BOARD BUYER'S GUIDE
THE LINEUP
First and foremost, We think you should highly consider the materials that are going into your board. This decision will most likely ultimately determine your overall happiness with your wakesurfer purchase.
We build our wakesurfers using a number of different materials, and construction techniques. We think a good place to start is to think about the type of performance you want out of your board, and then evaluate your budget. This will ultimately determine what other factors and choices you'll need to decide on. Below is a breakdown of each of our models:
The First Pull Series
As the name implies, our First Pull Series of boards is the most entry level boards we offer, and an excellent choice for kids and riders who are just starting out. We offer this series in 3 different shapes. The Puddle Jumper and Minnow shapes are specifically designed with the younger riders in mind, while the Helm is geared toward slightly older riders who are looking for a board that performs well at an entry level price point.
These Skim Style Wakesurfers are constructed with multiple layers of E-Glass Fiberglass, Epoxy Resin, and a showroom gloss finish. This makes them a little heavier overall than other offerings. Unlike other boards using this constructed using similar methods, our First Pull Series features a more seamless rail line for better performance.
Elite Series
All of our boards in our Elite Series are constructed with our Carbon Fiber Epoxy technology.
This is the board construction that put Exile on the map. Why you ask? 'Cause it’s just that good. Many have tried to copy this board, all have failed. The perfect balance of weight, strength and stiffness combine to make this our most popular high-end skim style board. Every trick in the book, with no corners cut make this the best value in wakesurfing. We have customers still riding these boards from when our company was founded in 2002. You want the best? This is it. Come and get it!
Carbon Fiber is practically synonymous with top of the line in any industry. This fabric is highly coveted for its extreme strength and stiffness. Exile uses only Aerospace Grade Carbon Fiber and Epoxy resin, making these boards stronger, stiffer and lighter than our fiberglass boards. Truly the best skim style wakesurfer money can buy and the trusted construction of all our top Professional riders.
Key Features of Double Carbon Fiber Epoxy:
- A Full Sheet of Aerospace Grade Carbon Fiber on the top and bottom
- Premium Epoxy Resin
- S-Glass Reinforced Bottom
- Reinforced with multiple layers of fiberglass
- High Density PVC Foam Core
- Double Wrapped Rails
- Every Trick in the Book
- Size, Shape, and Thickness Options for ANY Size Rider
Limited Series
Our Limited Series, as the name implies, are truly limited, handcrafted boards built in small batches that utilize our ultra premium Smokeshow Carbon™ construction.
Exile's Smokeshow Carbon™ Construction is almost guaranteed to be the hottest thing anyone on the lake has ever seen. Boards with this construction are built with all the bells and whistles utilized in our Double Carbon Fiber Epoxy Construction but feature our exclusive Carbon Fiber fused with silver, copper, or gold. This creates a board that is light weight, stiff, responsive, and a REAL showstopper visually...We just hope you have a good pair of shades!
Key Features of the Smoke Show™ Construction
- A Full Sheet of Aerospace Grade Carbon Fiber fused with silver, copper, or Gold
- Premium Aerospace Grade Epoxy Resin
- S-Glass Reinforced Bottom
- Reinforced with multiple layers of fiberglass
- High Density PVC Foam Core
- Double Wrapped Rails
- Every Trick in the Book
- Size, Shape, and Thickness Options for ANY Size Rider in ANY Type of Conditions
- Pure Sexy
OUR SHAPES
Here at Exile Wakesurfing, we offer a multitude of shapes that will suit the needs of just about any rider. At this point in Exile's history these shapes are tried and well tested to perform and take your riding in any direction you'd like.
Our shapes are well proven and perform excellent behind the boat.
Picking the right shape for your ability and riding style is a critical decision that will result in your overall happiness.
So which shape should you choose?
Here's the simple answer...Shape is largely personal preference depending on what you want to get out of your board, and everyone is a little different.
You'll need to figure this out on your own, but we are here to help you out!
Below is a breakdown of what each of our shapes excel at! Pick one or grab them all. We are sure you won't be disappointed!
The Puddle Jumper™
The Puddle Jumper™ is the perfect entry level board for kids of any skill level. The Puddle Jumper™ shape is incredibly forgiving and easy to ride, while still able to perform more advanced maneuvers. The 44” and 48” feature a ⅝” core for maximum manueverability for the lighter riders, while the 52” comes in ¾’’ thickness to add extra buoyancy for those riders who are a little older. The Puddle Jumper™ is a great place to start you skim style experience!
The Minnow™
The Minnow’s™ ultra wide and compact outline offers a ton stability and forgiveness for the younger rider looking for a fun and playful entry level board. The overall shape profile helps maintain drive and lock in on the face of the wave, while the fish tail loosens up the board for quick turns and spin tricks.
The Helm™
The Helm™ is the perfect board for riders looking to take their riding to the next level! Based off our wildly popular Water Mocassin™ shape, and constructed in our E-Glass Epoxy construction, this board offers all the performance you would get from the higher end shape, while the construction keeps the board in a super obtainable price point. This is the perfect board for the rider looking to improve their skim style skills, while keeping some money in the bank for gas!
The Water Moccasin™
Our Water Moccasin™ Shape is the apex shape in our skim style line up, and absolutely deadly behind a boat. This shape is the ‘go to’ shape for most of our team riders due to its all around high performance, and ability to do anything that you can. It is the perfect combination of speed, stability, responsiveness and pop. The board’s profile allows it to easily maintain speed on the wave, while its symmetrical outline allows the board to be easily ridden both forwards and backwards. The pulled in tail makes this shape incredibly snappy and responsive. This is the best board for intermediate to advanced riders who are looking to take their riding to the next level!
The Lock™
The Lock™ is one of the most high-performance shapes in our lineup. Slightly shorter and narrower than our Water Moccasin™ shape, this shape rotates easily and is incredibly fast both on the wave and through trick combos and transitions. The rounded square nose and tail allow the rider to easily ride the board in either direction, and the slightly wider tail creates tons of pop. This is the perfect board for the advanced rider looking for a board that’s incredibly fast and responsive. Time to get locked in!
The Speedboat™
The Speedboat™, as the name implies, is easily the fastest and most stable boards in our skim style lineup. The wider, rounded nose and overall shape of the board allows riders to effortlessly maintain speed and stability while on the wave. Its longer drawn out profile helps the board track incredibly well behind the boat, while the wings and pulled in tail allows the board to remain incredibly versatile and responsive on tricks, airs and riding backwards. This is an excellent choice for beginner to advanced riders who want all the performance and less of the work.
The Echo™
Our Echo™ Shape was designed to be the perfect blend of performance and stability. The extra width through the front of the board allows you to maintain speed effortlessly behind the boat while providing stability for any size rider. The pulled in and squared off tail maximize pop off the wave, while providing extra real estate for spin tricks and revert riding. A perfect board for beginner to advanced riders looking for a stable high performance board under their feet.
The Hummingbird™
The Hummingbird™ is our high performance shape specifically designed with the ladies in mind. The scaled down size along with the wider, rounded diamond tail and midpoint of the board creates a ton of pop for launching airs, while keeping the board incredibly stable on the wave. The narrower nose allows the board to be more forgiving while doing turns and landing tricks while allowing the rider to easily maintain speed behind the boat.
Thickness
The thickness of you wakesurfer plays an integral part in not only how the board performs, but ultimately your enjoyment of the board as well. We offer Thicker boards will have more float than thinner boards, and hence behave more like a larger board, even if the size is exactly the same.
These are not hard and fast rules regarding thickness, but generally speaking thicker boards provide more buoyancy, while thinner boards are a little more responsive and seemed to be enjoyed by more advanced riders.
5/8"
5/8" Thickness is our thinnest core we offer. The thinner core creates an incredibly responsive board that excels in maneuverability and tech. The thinner core does come at the cost of a little buoyancy.
3/4'' Tapered to 5/8"
3/4'' Tapered to 5/8'' thickness means that the center of the core is 3/4'' thick and thins out to 5/8'' (roughly) in the nose and tail. This creates added buoyancy while keeping the board maneuverable, just not quite as responsive as the 5/8''. This thickness is typically more ideal for entry to intermediate level riders.
Rocker Profile
The rocker of the board refers to it's overall curvature. This feature has a dramatic effect on how your wakesurfer will perform!
Luckily for you, our owners Aaron Peluso, who has a major in physics, and Andy Chiavetta, who builds some pretty incredible airplanes, put a lot of time and thought into this over 20 years ago.
Hybrid Rocker
The Hybrid Rocker is what we put on 90% of the boards we produce, and is the most versatile rocker for a skim style board on the market. It clocks in roughly at 2.25" in the nose and about .125" in the tail with a fairly good size flat spot in the middle of the board. This allows the board to easily navigate chop, maintain speed effortlessly, and gives the board a ton of pop for tech maneuvers.
Fin Systems
Integrated Fin System
Unlike other brands, our new integrated fin system allows you to quickly and easily interchange your fins with any fin featuring a Futures™ fin base. This allows riders to switch fins to fit their riding style, or even go finless with a flush bottom using the fin box insert.
Bolt Fin System
Standard bolt through the board fin system commonly used throughout the industry.
Finishes
Exile offers a number of different finish options for our boards.
Matte Gloss Finish
This is our standard finish for the CX1 Model. This finish is lighter in weight, but not quite as shiny as the Showroom Gloss Finish.
Traction pads easily adhere to this finish with no sanding or prep work needed.
Showroom Gloss Finish
All our beginner and intermediate level boards, theEX0andEX1come standard with a Gloss Finish. This finish is shiny and smooth to the touch, and allows for simple traction application with no extra steps needed (except maybe a quick wipe down to remove any dust).
This finish does add a little extra weight to the board, and will result in the heaviest boards we offer, which is still pretty light.
Textured Finish
This finish is Light, Strong, Durable, and preferred by riders who put more emphasis on performance than cosmetics. This is the finish the company was built on and the golden standard in which others imitate. It comes standard on all our Double Carbon Fiber Epoxy and G.O.A.T Construction™ skimboards.
Some sanding required for proper traction adhesion.