Axis Wakeboard Boat Forum

I'm looking at replacing my non-PNP ballast bags (bow cushion bag and walkway bag) with either an Eight.3 or Sumo Max setup. The Ronix pump is rated at 3700gph and the bags are the telescopic type where you fill through a valve and drop the pump in the bag to empty it rather than attaching it to the valve. The Sumo Max pump is rated at 4250gph and they fill and empty through the same valve.

The only Sumo Max bow bag is 675lbs. The Ronix bow bags come either 600lbs or 950lbs. I currently run the Fly High 1000lb triangle but it doesn't completely fill because the bow of my '16 A20 isn't big enough. My guess is it fills up to maybe 700 or 800lbs. I just wonder if the Sumo bag would be enough given what I've been using.

The 2 different pumps are the same price but the Ronix bags are significantly more expensive. The Ronix setup with the 950lb bow bag is well over $200 more expensive.

Does anyone have experience with either of these pumps and/or bags? If so I'd like to hear about it. Thanks!

I use/d the Sumo 4250 max pump and a pre-max pump bow and walkway bag. The connections suck and leak bad on the bow bag and aren't bad on the walkway 750 bag I have.

I called Sumo and they sent me some seals that were meant for the bags, they didn't fit quite right...but did stop some of the leaking while filling on the bow bag. I honestly couldn't tell a huge difference between the old 900 pump and the new one...likely it's my old bags that dont flow enough through the valves.

I'd like to try my pump with a new bag that is setup for the new pump...I'm sure it will be much better.

As for the 650 bow bag I ran on top of my seat in the bow...it was just smaller than the playpen of the T23. It was plenty of bow weight IMO...even running 1100's in the rear.

P.s you can buy all the fittings to make any pump work on any bag. Wakemakers has them all, so you could keep your fly high and just buy the connections to make the Sumo pump work with that bag.

I have the Sumo Max Pump and Sumo Max bow bag and they've been great for the past year I've had them. The connection is not 100% leakless, it's pretty darn close those and way better than dealing with Tsunami pumps. The speed of this pump only works when you have a Sumo Max bag as the connection port is bigger than the old bags so it can flow more water. I'd never go back to using Tsunami's after using these faster pumps. The bow bag fills in like 3 minutes. I wish the stock pumps on the boat were these type but they're too big to fit in the confined space.

The bow bag is 675lb but someone on WakeWorld weighed a bunch of bags on industrial scales and it came in at 820lbs slap full. I use it in the bow of my T23 and it fits perfectly. You've gotta figure what 820 vs 950 on the Ronix bag is worth to you for the price difference. The Ronix bag is also about as dripless as you're gonna get with it's pop-up area to stick the pump in, but since it's not a sealed connection you can't really drain your bag at speed since the water will be sloshing around and it won't create a vacuum to suck it dry like the Sumo pump will so you'll have to manually pour some water out yourself at the end.

I did fail to pay attention to my bag one time while filling and now I have a pinhole that leaks water because I let it get too full, I just put some glue over and it's been fine. I did however break my pump last weekend. There's a plastic bar that is in the middle of the inlet that depresses the check valve on the inlet to let water in and out and you put the pump on and twist it into position and that bar locks the pump in place via a slot on the inlet. Well that bar broke off putting the pump on and then I couldn't drain my bag because I had nothing to depress the valve, so I had to drain the bag into the boat and out the bilge. That was fun...at least the pump is under warranty though.

Do you guys put the bags right on top of the front seats? No damage to upholstery over time? I need more weight in the front but hesitant because I don't want to damage anything.

Yes, your seats will be fine, just try and make sure it's centered so the drain plugs don't press into the vinyl. It won't damage them but I mean why put more pressure on them than you need to.

Excellent info! Thanks! I am leaning towards the Sumo Max setup however Ronix has better options for walk way bags. I think the Sumo walkway bags are just a little too wide but will measure when I get home. I don't know how much pressure I want to put on the fiberglass walls inside the walkway. Also the Ronix bow bag is the same dimensions as the Fly High bow bag, which already doesn't fit, so I expect the Ronix bow bags won't really fit either.

While this is a good idea as you said the older style bags probably don't have valves big enough to flow the water as fast as the new pumps push it. It might fill/drain the Fly High bad a little faster but without the larger valves I expect it's limited.

The sumo 675 fits perfect in the bow of a 16 A20 and actually fills to over 800lbs. I was using one with the black super sumo 1300 GPH pump on my 16 A20. I only wakeboard and run the sumo 475's in the rear so that bag was a little much for my liking so now I just throw 350lbs of lead wake bags around the bow.

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Thanks for the info! I remember watching the video where those guys tested the actual weights of full bags but I don't remember which ones they tested. I just ordered the Sumo Max 4250 pump, 675 bow bag and a 675 wedge bag for the walkway. The walkway bag won't fit as well as the Fly High 400 does but I think it will squeeze in there ok. I also ordered fittings and hose to vent my rear bags so I won't have to unscrew the vent plugs every time any more. That will certainly be nice!

Dripless kinetic vents work great 7.50-15$ from Amazon or the dripless watering system site