Gday all.

Getting frustrated over here in Melb with the light winds starting to prevail. I have a 2 kite quiver 12 & 16 and ride a 155 twintip with not a lot of float (Torquay Hog). I weigh around the 90kg mark & find that I need 12knots+ to get planing on the 16 and 16knots+ on the 12 (dont laugh, thats about as good as it gets on the bay )

I am looking for a light wind board & have an opportunity to get hold of a Stonker Shark 180 i.e. 160 one side & 180 t'other. I'd prefer a twintip as I dont really go with the whole gybing caper.

I hear that these boards are surfboard like construction? Has anyone had any experiences with them & if so whats the feedback? What sort of $$$ do you reckon a new one is worth?

Cheers All

Tom
__________________
...that name again is Mr Plow

Yes, its all in the width(girth) not the length

Thanks for the feedback so far - good to see different opinions & approaches.

Found a bit more info on the Torquay Hog dimensions...it is my first board, so I havent got anything to compare it to as far as riding experience goes...but, it does seem to be very thin throughout which I am thinking means less volume & therefore less float.

Dimensions are 155cm x 400mm x 16mm (length x width x thickness). By contrast the Shark mentioned above is 180cm x 405mm x 35mm.

More info: http://www.finco.com.au/kiteboards.htm



...that name again is Mr Plow

I havent yet seen one in WA but I hear that the gaastra satellite is pretty awesome for light winds. Heaps small but very wide.
I weigh 65 and on my 16m can get planing on a 139 eboard mojo in under 10 knots.
Just go and ask some of the shops and see if they will hire you a demo board to see whats good and whats not

buy a 19 fuel. i weigh 96kg and can get going real easy.their cheap as **** second hand just dont be scared of it like all the *****s that will disagree with me. my most used kite last summer.

This is an interesting thread ...

Lately we have been able to ride all the airush boards side by side with varying kites and have generally found that the bigger kites match up well with bigger boards.Small boards and big draggy kites are a dog of a combination.

Bay FAR the best light winder has been the EXILE (135 x 47 !) which actually works well up into the middle of your kites wind range - maybe even 2/3 in to it because it has sensational shaped rails which hold power .

Second in light wind performance is the Switch 155 (45 wide). Some of the old directionals kill it in light air too.

The funny thing about the Exile is that it feels like a surfboard in the light stuff which means you can get drive through a bottom turn and good projection out of a lip. Its quickly becoming my favourite board because you get near strapless surfing surf performance with all the jumps and freestyle possibilities of a twin tip all in the one board that will get a 12m upwind in 11 knots !

The Exile has been the surprise of the Airush range this year with distributors unable to keep up wit demand worldwide as once rideers try them they generally just want one !