I think to some degree you are missing the point of KISS. Keep It Simple Stupid. You say all boards are primitive and only partially executed. I would say they are fit for purpose, are executed well and are cost-effective. Making something complex and expensive is easy, Making something that is simple and works well is a lot harder. There are many boards out there that really rip at their intended purpose.kitexpert wrote: ↑Wed Dec 18, 2019 5:27 pmRocker line, flexing/stiffness, board structure, even pads/straps in some respects; they are all primitive and only partially executed in all contemporary kiteboards.
I wonder where is true creativity here. It is hard to tell difference from new kiteboards to 2006 boards. Ok, some rails to bottom have been introduced, adding drag of course.
Nice build however in this thread.
Has there been any revolutionary products for boards in the last 15 years? I would say hydrofoils are revolutionary. As far as surface boards are concerned I would say no. There has been no revolutionary new board. However, we have had a significant amount of evolution in the last 15 years. Is a board of today a big step change better than a 2006 board? Yes, it is. The changes are in tweaking the measurements and materials of construction to obtain a better product. The magic is in those numbers of rocker line and outline shape and flex ration and materials of construction. Looking at boards outwards they look very similar to 2006 boards. But the performance improvement is a massive step change.
Kites have undergone a similar evolution. Looking at a 2006 kite to a 2019 kite. The materials of construction are similar, the kite looks physically similar. But all those tweaks to the geometry, improvements in materials have made kites a vast amount better than a 2006 kite.
You can look at most products that are past the initial revolutionary phase and are into the evolutionary phase and say the same thing. A 2006 mountain bike and 2019 mountain bike look virtually the same. To the layman, they don't look to have changed at all. However, there has been a similar step-change due to evolution and the bike of today is far superior to the bike of 2019.
So...... Look for the performance increase. Try to understand why one board is better than the next. Why do people rave about that board and not that other one over there? The answer will be in the secret sauce that is their recipe to build. It will be in the combination of rockerline, flex characteristic, outline shape, weight.