Best board to get started???

Hi there!

I just stumbled across this page and was hoping to get some advice from you pro guys here.

2005 will be my second season behind the boat and i'm about to learn my first few grabs and 180s. By now i've ridden only a few different boards, most of which were the (way 2 old) beginner-boards of waterskischools around here and once or twice the o'brien board from a friend of mine (which i found verry easy to get big air with).

From now on i really want to learn and do everything right on MY OWN BOARD... but which one would be best to buy? I've already purchased the 04 Temet bindings and hope they won't turn out to be a bad choice and i'm still looking for the right board, that will give me big air (and therefore more time to complete tricks) and also a forgiving ride for those jumps you don't land as clean as you should.

The price doesn't matter. It has to be a good board, that won't bring me in the need of a new one after just a few seasons. It shouldn't be limited to beginner needs only, cause i wanna get used to it and ride it for quite a while. On the other hand a parks or byerly would propably be a bit to aggressive to begin with, don't you think?

Also, since there is not a single slider park in our are, durability isn't the point either. But a light board would be great.

I'm just curious what board you would suggest me to buy and also what size would be best. I'm 1,75 meters tall and wheigh 65 kilos.

Thanx for your help!!!

Ralf

It sounds like you already bought yourself a board. The Temet should be a good board for you.

I've been out there snowboarding for more then ten years now, but 2004 was my first season on a wakeboard. When i was looking for a good wb, i searched mostly relying on my experiences as a snowboarder. All i know about wakeboards is what i could read in some of the articles on the net, but you know - EVERY company claims to have the best boards, so i was hoping to get some rider opinions from you.

I've already thought about purchasing a Temet, or a Substance, or a LF Team. But dunno bout the exact differences (strength / weaknesses) of these. I'm also unsure bout the length.

contrary to popular belief, "big air" is not a direct byproduct of having a certain board.

try a semi-continuous rocker board first...the temet, liquid force trip or team, even the gator gonzales or cwb absolute are good boards to start with.

Can you try board before purchased? That would be a big advantage, but I know this could be diffecult (as a fellow Europian). I know some cable parks in Germany won't do diffecult when you try some boards.

But I think you have got some good board in your mind (Substance, Temet, Team)... I know that there are more, but look some opinions at these message boards and you get some impression.

Blindside Ryan Wolf

look into a cwb absolute, it is a great board and i have not heard of a single person who doesnt like their absolute (although im sure there is someone)

Not the Team... The Liquid Force Trip is awesome from beginner to pro! The Temet wouldn't be bad but. For people that are still starting out but want a board easiest to progress on my top two choices are the Hyperlite Motive (used to be the Belmont, Murrays old pro model) and the Liquid Force Trip (the board that helped shape the design of almost all Liquid Force pro boards).. Demo both and see which board feels more comfortable to you. They are both continous rocker boards. The Motive has one center fin (I don't care much for anymore but allowed me to concentrate on everything else other then slipping out). The Trip has four smaller fins on the four corners... this is my preferred fin set up. I learned all my first inverts and stuff on the Motive and switched to the Trip after trying many other higher end boards from LF and HL. The Trip seemed to fit my style alot better. This seems to ramble a bit from one subject to the next but ask specific questions and i'll do my best to help out.

.... The Temet, although I've never ridden it, would probably feel more like my old Belmont/new Motive and therefore will give you lots of consistentcy with a more shallow long arch kind of air. The Team I hated even though it's supposed to be a 'super-trip' and the Trip is my board of choice. The board was fun when in neatural because it was so loose but on all jumps, even ollies, the board tended to always nose dive on me. It had good great pop but nothing else was good at all. The Substance is what im changing over to now but I think it's a board more for experieced riders in that its not as forgiving as the other boards. The substance is also three stage with molded in fins and a bit slower then the other boards. I would only check out the substance if you know more of what your looking for in a board and can tell the difference.

What did you hate about the Team? I was thinking of demoing that next year.

I did the same research A few months back, What I found was,Absolute or substance for best all around board.

demo the hyperlite state
lots of riders are saying good things

In the industry the ONLY real board to get that will help from beginner to pro is a Hyperlite fluid to any of the boards Murrey designs.
And that advice is comeing froma rep who sells another company.
ITCH

The new 05 CWB Sol is a much better option than the fluid or motive. Soft flex, pretty big fins, but at the same time the shape of the 01 Absolute. This shape will grow with you.

2005 will be my second season as well. Like you I tried a few boards before I bought my own. I purchased a Liquid Force Litmus 136 and EXO bindings. I found the board worked good for the way I ride. It is nice and loose, especially if you take out the center fins. The Litmus will also give you plenty of air. It has good pop off the wake. It is really light compared to other boards as well. It is pretty forgiving on bad landings. I don't see outgrowing this board anytime soon.

Demo a Litmus if you can. But also demo as many other boards as you can.

Thanx to all of you!!!

I can take a ton of good advice from what you guys wrote. Although i was almost about to purchase the LF team, i've moved away from that point after i read that i tends to "nose dive" on most moves. (That happens to me often enough with any other board ) But i do have a few more specific questions:

Conelly (CWB) also claims, that the 2005 Sol is "THE BEST ENTRY LEVEL BOARD ON THE MARKET". Do they have a point behind their statement, or is it just marketing •••••••••••••• i've heard that in general a continuous rocker board is good for the cable, whereas a 3stage is best ridden behind the boat (cause the continuous helps you to build up the tension you need for jumps when there is no wake...). Don't flame me if i'm wrong with that statement - that's just waht i've heard. I this is right, i should get a 3stage, cause i'm riding behi9nd the boat ONLY.

Oh, i see there is a restriction in this forum that doesn't allow one to write words like BS!

WOW!

I've just looked through a few articles about the new Hyperlite state and its assymetrical design for better ts edging sounds really promising. What do you think? Has anyone ridden it or heard anything specific how this really helps?

And one more question: Would the state 130cm be long enough for my weight of 65kg?

Continuous behind the boat gives you consistent jumps and allows you to clear wider distentences. The arch of your jump is alot more mellow then a 3stage. They are great for people just starting out but wanting to progress. If at all possible get on a Liquid Force Trip at least once.

It looks like the 135cm would be better for you according to the sizing chart. Better a little bit bigger, especially as you progress and start going really big. Your knees will thank you later.

2 Words.....Hyperlite Motive.

By now there seem to be a few models, that are considered "good to grow with"-boards, by most of you and i'll most definitely get myself one of these. But which one? Could you please try and explain the exact advantages and differences between them? And of course the downsides of each board as well. Thank you!

1. The Liquid Force Trip
With the angled fins.

2. The Hyperlite State
With the new assymetrical shape to help TS edging.

3. The hyperlite Motive (or Belmont)
...should have lots of consistentcy and a long arch kind of air.

4. Still dunno much bout the CWB Sol (except that SoCalrider says it's better than the Motive)


I happen to like the graphics of the State and the Sol.

The state is a pretty solid board. I'm still thinking about riding it this year. Currently I ride a Premier and find the state has a different kind of pop. The premier is really smooth up the wake and gives you a nice boost, but isn't overly abrupt. The State felt like it didn't pop as well. It was slightly more abrupt, but didn't give me the smooth lift of the premier. Taking jumps to the flats is easier with the state and the toeside feels OK. Honestly the asymetrical shape is difficult to feel (which probably means its doing its job). Also...the state is pretty grippy without the center fins. It has the new molded "small" fins outside the real molded fins and it has a lot of grip on the water. I definitely wouldn't ride it with the center fin unless you truly are a beginner.

Anyway, I wouldn't mind riding it more. I'm definitely not in love with it yet, but I think it's a good board. BTW, the only board I've fallen in love with is the LF substance, but the landings tend to be a bit harsh for my bust a$$ knees.