Axis A22 , Are they good boats?

Recently, one of my buddies went down to florida and found a sweet deal on an Axis A22. I was wondering if anyone has rode behind one of these and what they think of the wake and the wake surf behind it? I am thinking about getting a new boat close to the end of the season so I can get a good deal on one, but need some good suggestions based on wake and price. I am graduating college in December and have a lot of school loans to pay off, but I still want to get something new for next year. I am considering a Wakesetter, SAN 210, Axis A22, and a Mastercraft x2.. ANY suggestions??

never heard anything much from axis but i no that they are a branch off of malibu, If i were you i would wait until early next yr to grab a boat otherwise you would be paying for it without using it, id grab a 210

Do a search of the forums and you should find some good reviews.

i got a pull the morning of the knoxville Pro tour. when i hit the wake i got booted higher and further than any other boat, i dropped the rope. didnt expect it
drove it later. it was incredible.
and i have an x-star w the pro tour ballast...
the AXIS will be my next boat

Rode on one this weekend. Chandler rode behind it and the wake was nice just a little smaller than ours (it only had 900lbs in it), but with some weight added it is a nice wake. It's a lot like a nautique wake he says (at 65ft it was more rolled, not peaky which he likes, but at 70ft and beyond I think it would be great.) I was actually impressed with the boat itself, comfy interior, very roomy, lots of storage. A sharp looking boat overall. It doesn't have all the bells and whistles a lot of the new boats have, but you can add stuff to it if you like all the extras.

If BU would suck it up kill the Ride series and replace it with the A22 I think we would see more of them out there. I would own one we just don't know how long this brand will last and if BU will back it.

I have been behind two different axis and both times the wake was great. It had tons of pop to it. Great boat all around and for that price you can't beat it.

Great boat and wake. We rode one a couple of months ago. It was a lot of fun.

I went and checked one out last week and was very impressed.

I'm going to test drive one when I get back from vacation and if the price/drive is right and I get wifey approval it will be parked in my driveway in no time.

I did not realize they were part of malibu. I was looking at their boats (on the web) and I liked the design. I am curious if their wakes resemble malibu's?

The AXIS is based off of the old VLX (now V-ride) hull, so the wake is very similar with stock ballast. However, above the water line there is much more storage space for additional ballast. In fact, there are ballast lines already plumbed into the lockers to accomodate additional ballast.

I rode one a couple of weeks ago with around 3k ballast and the wake was one of the largest I've ridden. IMO with the AXIS you get all of the benefits of a Malibu less the bling and extra $$$.

I believe it is based on the LSV hull, not VLX, so it wouldn't be the same as the new ride series.

The Axis I rode on was the national sales rep's Axis. He told me it was "based" off (not exactly the same since it's longer) off of the old VLX (current V-ride) hull.

Aren't the 04-07 LSV and 05-08 VLX both based on a very similar hull? If the Axis is based on either of these then it is based on the Ride series as there is a 21(VLX) Ride and 23(LSV) Ride. Now if it is based on the 2008 and newer LSV that is a different story.

yea, I was told 04-07 LSV

I have spent about 20 hours driving an A22 in competition this year. Here are some of my observations.
It drives, handles, tracks and turns very well. The steering is easy. The driver seat is very comfortable. After 8 hours straight in the seat it was still comfortable. The gages are simple. The cruise control is simple. Switch on/off with one toggle and adjust speed with another toggle. It is in a user friendly location on the dash. It held speed pretty good. I'd say as well as the perfect pass in my boat but with out any bells and whistles. The throttle was well positioned and set so your arm had a rest on the shelf. The 09 had a button on top and the 2010 had the traditional lift ring under the throttle ball. I personally did not like the mirror on the windshield. I would opt for a tower mount. Driving the boat you don't notice the open windshield until you are picking up a rider or looking out the side. It's nice not have anything to look over/around/under. The 2009 boat had no carpet. The 2010 had a mat. It was not as comfortable as carpet but functional. It was light grey and when it got hot we just poured water on the mat and it was much Cooler. No carpet to stain and it dried relatively quickly. There is no cooler or ice chest. There is a soft ice chest (bag) but we did not use it. The upholstery is Malibu quality. Padding is fairly dense but I can't compare to other BU's since I don't own one. It is better than my Moomba LSV. The 2010 has black grip tape in slip areas. Great grip, but black was hot and you couldn't stand on it. Swim deck pad is very cooshy. Ballast fills pretty quick. The plug and play sacks are flyhigh. The wedge is the floating style. It was easy to deploy. Not a lot of frills on the interior. The quality's there but it's bare bones. It's a hardcore wake boat with alot of room. Back rest seats and slide out skybox seating are nice. It has a lot of free board. The sides of the boat are a lot taller than they look. It's actually hard to climb over from the trailer. The swim deck is the easiest entry point.
The wake............ Don't judge the wake (or any wake) from what you get at a private waterski/wakeboard lake. Go try it at you own lake in deep water. The wake has a great shape. the trough is minimal, the transition is smooth and medium in length and it has a firm lip. With the 900lbs the wake is not big but has good shape. With the all the factory plug and play ballast and wedge the wake is big and probably the best booter on the market for $40 to $45K. I think the wake looks more like an LSV wake with a lip on it. It's definitely similar yet different. I'd upgrade to the wake board prop.
After that it's personal preference on the looks and all that. I would say it's a solid product.

east coast, i would scratch x2 off that list. i like the wake on the other 3 a lot more than that one. they're all different though. it sounds like your main consideration are wake and price. if that's the case, the axis would be an awesome boat for you. that's who they built the boat for.

Here's how I see AXIS. Feel free to argue... it is part of Malibu. Malibu makes good boats that have great wakes. When D. Harf wanted to try 1260s he did it behind a Malibu. From what I know, the hull is based off of an LSV hull, just a little shorter. Seems like there's definitley a market for a new boat with a great wake that is price concious, so Adam McCall and team set out to build it. I think it can be very price point if you want to build it that way, but it's "what's a couple hundred here, another 500 there" when you're already spending 40k or so? I don't know, it would be like getting a brand new double cab truck with no options. Axis took everything a wakeboarder wants, and made a boat based on that. They have some unique design features that grow on you. You'll start hearing more and more about this brand.

I would pay off the student loans first but whatever man. Live it up while you're young right!}}

Based on wake and price, I wouldn't hesitate to get the Axis if you are going to buy a boat. I rode behind an A22 Sunday and the wake was awesome. It is very big but still has a nice transition. I can't say enough about how good it was. There is plenty of room in the boat and some really nice features. The windshield design should catch on in the industry. It is great for the driver. Sunday was also an unseasonably cool day yet I couldn't tell that any more air was getting around the windshield then in my boat.

Some other little things that you will notice in a positive way. The grip tape that they put around parts of the boat are great. The way the platform is molded is very nice. Plenty of cupholders. Seats were very comfortable.

I should mention too that we had a pretty good load of people and ballast. But we made some tight turns that I know many other boats would have struggled with.

I have a 2008 VLX and love everything about it so I will give some great props to it too. But since you mentioned price and you can save around $20,000 I would go for the Axis and use the other to pay on your school loans. With Malibu behind them you can't go wrong.