The-Best-Wakeboards

While there are countless boating activities to brighten up your long summer days such as tubing or water skiing, there is one sport that combines fun, sportsmanship, and style, and that’s none other than wakeboarding. If you want to get a true adrenaline rush and look steezy at the same time, wakeboarding is definitely the sport for you!  

Needless to say, the best wakeboards make this sport even more fun, however, the market offers countless choices in terms of style, size, and maintenance. To help you out, we’ve compiled a list of the top ten wakeboards so that your hunt for the best wakeboard is hassle-free. Once you’ve read the reviews, you’ll know exactly what you want.

How To Choose The Best Wakeboard – Buying Guide

How-To-Choose-A-Wakeboard

Size

The length of your wakeboard should be based on your weight and skill. Even though these are the standard ways of measurement, there are a couple more factors that can play a role in deciding which size to purchase. Shorter boat wakeboards glide over the water slower than their larger counterpart. While they may not glide as quickly, smaller boards are experts at doing flips and tricks. Larger boards, on the other hand, are easier to control, thus they are most often used for beginners. The larger surface area allows them to gain extra speed in the water and allows for a faster ride. 

Style

Wakeboards fit into three categories:

Park Boards

Specially designed to take the beating of rails and ramps, park boards look and feel different from boat boards. The base of these wakeboards is smooth and reinforced. 

Boat Boards

Since boat boards can use the wake surf created by the boat, they have significantly less flex than park boards. This allows for smoother, and easier, landings. 

Hybrid Boards

The newest category of wakeboards is a mixture between park and boat. These wakeboards are perfect if you enjoy both aspects but only have the budget for one board. 

Base

Smooth bottomed boards give riders complete control as they are able to spin and pop to their heart’s desire. A channeled bottom, on ther other hand, allows a more smooth landing as the grooves direct and break the water. A V-shaped base is typically found on three-stage boards, allowing the rider to carve easier and land the most difficult tricks with ease. Concave boards have circular indents built into their base that reduces the suction of water, meaning the board rides higher and gives the rider easier pop.

Rocker

Best boat wakeboards have a curve in their shape. There are two main types of rockers:

Continuous

If you like to stay on the water and enjoy carving with the occasional big air, a continuous rocker will be your jam. If this fits you, your board will have one large – continuous – curve, hence the name. 

Three-stage

Three-stage rockers have a cup shape with a more distinct bend. Known for getting big air, these boards are also harder to handle because they don’t have distinct edges to carve through the water. 

Flex

Just like skateboards or snowboards, wakeboards have flex. Flex can help you get pop off the wake, propelling you even higher into the air while it also aids in carving.

Fins

The larger the fins the fewer the number of tricks you will be able to make. Boards that have huge fins are typically designed for people learning to wakeboard. They keep you pointed where you want to go, not let you spin, and be more stable.

Detachable vs Fixed

Removable fins can be attached by screws and channels. Most wakeboards have two sets of fins. The inside ones are usually detachable while the outer fins are fixed. 

Maintenance

If your board has removable fins it is important to maintain them properly. Before each ride, you should ensure all the screws are tight. Keep in mind that the fins and screws do not float, so be careful when adjusting them.

FAQs

How-To-Get-Up-On-A-Wakeboard

Q: How To Get Up On A Wakeboard?

A: 

First, ensure that your bindings are strapped comfortably to your feet. When you start, be in a sitting position with the board sticking straight out of the water. When you’re moving, shift your feet so your dominant one is in front. From there you just need to shift your weight between your heel and toe to keep your balance.

Q: What Size Wakeboard Do I Need?

A: 

Children should obviously use the smallest size board (less than 130 cm) while riders bridging quite a bit over 200 pounds should go with a much larger board (140-144+ cm). Most people who are in the 130-180 pound range should consider sticking in the medium ground between 135-140 cm.

Q: How To Jump The Wake On A Wakeboard?

A: 

First, you want to build a ton of speed. You do this by keeping a progressive edge. This means you start slow and begin to build as much speed as possible until you reach the lip of the wave and become airborne. Just before reaching the wake, there will be a small dip. Use this time to stand tall and keep your legs straight. This will allow you to use this as a launching point generating more power. As soon as you take off, be sure to immediately look for a landing spot to ensure your landing is smooth.

Q: How To Pull A Wakeboard?

A: 

Pulling a wakeboard can make it easy or hard for the rider to get up. You should smoothly accelerate your boat to around 18 – 20 miles per hour while keeping an eye on the rider. If they bail out you should slow and stop the boat to make sure they’re ok.

Q: How To Turn On A Wakeboard?

A: 

Turning on a wakeboard is similar to snowboarding. You want to use the long edges of the board to cut into the water. To get the board in the proper position you have to lean onto your toes and heel.

Q: How To Set Up Wakeboard Bindings?

A: 

When you are starting out in the sport your feet will have a slight forward tilt. The back binding will be around 0 degrees while your front foot will be around 15 to 27-degree angle. More advanced riders have their back binding between 0 and 9 degrees and their front one around 18 degrees. Expert riders have their front bindings setup at 9 degrees and back binding 9 degrees in the opposite direction.

Globo Surf Overview

A great activity for those thrill-seeking, water-loving individuals, wakeboarding is bound to keep you fit while being a blast. As this is bound to become an addictive sport, we recommend opting for the best wakeboards that will translate seamlessly between a beginner and an intermediate wakeboard.

More Tow Reviews:

New to Wakeboards or have a Wakeboard on our list? Let us know how you like it in the comment section below.