Jonathan Tollefson

In the past couple of years wakeboards have taken a different shape.  The construction of the board and technology going into boards is insane, and now board companies have to start factoring in cable parks, sliders, and rails.  With the expansion of cable parks and slider type riding a new board had to be designed.  This is where flex boards came into play.

Flex Wakeboards

This is a fairly new topic and one that I don’t know everything about, but I wanted to touch base on flex boards and I wanted to let you know what I think.

I think that I am going to buy a flex board in 2011.  Actually I know that I am going to buy a flex board in 2011.  What am I going to buy?  I don’t know.  I know Liquid Force has a couple boards.  I know Ronix, Slingshot, and Company also have flex boards.  I even think Hyperlite has came to the market with a low cost flex board.

I will have to figure out which flex board is going to be the best for me in the near future.  I know it will depend on cost, and on word of mouth.  Until I study them further, all I know is that I am going to be hitting cable parks a lot and I am due for a flex board.

Why do I want/need a flex board… I want a flex board because I want to press the crap out of my board on a slider.  I also want a board that is specific for cable park riding.  I am not as excited to use my flex board behind a boat, but I can’t wait to see how it will preform compared to my Watson.

I think flex boards will help soften the landings behind a boat, and I hope they help pop off of the wake.  I have a good feeling that I will have to learn how to ride a flex board.  They are going to react a little bit different under my feet, and I hope that I can get bigger and more consistent air with a flex board.  We will see.

I have tested a couple of flex boards so far. From my experience the boards were not as flexible as I wanted them to be.  Maybe it wasn’t the best board for me.  I wanted the boards to press a lot more than the boards I tested.  The boards I tested still felt stiff.  I am hoping that 2011 will be different and I plan on testing a few different boards before I buy one.

I can’t wait to get on a few flex boards this year and I can’t wait to break a brand new one in.  I am super excited to pick out my new flex board, and if you know of one I should test out let me know!  I am looking for info on the best boards around.  I am also looking for another fun way to Board the Midwest All Day, Everyday, and I think flex boards are going to help me do this!

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Midwest people, get ready for a break through.  Boats are not required, hills and mountains are not required, and the ocean doesn’t even have to exist.  A new wave has hit the streets and is allowing everyone, everywhere a chance to surf.  Wavegarden is here!!

Wavegarden

Isn’t this unbelievable?  Wouldn’t you love to have this in your backyard, or within walking distance from your front door?  I think Wavegarden is the perfect fit for a Midwest ultimate training facility that is being built in my mind everyday.  I think it would fit perfectly right at the bottom of a Snowflex terrain park, which sits next to a cable park and a building filled with restaurants, foam pits, trampolines, skate bowls, launch ramps, balance trainers, skydive simulators, and much more.

Other than the ultimate training facility, I see huge potential for Wavegarden.  It has been built in Spain, and I can see it spreading to the US in the near future.

Who is going to be the first one to bring it here..?  If I have anything to say about it, I will be a part of that movement.  I am super excited to see a product that gives every single person the option to surf a real wave without the hassle of going to the ocean, or filling up the gas tank of your boat.

This product has the potential to revolutionize the surf industry, and it surly helps us all Board the Midwest All Day, Everyday! Keep your eye out for Wavegarden, because they are pushing imaginations and taking the sports we love the most to new levels.

You better believe a garden will be within driving distance from your house in the near future.  Lets spread the word, and get this product in every neighbor hood around the world.  This stuff is epic, and I love it!

Last week dreams came true and goals were accomplished.  Well… let me rephrase that because dreams came true, but goals were not really accomplished.  I have always dreamed of surfing an indoor wave, and that came true when I stepped into Avalanche Bay at Boyne Mountain.  The FlowRider was rocking and I hit it as long as I wanted for only $20 bucks.

Accomplished goals… You could say I accomplished my goal of riding the FlowRider, but I never really had it dialed.  That crap is hard man!  Yeah I stood on my feet for a bit and yeah I could body board, but I never really got the hang of the surfboard.  I will let you be the judge after you watch the short video I put together of my time testing the FlowRider at Avalanche Bay.  Check it out.

Riding the FlowRider

My goal was to be able to ride the FlowRider which I did a little bit.  I will have to go back to conquer it which is the ultimate goal.  In the video you saw my longest run which really only lasted 15-20 seconds.  This doesn’t cut it for me.  I will be back to do it again.

At least I got my feet wet in the middle of the winter, and I have to give a shout out to Nate from Marhar Snowboards for coming with me and getting some footage.  The flow rider got the best of Nate and messed with his neck a little bit, but at least he was there to test it out.  Thanks dude!  Also thanks to Avalanche Bay for putting a FlowRider in their facility and helping us all Board the Midwest All Day, Everyday!

On March 12th and 13th, Ice Breaker Wakefest and A Better Wake of Life are hooking up in the sunny state of Florida.  Can you guess what they are doing?  Well, they are meeting at The Projects to put on a killer wakeboard event that can and will change peoples’ lives.  Check it out!

The Wakeboard Event

Take a look at their Mission:

Can an event get much better… Besides having prizes, pro riders, and tons of other fun stuff to do, I don’t think it can.  Helping people cure diseases, bringing others into the wakeboard industry, and pushing the sport to new levels doesn’t usually happen all at the same time.   If you are good enough there is a $1,000 purse up for grabs.  If not, it sounds like you should still go there, board, and have some fun in the sun.  Being on the water with a board on my feet and a little sun shinning down is all I need, and you can have it in March.

Whether you head to Florida for this event or not, please check Ice Breaker Wakefest and A Better Wake of Life.  They are both bettering the world, and they could use your support.  Anyone who wakeboards, supports something they believe in, and brings new people into the wakeboard scene deserves some attention if you ask me.  Please don’t just pass them up.  Hey after all, they are helping people Board the World All Day, Everyday.

Yup it’s true.  Another electric boat has hit the water.  Nautique’s 100% Electric boat is the first to the ski industry, and it is turning heads.  I’m pumped about it.  When I first read Bill Yeargin’s (President/CEO) article in the Nautique Insider, I didn’t think it was real.

I never knew it was coming, and then BAM! Nautique steps up their game once again.  I named their 230 Air the best wakeboard boat of the year in 2010, and it will be interesting to see what ski boat takes the cake in 2011.

Speaking of wakeboarding, I hope to see a Air Nautique running on at least a mix of battery and fuel in the near future.  I know Nautique has a killer electric wakeboard boat up their sleeve.  They already have a whole line of sweet boats you can check out HERE.  I hope they keep on pushing the sport and the boat technology.

Electric boats seem to be coming into the industry faster than I originally thought.  They might be expensive at this point, but at least people are thinking of a better way to get us out on the water without using so much gas.  I think if we can get a boat that will get us out on the water wakeboarding without using gas that the industry will grow.   Boats are gas hogs! 

If you want to see a Video on the 100% electric Nautique, Click HERE!!  The thing is sweet!

All in all, we have to give it up to Nautique for getting us one step closer to Boarding the Midwest All day, Everyday by brining electric into the equation!