12 Axis A22 or 09 Tige RZ2
 

Looking to get into another boat and wanted ya'lls feedback. Looking at 2011-2012 a22 Vandall or 2009 Tige RZ2. I want a boat that throws a good wake for boarding (I'm an intermediate rider) but also has good features, nice interior And good resale. Which would you guys choose? Also may consider an 07 or so Xstar. Wanting to stay in the 50-55k range. Any feedback or advice?

eek thats tough. 09 is when tiges went from nice to NICE! what are the hours? do you surf? how specd out is the rz2 vs a22? i cant vouch for the rz2 or a22 but i thought the 22i and rzr ive been behind had awesome wakes, not gen 3 xstar but i love the rzr/r20 wake. i know the rz2 is similar to each of those hulls...

Why do you want to get out of your X2? Me thinks the A22 will be your better bet wake wise... or the Gen 3 X...

ive seen rz2 owners on the tige board get some pretty mean wakes but like i said i can only conjecture based on the other ones i ride. i think the gen 3 x is IMO the best wake of all time but not near as versatile a boat.

I've never seen (or ridden, but who's splitting hairs here! lol) an RZ2 slammed. I know what an A22 with 4k looks like and what a Gen3 X looks like with 4-5k... He's coming from an Gen2 Xstar... kind of tough to beat that wake, period...

OP what kind of wake shape do you like? that may help us

Sold my X2 a while back to buy a house. Funds are back up so looking to get another boat and boarding again. I don't surf just board. Those are the 3 I have been looking at 11-12 a22 Vandall, 09 RZ2 and 07 Xstar. Wanting a good all over boat I guess, nice with good resale but also throw a mean wake when I'm ready to board.

I like a narrower wake with more pop more so than a wider wake

the a22 from what i understand is a bit wider and the same with the star, if you only wakeboard i would say star hands down, so consistent, be prepared to run big weight though, you hit that thing and just FLOAT, pretty mellow wake though. if youre into a bit of everything go for the rz2 and if you want something a bit newer i would vote a22. FWIW my rzr kicks out a medium wide width wake that has a bit more pop/more peaky wake rz2 slammed pics are harder to come by

Thanks Simple and Delta!! I appreciate the feedback!

Ive been trying to decide between these same boats for when I decide to upgrade to a v drive. From pics that I've seen, and the simplicity of the A22, that is definitely the way I am leaning. And for the price, why not have a new boat instead of a 3-4 year old boat? I havent hit eathier wake, so take my .02 FWIW. I would try to get out and demo both boats slammed.

I loved both of the Axis A22's that I owned. For the money, that boat is hard to beat. I personally liked the wake better than the gen 2 XStar. I found it to be less rampy, with more lip, but not abrupt at all - like the 230's I had previously. I suggest you demo the boats and see what you think. Just make sure you bring enough sacs to demo the boats weighted in the same manner as you intend to while using it once you own it.

I had almost zero issues with my A22's. I got a small nick here or there in the vinyl, but that was purely my fault. My electronics, motor, ballast, etc. all worked flawlessly. The '12 A22 will have a much faster ballast system than the '11. One option that the A22 will have that the gen 2 XStar does not (unless it was added after-market) is the plug n play ballast system. This is a huge convenience plus for the A22.

wakeboarding i would say a22. i have a few buddies that ride with me that rode pro a few years back and love my a22. and i know the a22 can handle a large amount of extra ballast. i had roughly 6000lbs in my boat this weekend for surfing and wedge down. i need a new prop tho.

Wakeboarding the axis a22 or star hands down. I've never ridden the star, but the axis has one of the best wakeboard wakes on the market and it loves weight. Surfing the RZ2 is far superior than the axis or the star. You need less weight and you can get a killer surf wake out of it. None of these boats are great all around boats. The star and axis lack in the surf dept, and the RZ2 wakeboard wake tends to curl with too much weight. Bruizza has had both the axis and currently has the RZ2, he'd be the best to inform you on the two. If you like a more narrow wakeboard wake the RZ2 is significantly more narrow than the axis. The axis is a wide big super poppy wake. Fully weighted it can be scary big.

Thanks for the help guys! Sounds like for the money and the wake (for boarding) the A22 is gonna be hard to beat. I have heard about some interior issues with the 11-12 and think it was corrected on the 13's so hope this isnt that big a problem. This forum always comes through, thanks again

chris is right on the scary big fully weighted. the only time i run fully weight for boarding is when my buddies that rode pro are riding. anyone else i dump the weight and run just the wedge and its more then enough for intermediate riders. and i dont know who said a22 has a bad surf wake. but i am 395 lbs and i load my axis up with a lot of weight and it surfs amazing. i have friends that have rode tige and centurian and said it is just as good. i just have to weight the **** out of my boat to get it. and surfing i get about 13-16 hours per tank (48 gal) depending on how much weight. very easy on the pocket book for gas compared to other boats people getting 4 hours on 35 gal. that would suck.

All of this talk about 4k lbs! I haven't seen anyone weight an RZ2 with 4k lbs but if you are going to be out test driving and riding, I think you should do that and show us some pics! :D I have had my '07 RZ2 since new and absolutely love it but I have never put that kind of weight in it for wakeboarding. Tige's definitely have a mellower ramp than other boats but they do get big with weight. The bottom line here is that if you don't test ride/drive both boats, you will never know which one is right for you.

The current build of the RZ2 wouldn't do well with 4k of ballast, that's why you don't see it. Since it's wake has more of a thin peak than the axis it tends to roll over when over weighted. Malibu hulls are flatter towards the rear causing them to have wider rampier wakes that do better with more weight. The Axis is built to take a bunch of weight and give some crazy big wakes in return. The negative to this is it takes way more weight to get a good surf wake out of a BU hull than a tige hull. Surfgate has allowed them to really throw some crazy weight at their wakes though

timmy is right about testing. timmy i am weighting my boat for surfing. i am just saying that the a11 can handle any weight you throw at it.

Same here, I'm old so I mostly surf now. :eek: My daughter is just starting to jump on the wakeboard so hopefully we will need to weight it down for her before too long.

Cjh, the rz2 is capable of that kind of weight but as far as I know everyone surfs and only one member is running big weight that I know of on TO, everyone surfs the hull so it the wakeboard is overshadowed IMO. I run 2375 plus 4-6 adults on a regular basis on a similar hull at 2 feet smaller and 8 inches more narrow. Clean at 22.4. Finicky left and right like an old 220 but otherwise spot on...

I'm surprised there hasn't been more love for the gen 3 star...

We had a 2010 A22 and now have a 2012 RZ2. If all you do is wakeboard and you don't surf buy the A22. Considering you are looking in the 50-55k range for a 2011-12 A22 I would say resale is phenomenal. Our 2010 A22 was 48k brand new with tons of options including the biggest motor offered at that time. It wasn't a Vandal edition but it wasn't far off feature wise.

I can go on for paragraphs about the comparisons if you like. Or you can drop me a PM and I can go over everything in detail.

I think people are confusing generations? You're thinking D/D 205 X in 98 as gen1, then X, X-2, X-1 as Gen 2, right? Then picklefork as Gen3 with current rendition at Gen4?

The original pickle fork hull being gen 3, yes.

And there you have it, a man that has owned both boats in question laying it out there for you. :D