I recently moved from a beach side town, kiting whenever I could, to Austria, where there is more snow than water. So the logical next step for me is snowkiting.
what I am trying to find out is what is the type of details I am looking for in a board and bindings?
The only thing I can work out at the moment is that a regular snowboard is ok and will work but the sidecut is a bit much for kiting.
Is there anyone with details of what I should be looking for, length of board, width, how much flex is good,, or bad, etc.
I have seen the cabrinha and nobile boards etc on different sites but cant seem to find the info I need.
I am about 85kg and my regular board for the water is a 135
Thanks in advance and hope someone can advise me
Cheers
The reason you don't see details of what length/width/sidecut/weight/bindings/colour/wax density/flex/shampoo frequency, is that none of it matters. Whether you are a skier or snowboarder, just grab whatever equipment you have, and use it.
On my snowboard I've never noticed the sidecut sending me upwind involuntarily. I have however noticed that falling hurts a bit more. You can't stop falls, but you can stop fall injuries. That's my excuse anyway for being a wuss and wearing kneepads.
Last weekend I even tried using a snowboard without any bindings (used an oversized stomp pad instead- see www.noboard.com). It was harder than going strapless on the water. But after 30 minutes of flailing about I got the hang of it and managed a few nice runs 
before the wind died.
Oh yeah. I'm in Colorado. Which has more snow than Vancouver right now...
I wonder what size of kite you use on snow in comparison on water? Does it depend on board size?
I believe planing is not really an issue on snow, as you already on the "top of it", so what makes a board or kite good / suitable on snow?
Anyone knows what are the snow kiting areas in NZ, hiring gear, safety...etc...?
I am playing with the idea of a snow kiting holiday in Jul/Aug....any useful info?
Thanks
Less sidecut is better (ie sidecut radius is a larger number). Becuase you're always on your edge, you'll be able to track upwind better. You can still kite with a standard board, but trust me its easier with a snowkiting board.
Also, you want a non-directional (symmetrical) snowboard. Again, not essential but easier.
Rear entry bindings like the flows or the K2 cinch are also a massive help too. Its hard trying to do up (or undo) bindings with one hand while controlling the kite in the other.
Can't remember what flex is good, but length should be slightly longer than what you normally use.
Hope this helps.
Hey thanks for the replys guys, so sofar I am thinking that less side cut is better but not esential as ofcourse you ride more on the rail and not so flat as you would for conventional snowboard riding, rear entry bindings are easier, and symmetrical. So what about the freestyle, freeride or mountain boards, which would be stronger or more suitable to kiting?
As for kite sizes, I would think I should be using a smaller size than I would use on the water, less resistance on the snow. I only have LEI kites at the mo but think I would move on to non inflatable kites later.
Really any setup works fine man, but I have found that using a longer snowboard than what you would normally ride makes it a little easier on your legs in the longer session as it makes the board less twitchy in a straight line, I have used LEI 'C' kites for the last 3 winters in the prairies of Canada and they work fine, no need to buy a bunch of foils (unless your there for a while) just be weary after the temp gets cold (-20ish) as the bladders can split and become brittle in these temps. you will get going earlier on the snow, but you can still hang on to quite a bit power on the snow which leads to wicked fun sessions!
just my 2 cents...
Does anybody do it around the Jindabyne snowfields? I've locked in 2 weeks this season and wouldn't mind having a crack at it. It'd be gusty as he'll though right?
I was over in NZ last Winter and it was epic - Did some Snwokiting at Snowfarm and rented the gear over there.
I've spoken to Jon in Queenstown ( if anybody is interested PM me for his number) and he recommended to give him a call when i arrive so to discuss the weather and work out the best days etc.
