Foam grip tape?
 

The guy I bought my 23 lsv from included a bunch of equipment and one of the things is this wake skate:
http://www.wakeworld.com/products/in...detail&p=57356

Reading about wakeskating, I saw that you can either have real grip tape or foam grip tape. This board has foam grip tape. However it seems like all the videos I watch and all the threads I read are always only referring to real grip tape. Is foam grip tape considered sub par and has been phased out?

Is this wake skate decent enough to start learning on? I use to skate when I was younger, so I tried this last time I went out. I had no trouble getting up and riding. But when I tried to ollie, it just seems to not work ( I was barefoot, if that mattered). The tail would just goo into the water but never pop up.

Will it just take more practice, or is it because its an 'old school' board?

The foam is nice because you can ride it without shoes. I wouldn't really recommend that anyways though, unless you like broken toes. Grip tape and shoes are the best way to wakeskate.

I don't guess there is a way to retro fit grip tape on a foam board?

I have that board and wouldn't mind having grip tape.

Scrape it off and apply regular grip tape. Probably will be a tedious process but I can't see why it can't be done.

Like mentioned above, definitely wear shoes.

To take off the foam: leave the board out in the sun or use a heat gun to loosen up the adheasive, pull it off as clean as possible, and then throw on some grip tape. You can get regular skate board size sheets at any skate shop (will take 3 sheets) or you can buy wakeskate size sheets from Aquarium (www.remotewakeskates.com/aquarium-hardgoods/) or Loyalty Distribusion (www.loyaltydist.com)

I will be doing it this winter more than likely. Thanks for the info!

My first board had a foam top and after the first year I switched it out to grip tape. My consistency on shuvs went way up because I had way more control with grip tape. It's easier to move your feet, feel the board, and a better kind of grip (rather than being sticky)

Lose the boots! Start the movement. Anybody can ride a wakeboard but it takes actual skill to skate.

^lol

Congrats on the 23 lsv!

As far as foam top boards being considered sub par, I would say yes... but who is considering them to be sub par is the bigger question. I imagine to a pro, or to someone who's used to skateboarding, that foam wouldn't be ideal. But for the average person, someone who's just starting out, or someone who will have multiple people starting out, I think foam is better. Beginners tend to have a hard time situating themselves in the water, and of course getting up after that, so they have enough stress as it is. Having that sharp griptape rip off all the skin on their knuckles can be the last straw that makes them quit trying. The board you have is fine to learn on. They were doing kickflips on old wakeboards that had the tips cut off when the sport started, so I have a feeling it'll be a while before your skill level advances past the boards capabilities.

I have a bi-level cassette wakeskate with foam and love it. I'm not an advanced level skater (shuvs, 180s, 3shuvs if I'm lucky) but I've never fallen on a trick and thought "man... I would've totally landed that if I had griptape". I'm sure other people have, but that's just my experience.

Best of luck!

I wouldn't bother re-gripping a hyperlite scape. Those skates are about $100 brand new, you'd spend $20 or more on skate grip depending on where you got it. Besides, the bigger limiting factors in that board will be that is is not a concave and is very light, meaning it's harder to control and keep with you when you are both in the air (oldies, wake jumps, etc...)

Petrie makes a great point too about beginners, you should keep the scape as is so people learning don't get all rashed up. Blemboard.com has 2013 remotes on sale for $149, one of the better known higher end skates out there (current model year MSrp is $349).

Pick one of those up and keep the foam scape too...

Also you need shoes to skate, dragging your front foot up the board is what gives it lift during an Ollie, same as on a skateboard. You need more friction and surface area than your foot on the foam. Shoes, even with a foam deck will make a huge difference.

Forgot to mention this, +1 for always wearing shoes.

Good job on getting rid of those bindings. I mean gymnastics are cool
And all but......