Wakeboard Rope Mount Review

In a previous article, I wrote about a one-of-a-kind wakeboard rope mount for GoPro that I had just gotten in the mail. Well, I finally got out on the lake and tried it out; this thing gets fantastic shots. The picture I posted above is a screen grab I took from one of my wakeboarding runs; it is an absolutely gorgeous angle. This mount is easily the best way to capture yourself wakeboarding no matter your skill level. I’ll attach some more pictures at the bottom, but in the meantime, here’s my full review:

The Setup

The mount does come with quite a few pieces, but the seller has a YouTube video that walks you through how to assemble it. All you really need is a screwdriver to put it together. I tested out a bunch of different places on the rope to place the mount. I found it optimal to put it about 6 feet away from the rope handle grip. This is going to give you a full body shot but also leaving some wiggle room above and below you for when the camera is bouncing.

How Did it Hold Up?

I was nervous about a couple things going into my wakeboarding session using this mount. I was worried that it would sink my rope handle and subsequently sink my camera, and I was concerned about the extremities snapping off when it gets dropped in the water at high speeds after I fall.

Well, the latter wasn’t a problem at all. I wiped out probably 5-6 times while recording with this mount. The camera stayed snug and screwed in its compartment, and the mount did not get damaged in the slightest.

The floating was a bit of an issue. The mount came with a flimsy foam tube that you are supposed to velcro onto the rope right behind the mount. After my first fall, however, this piece was all tangled and out of sorts, and it doesn’t even keep the mount from sinking. This is a pretty easy fix though. When I got home, I took a pool noodle and cut about 1/3 off it and zip tied it onto the rope. This will act as a much more sturdy and effective flotation device.

What You Need

You don’t realize how wildly the rope moves until you have a heavy and weighted rig like this attached to it. When I was just calmly riding, the camera stayed upright and still. However, when I landed jumps or cut really hard, the mount had a tendency to tilt or spin quite aggressively for a few seconds.

The spinning would be a major problem for most cameras. If your camera is doing 360s around the rope, then the footage will usually be completely unusable, and it will probably make you dizzy trying to watch it. However, the GoPro Hero 9 with the Max Lens Mod totally solves that problem. The horizon leveling feature on the GoPro 9 (when the Max Lens Mod is attached) allows the camera to spin a full 360 degrees and it will keep the video straight the whole time. Pair this with the HyperSmooth 3.0 option and you will barely be able to tell the camera is moving. I was shocked when I watched the footage back and saw how smooth and straight everything was.

All in all, I am in love with the videos that I got and will use this thing for years to come. I highly recommend this mount to anybody who wants to record some great water sporting footage.