cab13367
08-24-2008, 05:27 PM
This weekend, I went wakesurfing with Bruce Crawford, the owner of a new wakesurf board company, React (reactsurf.com). Ryan (aka Newty) also went with us. I had won one of Bruce's boards, the Egg, at the recent Skier's Choice NW jamboree, and had asked Bruce if I could maybe trade it in on one of his more performance oriented models. He suggested that I demo a few of his models to be sure that I pick the right board. So he brought along 4 demo models - the Egg, the Drive, the Swivel, and the Classic - and came along to provide some insight on the boards and give us some pointers.
I rode all the boards as well as my CWB Ride and I have to say, the Ride rides like a tank compared to Bruce's boards. Bruce's boards are so much lighter and faster than the mass produced boards, it's unreal. Even my son's little 4'-4" Hyperlite Coex feels like it's made out of lead compared to the React boards. The react boards are thicker, lighter, and more bouyant so staying on the wave is no problem and the designs make them super responsive. They are made more like surfboards than wakeboards so they work better for wakesurfing.
Bruce had to leave after a couple of hours so we dropped him off at the ramp and he let us keep the boards for the rest of the day. I rode them all again and finally decided on the Drive. This is a board that I will never outgrow, and my wife and son love it as well.
Bruce and his son Zach hand shape all their boards in their shop in Ridgefield, WA, about 15 minutes north of Portland. Also, Zach is an artist and he hand paints all the colors and designs so that no two boards look alike. And Bruce and Zach are more than willing to accommodate any custom designs that you can think of. Let's say that you like the Drive but wish it had a little more flotation or width, and you would like the colors to match your boat. No problem, they will do it for you.
If you are in the market for a hand crafted, super light and fast wakesurf board, you should highly consider React boards. Looks like the local Moomba dealer, Active Water Sports, will start carrying some of their boards soon.
Below are some pics from yesterday.
Al
This my new Drive:
http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg276/cab13367/reactsurf/IMG_1706.jpg
http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg276/cab13367/reactsurf/IMG_1707.jpg
Me on the demo Drive:
http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg276/cab13367/reactsurf/IMG_0679.jpg
My wife getting some slack on the Drive. This was her first day wakesurfing.
http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg276/cab13367/reactsurf/IMG_0699.jpg
I rode all the boards as well as my CWB Ride and I have to say, the Ride rides like a tank compared to Bruce's boards. Bruce's boards are so much lighter and faster than the mass produced boards, it's unreal. Even my son's little 4'-4" Hyperlite Coex feels like it's made out of lead compared to the React boards. The react boards are thicker, lighter, and more bouyant so staying on the wave is no problem and the designs make them super responsive. They are made more like surfboards than wakeboards so they work better for wakesurfing.
Bruce had to leave after a couple of hours so we dropped him off at the ramp and he let us keep the boards for the rest of the day. I rode them all again and finally decided on the Drive. This is a board that I will never outgrow, and my wife and son love it as well.
Bruce and his son Zach hand shape all their boards in their shop in Ridgefield, WA, about 15 minutes north of Portland. Also, Zach is an artist and he hand paints all the colors and designs so that no two boards look alike. And Bruce and Zach are more than willing to accommodate any custom designs that you can think of. Let's say that you like the Drive but wish it had a little more flotation or width, and you would like the colors to match your boat. No problem, they will do it for you.
If you are in the market for a hand crafted, super light and fast wakesurf board, you should highly consider React boards. Looks like the local Moomba dealer, Active Water Sports, will start carrying some of their boards soon.
Below are some pics from yesterday.
Al
This my new Drive:
http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg276/cab13367/reactsurf/IMG_1706.jpg
http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg276/cab13367/reactsurf/IMG_1707.jpg
Me on the demo Drive:
http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg276/cab13367/reactsurf/IMG_0679.jpg
My wife getting some slack on the Drive. This was her first day wakesurfing.
http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg276/cab13367/reactsurf/IMG_0699.jpg