Review: The Best Wakeboard Ropes
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If you have plans to cruise on a wakeboard, then you must know that you need a wakeboard rope. Wakeboarding is a fun watersport impossible to perform without the ropes, not only because they attach the rider to the motorboat or watercraft, but also because they keep the rider safe. Wakeboard ropes feel and function differently based on design, size, material, and overall quality and so many of them have flooded the market. We have filtered the multitude of available ropes and selected the best wakeboard ropes in 2024 for you to choose from.
The type of wakeboard rope you choose will determine the complexity of skills you can perform and how long you can stay in the air. And to select the best rope for your skill level and body, you must take some factors into consideration.
Best Wakeboard Rope
Best Seller
The thick nature of this wakeboard rope makes it great and safe for newbies that want to hit the waves. It features takeoffs with 2” increments for adjusting its length.
Key Features
The Hyperlite Surf Rope is 20” long and is made of thick braided rope. The handle of this wakeboard rope comes with a padded suede grip that makes it easy to handle while riding the waves. The handle also has 4 foam floats to enhance proper floating.
Best for beginners
The ergonomic design of the Obscursco Wakeboard Rope makes it easy to disassemble and rearrange to personal specifications. It comes in red and black colors and can be used for other watersports such as kneeboarding and waterskiing.
Key Features
This 70” long wakeboard rope features a PVC bridle fully enclosed in flexible vinyl for resistance to damage by abrasion and friction. It is fitted with a 6-inch TPR-covered aluminum handle with extra leverage and pull for spins and special inverted moves. Its 15” double-density EVA cover is custom-made to enhance grip for optimum performance. The Obscursco Wakeboard Rope is made of Poly E material with low stretch potential that helps the rope absorb the shock of riding behind a watercraft.
Most resistant to kinking and twisting
Quality wakeboard ropes give an instant response that Pro-wakeboarders love, courtesy of their no-stretch potential, and this particular rope got the memo. It features a rope keeper for tangle-free storage and a 15” EVA grip retrofitted with 2 foam floats to enhance buoyancy.
Key Features
As the name suggests, this wakeboard rope features a thermal-coated spectra line that makes it resistant to kinking and twisting. The Airhead Dyneema Thermal Wakeboard Rope boasts a tensile strength limit of 2,000 lbs. and a full-length PVC tube that confers extra durability. This wakeboard rope is 70” long with an ergonomic handle and it features a 4 section-mainline with four 5” takeoffs.
Best Wakeboard Ropes Buying Guide
Early summer mornings, calm, glassy waters, a wakeboard, and a motorboat with a full engine – the requirements for a perfect wakeboarding day – plus a wakeboard rope, of course. Wakeboard ropes are essential elements of a wakeboarding trip because their quality and compatibility will determine how well you enjoy the adventure.
Before hitting the waves, understand that selecting the right wakeboard rope is as important as choosing the right oil for your car engine, or the right charger for your smartphone. Wakeboarding is fun and generally safe, but you don’t want to get hurt or worse in the process just because you chose the wrong rope to ride the tides with.
Looking up, you will find a list of our best wakeboarding ropes, but they all come with different features that you may not understand. To ensure that you don’t get entangled in the ropes, we will shed some light on these features and put you on the right path to selecting the best wakeboard lines for your skill level.
What Are the Factors to Consider When Buying a Wakeboard Rope?
First off, no wakeboard rope is equal. There are many variations of these ropes in terms of material, length, handle, tensile strength, and other factors that confer certain perks and features. You must make sure that your choice of wakeboard rope suits your skill level, so you can flex safely on the waters.
Rope Material
Wakeboard ropes are usually made of one of three materials: Poly E, Spectra, or Dyneema. These three materials have various features and thus, differ in functionality.
Poly E
Poly E wakeboard ropes are the cheapest of the three. They are known as low-stretch ropes, because, unlike the other wakeboards, they can stretch to about 3 times their original size. This low-stretch potential is considered ideal for beginners, but bad for professionals.
Spectra
Wakeboard lines built with spectra are super light, durable, and most importantly, zero-stretch. The zero-stretch ability of these ropes gives an instant response that Pro water boarders love to feel, especially when performing surface spins and midair stunts.
Dyneema
Dyneema ropes are designed to have zero-stretch, and as such, are also ideal for professionals. They display high resistance to abrasion, wear and tear, UV radiation, and degradation by saltwater, which makes them suitable for constant use and in seawaters.
Coating
You can escape the hassle of buying a new wakeboard rope every now and then by getting one with an adhesive coating. The coating protects makes the rope fibers resistant to damage by ultraviolet rays and will therefore save you costs over time. Wakeboard lines come in various adhesive coatings such as urethane, silicone, polyurethane, or PVC, which all have almost the same functionality. As long as you choose a coated rope, you’re good to go.
Rope Length
Wakeboard ropes typically measure between 55” to 75” long, but a good length to start with as a wakeboarding newbie is 65”; it is neither too short nor too long. As you gain more experience and get better at riding, you can go for longer ropes that make you comfortable and give you the freedom to maneuver and perform stunts. Expert riders love longer ropes because, at those lengths, they get to stay midair for longer periods and perform top-tier midair and surface stunts better.
Takeoffs
Takeoffs are features on high-end wakeboard ropes that allow riders to reduce or increase the length of their ropes as they see fit. With takeoffs, you can adjust your rope length a couple of times by a specific size. For example, some takeoffs allow rope length adjustment by 5” up to 4 times, which is 20” in total. If you are a newbie, you should go for ropes with takeoffs, so you can increase your rope length as you gain more experience, or shorten it if you need some close-quarter practice to get the hang of it.
Tensile strength
The tensile strength or breakpoint of a wakeboard rope refers to the amount of weight it can sustain before it snaps or stretches out of shape. Beginners don’t need to go for ropes with high tensile strength since they won’t be performing many skills or stunts. However, experts who will be stunting both midair and on the surface and should go for ropes with tensile strengths of at least 2,000 lbs. No snaps. No problem.
Handle
The handle is the part where riders hold on to while cruising in the wake of the watercraft. Modern-day handles feature a variety of ergonomic designs to suit the demands of every wakeboarder.
Handle Length
The length of the wakeboard rope handle refers to how wide it is. Wakeboarding handles typically measure between 5” and 15” and between these is a size for every wakeboard rider. Broad handles are ideal for you if you will be performing stunts that require you to pass the handle behind your back.
Handle Material
Just like the ropes, handles are made of a range of materials that aid the grip of the surfer. Selecting the best handle material is based on preference, so you will have to hold and feel the handle material variations to make a choice. Some of the available materials for handles are carbon fiber, rubber, EVA, chamois, and aluminum.
People Also Asked
Can I use a ski rope instead of a wakeboard rope?
Yes, but only if you are a new wakeboard rider. Ski ropes are acceptable and in fact, ideal for amateur wakeboarders because of their low-stretch potential which helps absorb the shock from cutting through the boat wake. If you are a pro, do yourself a favor and use a standard wakeboard rope.
How do I shorten a wakeboard rope?
The common methods of shortening wakeboard ropes are cutting and tying into a knot. But both methods tend to spoil the ropes over time, so you might want to avoid them. A better option is to buy a wakeboard rope with takeoffs. Takeoffs make it possible to shorten or lengthen a rope without cutting or tying it into a knot.
How do I take care of my wakeboard rope?
- Always rinse the rope with fresh water after use, especially after a ride in salt water to prevent degradation by salt and dirt particles.
- It is advisable to alternate between two wakeboard ropes and use each rope for lengthy periods before switching to the other. This technique will keep both ropes from stretching far too quickly.
- See to it that the rope is dry before proceeding to store it. Storing wet ropes over a long time will encourage the growth of mildew, moss, lichens, or other organisms that will degrade them.
- Store the rope out of the reach of direct sunlight to avoid damage due to the impact of UV radiation. Ensure that you coil the rope without knots before storing it.
How much is a wakeboard rope?
The prices of wakeboard ropes differ based on their features - a function of the skill levels they are meant for. Spectra lines for experts, for example, are much more expensive than Poly E ropes meant for beginners. And ropes with high tensile strength will cost more than those with low tensile strength. Simply make a list of the wakeboard features that suit your skill level or body and purchase one that ticks all the boxes.