It’s officially 2012 and what better way to kick off a new year than with a new magazine! The gear guide has arrived at our doorstep and it’s loaded with all of the latest and greatest equipment you’ll be needing to get back to the lake this summer and get your groove on. For the cover, Bob Sichel was kind enough to help us out by sliding over our home-made pro shop display in Clermont, Florida.

 

 

Within we have our most extensive board test yet including 2 – 3 boards each from all of your favorite brands Including CTRL, Slingshot, Liquid Force, Ronix and more. Testers include Kyle Alberts, former cover boy Travis Propst, South Florida Cable specialist Kevin Whipplinger and Nebraska hopeful Ben Bazis. With over 50 years of combined experience on the water these guys give you the lowdown on all of their thoughts as well as their favorite models for the 2012 season.

 

 

As always the gear guide is broken down into categories such as traditional boards, ultra jive boards, bindings, surfers and more. Traditional boards are the boards that worked 10 years ago and still work today. Sort of  like the ol’ faithful’s of the sport that are always a safe bet. They’ve come a long way in design features including rocker, outline, bottom features etc., but their genetic make-up’s are still a combination of foam and fiberglass.

 

 

With the explosion of new board designs in the market including flex, rebound, stored energy, solid wood etc., we created an entirely new category for these boards called “ultra jive”. Boards like Humanoid, Slingshot, Liquid Force Hybrids, CTRL boards and the Phoenix by Ronix all find their place in this crowded house (in addition to several other models / brands). It’s been a real “Ultra Jive” type of year in 2011 and we don’t expect things to slow down in 2012. The rail riding capabilities, wake performance and durability of these boards have been second to none.  Just check the board test for proof.

 

Also for the first time ever the Alliance staff puts wakesurfers to the test in the San Diego surf. Sure we all do our fair share of web surfing, but that doesn’t mean we can’t get off our asses and do the real thing. Editor in Chief Bill McCaffray attempts to dip into the barrel on the bottom right while Art Director William Lawther was doing laps around everyone. Find out which boards fared the best on page 92.

 

 

Footwear has come a long way in the past couple of years in our sport, and the bindings section is evidence. Not only do wakeboard bindings fit better than ever, they finally look cool too. This has been terrible news to brands like Wet Willy and Newt Juice, but we couldn’t be happier to leave the binding slime at home these days. From open to closed toe, 2 part system bindings to pro model boots, we’ve got all the details and more.

 

Finally in this issue you will find a full wetsuit, wakeskate, and boat guide, as well as our best girl page yet and a pretty exciting image display from our friends at buywake.com. Grab a copy and your mom’s credit card, because it’s time to gear up for Spring!