Ronix One Blackout Wakeboard Review
This wakeboard is about exploding vertically from the water and landing perfectly after doing an ‘impossible’ thing or two
If you are looking for that perfect pop, getting the right gear is going to be crucial to achieving the air that you desire. To that effect, the folks at Ronix have definitely stepped-up to meet the challenge with their superbly-designed Ronix One Blackout Wakeboard.
Ronix is a name that you are likely quite familiar with, as they have been setting standards with their One line for about 16 years now. Their 2023 One Blackout Wakeboard is one of their most popular offerings, used and endorsed by none other than 3-time pro tour champion, Nic Rapa.
Popular Mechanics has even voted it the ‘Best Overall Boat Board’ for its lightweight, durable construction, the ease in cutting wakes, and the kind of pop that you really have to experience firsthand to believe. That kind of quality doesn’t come cheap, but we believe that the extra investment is worth it and we’ll tell you why – starting with the specs!
Specifications and Features
- 134cm, 138cm, 142cm, and 146cm sizes, with heights ranging from 2.2 to 2.5 inches
- Blackout’s proprietary technology
- 2 Guide Channels
- 2 Recessed Fin Channels
- 3-Stage Rocker
- 4 1.0” Fiberglass Ramp Fins
- 4 .8” Fiberglass Asym Fins
- Concave Tip and tail
- Speedwalls
The Ronix One Blackout Wakeboard is a serious piece of high-end hardware, recommended for intermediate to expert level wakeboarders, but if you are a beginner then this is definitely a board that you can grow with that will be up to more complicated aerials when the time is right.
That’s because the thoughtful folks at Ronix designed the board to be a little wider, giving it an added stability that you don’t often see in pro-level boards. The board still looks fairly slim, but this one change makes it suitable for slower speeds if that’s what you need at your current skill level.
As a bonus accommodation, it comes in 4 sizes, and it’s ‘white with a minimalist centered-X’ design makes it an appealing, somewhat ‘neutral’ choice appealing for male and female wakeboarders alike. If you are a beginner, however, just keep in mind that you will need to get used the control that you are definitely going to get… We’ll expand a little on the two most interesting aspects of this board to give you a little better idea of exactly what we mean.
Granular control and Extreme popping action
The biggest selling point of the Ronix One Blackout has to be the ‘puppeteer level’ of control that comes with these boards. Experienced boarders will notice right away that it gives you a much more sensory feel of the water underneath you, rather like walking across the street in your socks instead of your shoes – the water just feels closer and this makes an enormous difference.
The pop is achieved with a 3-stage rocker design and you can see those beautiful triple-layers when you hold up the board to gauge it’s thickness. What they add to the One Blackout Wakeboard is an effective mix of stiffness and flexibility, making your pops feel practically supercharged. Once you take air, if you want to rotate the board, the lightweight build makes this a breeze — though you’ll have to get used to not having to fight your board.
How’s that for irony?!
The only caveat to this control is that it seems marginally slower in the water when compared to more speed-centric wakeboards, but while this is a known issue with 3-stage wakeboards in general, we found that we didn’t mind the tradeoff with the Ronix One. Once you’ve adjusted, you’ll be more focused on pushing your aerial limits and it seems like more than a fair trade in our humble opinion.
One Blackout Wakeboard’s proprietary core
Another factor that makes the One Blackout Wakeboard stand out is something that the company is a bit secretive about. Ronix uses what they call ‘Blackout Technology’ for the core material and design of their boards and all they’ll tell us is that it’s the ‘lightest construction that has ever been put in a boat board’ and that it ‘incorporates ingredients that only a handful of engineers at Radar Labs will even recognize’.
It’s bold, but is it just braggadocio?
From what we can tell, their proprietary core is well-worth keeping secret. The board is incredibly smooth and lightweight, but it has a noticeable stiffness to it that flexes almost magically in just the right amounts –giving you a cushioned landing, rather like a cat gets jumping off of the kitchen counter. This is why we can actually recommend this pro-board to ambitious beginners – it’s designed for air, smooth landings, and the broader design makes it easier to adjust until you are ready to start getting fancy.
What more experienced wakeboarders will quickly notice is how responsive this board is. It really does feel closer to the water and wakeboard veterans might even take a tumble once, simply because you don’t have to fight this board to get it to do what you want it to do.
Considering how gracefully you can cut towards a wake to harvest it’s pop-potential, it actually feels a little surreal at first that it’s a little slower than some other high-end boards, at least until you adjust and realize that it’s doing exactly what it’s designed to do.
This board isn’t about speed – it’s about exploding vertically from the water and landing perfectly after doing an ‘impossible’ thing or two — all while the wind cheers you on.
Check for the best prices on the Ronix One Blackout Wakeboard
Pros
- Pops like nobody’s business
- Smooth landings from proprietary core material and a slightly broadened design
- Can be used at slower speeds, making it a true ‘beginner to pro’ board
- Lightweight design makes for easy rotations
- The board is a pristine ivory-white with minimal markings, making it an appealing choice that you can decorate as you like or enjoy as-is.
Cons
- Priced a bit higher than competitors
- Some speed is sacrificed for enhanced control
Ronix One Blackout Wakeboard
The Verdict
It’s lightweight, sleek, and while Ronix won’t tell us what it’s made of, the performance of the Ronix One Blackout Wakeboard is nothing short of excellent – so perhaps it’s best that they don’t let their competitors know what they’ve been mixing into it’s core.
If you want a board that is going to almost double your pops and allow you to rotate said board with the ease of an oiled Rubik’s cube, then the One Blackout Wakeboard definitely delivers. Yes, it’s a little slower, and it’s a bit pricier than the competition, but it’s designed for putting you in control and that’s exactly what it does.
What you do with that kind of control, however, is all up to you!
