So, I've been kiting for 3-4 years and making the transition to Kitesurfing... in curly ocean waves (As opposed to mushy bay waves).

I'm 80kg. What is a good board size / volume for me? I'm after something I can surf, on the wave with little or no kite input.

I'm guessing a 5'8 to 5'11" is about right.

I've used a surfing surfboard volume calculator and it comes out quite a bit bigger than that 6' 2" if memory serves. But I believe one needs a slightly bigger board to surf as you need to catch the wave in the first place.

Oh, I have no surfing experience, but I do have a directional bay hack (5') and can do carving turns both directions, toes side (Sort of) both directions and can gybe 1 out of 5 times...

Thanks Tone, I like the shape of the skater...

Most kiteboard brands supply suggested weight ranges with their sizing. Eg. North

I wouldn't buy a board that's over 6ft and has a lot of volume as they can be hard to turn and slap through the chop if they have a lot of volume, you want something that cuts through it (Idk how to explain it).

I'm around 90kgs and was riding a 5'8" and now a 5'3" (the 5'3" is around 25 liters (Firewire Vader)). You want something that doesn't bounce through the chop or waves. With kite boarding you don't really need the volume in the board as you ave a kite.

If you're looking for a skater shape of board I'd go around a 5'3" to a 5'5". If you kite around Brighton I'm happy to give you a go on my board to get a feel for the size.

Hey Brohan, thanks for the info...I love the Vader (Sunova/sonova or something) do a really nice version of it I was trying to get my hands on (they don't ship to Aus).

If I see a guy on a Vadar when I'm next at brighton, I'll give them a shout!

I think I just need to get one and make my mind up from there..

Thanks again for the advice...

I am 80 kgs

My transitional surfboard is 6 foot and 23 litres 3.2 kgs in kite construction.

Absolutely amazing feeling to have a small surfboard under your feet. My surfing board is 6' 6".

This summer I went for the sunova vanguard, 5' 8" and 29 litres 3.5 kgs in kite construction with grip and fins.

Both boards are 2 1/4" thick.

While I loved the surfboard transitional surfboard the vanguard is just amazing. I can paddle surf it, kite it and on those marginal days get going in 15knots with my 10 metre Reo.

The advantage is that sometimes inside the break I loose power and sink on the smaller board while I can usually power out with the vanguard.

Really would love the 5' 3" Vader but when I am travelling with one board to paddle and Kite just love the 5' 8"