Ive been kiting for 1 season, riding twin tips and strapped surfboards, mainly in waves

The main trouble im having is staying upwind while riding toeside. My jybing is bad at the moment, its one of my main goals for next season, and I can just hold my line riding toeside on my strapped surfboard, but as soon as i catch a wave or lose and ground its impossible for me to make up, and so i have to either do downwinders or walks of shame.

Any tips for going toeside? weight more forward, or back towards the fins?

A sliding spreader bar like the Dynabar makes up wind toeside much easier.

Just practice some more. Ride toeside and chase the kiter in front of you but jam harder and overtake them on the upwind side (leaving them plenty of room and keeping your kite well away from theirs).

For surfboard riding, also practice swapping feet. Riding heelside is less tiring and you will always go harder upwind than riding toeside (unless you can twist your back about 270 degrees. )

Once you get good at it swapping feet is the best fun and can be done in an instant without thinking about it. When you combine it with strong toeside skills you will be having far more fun than anybody else.

In general you always want more weight on your front foot with your back foot trimming. You only load your back foot hard when you are *well* powered up and want to jam even further upwind.

Even on a strapped board don't get your feet welded into the straps. It is often better to have the back foot on the deck in front of the back strap. My front foot is often to the side of the strap with just my big toe touching the strap.

You might want to wax your deck between the pads and/or wear booties to increase grip. Also open your straps so they are easy to get in and out of.

There is a zone on a board from near the front strap to just in front of the back strap (or the corresponding foot positions if you don't have straps). It's a bout a third of the board surface area, biased towards the rear half.

As long as you keep your feet somewhere in that zone and your body weight pushing down through that zone you can do anything you like on a board. Heelside, toeside, both feet together. Jump around. Shuffle. Anything.

Think of your body weight pushing down from the harness, through your legs, through the zone on the board, then straight through the lines to the kite. You will be rock solid stable and the board will keep planing.

You can practice having your weight too far forward on the board (the nose sinks), or too far back (the board accelerates and you can fall off the back).

On of my favourite moves coming out of a carve is to swap feet and get my feet a little too far back on the board. The board scoots forward and I fall back but the kite pulls my body back into line on the board and I come out with a blast of speed.

Hey Spikey
We have the Dyna Bar on demo. Lots of great reports from wave riders and anyone who likes the toe-side edge. Come & give it a try sometime.

Another trick - tried by some (but Ive never done it myself so just hearsay).
Larger fins on your toeside edge ?
Sounds logical but may grab when ur heelside - if you go too big.

Maybe worth playing around with - esp if you are just learning upwind toeside.

With a Dyana Bar theres not much in it with toeside and heelside angles,Dynabar takes a little getting used to when doing toeside heelside loop carves as you get pulled round from your hip but as soon as you get used to flicking your hips while initiating the turn to centre the spreader then its all good.

What is the difference to the dyna V5 too the V6 other than prrice

Hi Spikeysteve,

I don't suppose you are riding wearing a seat (nappy) harness are you? It's impossible to go upwind toeside with a nappy harness unless you spend another fortune on a Dynabar.

A decent wave harness should slip around your body as required. Look for harnesses with full neoprene inner surface, not the thermoformed foam. Thermoformed foam tends to stick you your skin and wetsuits etc preventing them from easily slipping around.

I can ride upwind as good if not better on my toeside on a surfboard or twin tip, it's just not comfortable on long tacks where it is better to switch to heelside by gybing. This allows your back leg to rest before crankin' it down the line again.

DM