Okay helping out a young bloke who is now pretty much staying upwind on his 10m REO on a Nugget. After his lessons from an instructor, been guiding him through this winter, and now is ready to crank it up with summer coming on.

He's looking now for a more dedicated surfboard, that he can eventually use in head high stuff and ride in powered conditions. It still needs to have some upwind ability, probably more than an experienced rider, as he is after all still learning.

So, I know sweet Farq all about SB so looking for your help on this. Suggestions were something like a north WAM or an Airush Compact.

He's 82kg and flies 10 and 8 REO.

Advice? Some technical stuff would be appreciated. He has a plethora of SBs himself, so he'll understand ya SB speak.


Ps He's a bloody good surfer to, better than the average bear, so can't wait to see him translate this into kiting.

Cheers sun seeker I do remember those now, never took much notice will read them. Ta

Yeh I agree. He actually has another board, from another manufacturer I don't want to mention as i don't want to start another war, but it is, well just farqin crap.

Hence I got him onto the nugget and within a day he was planning upwind no probs.

I have ridden the WAM before as well, only for a few sessions, it is indeed a bloody nice board and the one I recommended to him in the first place, but the board above was somewhat cheaper. it kind of does it all in a way.

I reckon the Air-rush compact would also be a goa. Trying to get him to consider a custom considering the 6 or so SB's he owns are all custom for his surfing.

Tell ya damn that nugget is soooo much fun in the slop and even on a half decent wave, if ya keep ya head about ya.

Another vote for the North WAM here. Love it.

GO the WAM ! Like Dave W I am an old codger who wanted to get the surf thing happenning with a kite. With my limited skiils (still not 2 yrs into this kiting caper) the North WAM seems to be pretty idiot proof. Upwind is lovely and I cant fault it.

eppo if he's a surfer with a few surfboards and he doesn't mind sacrificing one or two just use what he's got. They might be a touch longer than a dedicated kite sb but it won't be as twitchy. adding straps is pretty easy if he wants. I just use what I surf on unless it's crazy and I've a 2nd epoxy with straps.

Hi Eppo

I think any of the big brand kiteboards, North, Airush, Naish, Cabrinha, BWS etc would be fine.
I wouldn't go any shorter than 5'8” or longer than 6'0”

The beauty of kitebaording is you have the power of the kite to get you into the wave where as if you have to paddle in you generally need a longer board to gain the speed to paddle in.

Most short board surfers prefer a smaller board once they are on the wave as it allows you to stay closer to the pocket , smaller turn radius and is easier to control underfoot although it tends to be more unstable. The last statement may sound like a contradiction but the board is easier to manoeuvre due to the smaller mass/inertia, less width in the nose stops the rail catching when turning off the top and bottom but the smaller width and thickness associated with shorter boards causes instability at low speeds and tends to turn with the slightest movement (like the first small kite you flew)

One problem everyone faces when starting with straps is that they tend to stall the board:
The straps are placed so you can weight the back foot for powered carving turns. At low speed it puts too much weight towards the rear.
In my opinion this is more critical as the board gets longer, so it is easier to learn to ride using straps on shorter boards. I feel the longer (and usually wider) the board the easier to learn strapless (definitely in flat water) as you can balance the weight distribution better. Straps are much easier getting out through the break.

The problem these days is there are so many different types of boards to choose from (not a bad problem but a minefield trying to find the best option.)

Most large manufacturers put out 4 groups. Using North as an example:
They start with the specialty board like a Skim and Nugget, then a Hybrid/fish style – Whip/X-Whip, followed by the all-rounder – WAM and then the high performance – Kontact and Pro series.

I would steer him towards the Hybrid and all rounder category, which brand is up to him.

Eppo, all the advice great for the keen kiter looking for a board.
Just to add to any confusion, I hope you'll consider the local board builders, ie Col Earl and Marty down south for example, these fella's really helpful, boards well built and I'm sure if they can meet your specifications would appreciate the business.