Surfstyle vs Skimstyle vs...?

surfdad 04-07-2006, 9:53 AM

I had HOPED to have the board completed by the AZ contest, but...the best laid plans.

Last year we messed around with a wakeboard behind the boat and you can surf it, but it's ugly. So then we took an old surfstyle board and "superglued" some velcro and foot straps onto it - the footstraps that you'd find on a Tow-In board or on the expert level Flow Boards.

It's sick. :-)

It allows much higher airs and control of the board while airborne. So ollie 180's are almost effortless and things like aerial 3's and inverted tricks become possible.

The limitation, of course, is on tricks that require horizontal rotation of the board itself, with a static or reverse orientation of the rider. Which is the forte of skimmers.

The construction of this board will actually have the inset like on a tow-in.

Hypothetical speaking, if someone lands a rodeo (sans rope - like a snowboard), does this level of innovation require a third level or genre of wakesurfing? So there would be surf, skim and strap? :-)

Or do we see the sport as so dynamic at this stage that we just wait and see what else develops, call it all "good" and wakesurfing?

(Message edited by surfdad on April 07, 2006)

(caskimmer) · (caskimmer) **Join Date: Apr 2006** 04-07-2006, 10:05 AM

Have you seen the next generation of "sectordeck" style traction all the surf companies have been experimenting with lately?

Pretty sick!

surfdad 04-07-2006, 10:09 AM

Is that the booties and velcro like stuff? :-)

I have seen that, looks sick. Have you tried it? Do you know of anywhere to buy it? I haven't been able to find a retail source for it.

(Message edited by surfdad on April 07, 2006)

(caskimmer) · (caskimmer) **Join Date: Apr 2006** 04-07-2006, 10:26 AM

All the ones I've seen are still prototypes.

(entrustclothing)

it would take a big wake to pull a rodeo off of :-)

i mean a trick like that takes a lot of speed and power to pull off. ive attemped a few rodeos on a snowboard, never been successful, but i can land front rolls reguarly and the occasional 720 misty flip. those tricks take a lot of power and speed, i don't really see that being possible on a 3' wave going 9mph. but believe me i will be the first trying it :-)

if i get straps on my board

surfdad 04-07-2006, 11:25 AM

It's possible :-)

But, I think more importantly for the masses is that some of the snowboard style tricks can migrate over to wakesurfing. An aerial 3 if you hit off the lip and land just inside the transition is pretty straightforward. Grapped, boned 3's, etc. It's the control of the board in the air that's the big advantage. And it LOOKS spectacular.

(entrustclothing)

yes but an aerial 360 is a lot easier than a rodeo flip :-)

surfdad 04-07-2006, 11:52 AM

No, I understand - that was why I qualified that whole paragraph with: "...more importantly for the masses..."

You know from your snowboarding, that you can do a flip in 5 ft (2 up and 3 down :-)

) and I've noticed that with the surfstyle drive and straps you can ride faster, 13 - 13.5 is doable. :-)

I'm telling you, you'll be doing flips this summer if you let go of that LF board. :-)

I really want to see Mike Armstrong of Calibrated and former Burton team rider on a surfstyle board with straps. I'd bet he'd kill it.

BUT...back to my question...is it all still wakesurfing? In a competition, would there need to be a separate classification, especially if we see talented folks doing any sort of flip.

(entrustclothing)

build me a board with straps and i'll ride it :-)

Johnny Wadd 04-07-2006, 12:36 PM

If you build it..they will ride. Jeff I love the new flame graphics on the Walker boards. It would match my boat killer. Would you be down to let me demo one of those boards. I went big when I bought my Shred Stixx and I am going to step down in size this year. Believe it or not since my Shred Stixx is 5'8" I have stepped down my ocean board from a 6'10" big boy to a 6'2". I love wake surfing. Sorry for stealing this thread.
Board More/Work Less!
Johnny Wadd$

surfdad 04-07-2006, 12:53 PM

Entrust, some ride the one that we get setup, just for giggles.

Not to worry John Boy. How big do you go? Dennis is 240ish, the first board we made was 6'2" and I chopped that down to 5'2". BUT - it's like 3 inches thick.

Johnny Wadd 04-07-2006, 3:14 PM

Jeff,
I'm 6' 190#. I went with the 5'8" even though Jerry at Sred Stixx said I should go smaller. I thought since I surf a 6'10" that I needed to go big BUT that's not true for wakesurfing.
Late$
J

surfdad 04-08-2006, 6:28 AM

Yeah, you don't need that much length. In the ocean you need the length to paddle in, but no such worries behind the boat. We were out yesterday (in the rain and hail :-)

) and Dennis (who now claims he weighs 270! :-)

) free surfed the Inland Surfer Blue Lake which is 5'6". I'm pushing 180 and ride a 4'6" that is about 2+ inches thick. I'd bet you could go substantially smaller.

(entrustclothing)

my buddy is about 6' and 180lbs and he rides my 4'6" skimskate

Johnny Wadd 04-08-2006, 11:49 AM

I definitely need something think due to my weight. I want to try something around 5' or just under. I was driving down Brentwood Blvd. and saw what appeared to be wakesurf boards at this place called x-treme motorsports. They had a rack full of them. I may go check them out.
Board More/Work Less!

surfdad 04-08-2006, 7:01 PM

Hey John Boy, that is Gary from Xtreme Board Company...he owns both biz's. He's a great guy to deal with. Hopefully he'll be dropping off a board or two for us to demo. You can tag along with us or I'm sure Gary would let you tag along with him to test a board or two.