Boat Rear View Mirror Buyer's Guide

Wakeboard Tower and Windshield Mirrors are often the most overlooked, but important boating accessories. Finding the right mirror and mount will make your boating experience safer, give you greater visibility, and let's face it: your neck will thank you.

A good rear view mirror is an essential tool. WakeMAKERS carries CIPA, PTM Edge, and Roswell mirrors. Each of these brands use the latest optical technology to give you crystal clear vision behind your boat. Let’s take a look at different types of boat mirrors and what you need to know before purchasing one.

Good to know: if you live or boat in Alabama, be aware of Alabama’s 78 square inch law for boat mirrors. Simply measure the mirror dimensions to get your square inches. For example: CIPA Comp Classic Wakeboard Tower Mirror offers approximately 98 square inches (7 x 14). This mirror will give you an extra 20 square inches over the minimum required by law. 

Wakeboard Tower Mirrors

Wakeboard Tower mounted mirrors are a popular option for anyone wanting to clean up the look/lines on their windshield. The sleek design and mounting flexibility give you the option to place the mirror just about anywhere on the tower. Tower Arms typically range from 1-7/8" to 2-1/2" and work for most major OEM and factory wakeboard towers. Before purchasing a wakeboard tower mirror, you will first need to measure your tower width to make sure it will fit.

Our favorite tower mirrors provide an excellent field of vision and incredible clarity. Thanks to universal mounting, most of the mirrors we sell can be mounted to a tower arm.

Windshield Mounted Mirrors

Windshield mirrors are typically easier and quicker to get on and off than their tower mounted counterparts. Captain Obvious is here to say that they are also the only option for boats that don't have a wakeboard tower. 

PTM Edge, Roswell, and CIPA make some great windshield mounted options. 

Windshield Mirror Combo Options

CIPA is a great value with their CIPA Vision 180. It offers a dramatic improvement in visibility behind the boat, allowing you to see the rider or skier outside the wake from one side of the boat all the way to the other.

PTM Edge has a couple of great windshield combo options available including the VR-100 and VR-140 which offer 100 and 140 degree field of view. These prescription grade optics come in a UV-resistant polymer housing for added strength and durability during those rough water conditions, plus a 3-year warranty.

Roswell's new Windshield Mirror Mount Combo includes the Roswell Mirror and an adjustable mounting clamp designed to fit most windshield headers with a soft rubber padding to prevent any damage. If you're looking for top-of-the-line, Roswell's new Reflect 360 Universal Mirror and Mount combo features a dual 360 degree rotation point mount and a 144 degree viewing mirror. It doesn't get any better than this.

If you are looking for an out-the-box solution we would highly recommend getting a mirror combo. 

If you have any additional questions about mirrors or mounting hardware, please give us a call at (888) 338-6085 or email us at support@wakemakers.com.