prastis said...
Hello there,

I am at a stage where I can go upwind well and I will start performing some jumps within my next sessions (i hope so). At the moment I am an owner of a crazyfly raptor pro 2013 1.37 x 41 which I have bought used when started because I had read some good reviews. Although I go upwind very well with this board cause its very fast I find it very stiff cause its full carbon.

Now that I am a bit more familiar with the sport and I know under what conditions most of my sessions are I would like to replace my board with a board that is good for chop and will get me into jumping, freestyle maybe some tricks with pop etc.

I have read about the Tona Flow which they say its very good regarding chop riding, trick landing regarding effect on knees and extremely good pop. however I have also read that its hard to go upwind and you need to be well powered for it to work. Until I increase my level I will be using the board with footstraps.

I am looking for opinions on the tona flow or some alternatives which I can consider.

Thank you in advance
George

Hey mate. I owned a Tona flow, it was the smoothest board iv ever been on. pop was good, not huge but very easy to get good pop. However This board is slow, not the slowest but you do need to be lit. Up wind is a pain in the ass if your not lit. Landings are so soft and comfortable on the knees.
However this is a wakestyle board, it's heavy, and best ridin with boots.
I ride the best profanity now, it's fast Landings are softish, with awsome pop. Upwind is much much better. Worth a look if you want a wakestyle board.

I find my tona pop great in flat water. But bouncy in chop. Have gone back to a smaller luluz its faster , not slowed by the chop as much .the big hits always hurt :-)

Any suggestions for boards then pls? Yes I got a carbon one now which I think it's too stiff. So in a sense with a wakestyle board I would go over with more wind than another normal board or what I am saying is not applicable?

It's sea/ocean chop. I will have a look at the shin boards since I have heard amazing things. Thanks

Just get a high rocker board and use a bigger kite, you won't feel over powered riding it as the board will take some power out.
Don't worry about riding it without bindings, i did the same for a year as I learnt, even look at people on the pkra riding wake style boards with straps.

flyingcab said..
Just get a high rocker board and use a bigger kite, you won't feel over powered riding it as the board will take some power out.
Don't worry about riding it without bindings, i did the same for a year as I learnt, even look at people on the pkra riding wake style boards with straps.

windreams said..
I haven’t ridden many boards but I recently decided to upgrade and wanted something that was good for my “everything” board. As well, where I kite the water isn’t surf nor flat - its choppy crap that comes from all directions so I wanted a board that would cut through it and was easy on the knees. After doing a bit of research I decided on the Shinn Monk and after 3 rides I am very happy with how it feels…

+1 on Shinn. I am about 100 kg - my favourite board is Shinn Dundee II (135x44). Hardly any face splash in choppy water, great for toeside, jumps, soft on knees, comfy pads (esp for wide feet). People rave about many of their board models - great quality all around boards (Dundee, Monk, Monk Forever, Red).

Theres no point getting a wakestyle board unless your riding wakestyle (unhooking alot and landing fast and hard with a low kite.) you will loose alot of upwind ability for no real benefit. if you want to go with a tona board id probably recomend the pop over the flow unless you have another board for when its not windy enough for the flow. chop is sh!t with any board thats why we all chase the glassy stuff, some boards are slightly better than others but theres no way of making chop smooth unless your on a foil board.
Go with an all round board something like a north jamie would be a good choice. but there are plenty of other options out there.

north jamie owner here
it's great board, try to demo one

prastis said..
I am currently searching for medium flex medium rocker boards in order to get an intermediate board which will accommodate landings and chop but at the same time not kill power and speed. i think jaime is carbon and is a bit stiff

Not sure about new one, i own one from 2010

Xeon laluz great board

Test a Cabrina Tronic as well. We have lot's of chop in Brighton Brisbane where I kite. Tested quite few boards on a demo day and found it gentle on the knees etc.

thank you for the replies. it looks like the boards you are suggesting have low to medium rocker. does rocker affect knee comfort on landings or is that entirely on board flex?

Why is it wasted? How is the Jaime on landings and chop? Rocker flex wise? Isn't a good board to progress on?

I bought a Shinn Turbo as the ocean chop was killing my knees. Awesome board. Cuts through the water like its butter and takes heaps of the jarring up with the flex in the tips ( forked tails ). Jumps well and is a great carving board with the rails feeling super sharp. Foot pads are comfy, not the manliest of looking boards thought :) and its the lightest board I've ever felt. Not cheap though. Get what you pay for I guess

I tested both the trax en the shinn turbo.
Shinn turbo is a pretty good board. Good upwind capabilities, no spray etc. But, yes theres a but, it didnt fit me. I know people love shinn boards and i know they are very well made but it just didnt fit with me.
on the other hand the trax I like very much. Aswell good upwind capabilities, no spray. And here come the differences between the two boards in my opinion. On the turbo I was sort of gliding/sliding with it. Just didnt feel right. Didnt get alot of feedback of what the board was doing. Had a hard time popping with it aswell but that is maybe because of the footstraps of shinn. My feet are between 8 and 8,5 if I calculated it correctly. They are also really flat. Even on the lowest settings on the shinn strap they were still abit to big.
On the trax I felt so confident and much control. I could go faster or slower with little effort. the board is very predictable for me. Some may find that boring though. Its just what you prefer.

Regardless of which board you choose, I recommend you look at the naish apex straps/pads. They are quite expensive but so comfortable. They made two straps per pad so you can adjust it at your toes and more towards the base of you foot.