Kiteforum.com

hi there
has anybody personal experience the ocean rodeo "go joe"?
http://www.oceanrodeo.com/gojoe.php
is it too big and bothering?
sounds like a neat little thing which could make your "kite"life easier.

greetings from Switzerland
andreas

great thing for beginners, even though I would love to have it sometimes, but I would never get one...2min of swimming VS $$$$ !

The guy who started this thread likes them!:

phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=2334168

Please, guys...that thing (together with the turbolauncher) is the most ugly thing that ever happen to kiteboarding. Let's keep it pure and simple

Agreed, That and the turbo launcher should be banished to some embarrassinng museum corner.

As much as I hate that kind of product, I think I can see where the motivation came from.

Its pretty near impossible to body drag upwind with a pyro on. Especially the pro with the zipper across the chest. Since the OR guys would know this, the Go-goe is a bit of a work around.

Have retrieved boards and dropped em downwind for two different guys in pyros before as they were going downwind faster than their boards. Both guys on new bow kites. So it wasnt the kite.

I still have a Go-Joe on my board since that "mo-jo" post. And yes, advanced kiters can't help but make fun of it. Its been called "water wings, radar dome, air bag, board bitch and a beer cooler" so far.
I am an advanced sailor who is wary of the leash for anything but self rescuing. But I love kiting in these NW storms that kick up chest high chop here in the sound. Until the go-joe came my way I would sail conservatively in these conditions, now, after using this little board recovery device, I can push it as hard as I want. Kick'n off the board is no big deal, it takes zero time to spot the board (it really does flip over everytime) and because it is a sail on the board, its always coming back downwind to you at an angle. The Go-Joe makes it very easy and quick to re-connect with your ride. Its not that big, and doesn't seem to get in the way or cause any drag. When you are done you just pull the plug and deflate the bladder.

Look at this board I am using and you'll see why I got one of these.
Its darn hard to see because of the color, blue and black, and is like a knife in the water its so slender (less than 16" wide). This "moon goddess" mako surf kicks ass in the rough stuff. The 18mm of concave smooths it out and it never spins out.



I got my Go-Joe from Andy, at Bellingham Kiteboarding. I put it on the card and it was mailed directly to me from Ocean Rodeo. I think any of OR's dealers can do this for you if you are ready to ditch the leash and spend more time kiting, less time searching and never having to drag upwind again.

I use my gojoe only in nasty wheather conditions and when doing downwinders. Especially in spots with current the gojoe can prevent losing your board.

PS I have no problem at all to bodydrag upwind with a pyro pro. Must be the riderslevel or strong current.

My friend Ryan put a kids swimming water wing on his grab handle. It works great. His board always flips right over and sails quickly down wind to him. It even works well when there is a strong current that is counter to the wind direction.

Seeing how quickly he gets his board makes me want one too - especially now that it is winter. I don't like dragging around in cold water trying to get back to my board. I want to recover my board as quickly as possible.

Ed

Sorry Dwarf,

Shouldnt say impossible. Ive certainly never tried it.

Did keep an eye on two different decent riders for about 20 min a piece as they struggled and made no headway upwind, both riding crosbows in windy up and down choppy conditions. Perhaps it was because it was chest deep and they both kept interupting their drag by trying to push off the bottom.

Finally couldnt take it any more and rode in to snatch up their boards and drop em just downwind. The suit was the only thing I could see that made a good deal of drag. They are the nicest dry suit out there, no contest and I have buds who use em and love em, but it looks like a challenge to drag upwind in em.

BTW Bindings work like a sail to get your board back quickly, that and the fact that you almost never lose your board works for me. The Go-goe is kinda like the pocket protector of kiting. I guess there are always going to be those who want to use one.

starsky, sounds like you don't need one. you seem like an advanced kiter with all the skills to hold your own in anything. But those two other kiters, hmmmm. It might have helped them conserve energy and keep kiting so that they could progress and someday be at your level.

cheers!