Hey DA
Its a common list of previous injuries to your knees, look for a super flexi board and good straps, less pop but as you say your not looking to jump. (yet)

A hard/stiff board will pound your knees even in the smallest chop.

A big danger to look out for is loosing one foot out of a strap and the board twisting the other leg/knee still attached.

Just remember, No pain = No gain

you could always try strapless surfboards, something different too which also requires a different technique of kiting. could always progress to that anyway

Jedibrad said...

agreed^^ strapless surfboard is the best for bad knees and ankles

Have to disagree with the surfboard idea. A large flat surface that doesn't penetrate the surface through the chop will belt the hell out of your knees. The only way you stay on a surfboard without straps is with very bent knees so you ride mostly crouched in chop at speed which works your legs like a skier doing moguls.

I suggest riding something like a Cardboards Tyro. Generous double concave and plenty of flex gives it a ride, (as a customer explained to me the other day), like a Cadillac.

Super smooth, no harshness at all and easy and fun to ride even in the worst chop (Pinnachop).

Cheers,

DM

I've always had issues with my knees due to shock and vibration resulting in patellofemoral pain, which wasn't an issue for my first couple of years kiting but was aggravated by a stiff board and pushing myself too hard and in the wrong ways.
I used to get the same pain whilst skiing if i spent too long on T-bars and pomma's.
When i started getting serious issues to the point of not being able to walk up stairs after a session, i bought myself a surf board and started riding strapless but didn't find it helped at all.

How tough is kitesurfing on your knee's?
Freeriding and cruising; you'll just have to deal with the chop and the load on your knees from going upwind. Not too much stress.
General boosting & jumping; not too much trouble as long as you get a gentle controlled landing and not a 'drop like a stone' landing.
Freestyle, wakestyle or 'powered riding' will probably end up hurting. The harder you push, the more load and more stress you'll put on your knees and the rest of your body for that matter.

You'll want a board with a reasonable amount of flex in it and some nice and cushy pads. The pads will take out the small harsh vibrations, the flex will smooth out the larger chop. The combination of the two will minimise it as much as possible. Once you've got the board of your choice you'll also need to spend a bit of time playing with the stance width and duck options. I found that i had my stance set too wide (i'm 6'3" so assumed that widest was best), and too much duck in my stance. There's a few threads around about knee pain and setting up a board, so it's worth a search.

I started with quite a stiff board (135 Balance) It was a nice board to ride but after a good session my dodgy ancle and knee would give me grief. I have since changed to a Xenon Laluz 132. If your wanting to ride a twin tip, this board is perfect as is has super flexi tips that soak up most of the chop and seems to help take the pounding off your joints.

Thanks for all the tips guys.
Was advised by instructor to have a go at wakeboarding to hone board skills so went out to Penrith Cable Wakepark and had a couple of hours or so where I was comfortably lapping the circuit by the end - good fun! Interestingly my knees were fine (on a flat dam admittedly).....Couldn't say the same for the upper body which is still wrecked - was missing that harness! Anyway feeling quite confident to put the board and the kite together now with my own gear. NOt sure how it fits with advice but I ended up getting a twin tip board, a great second hand deal I couldn't resist on a 138cm Underground FLX. From what I can gather this has quite a bit of flex and so I hope should go through waves ok and be reasonably easy on the knees?
Hunter074, I already get into the glucosamine and its great stuff. If Im having issues I will do what I do for bushwalking and pop an anti-inflammatory (meloxicam) before I go out. Probably not medically advisable but.......life is for living right?!