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Cassette 4-Track Review Reviewed by: Dave Barousse
Cassette’s newest edition to the wakeskate family is the 4-Track. Designed by Thomas Horrel, the 4-Track has some new features never before seen on a wakeskate. Leave it to Cassette to lead the wakeskating industry down a new path. Cassette Wakeskates and Liquid Force were kind enough to hook us up with a new 4-Track to test drive. For those of you that are too lazy to read the rest of this review, we can sum it all up by saying that this board completely blew us away. In more up to date terminology, it is the shizzz-nack!
Buy It Now At Boardstop.com
Size
The Cassette 4-Track is available in a 42” length. At least for now, that is the only size that the board comes in. In my opinion, a 42” to 43” wakeskate is the perfect size for most riders today. It is big enough to go huge on wake jumps and small enough to get technical with. I would consider myself to be a bigger guy, weighing in at 206 lbs. and about 6’3” tall and I found the 42” board to be a very nice size for me. I felt totally comfortable on wake jumps as well as tech tricks.
Shape
The 4-Track brings a little something different to the plate with a new kind of shape. The deck is asymmetrical, meaning that it is not the same dimensions on both sides. When looking at pictures of this board, the asymmetrical shape is not very noticeable, but when looking at it in person, you can definitely notice the difference. This specific shape is what gives the 4-Track its uniqueness and gives the rider a bigger nose (or tail) to use when sliding. One end of the board is noticeably wider and thicker than the other end. The thicker end has fin screw holes for a normal fin setup, but also has fin screw holes down both sides of the board about 6 inches closer to the middle of the board. The second fin set up was included into the design of the board to give the rider the ability to have fins on the board for tracking but it moves them back and out of the way so that the rider can slide the nose or tail of the board on obstacles. Some may ask why not just remove the fins completely if you would like to slide the nose or tail of the board, but by having the fins on, it allows the rider to lock in their slides for a true skate feel. The board also differs from a regular 3D as it has an entirely new contoured kick concave and rail profile.
Fins
As mentioned above, the 4-Track has a unique fin set up that allows riders to set up their fins in different configurations for sliding and for wake riding. With that in mind, Cassette used a heavy duty material to construct the fins so that they do not break when sliding the board. According to Thomas Horrell, the fins are made of a G-10 Teflon coated polyethylene. The board ships with four fins total. There are two regular size fins for a normal fin set up and two smaller fins to use when using the two fin set up on the rails of the deck. Cassette has also strengthened the fins by using three screws to secure the fins on to the board for the side fins and two screws on the normal fin locations instead of just one.
Construction
In a previous Questions and Answers article on Wakeskating.com about the 4-Track, Thomas Horrell talked about the new method that Cassette used to construct the board. Horrell said that they used some new technology when putting the board together and actually used stronger laminates in the middle layers of the board. This was used to strengthen the board to help keep it from breaking. Horrell went on to say that because of this new technology, the 4-Track is not going to break. Only time will tell if the new technology is successful when the general public puts it to the test, but we would imagine that Thomas has already put this board through hell and back and obviously feels very confident that their new methods will hold true. The 4-Track is made out of wood.
The Ride
 When I received the 4-Track from Cassette, I had to set the board down and just sit there and admire it. It was love at first site for me. I knew this board was going to have a great ride, but I had no idea that it was going to be as good as it is. I’ve always felt kind of uncomfortable on 3D boards because I wear a size 13 shoe and the contoured rails almost got in my way. When standing on the 4-Track just on carpet, I didn’t notice the rails raising my toes and heels as much as I notice it on other concaved decks. On the water, I felt totally comfortable and immediately was able to use the concave to my advantage on wake jumps and ollies.
On the first test run, I rode the board with a normal fin set up. That would be one fin on each side of the board. One thing that I noticed right away was the amount of pop I was able to generate off of the wake and in the flats. I was able to increase height on ollies, wake jumps and shuv its with less effort than on my flat deck. I imagine that the strength of the board and the three stage rocker is what allowed me to generate more pop and caused these dramatic increases. Either way, I was really happy about it and suddenly felt more comfortable on certain tricks, especially wake to wake 180’s.
On the second test run, I reconfigured the fins to the 2 fin set up. This is where there is one fin in a normal fin position and two fins parallel with each other down the side rails of the board. With the two fin set up, I did notice a difference in the way the board tracked through the water. It had more of an edge when cutting in and out of the wakes. According to the description of the 4-Track by Cassette, this fin configuration was designed for sliding mostly, but can be used when riding the wake if the rider would like to use it that way. Unfortunately, due to a recent accident on our sliders, I was unable to make some hits on our sliders with the 4-Track to see how the 2 fin setup would handle. I feel that I am not giving the full story on this board by not taking it on the sliders myself, but after seeing pictures of Thomas Horrell and Aaron Reed doing nose slides and blunt slides in various wakeboarding magazines, I feel confident that this board does exactly what they say it will do on sliders.
Conclusion
In conclusion, I would like that thank Cassette, Liquid Force and Thomas Horrell for bringing us, the riders, something new and interesting once again. My complete honest opinion about the Cassette 4-Track is that it is by far the best wakeskate I have ever ridden. The features of the board, combined with the construction of the board, make it like no other. To have a board of this caliber is not cheap though. One of the downsides of the 4-Track is the price. The MSRP on the deck is $249.99. That is a considerable difference when compared to most wakeskates on the market today. If you wakeskate for fun to take a break from wakeboarding or just to do something different every once in a while, then a 4-Track may not be the most economical board for you, but will indeed be the better board. If you have ditched the bindings and are wakeskating the majority of your time on the water, then this board is a must buy. So save your pocket change and put one on your list to Santa Clause because you will be glad you did once you ride it.
For more information about Cassette Wakeskates and the 4-Track, you van visit them online at www.cassettewakeskates.com.
Buy It Now At Boardstop.com
Related Articles:
Thomas Horrell Talks About The 4 Track
Cassette 4-Track
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