Alright my fellow wakeboarders. You have your board, and you have your boots. Now we just need to put them together. The angle, width, and depth in which you put your bindings onto your wakeboard will be known as your wakeboard stance. Don’t worry, it’s easily adjustable, so you don’t need to get it perfect the first time. This is all about how it feels FOR YOU, and about what is going to make you the most comfortable. This will, in turn, allow you to perform at your best on the water. Here are the key things you need to know when setting your stance.
Tools
Ok, this is easy, but I thought I’d mention it. Your bindings should come with 4 different thumb screws. They should look something like this:
These will screw into the elongated holes on both sides of your bindings and then down into the holes near the middle-right and middle-left of your wakeboard. Usually you’ll need a screwdriver, but sometimes not. Make sure you don’t tighten them too hard until you are sure you’re satisfied with your stance.
Stance Width
Wakeboards are typically made with a few sets of holes in which you can screw your bindings into. These let you customize the distance your feet are from each other when you ride.
See the 6 circled holes on the board? Your boot will go right in between both of those respective sets. You can play around with the width based on what holes your choose. It is best to try to make it so your feet are symmetrical on both sides of the board. This will allow you to ride with either foot forward rather than always having your right foot forward and left foot back, or vis versa. Here’s a tip on how to gauge where your feet are going to feel most comfortable in your wakeboard stance: Put your board on the ground and stand facing it. Position yourself in the middle of the board, in a normal standing position. Now jump. Your feet should land in a wider position, and your toes should be slightly angled outwards. Now screw your boots onto the board in approximately that position. You can use the elongated screw hole on the side of your boot to shift the angle in which your feet point. Your feet should point about 12-15 degrees outwards. This is a good baseline as to where you should start with your wakeboarding stance.
Wide vs. Narrow Stance
You can go wide and you can go narrow when it comes to your wakeboard stance. The best is definitely somewhere in the middle. We need to find a balance. Generally, when you set up a wider stance, you are going to feel more sturdy on your board because of the wider foundation you have given yourself. Makes sense right? But we need to be cautious of going too wide. When you start bending the knees athletically, and landing big jumps in a wide stance, you will begin to put a lot of pressure on your knees in a not-so-healthy way. The knee is not exactly meant to be bent inward like it is when your feet are out super wide, especially when it needs to absorb all those bumps and bounces. The other side of the brick is to move your feet in to a narrow position, probably just inside shoulder width. In this case you are going to feel more wobbly on the board. While you won’t be putting as much pressure on your knees, you also may have trouble keeping your balance. This position has, however, started to become more popular among experienced and professional wakeboarders. This stance gives your board more swing weight, which is just a fancy term to say you can whip your board around easier to land tricks. So in conclusion, still do what feels comfortable, but beginners can err on the wide side, and more experienced riders can start to bring it in a bit narrower as the progress.
Binding Suggestions
CTRL Imperial Bindings, Liquid Force Element Bindings, Hyperlite 2020 Boots, Hyperlite Relapse Boots
High Value Wakeboards
Liquid Force 130cm, Liquid Force 135cm, Liquid Force 139cm, Liquid Force 144cm, O’Brien 119cm, Hyperlite 125cm, Liquid Force 134cm
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