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Jon, you seem to like shorter wider boards, whereas there seems to have been a trend recently to ride surfboards in the 6'2" or even bigger size. Is that personal preference or does that just reflect the fact that you ride smaller less well formed surf most of the time as opposed to a perfect Indo peeler?

Slyde wrote:Jon, you seem to like shorter wider boards, whereas there seems to have been a trend recently to ride surfboards in the 6'2" or even bigger size. Is that personal preference or does that just reflect the fact that you ride smaller less well formed surf most of the time as opposed to a perfect Indo peeler?

Both actually.

I grew up riding boards like short fishes, so i have a tendency to like them a little more. But to be honest there is no reason to ride anything as long as a 6'2 untill its atleast an over head wave.
To truly get the most out of your kite you need a board that complements the kite well.

Also, for doing more aerial maneuvers shorter wider boards work alot better.
-Jon

I go with Tuflite and TL2 boards for more abuse. Surf with them too.

Most of the time I prefer a wide tail for pop/stomping ollies, flat rocker for speed, slight concave for tracking upwind.

Screw TTs...I've turned into a surfboard collector...pro models for sure.

This forum is sweet!!

I have a 5'10" Tuflite Rusty that I love... I also tried some other boards that I like also.. The Royal High-Five is pretty cool..like a short-snub-nose...

I will post up some pics when I get home.

There is also a Solomon board that looks pretty good, but haven't seen it in person...it pretty cheap too...the S-core technology..
http://www.islesurfboards.com/index.asp ... rodID=3038

Anyone ridden the S-core boards...?

-jake

That looks like a sick board for $250. Looks like I got another toy on my list
Good find Chance

chanson wrote:There is also a Solomon board that looks pretty good, but haven't seen it in person...it pretty cheap too...the S-core technology..
http://www.islesurfboards.com/index.asp ... rodID=3038

Anyone ridden the S-core boards...?

-jake

I have the 5'3". It's not an S-Core but a more simple construction. The S-core is hollow and has a plug in the tail that you can open to let water out. I've landed some pretty big ollies and there is not a dent in the deck. I've hit the sand banks many times and the fin boxes are still intact. The fins are not a standard system. You can take them off but I don't think you can find new ones in case you break one. Got sick of waxing it so I put pads on it. I havn't used it in a while because I thought the fins were to small and I had problems bottom turning it compared to my shortboard. I'm going to give it another go now when I've gotten a bit better with the aerials. I'm 80kg and wish I would have gone for the 5'0" unstead since I've only surfed it once without a kite.

Greetings,
My name is Bryan and I am from Sauble Beach, Ontario, Canada on Lake Huron and I am looking for a surfboard to ride the wind blown, mushy, short period waves of the Great Lakes. Although I also ride twins with bindings or boots (I still like big air too) I have been riding my old large custom foam core skim since 2003 as well as a new custom skim-skate and I played around with an Airrush Converse 6.0 woody of my buddies. I like the skatey over the board feel of my old wave skim more then the back seat feel of the Airrush pintail. I am between 190-195lbs and 5'11 and would prefer to be riding slightly under powered for more of a surfy feel then to be ripping with the power of the kite. I was thinking of a Jimmy Lewis retro twin as our local dealer carries JL's but would welcome any recommedations of boards and board sizes as there are a couple custom shapers or I could have one shipped.

Thanks for any help, and great site I like that there is now a home for strapless kiting on the web and look forward to the skim trick videos as there are not many riders around here that actually care about skim kiting so you do not see allot of new tricks to try.

Cheers,
Bryan

Hey Bryan,

Welcome to LTS. Thanks for joining and the positive feedback. For mushy, crappy surf my favorite board surfboard has been the Placebo. The Placebo has a very skatey feel, and has a lot of volume to get you through. Check the first page of this post to see it and others. However, I have not even tried half of the boards that Jon posted on the first page, and my expertise is definitely more with skims than surfboards. He might have more feedback for you so I am sure he and others will give you their thoughts.

BTW - How did you find us?

Greetings Lonny,
I heard about the forum in SBC Kiteboarding magazine and joined shortly there after but I mostly just lurk on forums unless I have something useful to add or a question to ask. I had been reading the odd skim or surf related post on the other forums and hoping to find a site that was deicated to strapless riding espeacially skimboarding for a while as we have allot of wicked young riders up here, but most only very occasionally touch a skimboard and although they can nail any trick they try they are just not into currently pushing there skimboarding so you do not see very many new tricks (looking forward to the trick video's and descriptions). A few more people ride waves either strapped or strapless but the knowledge base is pretty small on what works or does not work.

I did see the Placebo Uber fish in the 6'x20.5"x2.38 and I am curious to hear if anyone has tried it and the Jimmy Lewis "Rocket" retro twin fin. The local shop can order JL's for me but the Placebo shipped might be as cheap. The JL's are abit thicker and wider which I thought might work in our less bouyant fresh water but I have no real clue as to what will work. The JL Rocket sizes are 5'10"x21.5"x2.5" 6'4"x22.25"x2.5" 6'8"x22.5x2.85". At my size (5'10" 190-195lbs) how long is too long to comfortably ride behind a kite and to easily turn in tight waves? Also have any of you surfed fresh water without a kite and if so how big of a board would you recommend for paddling into waves? Anyways I am interested to here about these or any other board that those of you out there think would work for me.

Cheers,
Bryan

Check out this site for buying boards online: http://www.boardlocker.com

It was built by a kiter in California.

Thats a great site hunwil, thanks for the link.

I have been riding the Santa Cruz 5'5"Skywalker g deck this year and it performs great in the mushy west Michigan waves. It has a raised deck to give you the added float you need in saltless waters. The raised deck allows you the volume to catch the waves while the thin rails keeps the performance carving. I have not ridden any of the other boards so it is hard to say how it compares. Jon- if we get some waves for the King of the Great Lakes you'll have to take it for a spin to let us know.
Scott
http://www.mackiteboarding.com

Wow, This forum is just what I was looking for! Thanks! Found it thru a google search looking for tips on strapless kitesurf jumps.

Stuck in light wind in SD, and find that I'm super uncomfortable using straps on a surfboard. I just can't find the right place for them. Strapless feels right, but I spend a lot more time in the water. I don't mind, but our wind only lasts a short time and I'm always tempted to get back on straps or a TT to get more time in. Nothing feels as fun as strapless though and I always return.

Currently riding LF 6'2" Rawson Quad, North FreestyleFish with skyhooks (for cheating!), and I just picked up the most non-PC board that I absolutely love:

http://www.newsurfproject.com/index.php?cccpage=short62

Best $200 I've spent in a long time! I have no idea why this board is so much fun, but it somehow fits me and makes me smile. $200 vs a $600-700 kitespecific board...

I'd love to try some of these little skate type boards and I'll keep my eye out for them. Anyone coming to visit?

Hey K3rM1t,

Welcome to LTS! Glad you found us.

K3rM1t wrote:Currently riding LF 6'2" Rawson Quad, North FreestyleFish with skyhooks (for cheating!), and I just picked up the most non-PC board that I absolutely love:

I am not surprised you are enjoying your NSP board so much. I do not like to rule out looking at traditional surf boards from surf only companies vs. buying surf boards from kiteboarding companies. In fact, I think manyt of the most innovative shapes out there right now are from surfboard companies.

The one big advantage I think you get from buying a surf specific board from a kiteboard company is they know they need more durability for a different style of riding. In one day of kiteboarding on a surfboard you can do more riding than the average surfer would do no the same board surfing in a month! Thus, they will adjust the layup of the board a bit differently for kiteboarding vs. surfing

As far as SD goes keep an eye out for new users or you can start a new topic on hooking up with other strapless riders in your area you might not know. The board is growing and we find new strapless junkies everyday. Lets face it we are a very small segment of the kiting population but we are definitely growing! We will show them the light. Hey you could always do a trip down to South Florida and come ride with us

The GSI Webber poly/glass models are cheap and they work okay for kiting. Don't forget about those if you are looking to dabble into the surf for the first time. I'm looking forward to see Jon's new secret weapon that he's having built right now. Should be pod/bisquit-esque. Those are definitely winners for kiting.