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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Over the past two years of my wakeboard life, cable parks have crept in and now I want to ride all of them.  If you don’t know, cable parks are basically skate parks on the water that you can lap for days.  They are filled with sliders, kickers and many different obstacles.  I have a problem with the kickers.  My problem with them is that the landing is brutal and flat.  With bad knees you can see how this is an issue.  To counter act the problem, I have an idea on how to make the landings soft.  Watch the video below to see what I am talking about.

My Cable Park Idea

I have been thinking about this idea for awhile.  If you can visualize big jets sitting on the bottom of the lake that blow a ton of air to the surface, you are on your way to understanding this idea.  The details would have to be tested, and I am sure you can think of different issues that come along with an idea like this.  Other than the issues, can you imagine flying through the air and landing on a big soft pillow or a nice cushion like wave.  Heck, if you have big enough jets you can design this so the air flow creates a down sloped landing.  Either way, I think if we can break up some of the surface tension of the flat glassy water, I believe the landing would benefit everyone who came to a cable park.  If we could create a safe landing period, everyone would be a lot better off.

I can’t wait to hear what you think about this idea.  Is it stupid?  Am I stupid?  Would it work?  How can we make it work?  Does anyone own some air pressured jets I could barrow?  Maybe I just have to learn how to hit the kicker better?  I really don’t know, but I love this idea and I can picture it.

Please leave a comment and let me know what you think.

Rain comes and goes, water freezes and thaws, Placid Wake Park meets Marhar Snowboards, and Boarding the Midwest All Day, Everyday slowly becomes a reality.  We met up with Josh (owner of Marhar Snowboards) this past weekend at Placid Wake Park, which is located just outside of Grand Rapids, MI.  Placid is set up with System 2.0 which is one of the newest cable systems on the market, and it is also the one thing that allowed all of us to wakeboard until our arms were about to fall off.  Enjoy a few pics of our day!  If you snowboard and want to learn how to wakeboard, find the nearest cable park and go there.  You won’t regret it!

Placid Wake Park Pictures

From Left to Right: Andrew, Jon T, Josh, Dave

Andrew Shredding Placid Wake Park

Josh gearing up to dock start his second time ever wakeboarding!

Myself making the corner and ready to destroy the the next obstacle.

To see more photos of Andrew, Josh and I killing it at the Placid Wake Park CLICK HERE!!!

Before I talk anymore about cable parks and about my 2011 Cable Park Tour.  I should fill you in on what a cable park is.

Cable Parks

A simple explanation of a cable park is a body of water where you get pulled by a rope that is connected to a overhead cable.  The cable is run by an electric motor which allows multiple people to wakeboard at the same time without the use of a boat.  Every rider on the cable can ride until they fall.  After they fall the cable will pull the rope around to the next rider, and they will be off and riding in a blink of an eye.  Along with getting pulled around the lake by a cable, the lakes are usually littered with obstacles that you can slide, bonk, or hit at your free will.  Obstacles come in all variations, and the most common obstacles include sliders and kickers.

If you don’t have a boat and want to learn how to wakeboard, look up a cable park, go there, and ride till your arms fall off.  You will never regret it, and everyone can do it.  I went to Wake Nation a few days ago, and there was a 60 year old bush whacker out there testing her skills.  If she could do it, so can you!  The best thing about cable parks:  They give us all another way to Board the Midwest All Day Everyday.

Lately I have been trying to figure out how I can fit into the Wakeboard, Snowboard, and Wakesurf industries.  With so much going on in each of these industries it is hard to keep up and it is even harder to fit in.  Without worrying about fitting in, I keep myself involved in anyway that I can.  With this said, I have come up with a new idea and have started a plan that will help spread the word of wakeboarding and cable parks.  My new idea is to do a US Wakeboard Cable Park Tour in 2011.

Wakeboard Cable Park Tour for 2011

In the picture above I have mapped out 15 different stops that I could hit in 2011.  From the time I have started my plan, I have found out that there are 40+ cable parks in the US, and I am sure by the time I put this together there will be a lot more US cable parks to tour.  Not to mention the 60 or so that are already up and running across seas!

Like I said, I just started to plan this project, and I still have to figure out many of the details.  I would love to get some of your feedback to see what you think about an idea like this.  As I continue on this journey, I will keep you posted on everything that I find and plan on doing.  Again, your feedback and input would be much appreciated, and I hope to meet a lot of good people along the way.