Product Guide

This guide is designed to assist in finding the right board and ski for you to help maximise performance and enjoyment.

Wakeboards

Sizing: Wakeboards are available in various sizes and should be selected to compliment a boarder’s weight and ability. The chart below is a guide to help you choose the right length board for you.

Rocker: refers to the curvature or bend in the board between the tips. To compare rocker between boards turn the boards upside down on a flat surface, without bindings mounted and measure or compare the clearance between boards and the flat surface. Generally, the more rocker the board has the greater the pop or lift the board generates off the wake. The pay back is that the board will be slower to accelerate due to the increased drag resulting from sitting deeper in the water. Less rocker in a board gives you a faster board with greater edge holding. This board relies on greater speed onto the wake to generate lift. Apart from rocker size there are two distinct rocker lines you can choose from.

Three Stage Rockers: boards with this style of rocker give a snappy, bucking style of pop off the wake and usually tend to boot the rider higher into the air. They also tend to sit a little deeper in the water creating more drag.

Continuous Rocker: the smoothest most consistent type of pop there is. This rocker line gives you consistent pop so you know exactly how the board will react off the wake every time. These boards generally sit a little higher in the water giving you a faster ride.

Channels: are the grooves on the bottom of the board that guide water along the board's base and help the board track. The better a board tracks, the more it goes where it is pointing which aids in turning the board. Deeper or more effective channels that improve tracking are less forgiving on landings, especially if a rotation has not been fully finished or a rider is slightly off balance. Shallower channels give the board a slippery feel and are a lot more forgiving on landings. These boards however rely far more on edge control to turn and hold direction.

Width: a wider board has more surface area and creates more lift. This lift is evident in starts, normal riding and getting air off the wakes. It also creates a slippery feel to the board relying more on channels and edging to control direction. A narrow board will track straighter and generate more speed.

Tip and Tail Shapes There are four main shapes of tips and tails. There are, round, square, diamond and swallow. Most boards have a tip/tail that resembles a mix of two or more of these shapes. A round end will give soft landings but with less pop, whilst a square end provides greater pop but harsher landings. The diamond and swallow shapes give a board the feel of a longer board but the performance of a shorter board.

Slalom Ski’s

Sizing: slalom skis are available in various sizes and should be selected to compliment a skier’s weight, skiing speed and ability. Most water ski manufacturers provide charts suggesting correct ski length. These suggestions usually assume the skier is reasonably proficient. A ski that is one size longer will be more stable, easier to start on, require less effort to ride and will be more forgiving, but will therefore be equally less responsive.

Construction Water skis have progressed from original wood construction to modern light weight composites. Modern ski are manufactured using a combination of materials that can include fiberglass, ABS plastics, Kevlar and aluminium wrapped around a foam core with or without stiffening rods. Materials, design and construction methods determine a skis flex or stiffness, rebound and dampening characteristics and ultimately the price.

Tunnel Shape: Edge to Edge Concave A ski with this base design is suited for advanced to tournament level skiers. As there is no flat area on the base of the ski, it is constantly seeking an “edge”. This design makes the ski extremely responsive, less forgiving and less predictable. It’s function is to facilitate the more aggressive style of skiing necessary in competition slalom skiing.

Modified Concave Tunnel: this design brings together the best of both worlds providing a more forgiving ride yet allowing for smooth deceleration into the turn and fast acceleration out of the turn. The design incorporates a tunnel through the mid section becoming a full concave in the tail section.

Bevel: the bevel of a water ski is that area between the side wall and the base of a ski. It can be 4 degrees, modified 45 degrees, rounded or flat. The bevel is normally sharper towards the mid to front of the ski and more rounded form the back foot to the tail. The bevel determines the skis attitude through the water and also the rate of slip and grip through the turn.

Rocker: The rocker is the amount and shape of curvature in the ski from tip to tail. It can be easily seen and measured when the ski is placed on a flat surface. A larger flat area under the bindings creates a more stable ski whilst a lesser flat area or constant rocker creates a ski that will quickly initiate an edge change and turn.

Fins: there are many shapes and sizes of fins. Most higher performance skis come with adjustable fins which further add to this complexity. The fin depth, front and backward movement and shape will affect a skis performance immensely. It is highly recommended to keep the fin setup as per factory specifications unless you rally understand this complex subject.

Fin Foil / Wing / Spoiler: the fin foil is a fin attachment that primarily aids the skis deceleration prior to turning. It also reduces tail twitching (from poor body position) on some skis through the wakes. Factory settings will be between 5 and 10 degrees depending on the ski. For recreational or social skiing, the fin foil provides only a relatively small benefit and can be removed.

Shapes

Slalom Ski They are the Standard shape we are all familiar with, the Wide Body and the Hybrid.

Wide Body Slalom Skis These are the widest skis and are designed to bring the best out of beginners. These skis allow you to ride at much slower speeds suiting lower powered boats and PWC’s, larger water skiers and anyone wanting a less tiring ride.

Hybrid Slalom Skis: the newest innovation in ski design, these skis combine the easier starts of having a wider tip like wide body skis with the performance characteristics of the narrow tail section associated with traditional shaped skis. They offer riders a higher level of performance than wide body skis with less tiring ride than conventional skis.