Photos posted now!!!
OK after lurking on this site for some time and getting the skim bug I finally got some TOW and felt I should post a few reviews. The first is for a Vic foamie medium. I bought this board recently used for $75 as a cheap intro to kiteboard skiming. After a few sessions I was hooked. Here is the info.
Victoria foamie medium
length-48 inches
width-19 inches
nose rocker- 2inches 19 back
tail rocker-none
bottom-flat
weight-maybe 6-7lbs ?
deck-waxed
Shape fairly squashed in tail and rounder nose, not really a wave skim, but hey there is lots on the internet about these just not about kiting. I am 6'3" 185lbs, I kite on Vancouver Island Canada, meaning full wetsuit etc. All my riding is done in open ocean conditions, in light winds (10-15kts) the water can be fairly flat but will still always have some significant chop and swell so not flat water by most standards in all stronger wind it gets down right knarly. I found riding the foamie a little tricky at first definitely different than a regular kiteboard. this board was light tracked well when edged but super slippery when you got a little lazy on technique. It took me a few try's to learn to stay on my feet but got it after a while. The good about this board, good float, nice and light, cheap. The main draw back was how super slippery this thing is and it tended to really stuff the nose in on any swell or chop, not good for that at all (maybe a little too small for me). As for air/pop I am too new at skimming the really have good opinion on this. This board was fun but a real challenge and demanded good technique.
The second board I can review is a Roush morpeus custom kiteboard. I bought this board recently off ebay, I was the only bidder and got a smoking deal on it real happy.
Roush Morpheus Custom Kiteboard
length-51inches
width-20inches
nose rocker-1 5/8 at 18inches
tail rocker- 1/8 at 15inches
bottom shape- slight concave through middle about 1/8, flat nose/tail
weight- a little heavy about 8lbs
This board is 1.5 inches thick, it has a moulded in grab rail and 4 removeable fins on the back. It also has a birch deck laminated in for strength, hence the weight. Custom artwork, truly a hand made work of art and it performs too! For photos look at the mega loaf on this site.
Riding the board and comparing it to the foamie they are night and day different. Side by side the two boards are very close in shape, although this one has a little more drawn out tail and nose, more wave shaped. The ride is very different, I tried it first without fins and quite simply this thing edged so well I thought I had fins on!!! Even when powered this thing could hold like crazy and was super forgiving when compared to the foamie. The conditions were fairly choppy and I was expecting to have a problem keeping the nose up as it had less nose rocker than the foamie, to my surprise even with lots of front foot pressure I could not stuff the nose. It edged super good and cut through chop like it wasn't there. Later I went out with the fins on first all 4 then just the 2 small rear ones. With the fins this thing tracked upwind really well and had super traction but I could feel the extra drag from them. I decided the only time I will likely use the fins is when there are some waves or a good shore break to ride, even then good technique could overcome without them due to this boards edging ability. So to recap, this board holds an edge like a kiteboard with fins, cuts through swell and chop easily and is very forgiving for carving and transitions. The bad is likely its added weight will make it harder to do airs (but sure helps with chop), and its concave may make it a little harder to slide (but grips like crazy). I found its speed and low end to be good but there is likely better out there.
For both of these boards I rode in 12gusting 17kts with 14m eclipse thruster and was upwind except in the lulls (12kts or less) Also rode in 14 gusting 20 on 10m ocean rodeo rise and was upwind no problem.
I would recommend this board to anyone looking to cross over to skimming and having to deal with some harsh water conditions. This would be a great small wave board too. Not likely the best for flat water tricks but good everywhere else, For what I do and where I ride I am very happy.
Got out another day yesterday. Was 22-29kts on 10M rise. Knarly conditions with 6ft shore break and huge ocean swell/chop. Rode my mako with straps mostly but switched to the Roush later on. This board did great in the rough stuff, I was able to stay on in the worst of it. I tried some shore break waves but my technique lacked and I fell down several times on transtions. I never tried the fins but they likely would have helped.
Reuben
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