus on my board and I hate the orange colour of the Bob. I gotta like the look of my board to enjoy using it!

I am concerned about the durability if the hyperlite marek... Particularly the edges as I remember seeing foam core boards all delaminated. Don't know if the wake industry has fixed that problem?

Yeah kiteboards have flex, but mainly because they have less rocker to keep speed up, so the flex makes the board softer on landing. For kiteboards. More pop comes from stiffer boards. Is that the same for wake boards?

At this stage, I'd like to be riding wake to wake over landing into the flats. Is this just a phase I'm going through? Is there a better board for that than others?

Sorry for so many questions!

Look at boards with a 3 stage rockers, they will help accentuate your style and desire to ride wake to wake

the Slingshot Hooke and LF Bob are both boards that have rocker patterns that will accentuate a wake to wake style
The 2012 Hooke is green with a forest background and bigfoot's face on it. there is also the B.O.B grind which is a little flexier than the orange bob and is mostly blue if you like that. Slingshot recoil is the same shape as the hooke but no channels and more flexy

other 3 stage wood boards you may not have seen:
Humanoid 1up
CTRL wakeboards (newer brand, not sure which in the line to recommend, built from various materials)
LWA wakeboards (small company sold mainly in asia and europe, so it might be some shipping time to get one?)
Hyperlite Webb (wood and foam)
LiquidForce Watson and Shane (both wood and Foam)
Byerly Jib (wood and Foam)
Obrien Baker, Bruce, Contra (All wood and foam)

oops, forgot ronix...
Ronix Code 22, William, and Phoenix Project

I wonder what the ronix code 22 and the ronix code 55 boots are like? I haven't heard anyone who rides them

I'm not totally sure on what the actual weight difference is between nova and bio on the marek.. But I can definitely tell you that the bio marek has been very durable for me. Last season i rode from about april through october 5 days a week behind the boat. I hit obstacles at my cable park maybe once a week or so. I've never had a problem. As far delamination goes, that shouldn't happen with any board really. Mostly all board companies cover that type of damage under warranty. And most certainly if your're not hitting any obstacles, not something I think you'd have to worry too much about.

have not rode the code 22 and boots, but i have heard the boots are pretty stiff like the Ronix cells of the past.
The code 22 is Deans new pro-model for 2013 so that would explain why few have rode it. the previous model, the mana was a good seller, so the code 22 i am sure will begin to be picked up by people more and more.