Review - Good Ratio

image from Remote Wakeskates

I am about to watch Good Ratio, the latest offering from the Remote wakeskates team. I am very excited about this.

As the video downloads to iTunes I decided to do something a little different and talk about my mindset going in to the video, prior to viewing and my subsequent review.

Life's weird. It constantly throws you curveballs and just when you think you're getting things figured out, a new change takes place. After a couple crazy weeks at work and some unexpected turns,  my future career path is now somewhat of a mystery to me. My house is a disaster area with clean laundry piled-up waiting to be put away and supplies for a halloween costume strewn about my office. I'm feeling stressed, annoyed, a little worried.

So why am I still procrastinating? Why, when I could spend the time cleaning or planning my future, am I writing and downloading a new video to watch? Well, I'm not entirely sure. My best guess is that wakeskating (and wakeboarding) are such a staple in my life. That taking just a little time to sit and indulge will help keep me sane when life can get so crazy.

I may not be able to ride near as much as I'd like to and have been a little out of touch in the last year or so, but it's something I can always come back to.

The words following this sentence will be my first after watching Good Ratio for the first time.



Holy. Shit. 

I know more than enough good things have been said about this video already but there is no possible way someone could walk away from this being disappointed. Unbelievable riding, boundaries being broken, great tunes, and an awesome overall feel. This is officially going to be my new go-to when introducing someone to wakeskating.

It's hard to break the video down in to specifics because it was all so amazing, so I won't even try. Whether it's Yan Lecomte's opening section with aggressive riding and big gaps, or Leo Labaden's great flow backed by some killer French rap or the rest of the team (Josh Zentmeyer, Tyler Mangus, Matt Hooker, Ryan Leary) just dropping hammers; the whole video fuses style and tech in to a beautiful ooze of... "stech". (Terrible sounding word for something so awesome, but hopefully you get it.)

The montages and smaller clips really help tie the video all together and give a great feel of travel and a wandering spirit. Not to mention a fireworks battle that brought me back to the dozens and dozens of times I've watched Sfumato from back in the day.

Nick Taylor and Ben Horan's parts close-out the video with an amazing 1-2 punch of some of the craziest waterdancing you've ever seen.

Not only is the riding incredible, but you can tell the team has had time to perfect the art of winching itself. I'm not going to ruin the surprises for you if you have yet to see the video, but some of the new winch methods these guys have come up with will definitely open up doors in the future for what is possible with the ultra-mobile towing device.

If you've got $10 and 30 minutes, this is an absolute must-have for your collection. If you don't have $10, I recommend skipping meals for a day so you can put the cash to better use and buy this film.


Be sure to check out the official Remote site here and buy a download directly:
http://www.remotewakeskates.com/good-ratio/ 

Or through iTunes: 

https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/remote-wakeskates-good-ratio/id720964731

Gear: What to Look at When Buying a Used Wakeboard

Wakeboarding unfortunately is a very expensive sport and many of us are on budgets that limit us to checking out clearance items or even used gear. While clearance deals from reputable sellers makes it easy to know that you'll be getting an item in perfect condition, it will most likely cost more than purchasing used. Buying used from anyone can be a daunting task but I'm here to tell you what to look for when buying a wakeboard that's been 'previously loved'.

Rails & Tails

The first and arguably most important thing to always check for is damage around the edges of the board. Look for any major dings in the nose and tail, and along the sides (or "rails") make sure that the board doesn't look "split". 

Wakeboards are basically made by sandwiching a core of foam, wood, pvc blends, or other materials between a top and bottom 'sheet'. If you see that these two sheets are splitting apart at the seam, it means water can get in to the board which is not good. Some materials, especially older foam boards, can rot or take-on water. This causes the board to weaken and will drastically reduce the life and pop of the board. It can also be dangerous as a weak board can break while you're riding it. 

If you see a major split (roughly 1" or longer), you should probably pass on the board. If it's a very small hole you can point it out, ask for a better price, then do some simple cheap repair work and you should be fine. 

Boot Bolts

The next thing to check out are the screw inserts where the bindings attach to the board. There are a lot of stresses put on this part of the board so it's important that they are in great condition. If you notice that any inserts are loose, pulled up and not flush with the deck, or just plain missing; pass on the board. Not only will damage cause water to get in like the previous scenario, but there's a good chance it's already been made weaker and that you're one edge-catch away from ripping the inserts completely out of the deck, ruining the board (and possibly your knee!) completely.

All Your Base

We've covered the two most important aspects, but the next place you should look for damage is the base of the board. Are there any deep scratches or major dents? Minor scrapes that you may see from light slider use or from lying on docks/concrete aren't anything to be hugely worried about. But if you see any section rubbed-through to the core or chips taken out of molded-in fins that expose the material inside the board, keep looking for something else.

Also to note is that the condition of the graphics are not necessarily a sign of whether or not the board is in good shape. Sometimes seeing boards in person is a must as it can be hard to tell condition from photos. For example, I have a Liquid Force board from around 2005 where the entire graphic sheet ripped off of the bottom. To an average person they would think "that's broken", but the base of the board is still perfectly in-tact. As it turns out, the graphics were applied as a separate layer that was not structurally integral to the board and the actual base is in excellent shape underneath. 

The Details

Outside of the above, there's not much more left to check out. The only other area I'd suggest looking at are fin holes. These can be susceptible to damage if someone hit a kicker or slider with their fins still on the board. Again, you'll mainly be looking for any cracks or splits that could potentially be letting water in to the decks. Missing fins are not a big deal and you can probably pick up a set online for cheap, if you feel like you need them at all.

What NOT to Worry About

Don't hesitate to make a purchase if the graphic color is faded or if you see small scratches on the board. This is all normal wear-and-tear and will not affect the ride in any way. Even if you did get a pristine, new board, it's going to pick up scratches and fade no matter what you do. Remember, you're getting the board to shred, not to show off how pretty it is!

My 2013 Wake-Boat Fashion Review

Generally I just like to spread stoke. If someone has a 'dumb' question or is asking about something like gloves I'll be friendly and try to point them in the right direction for their own needs; there's no such thing as a stupid question. Negativity never helps the situation, but sometimes I'll have some fun. 

The below is a (slightly) edited (to protect the innocent and mostly for formatting) excerpt from a post I made on the forums in response to someone asking how to spend about $50,000 on a wakeboard boat that he did not want to use for wakeboarding or surfing. His requirements, and I quote, "I'm more concerned with looks, sound, reliability, and looks". 

With that in mind, I decided to help him out a bit in making his purchasing decision. You'll first see me recommend the boat, then suggest some key choices when it comes to looks.

Remember this is all in good humor and tongue-in-cheek satire. I love this sport and (most of) the people in it. So if you see something familiar or that you're a fan of, don't take it to heart. Hell, I dig the look of matte paint when used wisely and appreciate unique style if you can afford it; but I'd at least use the boat to ride if I could afford one at all. 

So here we go:


"X-Star is definitely the way to go if you're more in to image. Not to say it's not a great boat in its own right and awesome for wakeboarding but if you're going purely for image than X-Star is the way to go brah. 

Now for the wake-boat 2013 mid-season fashion report! 
As far as wraps go, skulls are definitely still the "in" thing as we move through the season. But if you want to be ahead of the game and prepared for next year, I really think that energy drink wraps are the way to go. With some room for a personal touch by selecting either Monster or Red Bull, you can really make your presence known on the water. The great thing is, they seem to always be a staple and will probably never go out of style, it's the 'little black dress' of boat wrap designs. In any case, barbed-wire, flame, and tribal designs are out and people will know you aren't legit, so stay far away from these dated patterns! 

Moving along to accessories and trim. Chrome is a major no-go! Get that early 2000's stuff out of here! The modern wake boat stylist utilizes matte colors for the tower, trailer, and trailer wheels; preferably black on black on black. Board racks are a MUST and should be packed full at all times. I suggest at least two racks on each side of the tower and a rough ratio of 3:2 wakeboards to wakesurfers. You might not ride them, but it's a necessary touch to get bitches turning heads. 

An often over-looked tower accessory is lighting. In my professional opinion, this is a HUGE miss and an easy way to really set your boat off and stand out in a crowd. While there are many options, a simple light bar set in the gap between the speakers and top of the tower is enough. Remember to never use it though, it just has to be big enough that people will notice it in the daylight.

The final fashion tip for the season is about sound, and it's a really handy trick. Make sure that whatever mad thumpin' system you get installed requires the addition of at least 20 batteries. Not only will it allow you to make sure people 3 miles away are listening to your fantastic taste in alt rock and pop-rap music but, and here's the great part, you won't have any need to EVER use the ballast system that comes in many high-end boats. Simply shift a battery or two and clean that wake up so everyone can look at it's beauty and admire it from afar."

New Shredtown Vid!!!! - TUBULAR!

The dudes at Shredtown finally released a new vid today! As usual, worth the wait. Peep it on their site at:

http://shredtown.com/tubular/

Some REALLY creative stuff (not to mention some mad System 2.0 driving skills).

Wakeskating on the Berrics!

Thanks to yet another fantastic post on the forums over at wakeskating.com, someone noticed some of our fellow water-shredders breaking in to the big time by being featured on the Berrics! The biggest and most-visited skate site just got a little more watery, and it's great.

Check out the original thread here, and the Berrics page itself here.

I love seeing wakeskating getting some more attention from the most legitimate skate site in the world. It shows to me that we're doing things right and wakeskating is headed in the perfect direction, a sport all its own from wakeboarding.

Countdown - 5 Questions to ask Yourself when Buying a Wakeboard or Wakeskate

Dude needs an update. Image: wwasp.com

The most common question I see posted on forums everywhere is "What board should I get?" It seems simple enough, but with the sheer amount of options out there it's a daunting task if you don't know where to begin. I'll go more in-depth in a future article for each wakeboards and wakeskates later, but I've put together a list of five things you should ask yourself before making a decision no matter which kind of board you're thinking of picking up. Think of this as kind of a 'Quick-Start' guide to buying yourself a new ride for the season, just general information. As I will always suggest though, do your research, ask questions. It makes the sport so much more fun when you absolutely love what you're standing on.

5. What's your skill level? This is a good starting point for a reason. If this is your first season your demands are a lot less than what a seasoned rider expects out of his gear. My recommendation is to pick up any board made in the last 5 years or so and save yourself a bunch of cash over getting a totally new board. You can find a great deal on used or closeout gear and while today's tech is much better than even 5 years ago, the board quality and durability will still be fantastic and you won't outgrow it skill-wise for a long time. I still occasionally hop on my 2005 Liquid Force deck because it's such a fun ride! Remember, the latest and greatest gear isn't needed to be a good rider and that at one point, those decks were pro-models too. Just because they're not the shiny new toy, doesn't mean you can't get far with them; be careful of marketing hype!

4. What's your Budget? Wakeboarding can be an extremely expensive sport. You won't be able to get a complete, high-end, 2013 setup for less than about $700 and a good wakeskate is not going to be cheap either. If you can afford that without batting an eye, then you're good to go on the latest and greatest, have a blast shopping! For some of us though, money is a limiting factor. Something I tend to do is look at closeout gear from the previous season. Call your local shops and ask or pop online to stores like Boardstop and there is usually a closeout section offering great deals on new gear leftover from the year or two before. You can save yourself hundreds but still be riding really advanced tech! The best thing to do is to give yourself a number to shop with, something you can afford. I guarantee that with enough looking, you'll be able to find the right ride for you without breaking the bank and can probably find a complete, last-season closeout for a few hundred bucks and the gear will be completely new.

3. What's Quality? This is always important when shopping for anything and while wakeboarding and wakeskating can get complicated if you let it, there are some key simple things to look for when you're buying. Browse forums like wakeboarder.com and wakeskating.com. It won't take long for you to see a pattern in the brand names that come up. Wakeboard companies like Hyperlite, Liquid Force, Ronix, and Slingshot are a pretty safe bet across the board. The same goes for wakeskating with the companies listed above, along with skate-only companies like Integrity, and Remote. If you're just starting out, pretty much any of their decks will work well for you and if you're a more experienced rider, you'll already know what you're looking for. With all of that said, do your research! There are plenty of trustworthy brands out there to find but the ones I listed are ones I find to be consistent across the line in quality (unlike O'Brien for example, who makes some great boards but also has low-end, low-budget, and low-quality boards as well that a beginner might get confused with). Also, stay away from companies that make a ton of watersports stuff. World Industries for example had wakeboards for a while but they were just hopping in to the game with cheap stuff to try and make a quick buck.

2. What's Your Pull? This is basically is going to come down to cable or boat for most people. While most boards cross-over well, there are a few extra things to look out for if you're going to be riding mostly cable. First on the list is durability. Most wakeboards and skates out there now are going to be absolutely fine to take on occasional trips to the park, but if you're going to be hitting the park a couple times a week, you'll need something with extra durability in mind. Companies these days are realizing that a lot of people are primarily shredding ramps n' rails, so keep an eye out for anything that has an added base layer as a durability feature. The tech is the same across most brands (P-Tex, a material used on snowboards) and is very effective, but most wake brands will call it something different, for example, Liquid Force's "Grind" base, or Hyperlite's "enduro base". Second thing to look for is base features. While boards will cross-over, if you really want to get in to pressing rails you will likely want a flex board with little to no shape to the bottom. Slingshot boards, for example, are completely smooth other than their removeable fins. Perfect for a flatbar session. At the same time, you may want something with a lot of bite behind the boat, so a ride with some decent molded-in fins may be more up your alley. In addition to molded fins, if you're planning to try and catch some big air behind the cable or boat, look for bases that are designed for soft landings. These will usually have some kind of a shallow 'v' design in the nose/tail to disperse the water a bit when you land.

1. What do YOU like? This is the most important question to ask yourself. You're going to drop a bunch of money on some new gear, you better like every last detail about it from the ride, to the durability, down to even the graphic. The good thing is, there are tons of choices for wakeboarders and skaters these days. Not only do the major companies such as Liquid Force and Hyperlitee have tons of options in their lines, but smaller companies like Humanoid, Remote, Integrity, and CTRL offer plenty of extra options that will make you smile every time you look down at your feet.

Shredtunes - The Limousines

In ShredTunes posts I'm going to introduce you to a new song that gets me stoked to ride and talk a little about the band that sings it. It might be old, it might be new, just depends on how I'm feeling that week. Fair warning: my music can sometimes get pretty out there, but hopefully you find something new that you dig.

What if I told you there was a song that's catchy as hell and the music video has bikini zombies? Right, figured you'd be stoked. After hearing it featured in the wake film "Defy", I immediately hit iTunes to get myself a copy. Fair warning, you're going to get this stuck in your head.

See? Now you'll be singing that chorus all day. The rest of the album this is on didn't really do much for me. It's not bad, but I just couldn't really get in to it. In any case, check them out, you might dig 'em!