Kitesurf boards to learn strapless/wave

[DariKite]

I am going to Brazil (Nordeste) next month and I want to learn to ride a strapless kitesurf board.

I was able to score a really good condition used shaped board 6´0" x 18" x 2 3/8". But I look at the board and both in shape and thickness seems to be thin. I was thinking of maybe buying a new 2012 Wainman Hawaii Passport 5´8" x 19.9" x 2,37". I heard the Passport is more of a light wind board and it seems much wider in outline.

Do you think it´s worth it to buy a new Wainman board? I mean is it much easier to learn on that board than the shaped board I have? The goal is to learn strapless and eventually waves.

I will be riding mostly in light winds (10 to 16 knots) but during the trip it will be stronger winds (18 to 25 kn). I weight 68kg (150lbs).

5-8-wainman-hawaii-passport.jpg (34.79 KiB) Viewed 4711 times

[ciscokitesurfer]

if you just want to learn before the trip borrow a malibu (longboard) and practice and practice.

the shorter the board the harder to learn strapless

cheers

[jumptheshark]

Well, width is generally more important than length, but rocker is also very important. More rocker requires more power.

Your instinct is right, the Wainman is a better option for light wind. The other will be fine in 18-25 but much less fun in under 15.

[marioparacuru]

I live in one of the best kite spots for strapless and waves in Nordeste (I have a hostel here in case u need). The good about here is that we have both flat and waves in the same spot at the same time (flat in the shore and waves in the outside). The normal for July it will be more than 20 knots in most of the spots. We're not even in July and I'm using my 7m everyday and sometimes 5m. Season started before this year I guess.

As a kite instructor I would recommend to start in a big board, for 68kg (also my weight), something like 25~30 liters volume and then, after you feel confident in transitions and small waves, you should do the opposite, going straight to a small wave board (20~22lt) in order to learn how to surf good and aggressive (if you want to). The problem is once you buy the big board, you wouldn't like to sell it after just a small trip or few hours use. Do you? You gonna have that feeling to move on to a different board as soon as you learn the basic. So maybe the better idea is to buy a used not expensive board just to learn the basic.

[longwhitecloud]

kiteboarding is full of garbage clueless marketing regarding surfboards for kiting unfortunately its kind of embarrasing, nothing wrong with that 6' to learn on and keep riding on.

best with surfboards is to swap boards out and learn about them as you go yourself, even the surfboard industry itself is about as full of 5hit as it gets unfortunately.

[alfredo68]

kiteboarding is full of garbage clueless marketing regarding surfboards for kiting unfortunately its kind of embarrasing, nothing wrong with that 6' to learn on and keep riding on.

best with surfboards is to swap boards out and learn about them as you go yourself, even the surfboard industry itself is about as full of 5hit as it gets unfortunately.

Exactly :thumb

[Slappysan]

if you just want to learn before the trip borrow a malibu (longboard) and practice and practice.

the shorter the board the harder to learn strapless

This is literally dead wrong advice. It's pretty much the worst thing you could do to learn. Riding a longboard with a kite is so much harder than a shortboard, like 10x harder.

That 6-0 x 18 board is also not a good choice (but nowhere near as bad as a longboard) to learn on. The #1 thing that makes learning directionals easier is width.

The perfect board for you is actually the Catch Surf Wave Bandit 4-10. They cost $150 USD and they are amazing. Sadly they aren't sold online anymore but you can get the same board from Storm Blade (the WaveStorm people) online for $140.

I'm 75 kg / 165 lbs and I ride this board 90% of the time.
It's so good that I sold my other two $700 epoxy kitesurf boards.

This thing:
- is 20 inches wide and very stable
- is 4-10 so super easy to get on airlines
- super durable and you don't even really care if you break it at $150 (one of mine is going strong after about 25 sessions while another one I hit a solid reef and split open but repaired with hot glue, an epoxy board would have shattered too)
- slashes in the waves, loose and playful but can still do a bottom turn
- easy on the knees with the foam absorbing the chop
- feather light at 5.6 lbs so brilliant for strapless airs and helps keep your bag under 50 lbs for the airline
- rides very well backwards (ability to ride backwards is actually quite important when you are learning amongst waves and need to dodge a closeout without risking a tack/jibe)
- a bit more sluggish than an epoxy board so doesn't tend to get out of control
- super buoyant to get you through lulls
- soft on the feet
- doubles as a great wakesurf board
- doubles as a great prone surf board if you are a high level surfer (reason I started riding this board was watching Ben Gravy rip it)
- wont knock you unconscious or break your nose
- one of the few boards I'm willing to wear a leg leash with (leg leash is important for onshore conditions in waves otherwise if you lose the board it's a 10 minute task getting it back and getting back upwind)

Here's a video of me ripping it up on some knee high waves:
https://youtu.be/KV4k7rAeb-4

And here's some head high waves:
https://youtu.be/Il8CAwNsxIk

[marioparacuru]

kiteboarding is full of garbage clueless marketing regarding surfboards for kiting unfortunately its kind of embarrasing, nothing wrong with that 6' to learn on and keep riding on.

best with surfboards is to swap boards out and learn about them as you go yourself, even the surfboard industry itself is about as full of 5hit as it gets unfortunately.

That's true. In general, here in Brazil we don't buy that branded kite boards made in China. For me it's expensive crap and I could tell many reasons.

To be honest, a good wave board is custom made. When I come to my shaper I tell him all the measures I want, how much rocker, concaves, rails, tail, nose, width, length, carbon... And he does it. It costs half of one kite branded board. And every year I made a new one, slightly bigger or smaller to feel how the changes affect the performance. If you're not experienced enough, just get some opinions from experienced friends and talk to your shaper. That's the normal for me.

PS: there's maybe 10 Mitus board from Fone broke in the same place. How much that shit costs? I would be ashamed to put my name on that crap.

Since when cabrinha, North (or duothing), rrd and other kite brands have the know-how to make surfboards? A kite board is nothing else than a surfboard proper reinforced.

I paid a lot of money in the past for a Naish board and then a Rrd board. Both weight more than 4kg, fragile and once you brake it nobody can fix or it costs a lot. I wish I had the knowledge I have today to avoid that boards.

If you want to put a lot of money on a board, light and extremely durable, take a look in that italian shaper Fabio Perosin, his brand is Hydro. This is something that worth to put your money in. His boards are made of Carbon Alutex, around 2.5kg and way more resistant than everything I saw before. The only downside it's a bit hard, not so flexible as fiberglass.

Sorry about talking too much. Marijuana side effects.

[Da Yoda]

kiteboarding is full of garbage clueless marketing regarding surfboards for kiting unfortunately its kind of embarrasing, nothing wrong with that 6' to learn on and keep riding on.

best with surfboards is to swap boards out and learn about them as you go yourself, even the surfboard industry itself is about as full of 5hit as it gets unfortunately.

+1
Your last "best with surfboards" statement above reminds me of the classic surf movie North Shore and Chandler saying to Rick that he can ride that board "when you're ready, but only after you mastered all of the others".