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Old     (TNVOLS)      Join Date: Apr 2013       04-01-2013, 6:11 AM Reply   
Hey guys! New to the site and have read a lot of great info.....need a little more help! I'm planning on buying a new board as a bday gift for my fiancé ( I know, risky) however I have done a lot of homework. He and a couple other guys that go out with us all summer learned on a hand me down 4'9 hyperlite. They're just getting comfortable letting go of the rope so still mostly in beginner stage I guess. The guys are between 5'9 and 6'0 and all in 170-180lb range. We have Moomba and are planning to add a sac this summer for a bigger wake. Nose diving seems to be the biggest issue for them and sometimes keeping up with the wake. I spoke with a very knowledgable guy yesterday at our local water sports store and I am leaning towards the 2013 Ronix Koal 5' for a little more surface area and rocker and its also super light weight.....any info or suggestions are GREATLY appreciated, Thanks!
Old     (WakeDirt)      Join Date: Jun 2011       04-01-2013, 7:45 AM Reply   
From my personal experience with the koal, i would steer toward any board on earth other than a koal. Not very well l made at all.
Old     (jagermeister)      Join Date: Sep 2007       04-01-2013, 8:39 AM Reply   
The Koal Is a ok choice.. Easy to learn on.. I had a couple of them.. The problem is it has really thin fiberglass and does not standup to mishandling...... Dings real easy...
I ride a Triple X Slayer and love it.. Might be out of your price range though..
Old     (jagermeister)      Join Date: Sep 2007       04-01-2013, 9:33 AM Reply   
A really good beginner board that is super durable is the Liquid Force Fish.. Sturdy as hell, cheap, and riders of all sizes can ride it..

You can find them on ebay inexpensive also.. I keep one of the boat all the time..

http://www.evo.com/outlet/wake-surfb...rf_5_Image.jpg
Old     (TNVOLS)      Join Date: Apr 2013       04-01-2013, 9:39 AM Reply   
Thanks everyone! I have heard the Koal is fragile which sux b/c we don't have a lot of space and pretty much have to keep the boards in the racks. I did check out the LF fish, it just seemed really heavy compared to the Ronix. I'll guess I'll keep looking and keep the info coming! Thanks again
Old     (jagermeister)      Join Date: Sep 2007       04-01-2013, 11:37 AM Reply   
Yes the fish is slightly heavier but it sounds like you guys are beginners.. We have peeps ridin out 7's on the fish with various fin configs.. Phase 5 and Inland Surfers are great boards also but are in the $700-$k range..
Old     (wolfe_drew)      Join Date: Mar 2010       04-01-2013, 12:54 PM Reply   
a lot depends on what you want to spend, how fast the guys will learn, what they like and what they want to accomplish. I'll agree with others regarding the Koal.

We have a number of boards that we ride and all of them let you do something a bit different. The 4'9" Hyperlite is a good boat board. Keep it for getting folks up & riding. As you can see from the pic, we like the Inland Surfer & Phase 5 boards for the adults on the boat. They are skim-style boards. The girls had a great season last year on the LakeWakes, but are moving to Soulcraft boards this season. They are surf-style boards.

XXX are nice boards and have some priced at the low end of the spectrum. Inland Surfer & Phase 5 have boards priced in an overall higher range and the SoulCraft are custom boards that demand a higher price and worth every penny. Other nice, boards can be had from the folks at the Walker Project, Mendonesia, Idol and Evercarve. In general, we stay away from the surfboards produced by the wakeboard-centric companies, but the Liquid Force Dom Lagace (skim) and Chase Hazen (surf) are both very nice.



some good info over on the Moomba forum, too on how to best set up your model boat. Hope the above helped vs confused you further.

http://www.moomba.com/msgboard/forum...13-WakeSurfing
Old     (volzalum)      Join Date: May 2009       04-01-2013, 5:40 PM Reply   
Kelli, look into getting a custom board made. There are several good builders out there, and you can get them to give you whatever colors you want. If you'll head to fort Loudon, you've probably seen us out there behind my centurion. I should be getting my new The Walker Project Bomb Pop in TN Vols colors any day now.
Old     (tnvolgrad)      Join Date: Dec 2010       04-01-2013, 8:40 PM Reply   
Post some pics of the TN bomb pop - can't wait to see it. Where do you guys ride? I spend about half my time up at Norris and the other half at Lanier (Atlanta).
Old     (TNVOLS)      Join Date: Apr 2013       04-02-2013, 6:01 AM Reply   
Quote:
Originally Posted by volzalum View Post
Kelli, look into getting a custom board made. There are several good builders out there, and you can get them to give you whatever colors you want. If you'll head to fort Loudon, you've probably seen us out there behind my centurion. I should be getting my new The Walker Project Bomb Pop in TN Vols colors any day now.
Thanks so much!! All info is helpful right now
Old     (TNVOLS)      Join Date: Apr 2013       04-02-2013, 6:04 AM Reply   
Quote:
Originally Posted by volzalum View Post
Kelli, look into getting a custom board made. There are several good builders out there, and you can get them to give you whatever colors you want. If you'll head to fort Loudon, you've probably seen us out there behind my centurion. I should be getting my new The Walker Project Bomb Pop in TN Vols colors any day now.
Hey Dax! Yes I've seen you and tied up with you many times in the Flatts, lol, I'm Russ's fiancé Vols custom will be nice! Can't wait to see it!
Old     (TNVOLS)      Join Date: Apr 2013       04-02-2013, 6:09 AM Reply   
Quote:
Originally Posted by tnvolgrad View Post
Post some pics of the TN bomb pop - can't wait to see it. Where do you guys ride? I spend about half my time up at Norris and the other half at Lanier (Atlanta).
Hey volsgrad! We spend all of our time on Loudon and I would go out on a limb to say the same for Dax since I see him every wknd Norris is a nicer lake, but you should come hang at Loudon some time! We have great tie ups just about every Sat that the sun is shining...or atleast not raining!
Old     (TNVOLS)      Join Date: Apr 2013       04-02-2013, 6:33 AM Reply   
Oh, and I guess I should've added that we need a durable board that can be left in the rack as we don't have much floor space! I'm convinced that the Koal is not the way to go....I would like to eventually get a custom, but I think for current skill level and variety of riders I may go with prefab...just to decide which one......
Old     (wolfe_drew)      Join Date: Mar 2010       04-02-2013, 10:21 AM Reply   
OK, there are plenty of durable boards out there that will ride fine in the rack and great in the water but I'd say most custom boards won't like that abuse. So, I randomly picked $600 as the top end of the $$ range.

For skim style: IS (Inland Surfer) Contagious & Virus, P5 (Phase 5) Danielo Pro Carbon & Model X and Liquid Force TC Custom and Doum, Victoria Agent or Factor
For surf style: IS Swallow, XXX Composite Pro (check ebay), 2012 Walker Convert (be careful with this one in the rack)

I'm sure others will list out a few more.

Check out a ton of boards here: http://www.towanza.com or here: http://calmarinesports.com/wakesurf-1/boards.html
Old     (TNVOLS)      Join Date: Apr 2013       04-02-2013, 12:05 PM Reply   
Wow! Thanks for all the info Drew!! I'm checking those links now. I'm also not sure the diff in skim vs wake. What I've gathered is skim has less fins or smaller ones and is a little more "slippery" on the water? The Hyper 4'9 the guys have used so far has 3 fins so I def don't want to get something that will be too big of a learning curve. I'd like to stay in the $500 range (or less Ofcourse) and these guys are just out to have some fun, not become pros although one of the younger guys may be down for learning some tricks I do think a little more rocker would be helpful as I mentioned b/c our wake is on the smaller side but that may not be a huge issue as I'm pretty sure they're wanting to add some weight to the boat this year. Again, THANKS!!
Old     (dezul)      Join Date: Jul 2012       04-02-2013, 1:00 PM Reply   
Kelli,

The following link should help you understand the difference in skim and surf. Also, I am typically on Ft. Loudon Lake also with the occassional trip to Melton Hill for some butter water.

http://www.centurioncrew.com/index.p...rds-explained/
Old     (volzalum)      Join Date: May 2009       04-02-2013, 5:00 PM Reply   
Kelli, I figured you were Russ's fiancé, but wasn't going to assume, LOL. Dezul has tied up with us several times too. I think he has a IS mucus board. You ought to look at the soul craft, brigadier, and triple x board. I think you can get in the 500 range custom made. There is also a brand wake zone that the centurion crew have said are great budget boards. With your racks, a skim style might fit better since I believe you have wakeboard racks, not surf racks. Look at Victoria for some good skim styles.
Old     (WakeDirt)      Join Date: Jun 2011       04-02-2013, 5:29 PM Reply   
Quote:
Originally Posted by volzalum View Post
Kelli, I figured you were Russ's fiancé, but wasn't going to assume, LOL. Dezul has tied up with us several times too. I think he has a IS mucus board. You ought to look at the soul craft, brigadier, and triple x board. I think you can get in the 500 range custom made. There is also a brand wake zone that the centurion crew have said are great budget boards. With your racks, a skim style might fit better since I believe you have wakeboard racks, not surf racks. Look at Victoria for some good skim styles.
Did you mean 'brigadier' or "Brigade?" My only experience of the three is with my new .352 from Brigade...and love it. Custom is key, I cant believe I went so long without going with one of the hand-made brands for a surf style. I had the Ronix Koal, and Grindwater They had actually made me not like "surf style riding" becuase of their sub-par construction.
Attached Images
 

Last edited by WakeDirt; 04-02-2013 at 5:36 PM.
Old     (wolfe_drew)      Join Date: Mar 2010       04-02-2013, 5:43 PM Reply   
Custom surf style boards are great, and once the guys (and you) catch the bug, you'll find one in your boat. But, if you're wanting a new board vs a used one, you probably aren't going to get a Soulcraft, Shred Stix, Brigade, Idol or LakeWakes for $500. I think you'll need to focus on a production board in that price range.

A good point was made regarding the racks on your boat. A surf style board isn't likely to fit. That means more coin on new rack forks. So, go for a skim style board.

I'm going to narrow it down to the IS Contagious. It has the ability to have up to 3 fins that will give you all the ability to have fun trying out different combos and sizes and to learn more about surfing. Then, your fiancé can spoil you with a custom surf board!
Old     (TNVOLS)      Join Date: Apr 2013       04-02-2013, 5:45 PM Reply   
Well, I looked and read about what seemed like hundreds of boards today and I really like the style and look of the the Phase 5 model X (2012). It has a ton of great reviews also! With it being a hybrid type of board I think all the guys could do what they want with it by adjusting the fins n such. May spend a little extra $$, but seems like a board that may progress well with the riders. Thoughts? Hey, thanks again everyone, This forum has helped tremendously.... I think, lol!
Old     (supersteve)      Join Date: Mar 2013       04-02-2013, 6:10 PM Reply   
Get him a wakeboard
Old     (volzalum)      Join Date: May 2009       04-02-2013, 6:49 PM Reply   
Yes, meant Brigade and wave zone, iPad typing doesn't cooperate sometimes.
Old     (WakeDirt)      Join Date: Jun 2011       04-02-2013, 6:56 PM Reply   
Quote:
Originally Posted by supersteve View Post
Get him a wakeboard
Ha ha!
Old     (wolfe_drew)      Join Date: Mar 2010       04-02-2013, 8:03 PM Reply   
Quote:
Originally Posted by TNVOLS View Post
Well, I looked and read about what seemed like hundreds of boards today and I really like the style and look of the the Phase 5 model X (2012). It has a ton of great reviews also! With it being a hybrid type of board I think all the guys could do what they want with it by adjusting the fins n such. May spend a little extra $$, but seems like a board that may progress well with the riders. Thoughts? Hey, thanks again everyone, This forum has helped tremendously.... I think, lol!
Great choice!

There is one in my pic.

The guys at P5 are great and can/will answer any questions you all may have. You could surprise your fiancé by having him watch the P5 team video first, then give him his new board.
Old     (TNVOLS)      Join Date: Apr 2013       04-03-2013, 7:16 AM Reply   
Great Idea Drew! Is the X the black one to the right of the kiddos? I think that's the exact one I've been looking at. Have you put it in your rack before and if so how does it hold up? ANy other tips or info for this specific board?
Old     (wolfe_drew)      Join Date: Mar 2010       04-03-2013, 7:52 AM Reply   
Quote:
Originally Posted by TNVOLS View Post
Great Idea Drew! Is the X the black one to the right of the kiddos? I think that's the exact one I've been looking at. Have you put it in your rack before and if so how does it hold up? ANy other tips or info for this specific board?
Yes, that's it. I think it only comes in one color scheme with the black topside (traction pad colors vary) and the multi-colored bottom.

It's held up great riding in the racks on our boat. We're pretty careful with our gear. We have a place on the lake and so we're not transporting boards too far or in the truck and we surf just past our dock so we're not racing across the lake, pounding over chop, etc. I'd get a nice board bag to keep it looking good: http://phase5boards.com/boards/standard-board-bag/

Go out and have fun with it. Try it first with all 3 fins, then remove the center and ride it to see the difference. Then, put the center back in & take out the side fins. After you've found what setup you like (probably mid-summer) think about getting some different size fins and start over.
Old     (dejoeco)      Join Date: Apr 2003       04-04-2013, 11:17 AM Reply   
Drew is knowledgeable boards and mentioned the Victoria boards earlier. They are only skim style, but are GREAT boards. Both my daughter and I have switched to Vic. She from Inland Surfer and I from Phase Five and both us are rider far better that previously.

For the record, all of the above are nice boards, but Vic is slightly less in cost. Something to consider.
Old     (Jbort)      Join Date: Aug 2011       04-05-2013, 6:47 AM Reply   
Very helpful thread and now I know lots more about skim boards - need to give them a try.
Old     (jagermeister)      Join Date: Sep 2007       04-05-2013, 6:11 PM Reply   
Lots of good info here... I just picked up 2 Phase 5's skims for the boat inventory... water is 66 and air is 80 here in Tejas..
Old     (TNVOLS)      Join Date: Apr 2013       04-07-2013, 11:06 AM Reply   
Yeah, Drew is very knowledgeable and so glad he provided so much info on here!! I ended up ordering the P5 Model X 2012 as I found a great sale on boardco (almost $200 off) . Weather just hitting the 70's here, but hoping to dewinterize and get out on the water in the next few weeks or so! The water will still be pretty frigid, but I'll def update on the board as soon as we get to test it out
Old     (volzalum)      Join Date: May 2009       04-09-2013, 6:22 PM Reply   
Here is the pic of mine that The Walker Project just posted on their Facebook. It shipped today so I get to try it soon.
Attached Images
 

Last edited by volzalum; 04-09-2013 at 6:23 PM. Reason: Typeo
Old     (wolfe_drew)      Join Date: Mar 2010       04-10-2013, 5:17 AM Reply   
I saw that pic on fb yesterday and started to drool on the keyboard. Super sharp and should ride like a dream. Great buy! Looking forward to your thoughts after you get out on the water with it.

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