I had only previously snowboarded. I went once, had trouble getting up, but it was extremely easy after. I had also snowboarded from a tow which takes somewhat getting used too, not terribly difficult though.
As both a snowboarder and wakeboarder, imo its much harder to wakeboard. Because you can't "stand up" without the boat moving at full speed, the whole "getting up" process is much more difficult in water. Once you've mastered that initial takeoff, if your a decent snowboarder, you should be fine after a couple days behind the wake. The basics of both are pretty similar.
Two of my best friends are on the Michigan Wakeboarding team. No joke
alrite thanks i guess im gonna give it a shot and see if i break anything
You won't break anything but you might faceplant a lot to start. Seriously, try falling backwards instead of holding on too long. The water hurts.
I read this as "Waterboarding" and was looking for a possum recipe to post.
Glad I'm not the only one who read it as waterboarding.
I know an EXTREMELY off color joke about wakeboarding, waterboarding and .... beach equipment that I'm not going to tell.
You tease! That's like saying, I know a really cool secret, but I'm not going to tell! Of course the people you tell that to are going to want to know the secret.
Other than being on a flat surface, and on water instead of snow, and the inability to use your arms to balance because they're holding on to a handle, and the added need to master the skill of actually getting up in the first place**, and the entirely different clothing ensemble, and the risk of drowning, it's exactly the same sport.
**the lack of such a skill is why watching me try to waterski is often so entertaining.
My arms are still sore from wakeboarding this past weekend.
I will echo the sentiments of the earlier posters. They are similar in that they both use boards, and chances are whichever foot you lead with on the snowboard is the one that you will be most comfortable leading with on a wakeboard but that is where the similarity ends.
The one good thing about wakeboarding is, for the most part when you fall it doesn't really hurt. You are just hitting water, not like when you fall on a snowboard and hit trees or hard ice.
I strongly disagree. It probably hurts more to run into a tree on a snowboard... but going down on a wakeboard can be juts as painful as going down on the slopes. I'm not very experienced on a wakeboard, but face-planting on the water is like getting clubbed in the head with a 2x4. Surface tension is a bitch.
Some wipeouts are just worse than others, whether you're on the snow or the water.
You would think that wakeboarding would cause a lot less pain because it's only water. A faceplant on a wakeboard kills though, and you can't use your hands to break your fall because you are holding onto a rope at the same time. If I were you, I would try wakeskating. Unless you are going to really get into it and learn to do huge tricks wakeboarding, wakeskating is the way to go. You aren't strapped into the board so there are less bad falls. I would say that wakeskating is a lot more fun also. It's just more fun to tool around on a wakeskate. At a certain point you run out of things to do on a wakeboard unless you really want to hurt yourself by doing tricks over the wake.
I would have sort of thought that the reason you can't use your hands to break your fall while wakeboarding is because you're on the water and putting your hands down will do no good because they'll just go into the water. Just sayin'.
Well yeah, if you face plant into the water going about 20 mph of course it is going to hurt. What I was just trying to point out is that the water is much more forgiving than concrete (for those who skateboard) or inanimate objects. Esp if you don't land a jump.
Edit: Oh and wakeskates can be just as dangerous. Not to mention harder to get up on initially.
Story time: I took mine out for the first time in a year two weeks ago. I was just starting to get up and the board got caught under a big wake that forced it down. I could tell I was going to bite it, so I dropped the rope and sank. Just as I was coming up, so was the board, it came up from behind and cracked me in the back of the head.
like more of a your bad than the average occurance with wakeskates. I would also disagree with the "harder to get up on" thing. I would say the opposite was true for me. It all depends on the person, I guess.
I always thought it was easy to get up but hard to turn and move in and out of the wake
First off, there is a Michigan Wakeboard Club, right now they are getting a brand new boat with the works every year from Silver Spray Sports in Fenton. If you are a student, join. You will learn a lot about wakeboarding and have a ton of fun. Check out www.umwakeboard.com for more info, or email [email protected] . I know last year there were some awesome discounts on gear for members that would definitely cover your dues in savings. As an alumni of the Michigan Wakeboarding Club, shameless plug over. As for being like snowboarding, nope. Best thing to do is try and go with someone who has actually pulled a rider before. Most newcomers have problems because they don't know any of the basics to getting up for example: don't floor it, keep the board perpendicular to the direction of the boat until you are completely out of the water, don't grip the handle like you are slalom skiing, don't lock your knees, stand up straight, and don't try to muscle your way up. The group that learns to get up on a wakeboard the quickest are girls that have never tried, as they tend to relax more and let the boat do all the work (Another key). Most of all have fun, don't blame the driver or the boat, they probably don't know better than you;
I have never snowboarded, but I learned how to water ski before learning to wakeboard. I found wakeboarding much easier than water skiing. Really, once you learn to get out of the water it is smooth sailing from there. That is the most frustrating part to learn though.
i agree with all of you that said wakeboarding is just as painful. i flipped 4 times going about 45 mph. when you hit the water its like bouncing on concrete it knocks your breath out
What on gods green earth were you doing going 45 mph on a wakeboard?
all europeans like to live dangerously
Forget wakeboarding. Tubing is where it's at. If you want to see some bad ass freestyle tubing come to Devil's lake just about any weekend and check me out!
Man, tubing is the shit. I like that it can be anything from a leisurely pleasure cruise around the lake to a death-defying near-guarantee of serious injury. And it's way harder than it looks, especially with two people.