Westozzy wrote:chirojoseph wrote:05112012114.jpg
been kiting 11 years. First board was a GORGE ANIMAL 6ft long carbon fiber topped twin tip monster. When the 169 Lightwave came out I couldnt BELIEVE how small it was! jajaja....many many twintips later I was lucky enough to try the first gen MAKO (the one with the Sharks on it..god knows why OR EVER changed those graphics!!??) and promptly bought it and have ridden it many years, many downwinders, on big and small waves.
If you gotta ride a twinny in the waves, it should definately be a MAKO or something similar. Cant say enough about the freedom to switch stance at the last second and rip the face off that chunky lip thats coming right at you!!..
BUT...all that being said...there is NO comparison to actually RIDING the wave on a directional with VOLUME. I agree with all the other posts here but I think the concept of VOLUME under your feet hasnt been emphasized enough. You just cannot carve up and down a sweet swell with little to zero kite power on a twinny without sinking in! If you just want to slice faces doing jibes all day then you can have good fun on a twin...and I do...but if you want the JOY OF SURFING without having to PADDLE for hours and hours, you just cant beat kiting on a directional.
I agree with what you have to say above. Nothing can beat a directional for riding good waves and actually get close to surfing. What I see though I too many riders riding in shit surf on a SB, when a mutant or TT is far more dynamic and yes fun. I see them go up and back and kind of trim onshore mush in my area and honestly it crossed my mind they might as well get on a pole!
But yes giving he right conditions I will pull out the SB strapless on the few days a year it is worth it. Question is do you get into to kiting to kite or to surf? But yes I do enjoy watching those work a SB given the right conditions, everyone is getting better and more vertical every year. Exciting really. But I got into kiting for power and air, the surf thing is really an afterthought or an added benefit. If I want to surf I will go and surf when there is no wind and great conditions, or SUP.
But when it blows it is air time brothers, use the vertical z plane I say.
Regarding the emphasized text - here we apparently disagree completely, and I find almost the opposite to be true
A waveboard is able to give a much more dynamic feedback ALSO in small waves and mush IMO
Actually, this is the reason why many has switched to kitesurfing and waveriding - because of the endless options for waveriding on a kitewaveboard, and it can be done almost everywhere anytime
You dont need big waves...
You dont need peeling clean swell...
You dont need fully sideshore wind...
You dont need deep water...
You dont need loads of wind....
Why do you find a TT more dynamic ?
Is'nt it just the opposite and a waveboard is more dynamic ?
Or just what one likes that one finds most dynamic ?
With a waveboard you can go upwind much better than on a TT.
You can glide through lulls in the waves, much better.
You have way more "feel" in the cutback, even in small mushy waves and onshore, than on a TT.
I agree with you - that if it was about "SURFING" the wave only, it would not be good as often.
But trying to copy and get as close to surfing as possible is IMO very far from what kitewavesurfing is about
It is one part of it, for some or in some conditions - but it is all about playing around in the waves, having fun making tight or fast bottom turns, and cutbacks - or aerials - or just boosting insane sometimes - with lots of kitepower, or sometimes just using the glide of the board and no kitepower.
All is done best on a waveboard I think (when we are not talking full freestyle).
With a TT you would just slice around on the waves, and lose all the advantages listed - where a waveboard will give you a much wider range of use - so way more "dynamic" as I see it
I sometimes go out on a TT, and after a while doing freestyle, I get bored and start making turns even in super small waves, so bottom turn - cutbacks.
And just WISH I had a waveboard instead, as there is absolutely no comparison to the good feel on such a board - even in small waves when you use more kitepower
So usually (actually every single time I use a TT) I ride back and change boards.
So for me, waveboards are NOT for surfing waves only - they are for "everything" but pure plain flat water.
Some like to do tricks on flat water too with waveboards - but I think a TT is more fun here, as you dont really get to use all the advantages of the waveboard much, in totally flat water - and lose the TT advantages
But as soon as there is even the smallest waves, you can use a waveboard with lots of fun and it makes totally sense IMO.
And you can also boost or do tricks on a waveboard - so a win win in these conditions.
In totally flat water, NOT, but otherwise, YES
We are all different - but here we dont really see riders on TT's in waves
They prefer to find as flat water as possible.
And those liking waves, are using waveboards only now - no matter how the conditions are, as they are never FLAT of course, and even the smallest waves are awesome fun.
Peter