5 Best Wakeboards for Beginners
loveheyocean.com
I’ve owned a boat and been into watersports for years, but never tried wakeboarding until the last couple years, and I seriously regret waiting as long as I did! It’s a blast, I love to water ski, and wakeboarding is so much better! You have more control over where you travel in the water, and it’s just a more relaxed feel while on the water on a wake board.
Anyway, enough of my rant about why wakeboarding is awesome. When I was first starting out with wakeboarding I tried out a lot of different boards, and I mean a LOT of boards. Some were really wobbly and awkward feeling. Others were simply not constructed well. I purchased more than a half dozen different boards myself, and also borrowed boards from my friends.
All that testing has made me somewhat of a wakeboard expert. Below is a list of some of my favorites for beginner riders. I still rely on a couple of them today, even though I feel like I’m more of an intermediate rider these days.
What to Look for in the best Wakeboard for Beginners:
- Stable Performance – One of the most important features that you want from a beginner wake board is stable performance. It needs to track straight through the water and allow beginners to balance with confidence.
- Comfortable Bindings – Comfortable bindings that offer a nice secure hold will make those early riding experiences more enjoyable.
- Durable Construction – Beginners are going to wipe out a lot, which means that the board is going to take a beating early on. It needs to be made from durable materials and designed to hold up well.
Here's my list of the top 5 wakeboards for beginners:
Hyperlite Wakeboard Agent with Bindings
The Hyperlite Wakeboard Agent with Destroyer Bindings is a highly capable ride, and one of my favorites to bring out on the water. It’s supremely lightweight and flexes nicely in the back, protecting your legs and feet effectively.
The board comes fitted with four different removable fins, and is highly maneuverable while offering enough stability for new riders. The board grows with the rider, and is light enough for excellent control as your skills progress. It’s a good beginner board that will continue performing to its basic needs long after you’ve graduated to more advanced skills.
What Users are Saying:
- Board has a lot of pop
- Lightweight but durable
- Excellent maneuverability
- Easy to put on
- High quality product
O’Brien System Wakeboard with Bindings
If you’re looking for a good beginner wakeboard, the O’Brien System Wakeboard is one of the best to start out with. It’s very comfortable to control and affordable to purchase initially. The board is quite lightweight and goes in and out of wakes like a dream.
Sure you won’t be jumping up over the top of wakes on your first day out with this board, while at least not intentionally! But it will give you enough control for confident riding once you get up. It’s not the best trick board, and advanced riders will eventually outgrow this product from O’Brien, but it does just fine up through intermediate levels.
What Users are Saying:
- Lightweight for good maneuverability
- Works well for tricks
- Pops off wakes really well
- Smooth in and out of the wake
Ronix One ATR Carbon Wakeboard
The Ronix One ATR Carbon wakeboard is a high speed tank. It’s thin, but comes with a nice fat bumper that really holds up well to heavy riding. It’s a bit slower to switch from edge to edge with than other boards, but that’s what makes it so good for novice riders.
This board keeps a nice natural feel, and doesn’t have too much wobble even when changing directions out in the water. It comes with really deep fins and it’s one of my favorite boards to stick a new rider on. It just feels right, and that’s what inexperienced riders need when getting up on the water for the first time.
What Users are Saying:
- Slower reaction time
- Deep fins for enhanced control
- Thin board for less swing weight
- Maintains a nice natural feel
- Really durable bumper
Rave Lyric Wakeboard with Bindings
The Rave Lyric Wakeboard is another solid beginner option. My favorite thing about this product are the Advantage Bindings. They offer a nice snug fit and are supremely comfortable during even heavy riding. The board itself is really stable and comfortable to use at slow and high speeds.
It’s a bit heavier than more expert boards, but the added weight and deeper fins give it a smoother feel out in the water. Sure you lose a bit of maneuverability, but you gain plenty of stability to help keep new riders from wobbling too much as they get their balance. The edges aren’t too sharp, but you can still cut angles nicely with good form and a nice lean.
My only gripe with the board is that it doesn’t come with too much protection up front against the tow rope. I remedied this issue by putting a protective cover over the rope to keep it from wearing the board out during use, but many boards have a protective edge up front for this purpose.
What Users are Saying:
- Moderate edges for stable control without too much cut
- Super comfortable boots
- Good snug fit
- Stable performance
Hydroslide Black Widow Wakeboard
The Hydroslide Black Widow wakeboard is one of the most affordable on this list, and it’s a good reliable product. It offers a good snug fit for most adult foot sizes thanks to the two point adjustable bindings, and comes with a quad channel design that really provides plenty of stability.
New riders will find this board easy to get up on, and more skilled riders will still be able to use it for advanced tricks. It’s a fun learning tool, and something that riders will enjoy over several seasons as well.
The one downside to this board is that the bindings are a bit flimsy. They should perform just fine over your initial season, but eventually you’ll want to upgrade them to a higher quality tool. That’s a minor complaint for a solid product though.
What Users are Saying:
- Easy to adjust
- Fits both small and large feet
- Stable in the water
- Light feel for easy maneuvering
Originally published here.