I'm 6'2" 95 kg and an ex-wakeboarder. I bought a 12m Airush Flow (hybrid) and my instructor recommended me a 138cm Airush Switch. However at the shop I was convinced to get a 144cm. I have no problem at all getting up and going along on this however I feel like I have no weight in the water when it comes to trying to cut hard or deal with chop.

(Thinking about this, perhaps I need more backfoot - I am used to wakeboarding where even when cutting your weight is even between the feet)

I see a lot of people riding very short boards for their weight comparied to what I have. Is my board too big?

Your board is at the top end of size and you will have fun.

don't worry too much about length and focus on width.

boards are slowly going back in length, to being a little longer.
Before this new wave of high depower kites board length was getting shorter to facilitate holding an edge. this was great and fun but meant some compromise, and spray in face.
the new boards combined with high depower kites have brought back the fun of nice flowing carves, on flat water and waves, smoother ride over chop and better flex control.

Having just ridden a 125, 131, and 141 version of the same board(M8), I think it will be a long time before you will be noticing the difference.

144cm - 138cm = 60mm that's 30mm per end. About the height of a Postage stamp.

The main criteria for board size maybe the size of your car boot.

95KG is a fair chunk of man meat the bigger boards were designed for guys like you, holding an edge might have more to do with where your kite is ie fly it lower
enjoy the boad, there are some advantages to shorter boards but they are harder to get going in light winds and 12 metres not a big kite for you.
borrow a short board in lighter winds before you get too much buyers remorse

Although it might be possible to get away with one board and one kite there are advantages to have the whole range;

* short TT for overpowered flat water tricks
* larger TT for carving on waves with a shallow reef or heavy beach beach
* surfboard (with or without straps) for ultimate clean wave riding when u have enough clearnace for ur fins


c kites for flat water shear power boosting
c kites for "powered" wave kiting
bow kites for gusty s**t
bow kites for "surfing the wave" kiting

IMHO you just can't have enough toys.

is it a newer switch?

some of the olders ones had a horrible edge

you have the perfect board for your weight and skill level.

small boards and big wind is **** anyway. Unless you have poor board skills and need to dump the power through using an inefficient board rather then having correct technique.

high winds generally means lots of chop, small boards suck in chop.


i myself am a one board person, for all wind strengths and all conditions (apart from waves). Why? I have lots of kites, which allows me to be perfectly powered on one board for all wind strengths. The other is that a board is very intimate, feel and familiriaty are critical. Having something that is predictable and reliable under my feet is important to me .

I had similar troubles coming over to kiteing with a wakeboarders stance. Once i sorted out flying the kite properly i concentrated on pushing the front foot out and sorta squating a little on the back foot and and laying out on the harness hard, it made a hell of a diff to me. Riding CO2's on a 141 slingy (doyle)

quote:

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Originally posted by rescueme

I ride footstraps which do tend to come out, specially when I unintentionally launch when trying slide transitions

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This is something that I noticed with the Airush boards, I could never get the straps sorted on the demo's that I tried, the boards themselves are great but the standard pads and straps could be much better (IMHO). Get your screwdriver out and play with the footstraps, get the dang things to adjust down tight enough so as your feet do not rattle around.

You need tight fitting yet comfortable footing, especially on a big board. Big boards tend to slap the water harder and they will skip in the chop when you start to get overpowered, if your feet aren't secure you will lose your edge too easily and end up on your arse. A sharper rail is going to be a little less forgiving in the rough. It's not just a matter of applying more back foot, you also have to use the edge and the fins in unison. The way you ride a big board (when powered-overpowered) will vary along the board as the rocker and tail width varies. Just play around with a few speed runs when you have the room for wipe-outs.

The Airush Flow (and other SLE's like the Waroo etc) are particularly adaptable at being ridden powered or underpowered, something that doesn't just depend on wind strength, you will learn how to do both with practice. Your particular kite and board combination is going to give you a huge usable wind range.

Personally, given your wakeboarding history, your instructor was correct. The 138 would have been a more enduring choice. On the upside , something to consider for next season maybe, a two board quiver is good and the purchase of a 130-133 would see you set for just about everything short of the purist surfboard experience.

Just for the comparison, our weight is similar. I ride a 125, a 138, and a 167 without fins (for when it just isn't blowing hard enough yet). Kites are 9, 13, 17, and 20... yeah yeah, I need a garage sale.