Hanging up the wakeboots for an Air Chair?

The reality of age is finally settling in. Fractured 3 joints in my foot and may not be able run or ride again without pain and wife has been wanting me and my sons to get out of wakeboarding for years now due to the injury risk and think this may have been the end. The kicker is that wakeboarding is pretty much most of my social life in the warm months and can't see shedding the wake life. I know I can surf but not sure that will cut it on most days.

How much fun and how safe are those air chairs? Seems like it would be pretty minimal risk of injury on the joints but can imagine some hillacious face plants once you started getting some air. Any tips on where to start? Just looking for something to get a wake like fix.

No experience but, air chair looks hard to master (but looks thrilling too). I can't imagine a slam on an air chair being any picnic.

and oh ... I forgot to bash ... WRONG FORUM ... right ?

I HAVE ONE . they aren't that hard to learn on but tricks require skill and timing.i also would say depending on height and air time a crash could cause injury. face plants aren't an issue till you try front flips.

Head over to http://www.foilforum.com and ask your question. There's a lot of folks who can help you out over there. BTW, it's a Sky Ski, not an Air Chair.

wakeskate.

I spent 2 summers riding a chair and was able to learn a variety of inverts and landed a few spins. At the time I really liked it, but it is nothing like wake boarding. The fundamentals are completely different. For instance, there are times where you need to lift up on the handle and lean forward... It will be easier on your knees and ankles but probably a little worse on your face and back. Also quite a bit scarier to go inverted when you have a 3 ft sword strapped under your butt.

I was in the same boat as you a few years ago. After a decade of hard wakeboarding I just wasnt progressing. I was pushing myself pretty hard and just kept getting nagging injuries. I had been wakeboarding year round to it wasnt an issue of being fit. I suddenly realized that after a lifetime of sports, I was just getting old. It didnt matter how hard I pushed.

My solution was kiteboarding. To me, it was the next level of board riding. The greatness of kiteboarding is that you can control alot of the variables putting strain on your body. When you feel like really charging it, you can do your wake tricks really loaded up with the kite low just like behind a boat. When you want a little more mellow, hit your tricks with the kite higher. The landings are softer and everything is more forgiving.

Very cool social side as well, just like wakeboarding.

It may take pressure off your knees but I would think it's still there for the lower back....that's what's starting to bug me more these days with the knees close behind. Wakeboarding and snowboarding for over 17 years tends to do that i guess.

I have an original Air Chair,I don't ride it anymore cause it kills my back.I rode my friends SkySki with the fat padded seat and the shock tower and it didn't feel much better.

I ride both the Skyski and wakeboard, but I can see my future will consist of more foiling then wakeboarding when I get older. Foiling is easier on the knees/ankles but can be tougher on the back after you start jumping. (I still can't do inverts on the foil, but getting close with gainers)

Look for a used one for about 1/2 the price of new and give it a try with your kids too. If nothing else it's fun to laugh at each other while trying to learn.

Dont give up wakeboarding completely, just remember what Clint says:
"a man has got to know his limitations"

"wakeskate" Yeah right. I have taken my most painfull falls in 11 years riding on a wakeskate.

I tore my kneee up again boarding a year ago this past July. Started foiling after that and it's really nice to ride and then be able to walk afterwards. For me boarding was harder on my knees, back and everything else compared to the foil. I've got 2 inverts under my belt and working on a couple more. You can take some bad face plants if your hands get out of position in general and over rotating on wake rolls can put a hurting on your ribs, but those things can happen on boards too.

holy shiz

Brad noooo!!! Riding a hydrofoil is definitely a cool feeling, but still isn't as much fun as wakeboarding. Just take it easy and get back into riding. You know you won't be able to stop

I would prefer to just cruise around and carve it up on a wakeboard rather than skyski. I recognize that it takes skill (so does playing the flute), but IMO that doesn't make it cool. If my wife were pushing me to give up wakeboarding I'd probably just get another wife (sorry, had to go there.... totally kidding).

Luckily, that's just my opinion. To each their own. I couldn't imagine not being on the boat during the summer. Even if I were just the honorary boat captain or bar tender.

I'm already starting to realize that I probably don't have a lot of hard riding years left in me as well. I will either have to be fine with some soul carves and living vicariously through my kids....once I have them anyway.

Originally Posted by drewproses

I spent 2 summers riding a chair and was able to learn a variety of inverts and landed a few spins. At the time I really liked it, but it is nothing like wake boarding. The fundamentals are completely different. For instance, there are times where you need to lift up on the handle and lean forward... It will be easier on your knees and ankles but probably a little worse on your face and back. Also quite a bit scarier to go inverted when you have a 3 ft sword strapped under your butt.

Its the Giant Sword/Dagger at the bottom that has alway sketched me out. I had a buddy get a nasty hospitalized style concussion a few years ago riding the airchair in shallow water after he hit the bottom with the sword.

I got one a few years ago, pretty much hung up the wakeboard last year but I still bust it out every now and again... Airchair / Sky Ski is a lot of fun but trust me you can hurt yourself on one just as easily as a wakeboard. Once you start jumping and learning tricks bruised ribs and blown ear drums follow closely behind. I've been lucky but didn't get to ride too much this year. Check out www.foilforum.com, lots of guys that ride and can help you out.

You will not regret your decision to go with a hydrofoil. I have been riding for a few years. Yes, you will probably bruise a rib or two every other season. If you are taught right and learn right you will not get as hurt. For example, I was pretty much self taught for the first couple of years. I would take every toy with me (wakeboard, wakeskate, sky ski). I could never really master anything. A couple of years ago, I ran across foilforum, had a couple of guys come out on the boat with me to help, and you wouldn't believe the increase in performance. I used to have back aches due to the position of my arse on the seat. Now my back has no issues after riding. I used to bruise my ribs every season due to not leaning back through out the whole jump and falling forward into the water. The great thing is the air you get and the feeling while on the water. Good luck.

I have been riding a foil for 16 years. The first 13 were injury free. I doubt there is a wakeboarder who can claim that. The last 3 have sucked due to old guy shoulder issues. I have bruised ribs a couple of times, but I don't really consider that to be an injury. I have started wearing a Rib Tect go cart racing vest with carbon fiber panels to protect the ribs and I have had no more rib issues. The vest is only 3/8 thick. You can't even see it under a flotation vest. You don't really need it until you start learning/over rotating rolls. Foilers don't get blown ear drums (mostly) because we wear helmets with ear flaps. The helmet is a must. If your feet come out of the bindings, or your seat belt fails, you could take a sharp T bar to the head. There are aftermarket bindings and seat belts that are virtually fail proof. 99% of the foil riders I know use them. There are situations (landing nose heavy) where you can get bent over backwards like a scorpion. That is unique to foiling and it truly sucks. Overall, foiling is WAY safer than boarding. Very few foilers have their surgeon on speed dial.
The social aspect. Watersports and my riding buds are where my joy comes from. Foilers love riding with wakeboarders because they know how to drive and take short sets. ) 99% of my crew are wakeboarders. Even though our gear is different, we still support each other, push progression, and celebrate something done right.
AtTheLake, to answer your question more directly, yes, you can have just as much fun on a skyski with less chance of injury. The best way to get started is to hit up foilforum.com and find a foiler in your area to ride with. The only down side to foiling is the cost. An entry level skyski runs around 1200.00. ( get skyski, not air chair) A LEX Skyski will do any trick in the book for around 2K used. The top LE model runs around 4600.00 new. If you get a LEX it will be a long time before you outgrow it. For the most part, it is a one size fits all situation. I split the cost of my first ski with two riding buds to make it affordable. We pounded on that ski for about five years before it was time to move on.

Go for it. You'll love it. As someone else said, head over to foilforum. I started 2 or 3 years ago and prefer it over boarding now. For back problems, you can go with a shock seat tower to give you some extra cushion. I didn't realize how well they worked until this last Summer I went out when my lower back had a bit of kink in it. That day, I tried out a friend's hydrofoil with a regular tower and really felt it on the landings. Just hunt around for some used deals for a bit. The folks over there are super helpful, and there are many pro level riders that won't hesitate to reply to you.

Thanks for the recs on foilforum and it seems foil riding might be a little less injury prone, but like I imagined you can get slammed pretty good. I checked the forum out and may have to introduce myself there.

As much as I would want to continue riding a wake deck, I know myself well enough that once I'm behind a boat with a deck strapped to my feet, I would be like a recovering alcoholic and wouldn't be able to limit myself to the wake equivalent of a couple of social drinks (carves and surface stuff). I know it would be just a matter of a couple sets before I would be 'all in' again hitting the jumps from where I left off and pushing myself a little to get better. And the wreck that caused this wasn't doing anything that I thought was spectactularly risky - straight air over some tripple up style rollers and casing the last one hard. Yeah I will not do that again but with wake you just never know when your number is coming up for a serious injury. I haven't completely abadoned the notion of wake riding again - still have all my gear for me and the boys, but I'm having serious doubts about getting on a deck again and will have to read more about this foil stuff. It looks like you can do some pretty cool stuff behind the boat with one.

Been foiling for 2 yrs and love it. I would go with a Sky Ski over an air chair. Make sure you get the 38" size strut or you will just be upgrading again 2 months later. They cost a bit but you can get a nice used one for a little cheaper. As far as injuries, my back has been getting a little sore with higher jumps but I am sure that is just my lack of form.

The only downside is lugging that thing around and not killing anyone with the blades. I have to say that I have never really been that comfortable with them mounted on the rack as well....maybe I just need a better tower

wow, you messed your foot up way worse than mine. What the hell did you kick? Or am I the only moron who kicks a door right as wake season opens

I went with a guy and tried to learn a couple of years ago. He was a terrible teacher and I was a terrible learner. It was one of the funniest things. I would kind of get up and then the chair would start bucking like a bull with his nuts in a vice and I would end up on my head in way less than 8 seconds.

I've got a sky ski, and pretty much suck at it. Can bunny hop, and that's about it. I do ride with some people who kill it on it, and I'd say once you're to that level it looks as fun, if not more so, than wakeboarding. My knees are a mess too, so I'm thinking of doing a bit more sky skiing next year too.

My back hated the chair. I guess everyone is different. Give it a try.

Been foiling for years really stepped it up last year after a wakeboard injury and have not looked back. Once you start pulling big inverts on a foil you will be hooked. They are not easy on the pocket book but well worth it.

You can trade one injury for another... I just had my second back micro discectomy/laminectomy to fix a herniated disc in my back. The first one was the L5-S1, last week was my L3-L4. The good news is that the MRI revealed that my L5-S1 is pretty much fixed. I am in week 2 of recovery now and I expect the same result with the new surgery. I still wakeboard, slalom, air chair (foiling to call it out correctly), barefoot, but have not been off of the ski jump for years (still have my long boards in the shed though).

I'm in my later 40's and realize that I must work harder to keep up my flexibility and core strength but I can keep up with my 20 and 30 something year old buddies for the most part.