Suspension Seats

[seaotter]

Ozark Bob.
My wife also has a bad back and the wave that sneaks up on us has her hurting.I went with the Wave Pro w/o stabilizer. We are very happy with them. If you have any question on how tall of post to get, give them a call. They can also make any length you want. Also get the pump. When you call them you will need to know how hall tall your seat is and if that is what you like. Just our experience.
Have a great day.
Jim

[Ozark Bob]

Seaotter, Thanks. I bought about 6 months ago and love them. The measurements they describe worked out perfectly. Bob

[Waxy]

Originally Posted by sbowles2020

Why did I choose Airwave? Primarily because I felt I had a better chance at longevity over WavePro . I have been a mountain biker for many years and have used Air controlled Hydraulic shocks on all kinds of bikes (both with air dampening and coil over).. They're absolutely great in terms of plush and controllability for both dampening and rebound. If you look closely at mountain bike design, you’ll see that they take great strides in making sure that the alignment of the shock and the forces provide very little lateral flex on the shock itself. When I looked at Wave Pro I was a little concerned about lateral flex on the shock sanction. I’m sure that they’ve addressed this with the fox engineers.. But I just couldn’t bring myself to believing that my 240 pounds moving side to side and back-and-forth wouldn’t eventually take its toll on the sanction seals and overall longevity of the unit.

That was a great writeup sbowles2020, thanks for taking the time. I completely agree on the Wave Pro and Airwave providing a superior ride, and why they provide that better ride.

The only thing I'd disagree a bit with is this segment. It's true the shocks in mountain bikes and dirt bikes are designed to minimize lateral forces (for lots of reasons), they're also designed that way to minimize the shock travel required per amount of actual rear wheel travel.

I'd point to mtn bike and dirt bike forks as an example of air shocks and shock design where there are MAJOR lateral and torsional forces placed on the shocks over long periods of time. I don't think your 240 lbs moving side to side can in any way compete with the lateral and torsional
torque that's placed on a dirt bike's forks. To be fair, due to that much higher stress load and harsher conditions, mountain bike and dirt bike forks do require maintenance and rebuilding over time. I would guess that is a possibility with the WavePro as well, but the service interval should be very long for the average user, and maintenance is generally pretty simple and inexpensive.

I don't think you can go wrong with either the Wave Pro or the Airwave, I just thought this comment on the WavePro being less durable was maybe a bit unfair.

Waxy

[jet man]

Originally Posted by sbowles2020

I finally got around to installing my Airwave Pedestals.

Installation was really simple.. Having said that I had screwed up on my measurements as my Ranger 620 originally came with 2 3/8 pedestals and airwave requires 2 7/8 pedestals. So I ended up having to purchase a new seat adapter (Springfield slider style). Once I replaced these seat adaptors everything fit perfectly. Customer service was very helpful and did everything they could when I called to see what my options were. , But it was truly me not measuring correctly as they make it very clear on all the installation instructions and on their website that I needed to have a 2.7/8 spline. Which by the way, you can buy off Amazon for 70 US each.

Boat rigging details

1. Ranger 620 2006 with hotfoot for throttle
2. Big water - Georgian Bay (Lake Huron) almost always windy with 2-foot chop being the norm.
3. The boat came with no dampening pedestal seats just stock spring in seats

First impressions after three rides on big water.

This fall is been extremely windy around here so it's been a good testing ground. I've been out in 3-foot waves pretty regularly.

The first thing I noticed was at first it didn't seem to be any different than my standard pedestal seats in terms of firmness.. No mushy feeling and really no movement at all when just cruising over light chop. I was thinking to myself maybe it isn't working. Once I came around to an area we call the gap the waves ramped up to 2.5 in size and
White capping.. I pointed the nose directly into the waves and slightly trimmed up to get the smoothest angle. I couldn't really feel any noticeable movement in the seat, but I could hear the hull starting to slap the water hard.. Again I'm not really feeling anything ... But I'm also not feeling any harsh bumps ...

So I amped up the speed a little bit... now I'm starting to get a little air... the boat is now coming down harder... I can hear the hull making quite a bit of noise as I begin to slam the boat down harder on the waves... Again, no harsh bumping .. Nothing ... It feels as if I'm running in 1-foot chop I can now feel the seat beginning to move but no sharp jarring.... Just a little bouncing on my seat.

I decided to experiment a little bit and started turning the boat to take the waves a little side on.. I'm now full-on slamming the hull onto the driver side as I come off the waves... Now I have a bit of movement in the seat as the boat slams down harder. But nothing crazy and no jarring hits... Just a little movement up and down.. ... Smiling all the way..

While fishing that morning. I started to reflect on both the good and the bad of having these types of suspension seat bases on your boat. I don't drive my 620 to hard.. And I don't have any cracks on the gelcoat .. But I could easily see how you can completely destroy a boat once you install any of these high-end bases on your boat. They just seem to smooth things out so much that you're not paying attention to how much stress you're putting on the boat and gear

The obvious question is why I chose Airwave over some of the other great manufacturers.

I did a lot of research, some of which I did here on this forum. I also have friends that have Smooth Moves and have been in boats with them in the past.. Smooth Moves is super plush and lots of movement… And to be honest with you I didn’t notice any real issues with pogo sticking… Or too faster rebound. What I didn’t like about them was they push my overall height to high and size and weight.. I have full windshields on my boat. And love the fact that I can wear my hat while driving at 50 miles an hour… My windshields keep the wind off me completely.. My head is below the windshield with my current stock pedestals.. I want to keep it this way. I know Smoothmoves make a lower profile unit.. But I believe it couldn’t get me quite as low as the other manufacturers.. This is why I eliminated them fairly early.

During my search, I narrowed it down to the two manufacturers I thought I would prefer.. Wave Pro and Airwave ..

Why did I choose Airwave? Primarily because I felt I had a better chance at longevity over WavePro . I have been a mountain biker for many years and have used Air controlled Hydraulic shocks on all kinds of bikes (both with air dampening and coil over).. They're absolutely great in terms of plush and controllability for both dampening and rebound. If you look closely at mountain bike design, you’ll see that they take great strides in making sure that the alignment of the shock and the forces provide very little lateral flex on the shock itself. When I looked at Wave Pro I was a little concerned about lateral flex on the shock sanction. I’m sure that they’ve addressed this with the fox engineers.. But I just couldn’t bring myself to believing that my 240 pounds moving side to side and back-and-forth wouldn’t eventually take its toll on the sanction seals and overall longevity of the unit. I also didn’t like the fact that I had to buy an auxiliary locking device to keep my seat from swiveling… I’ve read here that people say you don’t need them.. I can’t possibly imagine that you wouldn’t have sideways movement when taking a wave slightly off-center. And since I’m running a hotfoot on my boat I think this movement would be uncomfortable.. But I don’t know for sure.

Cost-wise with the auxiliary locking they were essentially the same as Airwave. And I must admit I like the overall design of Airwave from a lateral stiffness point of view and from the potential longevity.. It’s a huge hassle for me to send back my seats from Canada to the manufacturers if there is a problem. I think Wavepro also could’ve done a little better job in convincing me that their product was substantially better than others. During my phone call I made to them.. The woman I spoke with was very helpful, but really couldn’t give me any technical reasons why their product was superior… Other than to say they had more travel, I wasn’t really looking for them to bash the competition, but I was looking for a compelling reason to buy there’s over Airwave or Smooth Moves… And she just didn’t provide it. I guess the only compelling reason I can really come up with is if I had movable seats in my. I would certainly choose WavePro .. And I actually may end up purchasing one for my rear seat as quite often I have 3 people in my boat.

So in summary … I chose Airwave Pedestal seats 9” high base.. For the following reasons;
1. Potential longevity
2. Adjustability (dampening and rebound)
3. Ride Height and product weight
4. Ease of Installation
5. Design engineering (how it works)
6. Lockable swivel (utilize my current seat adjustability).
7. Comfort (firm yet still provides bump absorption).
8. Warranty 3 years vs 2 year
9. Cost - same as others. Once the required options are added.
10. Forum Testimonials couldn’t really find any negative performance comments or any compelling reason not to buy an Airwave .

I appreciate this kind of detail and feel your analysis is spot on.

[strand]

I have 2 used airwaves to sell. Message me if interested.

[erie660]

Originally Posted by sbowles2020

I finally got around to installing my Airwave Pedestals.

Installation was really simple.. Having said that I had screwed up on my measurements as my Ranger 620 originally came with 2 3/8 pedestals and airwave requires 2 7/8 pedestals. So I ended up having to purchase a new seat adapter (Springfield slider style). Once I replaced these seat adaptors everything fit perfectly. Customer service was very helpful and did everything they could when I called to see what my options were. , But it was truly me not measuring correctly as they make it very clear on all the installation instructions and on their website that I needed to have a 2.7/8 spline. Which by the way, you can buy off Amazon for 70 US each.

Boat rigging details

1. Ranger 620 2006 with hotfoot for throttle
2. Big water - Georgian Bay (Lake Huron) almost always windy with 2-foot chop being the norm.
3. The boat came with no dampening pedestal seats just stock spring in seats

First impressions after three rides on big water.

This fall is been extremely windy around here so it's been a good testing ground. I've been out in 3-foot waves pretty regularly.

The first thing I noticed was at first it didn't seem to be any different than my standard pedestal seats in terms of firmness.. No mushy feeling and really no movement at all when just cruising over light chop. I was thinking to myself maybe it isn't working. Once I came around to an area we call the gap the waves ramped up to 2.5 in size and
White capping.. I pointed the nose directly into the waves and slightly trimmed up to get the smoothest angle. I couldn't really feel any noticeable movement in the seat, but I could hear the hull starting to slap the water hard.. Again I'm not really feeling anything ... But I'm also not feeling any harsh bumps ...

So I amped up the speed a little bit... now I'm starting to get a little air... the boat is now coming down harder... I can hear the hull making quite a bit of noise as I begin to slam the boat down harder on the waves... Again, no harsh bumping .. Nothing ... It feels as if I'm running in 1-foot chop I can now feel the seat beginning to move but no sharp jarring.... Just a little bouncing on my seat.

I decided to experiment a little bit and started turning the boat to take the waves a little side on.. I'm now full-on slamming the hull onto the driver side as I come off the waves... Now I have a bit of movement in the seat as the boat slams down harder. But nothing crazy and no jarring hits... Just a little movement up and down.. ... Smiling all the way..

While fishing that morning. I started to reflect on both the good and the bad of having these types of suspension seat bases on your boat. I don't drive my 620 to hard.. And I don't have any cracks on the gelcoat .. But I could easily see how you can completely destroy a boat once you install any of these high-end bases on your boat. They just seem to smooth things out so much that you're not paying attention to how much stress you're putting on the boat and gear

The obvious question is why I chose Airwave over some of the other great manufacturers.

I did a lot of research, some of which I did here on this forum. I also have friends that have Smooth Moves and have been in boats with them in the past.. Smooth Moves is super plush and lots of movement… And to be honest with you I didn’t notice any real issues with pogo sticking… Or too faster rebound. What I didn’t like about them was they push my overall height to high and size and weight.. I have full windshields on my boat. And love the fact that I can wear my hat while driving at 50 miles an hour… My windshields keep the wind off me completely.. My head is below the windshield with my current stock pedestals.. I want to keep it this way. I know Smoothmoves make a lower profile unit.. But I believe it couldn’t get me quite as low as the other manufacturers.. This is why I eliminated them fairly early.

During my search, I narrowed it down to the two manufacturers I thought I would prefer.. Wave Pro and Airwave ..

Why did I choose Airwave? Primarily because I felt I had a better chance at longevity over WavePro . I have been a mountain biker for many years and have used Air controlled Hydraulic shocks on all kinds of bikes (both with air dampening and coil over).. They're absolutely great in terms of plush and controllability for both dampening and rebound. If you look closely at mountain bike design, you’ll see that they take great strides in making sure that the alignment of the shock and the forces provide very little lateral flex on the shock itself. When I looked at Wave Pro I was a little concerned about lateral flex on the shock sanction. I’m sure that they’ve addressed this with the fox engineers.. But I just couldn’t bring myself to believing that my 240 pounds moving side to side and back-and-forth wouldn’t eventually take its toll on the sanction seals and overall longevity of the unit. I also didn’t like the fact that I had to buy an auxiliary locking device to keep my seat from swiveling… I’ve read here that people say you don’t need them.. I can’t possibly imagine that you wouldn’t have sideways movement when taking a wave slightly off-center. And since I’m running a hotfoot on my boat I think this movement would be uncomfortable.. But I don’t know for sure.

Cost-wise with the auxiliary locking they were essentially the same as Airwave. And I must admit I like the overall design of Airwave from a lateral stiffness point of view and from the potential longevity.. It’s a huge hassle for me to send back my seats from Canada to the manufacturers if there is a problem. I think Wavepro also could’ve done a little better job in convincing me that their product was substantially better than others. During my phone call I made to them.. The woman I spoke with was very helpful, but really couldn’t give me any technical reasons why their product was superior… Other than to say they had more travel, I wasn’t really looking for them to bash the competition, but I was looking for a compelling reason to buy there’s over Airwave or Smooth Moves… And she just didn’t provide it. I guess the only compelling reason I can really come up with is if I had movable seats in my. I would certainly choose WavePro .. And I actually may end up purchasing one for my rear seat as quite often I have 3 people in my boat.

So in summary … I chose Airwave Pedestal seats 9” high base.. For the following reasons;
1. Potential longevity
2. Adjustability (dampening and rebound)
3. Ride Height and product weight
4. Ease of Installation
5. Design engineering (how it works)
6. Lockable swivel (utilize my current seat adjustability).
7. Comfort (firm yet still provides bump absorption).
8. Warranty 3 years vs 2 year
9. Cost - same as others. Once the required options are added.
10. Forum Testimonials couldn’t really find any negative performance comments or any compelling reason not to buy an Airwave .

I put 2 9inch airwaves in my Triton 216 Fishunter and I am very happy with them. I can’t say enough about how helpful Airwave customer service was when I ordered my Airwaves.

[tandm]

Originally Posted by strand

I have 2 used airwaves to sell. Message me if interested.

pm sent

[Hunts1]

I just purchased 2 WavePro 2.0 for my Lund Impact 1875. I went 2” higher than I thought I would. The dealer had them set up to sit in. I was convinced with that stationary demo seat! as well as the intel I got from WC posts.They are expensive but I got a deal by purchasing 2 and 2 pumps were included as well. I can’t wait to use them! No more *** poundings on the big waves.

The dealer carries WavePro 2.0, Air Waves, and Smooth Moves but said he now only really sells WavePro. I didn’t get the locking add-on and asked about it. Most guys do not and very few call back to get them. They can be added at anytime.

[srj]

Wavepros are a real game changer with the controlled rebound...you will not feel like you might be ejected. It is also very easy to tune the Wavepro to your liking.
One thing to keep in mind is the shorter the Wavepro, the less dampening when hitting a wave.
I sold my first set of Wavepros when I sold a previous boat to someone with a 18.5 foot boat that did not have a great ride. After installing them, he said it really felt like a totally different boat.
Certainly one of the best after market items I have ever added to a boat.

[Ozark Bob]

Just a note. I think 1 pump is all you need. I set them once and have not messed with them since. I do have a large son so I am sure I will have to pump it up some if he visits. Bob