Hi
I am new to kiting and am deciding on a board.
As from my research it seems that board choice is almost as important as kite choice.
It would be great if some of the experienced kiters could briefly explain the pros/cons of longer,shorter,narrower,wider boards and what the following terms mean and their on performance:"rocker"; "flex", "concave", "epoxy", "cardboard".
This will be very helpful to myself and other newbies.
Thanks
Maverick
The bigger the board the easier it is to get up and going. 1cm wider has more effect that 1cm longer. Bigger boards are good for light winds and cruising, smaller boards are nice to jump (one day-when i get there
) and easier to chuck around.
If you want to go surfboard try epoxy as they are stronger. A glass board could be damaged easy. Epoxy is usually shinier, plasticy looking, and in general have no stringer (but are sometimes painted on, but thats obviously done).
Im not sure about concave and flex etc. But i hear the double concave used is good in the chop.
Cardboard is a brand of board.
Less rocker makes it easier to plane, as the board will be flatter,but harder to turn. and more rocker makes it easier to turn and control, but takes more to get it going.
Most of the terms refer to characteristics of a board.
Flex is how much a board will bend through under load, more flex can give a softer ride
Concave will get a board up and planing, move fast earlier, but can also make the board feel like its running on rails
Rocker is the amount of curve in the board, how much the ends are off the ground if you lay it on its under side (without fins) you dont want too much on a beginners board, no more than 4 cm
Epoxy is just the type of resin used to make the board and is considerd as the strongest compared to polyester and vinylester, thermo plasts etc
It depends on your weight, but generaly the wider, longer boards are easier to learn on, saying that, some guys learnt on wake boards with bindings from day zero in the early days.
So thats my theory anyway and have a look at this, amougnst the add it also gives some info
www.kiteboard-independent.com.au/
