What Is a Wakeboard?

Wakeboards are specific types of boards used in wakeboarding. They are often constructed from fiberglass that is wrapped around a wooden, foam, or aluminum core. Furthermore, wakeboards come in various designs, shapes, and lengths to accommodate different riding styles and wakeboarding types.

Even though wakeboards have some similarities with kiteboards, you should not use a kiteboard for wakeboarding. The biggest difference between the two types of boards is the rocker line. Wakeboards have a lot more rocker, making it easier to do tricks like ollies, whereas kiteboards’ flatter profile makes them optimal for floating on the water. Another difference is that wakeboards are ridden with boot-style bindings. In comparison, kiteboards, with the exception of wakestyle kiteboards, either straps or a strapless setup are used.

Characteristics of a Wakeboard

Some of the most important characteristics of wakeboards are their length, rocker, and base. The length of wakeboards varies, but it is usually between 130 cm to 150 cm. The optimal length should be decided based on the rider’s weight and riding style.

Wakeboards have quite pronounced rockers, and they often come with a continuous rocker, 3-stage rocker, or hybrid rocker. However, some newer models are designed with a camber rocker similar to skis.

As for their base shapes, featureless wakeboards come without permanent fins or channels at the bottom. Some boards come with channels or V-spines that help to direct the water flow and soften landings. Wakeboards built for wake parks have typically a sintered base for added strength and durability.

How Do I Choose a Wakeboard?

Choosing the right size wakeboard depends on a few practical factors as well as what you want to do with the board. As a rule of thumb, the heavier you are, the longer your wakeboard should be. This is to ensure that the weight is distributed evenly, and the board floats well. If you weigh under 150lbs (68 kg) then choose a board of around 137 cm or smaller. If you weigh over this, then go for a size of 138 cm or more. As a rule of thumb, a big board leads to an increased stability on the water and big tricks like Flips become easier, but spins become slower and more difficult. Therefore, we would advise beginners to get a slightly larger board.

Another element is what style of wakeboarding you want to do. If you want to ride in cable parks, then you will be better off going for a board with a wooden core, whereas boards for boats will have a polyurethane core construction.

You can find more information about which wakeboard to choose from our Buying a Wakeboard Guide.