Keep breaking boards

Ok so I have this terrible problem of breakin boards all the time taking stuff into the flats. I know alot of people have this problem so I have a question. Do all of these rail specific boards everyone is putting out to hold up better on rails still ride good on the wake (pop, landings, tracking, etc) or are they so cable/rail specific that you wouldn't want to ride them behind the boat? Would they even hold up better to impact abuse from landing in the flats or they just geared towards holding up to rail abuse? Any experience or feedback would be greatly appreciated because I'm running out of coin

Warranty's maybe, Broke my Transcend they replaced it no prob.

Get a Slingshot!

What brand of boards do you keep breaking?

Slingshot Recoil without a doubt.

honestly if you snap a SS you're a freak... I ride rails all the time with mine, take it straight to behind the boat and it has no signs of breakage at all. Pops better than any other board I've been on and the 09+ stuff slides like a dream

This vid (halfway through) shows Jeff house bending the •••••••• of one of the boards..... and honestly I've done the same thing to mine a lot, they don't break just give and come right back the how they should.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxKzEkKGIDM

There isn't really a board available here in the states that has been designed specifically for cable, so for the most part they all ride pretty well on the boat.

Yes they would hold up a little better with the slider base but your main concern is the core snapping.

You should be able to warrenty your snapping board if you don't hit any rails.

IMO wait for the 2010 Bill board from Ronix. That thing is a tank, rides like a dream and is light. All the new high end Ronix boards have a better stronger core and the Krypto Cable which I can't stop raving about, it makes a board so much more responsive and last waaaaaaay longer.

(Message edited by kristian on August 25, 2009)

Liquid force mostly. I love their shapes and the way they ride but I've broken shanes, substances, watsons, a witness.... I have been thinkin about switchin to jstar because I have never put anything on my feet from HL or CWB that I liked. Strictly my preference!!!! I just thought i'd ask about the grind/rail boards just to see. And until slingshot makes a board that has the boot of my stiff three stages, you won't catch me on one. I've ridden them, the pop is big but it doesn't hold a candle to a nice stiff board. Thats why you see guys from other companies just bootin in ads, videos, etc and every time you see someone on a slingshot they're a good 3-5 feet lower.

The thing about breaking boards is if you break boards you break boards it does not matter what brand it is. They will break. Trust me. I hav broke a lot of boards from damn near every brand. Find somethin you like and ride it. If it breaks send it in. You should def have atleast one back up board with you at all times

yeah i've learned that in my time but LF will only warranty the boards i buy. I buy one, snap it, they warranty it, send a new one, snap the new one...... then I have to buy another one. I don't get it. I must do something wrong. I'm a little dude, (150 lbs) and i see big guys dropping in from serious altitude and don't break stuff, i mean look at rusty, and i know that has nothing to do with the board because i have proof the marek is very breakable. Maybe I should redirect my thread and ask, is there some way to still go massive and not break my boards? lol

Do you have some video that you could post of you going big and into the flats?

Maybe look at Randall's Company shape, it has the process of a Slingshot board but laid up stronger to have more of a stiff snap of the wake.

Also Lyman's board was designed to be durable.

I'd say the way to not break boards is to wait 5 years. At 26 with five more years of boosting into the flats your knees might tell you to start taking things wake to wake. I know mine did...

What size board are you riding ?

Ride a bigger board, that should help.

(Message edited by innov8 on August 25, 2009)

I have been riding 133-135's. I guess it's time to move up to 137. I never thought about that, I just feel like I'm riding this massive plank when I ride bigger boards but I guess thats all I can do. Sorry no video. I might can find a couple of pics.


this is one of me coming down from a roll into the flats and one coming down from a whirly into the flats. sorry my photo library is limited.

definatly going big... i would switch to a bigger board. i'm in the same weight range as you 150-160 and i've always rode 131s-133s bought a 135lyman this year and i'm loving it, i think my next board will be in the 138 range

i definatly notice the difference in pop and softer landing with a bigger board, and it seems like everyone is riding bigger in the lats few years

Yes go bigger with your board! Jump on a 138 you'll love it. May take a set or two to get used to it but it'll help your riding a lot!

I agree. Ride a 138...at least.

"I buy one, snap it, they warranty it, send a new one, snap the new one...... then I have to buy another one. " SCREW THAT!!

why screw that? that makes sense to me. if you're breaking boards cuz of you're style of riding and you don't want to keep buying boards all of the time then change your riding style or the size of the board you ride.

i'll give you a good example. i ride with a guy who goes huge and used to straight up snap boards right down the middle like they were twigs. he's a little guy too. this year he switched to a 142 and has not broken a single board. hell i'd say he even goes a little bigger on the big board...if you're gonna be dishin out huge landings then you need to get on a bigger board...

(Message edited by romes on August 26, 2009)

I said screw that to LF only warrantying the boards he buys. Meaning that when he breaks the warranty replacement, he has to buy the next one. Are we talking about the same thing?

I don't get a free surfboard if I break one. Some people are hard on boards some are not. Price you have to pay IMO. I think wake companies do a great job of taking care of their customers. There has to be a limit somewhere.

cwb has the same policy man not all of us get flow from board companies

Yeah, I agree with them too, I just don't like paying the price for it. I also agree that wake companies take good care of us, but if they warrantied boards I recieved on previous warranty claims, they might as well be putting me on their team lol because I'd never pay for another board. Its guaranteed I'll break atleast two a season but I am going to buy a bigger board here shortly, the one I'm riding now is losing snap anyway so it probably has another two or three sets left in it. Plus all the 09 gear is about to go on SALE so I'll cop a couple 137-139's in a week or two. Thanks for the input guys, I was about at the end of my rope.

I'm not sure about these days, but I know back when my local shop used to sponsor Rus, he would go through a board a week.. Maybe the newer technology has helped that, cuz this was long before the days of the Marek... even before CT bindings.

Back in the day I snapped the Obrien double ender132, Liquid forces trip 132, Hyperlite Murray 128....

I moved too the Liquid force Substance 135 in 2005 and at 130 - 135lbs I can't snap the thing not even after the 1000+ raley's that I've done on it since.

"I moved too the Liquid force Substance 135 in 2005"

I lied, It was the LF Balance, just checked the profile... I'm So out of touch that I don't give a ----! Just lucky to still SKI!

My suggestion is a bigger board. What your doing is what the wake engineers would call "spanning" the board. Your flexing it beyond its capability and therefore it snaps, but already know that. A larger board where you are not snading with your stance all the way out will really help reduce the amount that you are flexing the board.

I do have a questoin related to you breaking these boards, where are they snapping, typically boards snap behind the front foot or in front of the rear foot. I break tons of boards, usually right behind my front foot, and usually its always because I land something front foot heavy, Like a front flip for example.


Seems like everyone who rides flex is saying they dont break, I would ask wakeworlder IronJay about that he I have seen him break a bunch of slingshots, and tear the boots off off them as well.

The simple fact is that boards break, if you ride hard and ride a lot they break. Thats how it works.

J-Rod - Nick is right. CWB only warranties from the original date of purchase. If you get a brand new board under warranty and break it the first time out but you are out of the warranty period at that time, then you are SOL.

I think most of the companies have these same warranty rules, but they enforce them differently. Hyperlite replaced a 6 year old board for me when the inserts ripped out. I'm sure that board wasn't under warranty anymore, but I guess it is up to their discretion as to what they want to do.

Pretty sue Hyperlite is the only Wake Co left that still offers a LIFETIME warranty.

limited lifetime. Read the fine print. I broke mine after having it for two and half years and had to pay for the next but at a discount. There is no such thing as an unconditional lifetime.

That has not been my experience with Hyperlite, I have had boards covered at no cost to the customer that were older then 2 1/2 years.

J-Rod, I think the LF warranty reads one year limited warranty. As in you break the first one, they replace it expecting the new board should get you through the remainder of the year from the purchase date of the original board.

It sounds fair to me, I typically break one board a year, but I'm a bigger guy and ride them pretty hard. So I wind up purchasing a new board every other year. Some shops will just go ahead and warranty the replacement boards, just depends I guess.

Agree with BG 100% on having a back up board. When I went down with my ACL in July I didn't have one (I usually do). I had broken my LF Witness the week before and was waiting to get it warrantied. I was riding an old LF Subjekt from 2005, and the old 8 inch hole pattern wouldn't let me stance all the way out with my newer boots. This forced a narrow, straight legged stance which I think could have had something to do with my injury.

Minute changes in you stance can significantly change your body position and get you in a bad spot. Always have a back up board! Buy a closeout with last year's graphics, that's what I do to save $$$

Breaking boards is a characteristic of riding style. I know guys that don't go that big and break boards regularly, and I know guys that go huge and never break boards.

I used to think it was cool to break boards (dood, you're savage... LOL!), but now I'd be much happier keeping my gear together. In 9 years of riding I've destroyed plenty of boards (sliders, etc), but I've only broken one.

Incidently... Boards seem to get stronger with age. If they make it through the first few hard landings and flex a few times they seem to hold up better. It's been my experience that if a board is going to break it'll do it on the first few rides.

Oh, and the "strong" board thing is cyclical. If a board company is making lightweight gear, then they'll be the next company to get bashed for boards breaking. Consequently their boards will get heavier and the next company that has a rep for strong boards will start making lighter cores that'll be fragile. All the companies have gone through this. I remember times when each company had a reputation for weak boards.

I bet if you watch some vid of breaking boards you'll find a consistency with the landings that break the boards (straight legs, nose heavy, tail heavy, coming right out of a rotation, etc).

(Message edited by guido on August 28, 2009)

AT O'BRIEN WE WILL KEEP REPLACING BOARDS FOR YOU over and over and over again. We replace you break it we replace it. I was actually told that if it keeps happening over and over, the will try to figure out why and possible make you an much stronger board!

Not to mention the FULL RAIL warranty on our jib boards.

Land bolts!

Wakeboarding has the most relaxed warranty policy , its crazy. Surfboards are expensive, but if you break one its all you. If you snap a skateboard, you are buying a new one. I would love to see the wakeboard industry tighten up its warranty like the other industries, maybe more shops would stay open because people would start buying boards again.

Snapping a wakeboard from landing wrong is not a manufacturer defect, its rider error.

Ive said it before and ill say it again,
Demand more from wakeboard companies. Stop worrying about have the lightest, thinnest set up that will snap in a few sets. Demand durability. You never know, maybe the prices of boards will go down later because of less warranty claims.

I'm sure this has been said but I know from experience that Liquid Force will warranty a broken board that has already been warrantied once before. It happened to me acouple months ago. They sent me a new one, no questions asked. I would talk to them again about it.

just ordered a 138 so I will finish out the season with a bigger board and see what happens. hopefully this will remedy the problem. And yes most of my boards break right behind the front foot, almost right down the middle but i have broken a couple right in front of my front foot and pretty much just broke off the nose all together. I don't think its rider error, but i have noticed that i break boards when i'm learning new moves and just trying to get the landing, which is more often than not flat and outside the wake. i've never broken a board landing on the wake.