A stiffer wakeboard rope is required for wakeboarding than for waterskiing. To help you to perform tricks you get more air when you use a tighter stiffer rope that does not stretch. You will be better able to pull yourself through flips and spins.
There are a number of types of wakeboard ropes, so, when shopping make sure to keep your specific needs in mind.
No stretch ropes use a material called Spectra in their construction. The Spectra rope has almost no elastic properties and is very strong. The stretch, when under load is less than half a percent.
Low-stretch generally stretches one percent in length under a normal wakeboarding load. These ropes are for the most part made of polyethylene or some blend of it. If wakeboarding is your primary interest, learning tricks and honing your skills, a stiffer rope is the best choice.
If you do both wakeboarding and waterskiing on a recreational basis a low-stretch rope will work well for you. It will have enough stretch for water skiing and enough stiffness to pull against when wakeboarding.
Wakeboard ropes come in various lengths but average between sixty to seventy feet. There are wakeboard ropes of one piece with no length adjustment and some that offer multiple adjustment loops.
The handles for wakeboarding tend to be more specialized so that making aerial maneuvers or doing tricks become easier. Wakeboard handles generally have a wider grip, thirteen to fifteen inches as compared to the eleven to thirteen inches usual for waterski handles. It is much easier to pass the wider handle behind your back when performing tricks of that nature.
Most wakeboard handles have a rope braid or a second, smaller handle grip built into the rope. Having another grip to hold on to gives the rider a stronger hold. Wakeboard handles usually have neoprene foam floats so they stay on top of the water.
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