These boards are shaped out of California by cross-over skateboarder/surfer/shaper/artist Ben Wei. They made some press a few years back, but I have not heard much of them since except the occasional sighting in punked-out surf vids featuring aerialist anti-establishment surfers.
I purchased this board on a whim for cheap. Darn glad I did.
5’7” x 21” x 2 3/8” Very flat deck brings a lot of foam out to the rails, so it feels much thicker than that last measurement suggests. Thick, “hockey puck” lookin’ roundtail.
Side fins are pushed out to the rails, center fin is pushed foreward. After experimenting with fin combos, I did find they surf best with big thruster fins all around (those are the M7’s).
I'm 6'0" and 180ish lbs.
They are actually made to translate skateboard-style maneuvers to the water (the website www.fiftyfiftywaveskates.com explains it better than I can), but I’ve been absolutely shocked at how well they flow in the small stuff. I was expecting lots of speed, but also slidey, wobbly and out of control feeling. Definitely not so. I feel like my small-wave shortboarding abilities have been renewed. The board rides high in the water, so it skates high and fast, but the big double-foiled thruster fins keep it in check. Wide-radius round house cutbacks are smooth and controlled, weak sections are no problem, and scaling slopey faces and crumbly lips to rip it of the top are the norm. I really expected this to be a squirrel-y, slippery-as-a-soapdish ride. I'm used to much much thinner tails for "edge control". The hard edges and thickness of the taill keeps the board very "free", but the bigger double-foiled fins seem to keep it under control. I've even been able to square-off the bottom pretty hard, which was surprising (but did take a little adaptation of technique.. hard to explain, but this board allows me to think farther ahead and aim farther down the line).
I feel like a grom again; I regularly find myself waking up at 5 AM to check the surf, even when no substantial waves are predicted. Knee to waist is plenty of size to let loose and have fun, but I have surfed up to head high on it with no problems.
The outline photos seem to have gotten distorted from my taking them on an angle and repeated resizing of the photos, but hopefully you'll get the gist from them.
I know a few people here have seen or ridden these 50/50 waveskates, or something similar. Curious to hear other'e impresions.
-------------------- Sorry I'm late... there was trouble at the lab with the running and the exploding and the crying...
That is one FAT tail! Glad you're stoked on something that's different. Last week a guy was out surfing near me (with someone shooting vid from the beach) and I'm pretty sure he was on one of those. I could not believe the speed he was generating on knee-high waves (and I was on my Bee!) and just BOOSTING these massive airs repeatedly while throwing in some big sprays on these tiny little waves. Of course he could have probably surfed a refridgerator door well too, but he was killing it on that board! Pretty cool...and great review!
-------------------- Forever Stoked!!
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000
Tom Curren status
Reged: 02/20/03
Posts: 10731
Fin set-up looks really funky, with almost no toe-in on those outside fins. That would help generate down the line speed. Interesting design. And yeah, that is one F-A-T tail.
-------------------- Back to lurking...
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GWS
Duke status
Reged: 01/11/02
Posts: 25188
Loc: Oxtura
other than that, the rest of the videos are unimpressive. i mean the airs look no different than anything other than what kids do on typical potato chips
I feel like a grom again; I regularly find myself waking up at 5 AM to check the surf, even when no substantial waves are predicted. Knee to waist is plenty of size to let loose and have fun, but I have surfed up to head high on it with no problems.
I know a few people here have seen or ridden these 50/50 waveskates, or something similar. Curious to hear other'e impresions.
i know exactly what you mean with surfing these small waves. i got a chemistry disk which also renewed my small wave surfing. waist high waves are big enough to work with on it. the differences are that mine is a couple of inches wider a couple shorter and a few mm thicker (5'4x23x3, also mine is a single fin. i would've missed out on so much summer fun if i didn't pick up a small wave board such as the one i did.
Yep, the other one has been sold. too bad, because it would have been the right size for ya, taint.
Gonna try it with an FCS 3-D Red-tip soon and will give a review on that. Its not quite the same, but Cheyne Horan used to rip on sub-six-foot boards with winged-keel single fins.
-------------------- Sorry I'm late... there was trouble at the lab with the running and the exploding and the crying...
Tried the 3-D fin this AM. Surf was really weak, lots of flat spots in the waves that required long connections that are usually not a problem on this board. But, it did not quite do what I expected or hoped . Instead of creating a lifty, speedy feeling in the tail, it actually anchored it down a bit more. Felt draggy on the takeoff and I felt like I lost the ability to skate or pop over the gutless sections and into the next desirable section down the line. But it did seem to create a pretty bite-y feeling when I finally found a few sections that bowled up for carving- the harder I pushed against the fin, the more it lifted and maintained/created speed coming out of the turn.
Perhaps this fin would be good for more point-break-style, wedging-up waves. Or perhaps this board is just not suited for this fin. I actually want to try it a bit bigger (but still under-head) and more hollow surf (and perhaps on a different board) to see if that anchored-down feeling results in more control in the steep sections/barrels.
-------------------- Sorry I'm late... there was trouble at the lab with the running and the exploding and the crying...
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silentbutdeadly
Miki Dora status
Reged: 09/26/05
Posts: 5212
Loc: Tower 13
Hey Hackeysacky, I am keeping my eye open for a used one and I saw this thread. How does it float? Could you go smaller? I weigh 185 so I was wondering what would be the ideal size.
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hackeysaky
Michael Peterson status
Reged: 12/19/02
Posts: 3345
Loc: NJ
I could go smaller, this other one I sold (clicky clicky) floated and rode fine, but I just liked the little extra float/skate of the round tail pic'ed above. I'm more or less the same weight as you.
I would try to get in touch with Ben Wei through the website. Maybe direct him to this thread here too so he knows how stoked I am on the shape and that he has a repeat customer coming to him eventually (when I finally ride this one into the ground, I plan to go back to the source for its replacement).
-------------------- Sorry I'm late... there was trouble at the lab with the running and the exploding and the crying...
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silentbutdeadly
Miki Dora status
Reged: 09/26/05
Posts: 5212
Loc: Tower 13
Thanks for the info. I would only buy one used due to the cost and uncertainty of the design. Besides, I have an expenxive board on the way and can't justify the "new board" price.
I've heard people prefer the round tail vs. the bumped swallow but it seems like it would be the opposite to me. Is there a reason for that on this design?
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hackeysaky
Michael Peterson status
Reged: 12/19/02
Posts: 3345
Loc: NJ
I think the round tail "rolls" better and smoother through turns with a more predictable "break away" point (that would make the diff between a carve and a slide). Just my opinion, tho.
Here is a rocker profile. Not as flat as I thought. Remember this is the Zach Reinhardt model, which is more "shortboardy" than some of the others. I talked to someone who is riding a 5'0" Ben Wei model and it sounds much flatter to me.
IMPORTANT EDIT: I originally reported the width measurement as 21". It is actually 20" wide. Sorry for the goof.
-------------------- Sorry I'm late... there was trouble at the lab with the running and the exploding and the crying...
Edited by hackeysaky (08/12/07 10:49 AM)
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silentbutdeadly
Miki Dora status
Reged: 09/26/05
Posts: 5212
Loc: Tower 13
That thing does have more rocker than expected. You can see the extra volume in the nose and tail though. I'm sure it floats and paddles much better than expected.
Gonna definitely scour the classifieds for one of those.
Hello Surfermag message boarders , This is Ben Wei from 5050 Waveskates. Thank you guys so much for all of the info that you have posted on your boards.Your next Waveskate will be cheaper!
Sorry to everyone who hasn't been able to find a 5050 Waveskate , all of our domestic accounts are sold out.Our orders have trippled since last summer , and we are just keeping up.Surf Ride Oceanside will be stocking up before Christmas. Japan has been going nuts with the 50s and they have a cool 5050 Waveskates Japan site going fiftyfiftywaveskates.jp/ Check out events , boards , and news from 50s family and friends.We have all of our video promos on there , and various Youtube clips of our riders.
Also go to excite.com and search 5050 Waveskates , there are two pages of links... All message board members get a %10 discount on their board orders...Contact me here waveskates@hotmail.com You guys rule ! Thank You !!! , Ben Wei...
Howzit Ben? hopefully you'll check this board regularly so we can keep in touch. You never got back to me about that Rusty fish at my shop. Please advise. Also, want to come hang at your spot in mex soon so give a call sucka.
just picked up a 5'5" GS bigpunt model i am 5'7 with a beer belly, 170lbs. thing paddles insanley good, i normally ride 6'0 18'3/8" 2 1/4" in hawaii. waveskate goes crazy good in small waves, 360s, reverses, all effortless. cant stop raving, but damn, these boards fit my surfing like a glove. cheee stoked brahhh!!
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retodd
Gerry Lopez status
Reged: 02/22/09
Posts: 1059
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