Slingshot Coalition Wakeboard Review
This is for experienced wakeboarders who are looking for durability and performance.
One of the annoying things about ‘procuring the pop’ is that too often you have to trade a bit of adrenaline in the form of speed. Taking to the air and then suddenly slowing down tends to somber up the mood, and this is where boards like the 2023 Slingshot Sports Coalition Wakeboard have stepped in with a firm ‘no’ in regards to the possibility of slowing down.
Established in 1999, Slingshot Sports wakeboards quickly shot into the limelight with cable park wakeboarding and rail riding, which their wooden core and singleshot and chined basically transformed – these boards were the FIRST to use chined rails, incidentally.
Like their boards, the company is showing no signs of slowing down, and that brings us to today’s review. Are you looking for a board that can take a little punishment but delivers angelic glide for your troubles?
The Slingshot Sports Coalition wakeboard might well fill that void for you and we’ll tell you why!
Specifications and Features
- 141cm,145cm,149cm,153cm,157cm,161cm lengths with height range of 2.7 – 2.9 and weight of 7.5 to 8.5 pounds
- Hybrid Rocker
- Slider/Grind optimized Ballistic Base
- Singleshot Fusion Sidewalls
- Chined Rails
Carbon Bedrock inserts with a 5th insert provided - Atomic Wood Core
- M6 Mount pattern
The Slingshot Sports Coalition is not a board we would recommend for beginners, except those who have a little bit of experience and want to graduate to cable-style wakeboarding who don’t mind a few hard knocks from the contrast of control it’s going to bring.
For intermediate and advanced level wakeboarders, however, the Coalition’s smooth glide provides a rare blend of speed, pop, and proper rail handling – all while hitting the sweet spot where flex is concerned.
Slingshot set the standards for cable wakeboarding and their tech still exceeds at this. With 6 sizes to choose from, as well as an aesthetically pleasing and neutral black and white design that will appeal to just about anyone, this board is worth considering. Let’s look at two of the key selling points of these buttery boards and you can see what you think.
Singleshot Fusion Sidewalls
Old School Skateboard tech for a smooth ride
No staples or fasteners will be present to slow you down, as Slingshot Sports Coalition incorporates a rail that is instantly fastened in, well, a ‘single shot’. This is an old-school skateboard manufacturing technique, which Slingshot Sports uses to infuse the rails into the core, and you’ll notice the difference it makes in that signature, buttery glide that put Slingshot into the spotlight in the world of cable wakeboarding.
This fits hand to glove with the chined rails, which are raised at 4 to 5 mm at your heel and toe edges, providing a necessary buffer to help you stay in control when you meet an obstacle that’s resistant to your will. This brings us to overall durability and performance, so let’s be off to the subject of this board’s core!
Atomic Wood Core
A happy marriage of speed and pop
A wooden core wakeboard is a happy one. Where a foam-type core will take water, wood can take a beating, and you get a flex at the tail and the nose that lets you show off your style. For rail riding or cable parks, the Atomic Wood Core ensures that the Slingshot Sports Coalition Wakeboard shines, and it’s hard to beat that wood-flex experience. It reminds you of the simple joys of carving, while also bringing into play that hyper-focus when you speedily lock down a press -sheerly by that instinct that only experience brings.
The Coalition wakeboard also does something very desirable in that you get a fine marriage between speed and pop. The hybrid rocker helps you explode into the air and once you’ve adjusted to that ‘buttery landing’ feel you’ll notice that you don’t get as much of that ‘drag’ of your board slowing you down. The Slingshot Coalition just glides smoothly back to the water, allowing you to keep your pace, and with the buffer zone of your chined rails this translates out well even if you’ve grazed an obstacle the wrong way – another reason that this board is for the intermediate and advanced.
If you’re up to the challenge, your Coalition is a smooth, jack-of-all-trades board where you can challenge a wide array of your wakeboarding skills and not have to limit yourself as you would with more specialized boards. It’s fast, fun, can take a beating, and the Coalition Wakeboard simply LOVES to fly.
Pros
- The Gold standard brand and board when it comes to Cable park and Rail riding
- Buttery goodness that can take a beating
- Usually, it’s ‘speed’ or ‘pop’, but this board gives a generous helping of both
- Black on top and white on the bottom, makes for nice aesthetics that have a wide range of appeal, and the white bottom hides scuffs quite well to maintain those aesthetics longer
- Speed-ready, durable, and open to a wider range of styles
Cons
- Not a board for beginners, save a handful of Stoics out there who don’t mind learning the hard way.
- Hard and fast landing feels loose and requires a period of adjustment
Slingshot Coalition Wakeboard
The Verdict
Do you like a loose, buttery glide that will pay in elegant and speedy dividends? If the answer is ‘yes, please’, then the Slingshot Coalition might well be a perfect fit for you. Just keep in mind, that this is designed to be an intermediate to advanced level board – beginners would do well to get a few more hours before testing this board out. That said, the Slingshot Coalition Wakeboard is priced to go, with a mid-level price range in comparison to many other boards that deliver much less. The wooden core is solid and the appropriation of skateboard tech was a solid decision on Coalition’s part – you’ll see for yourself when you try it out.
If you’ve got a little experience, the Slingshot Sports Coalition wakeboard will give you a place to show it off, and the durability means that you’ll get to enjoy this board for a long, long time.
Consider the verdict official – intermediate to advanced cable park wakeboarders, we think this is a board that you’ll love!
