Beginner board for lake chop

[Marty21]

Hello all. I got into snowkiting over the winter and had many good sessions and have just transitioned to water. I've had 2 successful sessions on Minnesota lakes with my 7m liquid force solo and 146cm edge, but I am not handling the chop well. I'm sure I'll be fine with it on days with less wind when I can use my 12m RPM but am wondering if there is a board that will suit me better for the chop on windy days.

I'm also perfectly willing to accept if it's just a matter of needed more experience, which seems like a good possibility.

Please advise, thanks, Marty.

[Blackened]

Hello all. I got into snowkiting over the winter and had many good sessions and have just transitioned to water. I've had 2 successful sessions on Minnesota lakes with my 7m liquid force solo and 146cm edge, but I am not handling the chop well. I'm sure I'll be fine with it on days with less wind when I can use my 12m RPM but am wondering if there is a board that will suit me better for the chop on windy days.

I'm also perfectly willing to accept if it's just a matter of needed more experience, which seems like a good possibility.

Please advise, thanks, Marty.

The Edge is a beginner board. It'll be relatively flat and inflexible for early planning, which is what you want as a beginner. Unfortunately, it's unlikely to handle chop particularly well.

The best chop boards have a decent/medium rocker and relatively flexible tips. It's still never super easy to ride in chop, but it definitely makes life easier. The downside is that you'll need more power to be able to ride. The board will be slower through the water, but much more comfortable. A few brands have a comfort freeride option like the Duotone Select or the Naish Hero. I think the new Slingshot Misfit has gone from a big air rocketship to a more freeride oriented board. A lot of people user wakestyle boards for chop as well. It's what I used when I regularly rode chop - like a Duotone Gambler or a Cabrinha CBL.

[SMJ]

The Ocean Rodeo Mako is legendary in chop; I own two of them the 165 and the 150. The 165 gets a LOT of use.

[Trent hink]

In freshwater, with gusty winds on an inland lake, the fact is that you probably just need more experience.

That's not easy conditions, even for an experienced rider, and I know, from experience.

While I'm not familiar with this particular board, flat, low rocker and early planning is exactly what you need in your local conditions.

Perhaps you were just overpowered?

Eventually, you'll probably find out that your solo works much better than your rpm at your spot. The solo works amazingly well on the lower-end of it's usable wind range.

[GregK]

+1 for the Ocean Rodeo Mako series of boards. The very first one was 150 x 34 cm ( if memory serves me right ) with that super-deep concave and went through chop like the proverbial hot knife going through butter. In many ways that board was more like being on a slalom waterski.

Alternate option is the OR Smothy, a double-concave bottom design that also quite good in chop.

[Matteo V]

I always thought the liquid force "Edge" 146 handled the chop pretty much superior to any other board with it's same good upwind capabilities.

[Marty21]

Thank you for all the replies. I ordered a duotone select,

Eventually, you'll probably find out that your solo works much better than your rpm at your spot. The solo works amazingly well on the lower-end of it's usable wind range.

I am kind of finding that already, any time the sustained wind is low enough for me to use the RPM it seems to gust to double that speed. We do occasionally get pretty steady winds in the 20-25mph range and the 7m solo has felt pretty good in that. It's a shame they aren't made anymore.

[Blackened]

Thank you for all the replies. I ordered a duotone select,

You'll really enjoy it. A friend of mine recently swapped to the Select from the Jaime. He finds it a lot easier to load in chop than getting bounced off his edge by the Jaime.

Have fun