Connelly Lotus Wakeboard Review
A women's wakeboard designed to help you learn the basics fast.
The Connelly Lotus wakeboard is durable and user-friendly and it is designed for boat wakeboarding. This medium-sized board comes with many of the Connelly trademark features such as the full tip to tail hull spine and subtle 3-stage rocker, among others. Every feature has its benefits, as we will show you later in this review.
In the Connelly lineup, there are boards for men, women and children. The Lotus wakeboard is designed specifically as a woman’s wakeboard. Women require a board specifically designed for them because of their generally smaller frame, feet and other anatomical uniqueness. Connelly has not left anything to chance with this wakeboard for women. It is lightweight and it’s embellished in brighter colors.
The Connelly Lotus wakeboard gives the rider a combination of strength, durability and performance on the water. The Connelly Lotus is available as a standalone board or as a package with boots included.
Here, we are reviewing the wakeboard, without bindings.
Specifications and Features
- Subtle three-stage rocker
- Light density closed cell foam
- System 80 core
- Mid flex
- Full length spine hull
- Enhanced edge channels
- Longbase molded fins
- Center skater fin, single screw 1.7 inches
- Length – 130 and 134CM
- Nexus shell, smorg-laminated with UV protection
3-stage pop with a continuous rocker landing
No one can overemphasize the importance or the incredible benefits of the subtle three-stage rocker line. It is one of the features making the Connelly Lotus wakeboard perfect for women beginner and intermediate wakeboarders.
Most three-stage rockers are aggressive, and they give an equally aggressive pop off the wake. However, the curvature or design of the hull of such boards is not designed for soft landings. Thus, such a board can be hard to control for a beginner.
This is why most beginner wakeboards come with continuous rocker lines. However, with the Connelly Lotus board, the company has found a way to give riders the best of both worlds. They have created a unique subtle three-stage rocker, which they incorporate in most of their wakeboards.
This rocker does not step up too high to form a noticeable change in the incline angle of the tail and tip. From a casual glance, it can be mistaken for a continuous rocker line, but it is not. It is a gentle three-stage curve.
The benefit of this type of rocker is that you get a serious vertical pop. But … don’t all wakeboards give a pop?
They do, even the continuous rocker line boards. However, the difference between the continuous rocker and 3-stage rocker can be easily seen with a wakeboard such as the Connelly Lotus. A subtle three-stage rocker line can generate a good pop even when the wake is small. For continuous rocker boards, you will only be able to get some serious air when the wake is big.
Getting the air is one of the main reasons for wakeboarding. Although many factors come in to help you pop off just right, the design of the wakeboard plays the biggest role.
After learning so hard how to pop off the wake and mastering the technique, there is another matter – of how you will land. Again, the design of the board plays the primary role here. Some boards can fail to dissipate water properly to make your landings soft.
The Connelly Lotus wakeboard is designed to give the softest landings you can ever get from a three-stage rocker. It lands as gently as a continuous rocker board. This is also one of the benefits of using the Lotus wakeboard as your beginner board because you can learn how to pop and land within a short time.
Edge through the wake fast and retain full control of your board
If you want to get some serious air, well, you must start the process just right. Knowing how to edge through the wake is the first step of this process.
The Connelly Lotus wakeboard has the features that make edging easy and fun. Popping starts by carefully edging the board using the heelside or toeside edge to push against the wake. When you tip the board, you will start to generate the energy you need to push off the wake higher.
The Lotus wakeboard comes with enhanced edge channels. The benefit of these channels is that they help to break the surface of the water when you are landing. In combination with the full spine hull design of the board, the channels help to disperse the water properly to soften your landings.
Edge channels also help to reduce friction between the Connelly Lotus board and the water. This has its benefits. Carving becomes easier and the molded-in fins give you total control over the direction of the wakeboard.
This board comes with longbase molded-in fins to help create traction and control in the water. It also comes with two bolt-on skater fins of 1.7 inches, to enhance how the Lotus wakeboard tracks in water.
Progress from beginner to intermediate wakeboarder fast
You should never stay at one level of this exciting water sport longer than necessary. The Connelly Lotus wakeboard is designed to help you learn the basics of wakeboarding fast. As a stiff board built with a light density foam system 80 core, this board has just a very small amount of flex in the middle.
The main benefit of stiff boards is that they are easy to use and they respond well to the needs of the rider. If you point this board in the direction you want it to go, it will hold that. The edge fins and the removable center fins help with the tracking ability of the wakeboard.
The hull also displaces the water well instead of plowing it. Overall, this Lotus wakeboard will give you balance and stability so that you can concentrate on learning how to edge, jump wakes and pop off.
Once you have grasped the basics of a wakeboarder, the Connelly Lotus wakeboard is still going to accommodate you at intermediate level. It has the length and the width, as well as features that can enable you to learn advanced tricks that you would use on a bigger wakeboard.
Pros
- Light in weight
- Good length for building speed when needed
- Beginner to intermediate level means no need to upgrade too soon
- Features like channels and fins help with stability and tracking
- Pop is almost explosive and the landings are soft
- Appealing multi colors
Cons
- The price of this board is steep when you add the bindings
Connelly Lotus Wakeboard
The Verdict - Connelly Lotus Wakeboard
The Connelly Lotus wakeboard is specifically designed for women, but any user who meets the weight and the height threshold can use it.
This board can help you master the basics of wakeboarding. It will also help you learn some fairly advanced techniques in preparation for a more advanced board.
Connelly has constructed this board with the system 80 core, the same as most of their beginner boards. While it lacks flex technology, the stiff design is very good for making the wakeboard responsive, easy to use, easy to carve and long lasting.
The UV-resistant laminate protects the colors from fading, keeping the Connelly Lotus board looking as good as new for a long time.
