I know this question has been brought up alot but

Well here is my question. I borrowed my dealers skimsurf board for the last week or two. I learned to surf with it. It is a hyperlight surfboard (don't remember what model but it is a 4'9" in length). I like the board and can easily surf without the rope. My friend who is also very big into surfing started to look into "surfstyle" boards and we borrowed a few boards from Shorline wakesurf co. We went out last night and i was having a hard time keeping my speed in the "pocket". I liked the surf style board because you could really cut into the wake but that was the only thing i liked about it. My friend is telling me that surf style is better and most of the pros are riding surf style boards. I want to learn to do tricks surfing like 3's, aerials, and other tricks. Do you think i was just having a bad day or is this kind of common for surf style boards? I am really getting into this and want a good board to help me advance in my skills. Can someone point out some advantages of both skim and surf wakesurf boards so i can compare? What style of boards are you guys riding? Thanks alot

Josh

JoshuaG,

I'm not sure that we have enough info to diagnose what happened with you on the SL boards. They offer several models, so it could be that you had an off night, or the board you were on was too small, or the wake was off, or you needed to adjust your stance, or...you get the picture.

Neither style is better than the other, but there certainly are preferences. Personally, I like to recommend that you have both style boards and work to become proficient at both. One of the great things about our sport is that you can ride surf style or skim style or even a longboard. Also, there are pro's on either style board, Josh Sleigh, Johnny Steig and Charley Stevens to name a few surfstyle riders. Drew Dannielo, Sean Walzer (masters) and Beaker are just a few of the skimstyle pros.

You can learn all the tricks that you have listed on either board. The one trick that is easier to complete on a skimstyle board is the shuv.

The reason being that MOST skimstyle boards have a single trailing fin. Accordingly, when the board is revert, as it is when completely a shuv, that single fin is out of the water and away from the wake. Contrast this with the way that MOST (but not all) surfstyle boards are set up. With a twin or thruster fin configuration on a surfstyle board, the inside fin will tend to grab the wake when ridden revert and twist the board around.

So, in an over simplification, if you have more of a skate background and want to learn tricks that are shuv-based, skimstyle boards are probably the way to go.

There are also what are referred to as Hybrid's. Boards like the Walzer Alpha and WP Comp X 4.5 have skimstyle outlines and small twin fin configurations. Still a little hard to LEARN shuv's on, but not impossible.

Some general pros/cons of both, not an exhaustive list by any means:

Surf

Easy to learn on.
Stable
Easy to buy locally
Properly sized, easy to progress
Storage is difficult
Some boards ding easily
Tend to be priceier

Skim

Easy to store in a rack
Lower cost models available
Sometimes easier for smaller folks to learn on
Shuv based tricks easier
Not as many manufacturers, currently
Requires a bigger wake for most folks.

Hopefully I didn't make the confusion worse, but I think that's probably a good overview.

Keep us posted on what you wind up doing.

Thank you so much for that write up. That is what i was looking for. I am going out today and hopefully I can do some surfing. There will be 14 people on my boat today so that is why i am a little hesitant to go surfing. I am going to give both boards another shot and if I end up liking the skim style board better do you recommend a specific board that is great for freestyle and still can carve nice? I am 6'1" and about 185lbs. Again thank you very much for taking the time to help me out!!!!!!!

Josh

In true skim style board choices, your choices are more limited.

1) Calibrated
2) Walzer Skim Pin
3) IS 4skim
4) Phase 5
5) Victoria has a wakesurfer also.

I haven't ridden the Walzer Skim Pin, so can't really give you any input, other than the Walzer Alpha is an excellent board.

We personally own a Calibrated Lovett Pro model and we enjoy that board, plus the Telum. Also the IS 4skim is an excellent option, the distrubtion of the IS boards is such that you can probably find one pretty easy, although you are at the upper end of the weight recommendation for that board. Phase 5's have pretty substantial distribution channels also.

The Phase 5 Prop:

http://phase5boards.com/productPropBoard.cfm

The Inland Surfer 4-skim:

http://www.inlandsurfer.com/boards.htm

Calibrated has a few models, I'd talk with Mike about choices:

http://www.calibratedwakesurfing.com/

Oh! and you're welcome.

Jeff- What skim style boards are cheaper than surf style. Josh made a reference to a Hype board... and I'd love to get an IS or Phase5 but their boards are way higher priced than surf style boards that I've seen available. Maybe I'm looking in the wrong places?? I also would assume they cost more due to there being less manufacturers as you mentioned.
I guess Phase5 is competitively priced but Hype's 07 lineup has nothing over 320 bucks thats tough to beat in a price race, when IS is a couple hundred more on most board choices.

(Message edited by tyboarder03 on July 04, 2007)

I was speaking in generalities, Tyler. I don't think that you can define surfstyle as boards that are offered by the big 3. Boards from Placebo, Outlaw, Shred Stixx, Shoreline Lakeboards, Stripes, WP, IS etc are significantly more expensive and, IMO, are more definetively surfstyle. The non-molded surfstyle boards are typically in the $500+ range. The cheapest TRUE surfstyle board is the WP Comp X 5-oh it's still at 299. Again, that single board doesn't define the broader market.

Most, not all, of the skim style boards, excluding the carbon and tex construction, are in the 365-385 range. That was my comparison, this 365-385 compared with the broadest representation of surfstyle in the $500 plus range.

Sorry if I was unclear.

Wakeoutlaws has a prettty good sampling of boards that you can compare prices on:

https://generalstore.wakeoutlaws.com/wakesurfers.php

Thanks Jeff. Just wondering... not trying to bust balls

No problem, if you had the question, I'm sure others did too.

Jeff,

Since you are the expert on most of this. I am looking for a new board. More of a surf style. I like to slash and want to get into arials. I have a IS Blue and Yellow. We also use a 6'6" retro fish which i love because it turns hard. I am looking into the Shred Stixx and WP boards. I am 6'and 140 lbs. But I have guys that are 6' 220 also on the boat all the time. I would like something that I can ride well but some of the mid guys 160 - 180 can ride. I am really looking at the Thresher Shredder. I have not found anyplace local that has them to demo.

What do you recomend?

Thanks.

Welcome to the world have a large quiver. We have a ton of boards and part of the reason is so that we have a quality ride for everyone and every situation (or as close as we can achieve).

Micheal, you are right in the perfect weight range for the majority of boards. The 180 pound folks will start to push the boundary. The Thresher would work well for you and so would the Piranha from SS. I really enjoyed the SS CH Pro model also.

As far as WP Boards...the Comp X 4.5 and 5-Oh would both work well, although the 5-Oh is exceptionally fast and you might find it is too much board for your purposes.

I would have to recommend a slightly longer board for you because of your height. In my experience, taller folks have wider stances and so are more comfortable with a slightly longer board. So I'd give the nod to the SS boards over the WP Comp X. You could always have Mike build you one, but for a stock board the SS's are hard to beat.

I prefer the CH Pro model over the Thresher. Both are great rides and have all the SS quality. Full traction, kick pad, nose guards.

I'd give Jerry a call and talk about what you want out of the board, he's exceptionally knowledgeable and always willing to help.

Let us know what you wind up doing.

Thanks Jeff. Your right I do have a wide stance. So a little bit longer board would be better but shorter then the IS Blue.

I will get in touch with Jerry next week to talk things over.

And if anyone knows anyone in the Seattle area with a SS and would let me try it out let me know.

Thanks