New board

[mikenehrkorn]

My son (17 yrs old, 5'11", 155 lbs) has been wakeboarding for a few years and has been riding a very old CWB (probably 7-8 yrs old) board. My wife and I want to get him his own board for Xmas and really want to get him something that will help him get to the "next level".

He is quite comfortable on both sides of the wake and can (with much practice) now jump over the wake but with quite a bit of effort. We would like to get him a board that will make that even easier and then allow him to start into other more difficult tricks.

Any suggestions on brand, size, type, etc. of board we should be looking at?

Thanks for any suggestions...

[bzubke1]

For his size and weight you'll prolly wanna get him something in the 138-142 range. Ive had good luck with liquid force boards. I've ridden the Watson, Watson classic, Harley, and witness and liked them all with each having its own distinct characteristics and style. I also ride the cwb transcend for a year and liked it as well. I really don't think you can go wrong with any of the top brands boards like hyperlite, cwb, ronix, liquid force, and slingshot. I'm probably leaving off a few brands but that'll give you a start of some stuff to look at. Get him a nice pair of boots most importantly, if your feet are uncomfortable you're definitely not going to be having as much fun. These I would say don't buy online unless he trys them on in store first. I've been less than satisfied with some boots I've bough online, either they didn't fit well or were just plain uncomfortable. I've had good luck with liquid force boots and many friends have had good luck with ronix boots. I've had many pairs of cwb boots and while they were very comfortable I never made it through a full season without a pair breaking in one way or another. Once you narrow your choices down I would start a new thread and maybe some guys will have some firsthand feedback.

[dhyams]

I love my Marek Bio / Soven boots combo.

http://www.evo.com/outlet/wakeboard-bindings/liquid-force-soven.aspx
http://www.buywake.com/wakeboards/hyperlite-2012-marek-bio.htm?origin=product-search&utm_source=googlebase&utm_medium=comparsionshopping&aff=5110&gclid=CKzQ-JjCjLkCFRRk7AodlxQArQ

Agree with the previous poster on board size...I'd say a 140 would be good.

[parrothd]

I have these...But the older model and boots.. :)


http://www.evo.com/outlet/mashups/hyperlite-murray-boots-system-bindings-2012.aspx

[smitty75]

I just picked up the liquid force Harley 139 and Harley bindings, definitely a nice setup. I'm around the same size as your son. Really like the pop and action of the board. Significant improvement over my last board which was the lf omega.

[mikenehrkorn]

Just found a new LF Witness 140 with Domain binding on ebay for $300 which looks like a pretty good deal.

Any specific thoughts on that model and/or price? Looked like a pretty good deal to me...

[dhyams]

Looks like a good deal to me. I don't have any firsthand experience with a Witness, but it's supposed to be a decent board. He'll probably want to take those center fins out straightaway. I don't know how much, if any, you go to the cable park, but the molded-in fins on this board will get pretty bunged up if you try.

It's kind of hard to help a lot with this board question without knowing what kind of budget you have.

[mikenehrkorn]

He will strictly be riding behind our boat, no cable park riding......side note: I didn't even know such a thing existed until about 2-3 weeks ago when I saw several of the reviewers during this wakeboard search mentioning it. Of course I had to Google it to figure it out!!

As for budget, I would like to stay under $500 if possible, so this $300 board would at least give us some room to get him some other gifts. :)

[dhyams]

Ah, $500 ;) Let me spend your money for ya ;)

Maybe a 139 cm Watson Classic for $210 (I would be tempted to get a 143, even though that's a little on the larger side; 5'11" is decently tall and I think he might be more comfortable on a bigger board....my general rule is when in doubt, go bigger):

http://www.evo.com/outlet/wakeboards/liquid-force-watson-wakeboard-2012.aspx#image=62303/299185/liquid-force-watson-wakeboard-2012.jpg

Plus some LF Vantage Bindings for another $210:

http://www.evo.com/outlet/wakeboard-bindings/liquid-force-vantage-ot-2012.aspx

minus the 20% labor day sale discount at evo puts you at $328 for a really nice setup.

[dhyams]

Evo also has plenty of packages in their outlet store...all of which are 20% off for labor day.

http://www.evo.com/outlet-shop/wake/packages.aspx

[mikenehrkorn]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I looked at Witness / Domain setup on evo.com and saw that it was $400 there, so I got worried someone would snatch the deal off of ebay before me and I pulled the trigger on that last night.

Hope he likes it or it may end up in the classifieds next year! :)

[tnbrooks01]

The witness is a great board. I havent had much luck with the velcro on the LF bindings but i know lots of people who dig them. Looks like an overall great buy.

[mikenehrkorn]

The witness is a great board. I havent had much luck with the velcro on the LF bindings but i know lots of people who dig them. Looks like an overall great buy.

I got the board yesterday and it looks pretty nice. I can see that the Velcro might not last, but it seems strong right now and I know my son will love it for getting in and out of the boots quickly.