Wakesurf Board Buying Advice for Beginner/Intermediate

[francis3]

We just bought a 2017 212X and are very excited. We have a waverunner, but are new to jet boats and this forum was very helpful in researching it. Thanks!

I'm excited to surf and need to pick up a board. Thinking of getting two boards at once: the Slingshot Boss Hoss so we can get up and going quickly while we learn, and the Slingshot Coaster (5' 3") so we have something more fun once we learn to surf and have hopefully dialed in a decent wave.

Details about us: The 212X came with Cobra Jet fins and Ridesteady, so am planning to start with a Wake Booster once it's back in stock. My wife and sons all want to surf. The boys and I are 5' 10" - 6', 140 - 185 lbs. We already wakeboard and foilboard, but we are new to surfing.

Sadly I won't be able to use it until the spring, so normally I'd wait to buy and get only one board until we are ready to upgrade. But the pandemic seems to be creating unexpected shortages, so I'm thinking of picking up both now so that we'll be ready to hit the water in the spring.

Boards are pricey, so I'd appreciate any advice. Do the Boss Hoss and Coaster boards seem like good boards to learn and then progress, or would you recommend something else? And is 5' 3" the right size for the Coaster, or would 5' be better?

 

[gallobg]

@J-RAD on this site is your go to guy for information. He has a shop with Slingshot and other boards. I got a Coaster 5’3” from him and love the board.

 

[Ken Sherlaw]

I have a coaster as well and like the board. We tried another lighter board that my wife and daughter preferred while at our lake/camp in Skowhegan Maine this summer with another Wakesurfers' boat. Unfortunately I don't know what brand it was so not much help there. So maybe J-RAD has some other recommendations. My reason for posting (since I'm no expert on boards) is to suggest researching the wake wedge before purchasing the wake booster. I bought the package including the wake booster from my local Yamaha dealer thinking it was the best option. After several frustrating attempts at surfing with it, I was able to surf ropeless but the wake is very temperamental in my opinion. You will spend a lot of time perfecting a wake, just to not be able to duplicate it the next time for various reasons. I decided to bite the bullet and get the wake wedge as a comparison, figuring I could sell whichever I didn't prefer. On our first time out with the wake wedge I was able to get a smooth, surf able wake with minimal adjustments. So I am definitely preferring the wake wedge so far. Just a suggestion to check out both. There are fans of both on here I would guess but I personally prefer the wake wedge after using both, although limited to the end of this season. I plan to post some comparative videos on one of these threads if I can figure out how to post a video on here since there is typically some interest on setup and comparisons.

 

[francis3]

I'll check with @J-RAD for boards and also look more closely at the wake wedge. The Wake Booster is appealing because it's very easy to install, switch and remove. But there certainly seem to be the full range of mixed results here on the forum.

Thanks very much for the info -- I appreciate it!

 

[J-RAD]

Thanks for the plug guys. Sorry I'm slow to enter the conversation, I've been trying to get caught up on things. I'm happy to offer a recommendation and discount. @francis3, I think you've given enough info for me. I'll shoot you a message with some info.

 

[francis3]

Thanks @J-RAD! No worries about any delay. I dropped the boat off for the winter yesterday. So very sadly, we won't be surfing until the spring.