Hi
My name is Daniel and have been surfing short boards for over 20 years. I will be getting all my kitesurfing gear in the next week or so and whilst I will start on a twin tip as a beginer in flat water first, as soon as I am ready I wanna get out there with a surfboard on the waves. I have a few questions that some of you with experience might be able to answer.

Basically my thing is surfing, I am getting into kitesurfing with the intention of riding strapless on a surfboard and just using the kite to tow me into the waves, once on the wave i want to depower the kite completely so i can just surf like i would normally, similar to how ben Wilson uses his kites. Though the kitepower might come in handy for the dead sections on the waves also. I have questions about surfboard dimensions that are gonna work for kitesurfing, epoxy vs poly, quad vs thruster.

Normally I would surf a shortboard with the dimensions of 6'2" x 18 1/2 x 2 3/16
I weigh about 75kg and am about 5ft 8in tall.

I have heard many opinions about choosing a board for kite surfing so I am not exactly sure which way to go but from the research ive done I think i need to go slightly smaller and narrower that I would normally surf, thing is, is that really necessary since i am going to depower the kite and surf the wave using the power of the wave anyway?

I am thinking that I should find a board maybe just slightly shorter and narrower,
say 6'0" x 18 1/4 x 2 3/16. What do you think considering what i am wanting to achieve? Shorter and narrower or use exactly what i would normally surf? Consider that i generally wont want to use the kitepower much once I am on the actual wave.

I do have two fishes i will use but don/t want to use my 6'2" as it is a real nice board and has a very light glass job on it so i am going to buy another secondhand board as well as use my fish boards. Getting a kite specific board is out of the question as it is just too costly for me.

That brings me to another question, should I get an epoxy surfboard?
Is it going to have much more durability seeing it is just a surfboard and still not kite specific and reinforced accordingly?
I am told by surfers I have spoken to that epoxy boards don't perform that well in the chop, is this also true if i use an epoxy board for kitesurfing? Do u think i will have more enjoyable surfs using a good ol poly board? One option i have is just to buy a cheaper poly board with the right dimensions...

Also, this is probably mostly personal preference but i have heard that quad fin boards go well for kitesurfing, what do you guys reckon? Ive never surfed on a quad but more guys seem to be surfing them these days, i would give it a go but dont want to be sliding around everywhere in my bottom turns as i heard they were too loose by some, let me know your feedback.

cheers
Daniel

Hi Waveripper,

I know you said a production kite board is out of your league $$ wise, but I reckon it is worth saving a bit longer to get something that will handle the beating. A Poly board will work, but you will ding the hell out of it with heel pressure and everytime you land on the nose or bash it with the bar, it'll take a bad hit, start leaking and taking on water, then turn brown and the foam goes soft, so it will last you a year maybe two then it will be a bin job.

If you start hitting crazy pitching lips in bigger surf, the board won't last a few weeks.

The Current Airush Converse 6' is probably exactly what you need, whether you can afford it is another thing. The bonus of the story is that you can take the straps off and surf it too. The board needs to be strong if you ride it hard.

Thruster works very well as does Quad No discernable difference in my opinion from my experience (which is limited on quads). This brings me to another option, have a look at the new Airush Choptop. It is a solid board, you'll NEVER break it, it's quad fin, 5'3" a bit like a fish, comes with full deck pad and hooks for your feet so you can still boost and air, or you can remove them for full strapless. An excellent board for junky waves and onshore slop.

For clean down the line work, the Converse, for mushy messy surf and small to medium down the line, the Choptop.

Have a look here kiteboardingschool.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=21&Itemid=48

Good winds,

production kiteboards for waveriding are a hoax in my opinion, especially if you will be riding strapless and using the kite to tow in only. get a normal poly board. if you can afford it then get a custom board with a double stringer and a stronger glass job (2 layers of 6oz).
but if not then just buy cheap poly boards and ride them.

if you want to be boosting huge airs off the waves or doing backrolls then maybe you should get an epoxy/kite specific board but it sounds like you just want to ride down the line.

predator surf straps are the shizznit.
heaps better than any others on the market, and if ya wanna get to riding strapless they are choice cause you can use just one at the front to keep your board under your feet as you make your way back out, and you can lock in if you need to, without feeling locked in

Just get a cheap second hand one with the same dimensions ( or as close as you can ) to what you currently ride. If you are going to "only use the kite to tow you back out then ride the wave normally you do not need to go thinner or shorter" heavy glassing is preferable because as you would know quality surfboards are super light thinly glassed and easily damaged.

DO NOT USE YOU FAVOURITE SURFBOARD YOU WILL DAMAGE IT

Use this cheap one first then buy a kite specific board once you know what you want to do with it.
I started using my normal board and soon discovered whilst ( like you ) my initial intentions were just to ride the wave normally the temptation to hack the lips whilst heading back out and to boost off the waves is just to great I have now reverted to riding my twintip in the waves with slightly larger fins........ so much fun

Thanks for the feedback guys....

I shall get started on a cheap poly board as close to what i surf, i have a dinged up poly board in the garage which i pulled out of the garage the other night, it needs a bit of fixing but looking at it, it still has pretty nice dimensions so i guess i will start on that.

The firewire boards sound great but are a bit costly, i think i will probably get a secondhand epoxy after a bit of time just using the cheap poly board as I think what Mr Potter said i can understand and might be relavant:

harry potter said...

I started using my normal board and soon discovered whilst ( like you ) my initial intentions were just to ride the wave normally the temptation to hack the lips whilst heading back out and to boost off the waves is just to great

I also think as others mentioned i could ride the cheap poly board till i know exactly what it is i am gonna want to do, some some time in the surf with a cheap poly is good before i go out spending my hard earned $$$. Maybe as some of you said, i could use my poly boards in light winds only? The fish i have has a a stronger glass job than my fav high performance short board i have so maybe that will be ok in light winds, i will check that out though.... Thanks for your comments and feedback everyone...


By the way, what do you guys think of using quad fins as opposed to thrusters?
Does anyone use leashes (retractable) in the surf with their surfboard when kite surfing? Is this recomended or just body drag only?

Make sure you check out crime converters. I got a RIPPER deal from there.
I dont use a leash. and have seen very few people do it. I dont wanna be connected to it, with a kite whilst getting mashed. too risky. Depends on the break though. I'm just on shore break, so its like 10seconds to find the board.