Wakeboards are used in wakeboarding, an extreme sport which the rider uses the board to do tricks over the wake of the boat towing it.
In basic it is a combination of water-skiing and surfing. The wake surfboard looks like a miniature surfboard with a rubber mat attached to the deck to make gripping easier.
Wakeboards are made like surfboards. They are usually a foam core and fiberglass with metal screws to attach the fins and bindings. They are small, light and very buoyant.
The weight and size make the extreme tricks more manageable. Tricks range from flips to jumps to anything in between.
Unlike the surfboard, the Wake surfboard hand fins that can be changed out. These fins are changed out for various types of tricks the rider will attempt.
Shallow fins will make it easier for the rider to so spinning tricks and deep fins are designed more for jumps and flips.
Riders also choose different sizes other than the standard size for their height. The board size will also help in completing tricks and landings and will change the difficulty depending on the riders experience.
So the manufacturers recommended size may not always match the size chosen by professional riders. The individual rider can also customize the bottom design of the wakeboard.
Some may be concave, some may have channels and some may have nothing at all, making the bottom of the board smooth and flat.
Each option helps them perform a different function and indicates how the board glides through the water.