The discussion in the "Heavy Boards" thread about which brands are popular in certain areas got me thinking about this. I still consider myself very new to the sport of wakeboarding and I've only had the pleasure of trying a tiny fraction of the product out there, but I find that I'm gradually building brand images/stereotypes based partly on reading/hearsay and partly on the firsthand experiences of my fellow riders and I. I'm interested to see how your views on wakeboarding brands are similar/different to mine. Would you care to share them? Here's how I see it:
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LF: Super easy to ride, feels very natural to me, very beginner friendly (newbies love my Harley), awesome performance. Binding quality/overall board finish not up to Ronix's standards, but compensated for by lower prices. Simple boards that just plain work!
Ronix: Stunning quality and attention to detail, but the feel of their boards (especially the fin setup) doesn't suit my riding style and feels very unnatural/awkward to me. Harder to ride than LF for me. Huge "cool factor" with the people around me. A bit overpriced, but not as bad as Hyperlite and compensated for by excellent quality, although their fins seem to break ALL THE TIME.
CWB: No experience with their recent product, but the 2008 Faze served me very well as my first board. They have a reputation with the people I know of being "old man's boards," i.e. technologically behind the times and just not as "cool" with the current generation of young riders. I personally don't buy it. I bet their products are great and I'd try 'em if I had the chance.
Hyperlite: No firsthand experience. Really cool technology (nova core, system, track mounting system, etc.) but really overpriced! I've always wanted to try their stuff. Maybe it's worth the money, but I'm not sure anything really could be.
Byerly: No experience. Not sure how different they are from the Hyperlite models, but it's hard to argue against a name like Scott Byerly and a talent like Butch. Their image seems to be that of a small company making special boards for a select few who appreciate their quality. I would love to try the Conspiracy!
O'brien: Killer product that doesn't get the marketing it deserves because of Bob Archer's bias towards some of his other brands. The Paradigm is a truly unique and awesome product and the 2012 Nomad bindings are the most comfortable boots I've ever put my feet into. Just a tad more expensive than LF. I will definitely keep them in mind for future purchases.
Slingshot: Probably the most unique mainstream brand out there. Absolutely gorgeous construction and finish. Worrying amount of negative reviews on the durability of the RAD bindings and worryingly numerous accounts of their very thin boards breaking. Hopefully it's all overblown, as I've decided to give them a chance as my new board of choice (see my thread on the 2010 Recoil). Very reasonably priced and super cool. Awesome fun to ride! They've got this flex thing figured out for sure. I think their claims of industry leadership in this category are justified.
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So, WakeWorld, am I right?
Last edited by TheHebrewHammer; 09-15-2011 at 9:52 PM.
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