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Competition Wakeboard Vests

Posted in: Uncategorized by wakeboardvest | 2 Comments Thursday, October 28, 2010

I love water sports, and this definitely includes wakeboarding. Wakeboarding is my second favorite board sport, only to snowboarding but it is catching up fast. If it is summer though, wakeboarding is my favorite thing to pass my time doing. I love getting better and learning new tricks. It makes me have a sense of accomplishment and I also get that rush of life every time I stick a new trick. I really love wakeboarding but I will tell you what, I am really grateful for wakeboard vests.

Having a wakeboard vest really makes my boating experience that much better, especially because I like to throw tricks when I am wakeboarding. The typical wakeboard vest is going to be much lighter than most other life vests. This lighter weight allows me to get even higher than ever before due to that small decrease in weight. (I am not sure if I am actually getting higher, but it feels like I am!).

These smaller wakeboard vests are also typically less bulky than other vests. This is huge for me. The less bulky more streamlined design of these wakeboard vests makes you feel like you aren’t even wearing a life vest. Many of the competition wakeboard vests are so light that they just look like a shell of fabric with padding on them. After having a less bulky, lighter weight vest, I will never be able to go back to the traditional life jackets.

Another benefit that comes from using these smaller vests is that they dry out that much faster. If you have the ability to purchase two of these wakeboard vests, you can leave one out to dry while the other is being used by the other person riding and by the time you are ready to ride again, the vest is almost dry! It never feels good to put on a cold wet life vest!

Whichever reason you have to buy a wakeboard vest, I hope I have enlightened you to the reasons I am grateful for wakeboarding vests. I will never again be able to use a regular life vest after using these lightweight wakeboarding vests!

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Best Wakeboard Vest for Cable Parks

Posted in: Uncategorized by wakeboardvest | No Comments Thursday, October 28, 2010

Anyone into wakeboarding has most likely heard of cable parks. These cable parks, created specifically for wakeboarders and wakeskaters continue to improve in quality and performance, attracting more and more users each day. Because these wakeboard cable parks can be dangerous, it is always a good idea to wear a wakeboard vest when riding the different features.

For anyone who hasn’t been to a wakeboard cable park in the past, it is basically a lake or pond with a cable system running through out that pulls riders through a specific line of different obstacles which can include rails, boxes, wall rides, and kickers. Most riders like to throw different spins and grabs into these different features requiring an increased range of motion and flexibility compared to your regular “jump the wake” type wakeboarder.

I would strongly recommend a much lighter weight wakeboard vest for this particular wakeboarding activity. This is because it is all about the tricks so you want to be able to move around and maneuver in ways that some bigger, bulkier vests might limit your range of motion. There are several different brands and styles available that would work well for these conditions.

The great thing is, a light weight wakeboarding vest is useful for many other applications as well. If you get good at riding in the cable park and hitting the different features, you will probably get more interested in throwing more spins when riding behind a boat. Many riders also really like the light weight wakeboard vests for wake surfing. Being able to wear a much lighter vest makes the rider feel more independent and laid back, and that’s a great feeling when you are surfing behind the boat!

Whatever the application, a lightweight wakeboard vest is a good investment for anyone who uses cable parks, likes to spin, or even just your laid back wake surfer. It is good to have one sitting around to use when you want to!

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Wakeboard Vests for Any Water Sport

Posted in: Uncategorized by wakeboardvest | 1 Comment Thursday, October 28, 2010

Life jackets, or live vests, must be used with most all water sports to be participating safely. This is true for everything from wakeboarding to wake surfing. There is always the potential danger of hitting your head and becoming unconscious. The personal flotation device (pfd) you have on could mean life or death in certain situations. One of the great things about most wakeboarding vests is they are made to contour the body more and in turn are much more comfortable and less bulky than most traditional life vests.

Many people who enjoy the sport of wake surfing love using a lightweight wakeboard vest instead of a typical bulky life vest. For those that don’t know, wake surfing is done by driving the boat very slow (around 10mph) in order to put off a very large wake. Typically the weight will be distributed towards one side in order to create an even bigger wave on the side of the boat that the rider will be surfing. A wake surfboard looks a lot like a miniature ocean surf board. The wake surfer starts by holding it against their feet as the boat pulls them out of the water, no bindings needed! The rope that is used is only about 10 ft long so the surfer ends up right behind the boat in the meat of the big wave.

Once the surfer is up and riding, they enter the side of the wake and start surfing, just like they were in the ocean. Once you really get a hang of this sport, you can actually throw the rope back into the boat, but continue surfing because of the forces of the wave! Many wake surfers like to have a the lightest possible wakeboarding vest when riding a wave. This is due simply to the fact that it is a super chill sport and the less weight and bulkiness, the better. It would be extremely difficult to knock yourself out while surfing, so flotation is not a huge concern.

Now that you know a little bit more about surfing, and the wakeboarding vests of choice you have the information needed to get going and start surfing safely!

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