Hyperlite Agent Wakeboard : The Agent is back and better than ever! With upgrades like M6 hardware the Agent is now thinner and more lightweight making it even more explosive than last years counterpart. A combination of Hyperlite's Marek and Murray pro model boards, the Hyperlite Agent is one of the best performing boards on the market. These boards have every feature you can dream of. Four removable fins allow for supreme control. Pair those with the step down edges and this board moves with the speed and ease of a secret agent. Also featuring a 3 stage rocker this board will have you flying off the wake with zero effort. What more could you ask for?
Bio2 Core: Created a few years back with Dow Chemical for the right combination of swing weight and durability for recreational to advanced riding.
Hyperlite Destroyer Wakeboard Bindings 2014 : The Hyperlite Destroyer binding is based on the very popular Frequency model but has some serious upgrades for the 2014 season. Featuring Hyperlite's new 6" Low Pro Plate System, the Destroyer's base plate is one of the thinnest and strongest on the market. That means tons of weight reduction and greatly increased response time when initiating turns. The rear flex zone of the Destroyer reduces abrasion on the back of the leg, and the molded EVA provides cushioning in the heel and the toe. This padding is then combined with newly designed added padding to the underside of the binding allowing for pillow soft landings on even the biggest airs! Also new for this year are metal inserts in the mounting bracket to allow for better hold when mounting the binding and reducing wear. No matter how big and how hard you ride, the Destroyer will be right there with you! One size fits most foot sizes so the Destroyer wakeboard boot will accommodate nearly everyone in your boat or at the cable park.
As in many industries, there is an abundance of misinformation
in the wakeboard world. The following tips come from years of experience in the
industry, and are designed to cut through some of the tech talk and misleading
jargon. If you would like us to find you the perfect wakeboard for your needs,
please contact us and provide the following information: Weight, Shoe size, Preferred style of
riding, Ability level, What boat you typically ride behind.
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First and foremost...
...no one design element makes for a good board. Boards only work well when the elements of design are well integrated. For instance, were a friend to tell you, "you need a wide board, 'cuz that's good for boosting big air", they would be doing you no favor. There are plenty of wide boards that are not good for aerials, and there are others that are not good for anything! Many times, when an industry finds a "hot niche", the manufacturers race to produce that style of gear. It does not always add up to good performance. Elements, such as our timely example of width, must combine with other factors, such as edge shape and rocker, to provide a great combination.
Do not buy a board by "size"
This tip is related to the first. Centimeter "size", is a poor barometer of a board's overall character. The length is the only variable measured by this. To put a finer point on it, a 138cm in one board, may be perfect for you, while the identical length in another board may be completely inappropriate. Factors such as width and wetted surface area make as much, if not more difference than length. A friend telling you, "buy a 142cm" is doing you a disservice. They probably mean well, and are advising you towards a board that they have had a positive experience with, but many expensive board purchase mistakes are made in this manner.
The following are guidelines for what effect the individual design elements might have:
Rocker
"
The curvy "banana shaped" profile of your board. Rocker generally may be viewed on a scale from "loose feeling" to "stable feeling." The more exaggerated the arc, the looser the board feels. Conversely flatter boards tend to be more stable. A great deal of rocker tends to slow a board down, while a flat profile tends to be faster. Some boards use a "constant rocker" and others somewhat of a "kinked" or "flat spot" rocker line. The latter tries to incorporate the best speed/maneuverability qualities of both rocker designs.
Rail Design
"The shape of your board's rails or edges, whether sharp or rounded, has a profound impact on the tracking capabilities of the board. The sharper the rail (another term for the board's edge), the more aggressively the board will "bite" into the water. This results in improved acceleration, and overall speed. The downside of this, is the tendency for sharp rails to be "catchy". Remember, a sharp rail is always sharp, and is less forgiving than it's rounded counterpart. Beginners and flat water tricksters are well advised to look for boards with more "buttery" (rounder) rails. To confuse matters even more, many manufacturers are producing boards with combination edges, that combine elements of both designs, in an attempt to achieve the best of both worlds.
Base Design
This refers to the often debated features that affect the wetted surface area of the board. Channels running lengthwise down the bottom of the board serve two functions. They provide additional traction against slipping sideways, and they accelerate the water flow beneath the surface, adding to overall speed. Boards with heavy contouring also tend to be a little less forgiving for surface tricks and wake slides. Dimples, also referred to as phasers, speed bumps, etc., are designed to break up laminar flow, or downward suction on the board from the water's surface. If you think of a dinner plate being set on a wet table, and the suction that is created, the principle is the same. The dimples break up the suction and, in theory, accelerate the board. In reality this does very little to effect performance positively or negatively. It is technology that was borrowed from the surfing industry, which largely dropped the concept about 20 years ago.
Width
A board's width affects it's speed, stability, and pop off the wake. Increased width can add stability, but detracts from a board's speed. The greater the wetted surface area of a board, the more drag it produces. Drag is the factor which can most easily reduce speed. Width can also help get extra air by providing a broader surface to smack to wake. This will only be true, however, if the overall speed is still good. If you are interested in getting big air from a wide board, make sure it has sharp rails and strong channels to help speed it up.
Length
As with width, length is less important than overall wetted surface area. Remember, the only portion of your board which can profoundly affect your ride, is the portion in contact with the water. Much of a board's length, depending on it's rocker line, may be out of the water. This portion has little to do with the board's feel. Length is one of the most looked at, and most misunderstood elements, in board purchasing.
Weight
Boards have become pretty darn light over the last few years. In general, light weight means a livelier feel underfoot, and quicker rotation in the air. This has traditionally come at the expense of durability. Recently, the gap between heavy and light has been greatly reduced by better manufacturing techniques. Many experienced riders are choosing the most durable boards, and saving the extra half pound by eating a few less waffles.
