Unless you’ve figured out how to water-ski on your bare hands like homeboy from YouTube, then you’ll probably want to invest in some righteous gear before you hit the H2O this season. To aid you in your endeavors, BW has assembled some of the hottest products around — submitted, of course, for your watersports pleasure and convenience. These uber-heady devices should do just the trick to help increase your hangtime and keep you pulling hardcore stunts all summer long.
Simply Heartbraking
Why
waste your time pining away over unrequited love, when you can be out slaying some wake? With a
softer core, pink “ heartbreaker” graphics and an EVA foam top, CWB’s limited-edition women’s
Tsunami Wakesurfer is
the board for which all the female wakesurfers will be clamoring this season.
Featuring three removable fiberglass tail-fins and one fiberglass nose-fin, the tracking system can
be fully customized to your
liking. A molded kick-tail and EVA tip protector only serve to further demonstrate
how this board is one of the most user-friendly wakesurfers on the market. And forget about that
dude, whoever he is —
he was probably
a jerk anyway. CWB’s Tsunami Wakesurfer sells for $329,
www.ridecwb.com.
Superfly
It’s time to
make your fortune by-and-by, and take your boarding into the sky with WakeKite’s Superfly 5.5 and
Superfly 9.0 inflatable wakekite kits. While the 5.5 allows for easier riding and less lift for
lightweight riders (although it’s still fun for a full-sized adult), the 9.0 is recommended for
riders weighing 135 pounds or more. This larger, more advanced model kite allows riders to go
bigger than the 5.5 and requires greater arm strength to ride. The kit includes a handle with kite
lines, a towrope with tow-ball and release shackle, a gear bag, an inflation pump, and an
instructional manual or DVD (9.0 package). Who knows? Maybe Curtis Mayfield will write a cool
soundtrack to commemorate the event. The retail price is $1,299 for WakeKite’s Superfly 5.5 kit,
and $1,399 for the Superfly 9.0 kit,
www.wakekite.com.
Fin-Atic
Combined
with a variable-edge design that rolls from soft between your feet
up to a sharp-cupped rail tip and tail, Hyperlite’s Tribute is about as quick and
responsive as wakeboards come. Built off a 2.55-inch continuous rocker line, it carries awesome
speed into the wake and provides all the pop you’ll ever need. This wicked board eschews tradition
and strays from Hyperlite’s past board shapes with its shorter, curved, molded-in fins. Measuring
almost 2 inches from the tip and tail of the board, it’s just enough fin to know it’s there,but not enough to delay the board’s release off the wake … and isn’t such instant
gratification what we’re all looking for, when it really comes down to it? The Hyperlite Tribute
sells for $380,
www.hyperlite.com.
Adrenal Attire
Who says you
have
to abandon your favorite sport, just because the temperature is plummeting faster
than Bear Stearns’ market share? Body Glove’s Pro 2 2/1mm springsuit is the perfect apparel for
when it’s just a little too cold outside. “Fairskin” panels on the chest and back help keep you
warm without being bulky and restrictive, while “Quadra Flex” material in the sleeves and shoulders
allow for ease of movement. Body Glove’s Pro 2 retails for $64.95,
www.bodyglove.com.
Ready To Rumble
Ever wanted to carve it up like freestyle skate-legend Rodney Mullen … but on the water? Now you can at least attempt to live this dream with the Charge wakeskate, which has been designed by Mullen’s company — the notorious World Industries. The Charge’s textured EVA deck provides excellent footing for easy starts (even with bare feet), and the 11-ply hardwood construction and stiff rocker ensure long use and great performance. Additionally, the removable fins provide excellent tracking. The bottom graphics depict World Industries’ mascots Wet Willy and Flame Boy getting ready to throw down in an all-out slugfest. Retail for World Industries’ Charge wakeskate is $119.99, www.kwiktek.com/worldindustrieswatersports.
Last Crusade
Had Indiana Jones
been into wakeboarding, he could’ve saved himself
a trip to the Canyon of the Crescent Moon. Instead, he simply might have gotten a
strong grip on Straight Line’s Grail carbon wakeboard handle — which is constructed from woven
carbon fibers for maximum strength and rigidity, while still weighing less than a pound. Its
innovative design allows for easy rope storage, so you simply wrap your rope around the handle to
put it away. It’ll be more fun than fighting a horde of Nazis, that’s for sure. Straight Line’s
Grail costs $125,
www.slsports.com.
Forceful Liquid
There’s
no question that Keith Lynman
is one serious wakeboarder, but now he’s got enough “Force” behind him to rival that
of a Jedi with Liquid Force’s Lyman Wakeboard. Its all-new “Double to Quad” concave hull
ensures soft landings caused by the beam in its center, and superior hold through the board’s tail.
The tail itself features a Quad-Concave V construction placed between a set of fins sitting on top
of each concave to yield more hold, increased speed and incredible thrust off the wake. You might
not be ready to take wakeboarding to a new plateau like Lyman, of course, but now you can have the
next best thing with his board. The Lyman signature series wakeboard retails for $399.99,
www.liquidforce.com.
Origin Of Spe-Skis
Were he
still alive and kicking, Chuck Darwin would likely be intrigued by O’Brien’s new Sixam SS slalom
ski, which is a quantum leap on the evolutionary scale of water skis. According to O’Brien, the
Sixam SS is reputedly the fastest ski the company has ever built, yet it still carves and finishes
turns well on both your on- and off-side turns. With all three lengths of ski going through an
individual redesign process, each ski length has seen changes on everything from transitional
bevels to the rocker, and will have new flex patterns developed to make you ski your best. Take
that, bio-diverse wildlife of the Galapagos Islands. The O’Brien Sixam SS costs $1,320,
www.obrien.com.
Roped In
The
versatile, eye-catching Airhead Watersports Rope is a great choice for a wide range of H2O-fueled
activities, including waterskiing, wakeboarding, wakeskating and kneeboarding. It’s sure to have
you switching back and forth between sports faster than Deion Sanders and Bo Jackson combined. The
Airhead Watersports Rope retails for $9.99,
www.airhead.com.
The Right Answer
Although wakeboarding
might rank highly among the coolest activities on the planet, getting in and out of those boots is
no bueno at best. With CWB’s Answer switch hinge boot-bindings, new “Hinge Tech” technology
has changed all of that. Now, not only
is getting in and out of your boots far easier, but all the wear and tear of yore is
virtually eliminated. To recapitulate, the switch hinge process goes roughly like this: feet in,
hinge up, high-fives all around, own the water, then repeat. CWB’s Answer boot-bindings sell for
$319,
www.ridecwb.com.
No Glove …
Stearns’ Amara
Watersports Gloves feature heavy-duty amara palms and fingers for sure grip. The 2-mm neoprene and
nylon spandex provide comfort and flexibility, while the adjustable wrists and back-of-hand straps
offer superb support and comfort for ’boarders. Stearns’ Amara Watersports Gloves sell for $22.99,
www.stearnsrec.com.
That's A 10-4
Although it’s no substitute for a VHF radio, Coleman’s new Transmit PFD should come in handy for radioing your towboat to come pick you up after you’ve wiped out for the umpteen-millionth time. Constructed with a rugged neoprene outer and a 100-percent PVC beveled foam inner, it features a two-way radio for added convenience and safety. The radio is stitched into the chest module and can be used to transmit and receive by simply touching the unit’s watertight pressure switches. The radio has a transmit/receive range of approximately two miles and can be used for routine communication. Both men and women’s models are available in S, M, L, XL and XXL and — depending on size — sells at retail for $99.99 to $129.99, www.coleman.com