wakeboard help

[sidetracked3]

Ok I am in the process of buying a 2001 moomba outback and want to start wakeboarding. But my problem is I have never done any kind of wakeboarding and have NO idea where to start or what to buy. Can anyone give me some ideas of where to start? What is a good begginer board to buy? What about a good vest? Rope? I just need a good start. Thanks in advance.

[mmandley]

My problem is I have never done any kind of wakeboarding and have NO idea where to start or what to buy. If you can get a hold of Detention 2012 or The Book DVD series. This helps a lot.

Can anyone give me some ideas of where to start? What is a good begginer board to buy? Goto your local shop or go online. I have a Hyperlight Apex board. Its a great starter board and its last years model so it was a lot cheaper. No since in buying a new model to learn on. There is lots of ways to figure out what size board you need based on your weight. Next is Bindings, open or closed toe. Open is cheaper, but i like closed because water in OR is a bit cold and id rather have my feet warm. You can generally get a good last year board and bindings combo for 300. Depending on your location i might be able to get you a solid deal if your anyplace near Portland.

What about a good vest? As long as its a sport type vest your ok. Ho Sports has a decent line of vests and there cheap. I got mine at Costco for 40 each. You can get them other places. As long as the vest feels good for you to move in and its not the US Coast Guard orange around your neck style.

Rope? As long as its for Wake boarding then your good to go. 60 - 75 feet is average starter rope. 70+ is for higher skills. If you have a ski rope you can get by with this to start but they flex and in wake boarding you dont want flex in the rope.

I just need a good start. Id expect most of this you can find pretty cheap as long as you arnt to picky on your starter gear. As in brand name and new this year. Lots of shops have last years gear and its all for sale.

Board bindings closed toe = 400
Board bindings open toe = 300
Rope and handle = 60
Vest = 40 to 100 depending on brand and style you want.

I went with a cheap vest because im losing a lot of weight and dont want to spend a lot on new vests every couple months.

[sidetracked3]

thanks for all the info, VERY helpful

[kaneboats]

Boards like the Hyperlite Offshore or the O'Brien Buzz are real old and cheap but great to learn on. You can keep them around forever for beginners to use. Try Craigslist or ebay. You can look up lots of recent boards here to find out what they are like:

http://www.wakeworld.com/Boardguide/

[mcdye]

You can find ALOT of help about getting up and the basics from youtube and such.

[tprkolbas]

i second most of the previous post. do some research on the internet as far as the board and bindings go - wakeworld.com has probably the best info i've found (as a whole) on board & binding reviews.

after riding quite a few different kinds of boards, i'm partial to o'brien - but only the higher end ones like the natural and valhalla. i'm not a fan of ronix boards (the vault model sucks). i've also had my feet in a number of different bindings, and i've found that liquid force is hands down the most comfortable brand out there. i'm also partial to closed toes. i'm an intermediate rider AT BEST but i demand quality equipment. comfy bindings will make the difference - comfy feet = happy rider.

i'd look for a good board and binding combo package. i would not buy a complete beginner package, because if you like the sport, there isn't much room to progress on a beginner package. get something that allows for the intermediate to ride too. (these boards will have better pop and speed).

the book dvd is EXCELLENT instruction.

get a non stretch rope - you can find deals on them. it will help your progression in the long run.

for a beginner - get a uscg approved vest regardless - your best bet is a neo vest. you can also find good deals on these.

here are some sites i buy my stuff from that always has sale/clearance sections:

wakeside.com
buywake.com
evogear.com
boardstop.com
boardersbestbuy.com
bordersmall.com

get on their email lists, and occasionally they will email promotion codes for internet sales.

i also keep an eye on the classifieds of wakeworld.com and wakeboarder.com

good luck & don't give up on the sport - once you've picked it up, you'll never turn back.

[kaneboats]

Check these sites once a day too (they usually have at least 3-4 wakeboard or binding or package deals every week):

http://www.redtagsports.com/

http://www.anothersmokindeal.com/index.php

[volfo]

everything they said, plus consider buying a CWB HingeTech binding of some sort. I bought one for my son for his 8th birthday so I didn't have to help him put on his boots everytime. Less than one year later, me and everyone else I know that has seen the hingetech have gotten rid of their bindings (Ronix and Liquid Force) and replaced them with CWB hinge.

Maybe some advanced riders prefer other brand boots but for ease of getting them on and off, nothing can match hingetech.

I bought mine at evogear.com, which often has good wakeboarding deals.

[mmandley]

I had a hard time getting in and out of my Ronix bindings too. AWS sells a can of Shark Bait, its a silicon spray you use on your bindings and now my feet slide right in and its easy to get the bindings off when your done.

[Waynes345]

Ok I am in the process of buying a 2001 moomba outback and want to start wakeboarding. But my problem is I have never done any kind of wakeboarding and have NO idea where to start or what to buy. Can anyone give me some ideas of where to start? What is a good begginer board to buy? What about a good vest? Rope? I just need a good start. Thanks in advance.

If you're buying the Outback, get a ski. Great ski boat and ski wake. Then you don't have to mess with all that ballast, towers, etc.! Keep it simple. OK everybody, pile on the abuse.