Send Message
Weather | Buy&Sell | Forums |  |
Weather | Buy & Sell | Gallery | Forums | |
Hi.
I have been looking for a new surfboard, epoxy, and i want it about 6'4". i also want to be able to bolt some straps on and take it kiting.
there are kite boards designed for waveriding that 'can be freesurfed', but these are designed with the freesurfing as an add-on possibility.
I am wondering if anyone knows of an epoxy surfboard being made that has factory fitted footstrap plugs so that occasionally i can kite on my surfboard?
the closest i have found is the firewire boards, but these are still designed primarily from a kiters perspective.
I guess any tufflite surfboard would do.
Go to your local shop have a chat and buy from the rack, alternativly check out websites such as Webber, Surftech etc etc
Once you've got the board then look at a pair of these. They don't come cheap (round $200 from memory) and the straps arent the best and the glue needs a bit of toxic bunnings gear to beef it up but the pads themselves are great
Those surftech pads have lumps where the screw inserts are.. I would imagine these would be very uncomfortable to lie on when just surfing your board.. also you will pay $700 for a tufflite/epoxy board then $200 for the surftech pads.. for that price you could get a custom firewire with inserts.. or you could look at the airush converse.. they do a nice 6'4" which i recon would surf ok..
im 6'4 around 95kg, had a 6'6 webber tufflite at home that i didnt surf much. got a mate who shapes to take fcs fins out, and glass some in and then he put an extra sheet layer of glass across the fin area to make it super strong. He fitted boxes either side of stringer front and back, measured to fit slingshot straps a mate lent me. Just a single stomp pad at front and threw a deck grip over back and found the holes with a metal skewer and in go the straps. He reckons with my weight i'll probably put my foot through it in a year or so but hey, it cost me $280 worth of mods (he also repaired an epic hole in the bottom and took the piece of rottnest out of it), ive been thrashing it (with weight and chop not mad tricks) for a few months now, front stomp pad heel area has sunk a touch, but it holds up surprisingly well, and its also my surfboard....which funnily enough i havent surfed since i took up kiting a year ago
HTFU!
No seriously, I have watched two blokes learn to kite on boards without straps and both of them have exceeded their own expectations. Sure they both spent a lot of time in the water, but they are a lot fitter for it and one hell of a lot more skillful. And they are both having a huge amount of fun. Watch that video from Tazzie.
I have been talking about it for 18 months, just need some flat water!
F one do a nice board but i think from memory only 6ft with straps anything above that and they dont have inserts. Or look at the new range of fire wire boards they finish off the f one boards any way and have a great range with and without straps.
But if you like surfing just buy your dream surfboard and kite on it strapless, it really is quit easy to do but will take a long time to master.
thanks for the tips all!! (and minimal flames! a first!)
i have been riding my surfboard strapless basically since i started kiting and the wind was somewhere below what i needed to get planing with my kiteboard. yep its fun, and yep its not that hard.
iv been riding in some waves with my kiteboard, yep its not that hard, and yep its fun.
however... i cant see myself taking a strapless surfboard out in ideal conditions (with waves).
to be honest i couldnt be bothered with the hassle. im having a great time in these conditions with the kiteboard smacking the lip and popping air like i can only aspire to on any other board and corresponding ramp/surface (skate, surf, snow). all i want to do, is ride the board that i surf, carve faces and slash lips and drink a beer at the end of the day feeling fantastic.
il pass on the grovelling around in the whitewater, keeping kite up, struggling to repossess board long enough to get up and riding again. thanks :) that reminds me of the years i spent getting rolled in the white water on a windsurfer... i have found a way to ride/carve more faces of more waves than was ever thought possible back then. if that means straps on my board... well woop woop, im sticking them on.
finally there is a practical side: one board, one kite, one hand luggage, one plane ticket, off we go to surf, kite, and travel as luggage minimally as possible.
apart from the extra luggage...
wouldnt it be better to get 2 boards, a smaller older board with straps and a bigger board for surfing? that way you dont destroy your surfing board from your harness and it wont have depressions all over it?
I have the Firewire kite specific Taj 5'11, its basically the same as the standard Taj model but with inserts for straps and extra beef in certain areas to avoid snappage. Surfs and kites exceptionally well, no need for 2 boards.
"that way you dont destroy your surfing board from your harness and it wont have depressions all over it? "
good call, the only damage on my board apart from slight depression of front foot area is little dings and scratches from harness, mainly cosmetic but its adding up!
Hey Fooosh, dunno if I'm ready to share my one true love,.... but if she keeps leaving sand in my bed I'm gunna kick her out soon....
Yeah sure, I've had heaps of kites on it but haven't had a decent surf yet myself.
P.S. I also tried the 6'4" Converse (kiting only) and reckon that might be a good option as well for a board for surfing and kiting.
6'4" sounded big for kiting but it felt great, it is a fair bit heavier than the Firewire though.
Hi to all
This topic is a dilema as to ride your favourite surfboard hard with straps you trash them in one season.
I have the airush 6'4 converse, great board but I only use it heavy conditions and its too small to paddle surf.
I,v put straps on a cheap ronin epoxy 6'2 fish its lasted 2 seasons and only cost 450.00. I,v just updated to another ,still only $475.00.
They come in all sizes and great to surf.
regards glenn
thanks glenn.
im starting to think that my wish contains too many compromises. i wont be happy surfing the board that is compromised towards kiting, and when im kiting i will be annoyed by the size of the board that i required to paddle.
so... the obvious answer is to get the best board i can for surfing, and, in the next budget, look for a surf/kite board designed for kite waveriding.
...and in addition to my 2 redundant windsurf boards, 2 skateboards, 3 snowboards, 3 aging surfboards and already 2 kiteboards, i now will have to again expand my ridiculous collection by 2 more boards. yes, im a hoarder. and i just cant bear to part with any board that has: made me smile as i got barrelled, even if it is now old and waterlogged; saved for 18 months with part time job at age 16 and first windsurf board of particular brand and make in the country at $1500 (a lot of money 12 years ago!) etc etc.
sigh...
how do i explain this to the missus...?
'how do i explain this to the missus...?'
Now this could be a whole new topic, first we need to know what excuses you have used already.
luv
istt
Can someone help.
what difference does an extra 2" make on a kitesurfboard ?
why would a lighter board be better for Kiting ?
What difference do hard rails make ?
I currently ride a 6" (chosen because i am 5'10" +85 ish KG) and consider the Converse slightly heavy as compared to my 6'4" poly.
Rode my 6'4" poly yesterday unstrapped and hated having to spend my energy/concentration hanging on rather than hacking n slashing.
Firewires surf good but the technology sucks. I snapped two of them in small surf. The third one had fake FCS fin plus.
TL2's go sick.
