after uncountable knee traumata and OPs it seems that my windsurf career is going to be shorter than I hoped. so the question: which is the more knee-friendly sport? i do kitesurfing to in lighter winds, no huge jumps just strapless forth and back. maybe waves some day.
Hi freeskiing, have done both, sail boards and kites. Injured myself doing both but since changing to strapless on a kite injuries are now rare. Nothing locked to your legs to twist knees and ankles, if things go bad the board is long gone. Not a lot of height gained in jumps and simple to bail if things turn pear shaped.
i was rather thinking of the constant pressure you apply when riding a board and not any possible trauma scenarios.
I think it would be much of a muchness,
My teabagger friends are forever complaining about sore beat up legs, but that's probably just them being kiters.
Soft
Select to expand quoteairsail said..
Hi freeskiing, have done both, sail boards and kites. Injured myself doing both but since changing to strapless on a kite injuries are now rare. Nothing locked to your legs to twist knees and ankles, if things go bad the board is long gone. Not a lot of height gained in jumps and simple to bail if things turn pear shaped.
Injuries may be rare now your riding strapless, but the chance of a shark attack has tippled.
Select to expand quoteflyingcab said..airsail said..
Hi freeskiing, have done both, sail boards and kites. Injured myself doing both but since changing to strapless on a kite injuries are now rare. Nothing locked to your legs to twist knees and ankles, if things go bad the board is long gone. Not a lot of height gained in jumps and simple to bail if things turn pear shaped.
Injuries may be rare now your riding strapless, but the chance of a shark attack has tippled.
Indeed
Once it gets sharky, by all means get tippled so one does not feel the pain of the bite old boy
Tally ho.
Common Mark you would love to be out on the old canopenners again ?;) I remember I had a yellow high tech only needed 25 knots to plane :)
Mate untrue, you spend a week with me scapering up and down cliff faces with gear on your head and getting out through treacherous conditions and wavesailing all day getting pumbled and swimming for your gear and body surfing, keeping an eye out for predators :( climbing over reef and rock sprinting to change sails and broken bits ? I am a personal trainer at 52! I don't do any other training and I blitz people like you in footy how am I not fit ? Check what you comment on !
Select to expand quoteOESaustralia said..
Not for me , but each to their own !
Greater the risk, greater the reward. 
And like you say, it's not for everyone.
the question was targeting the kind/mode of pressure on one's knees with windsurfing as compared to kiting. as i just have had my 4th knee operation i am thinking of what is going to be in 3-5-10 years.
Select to expand quoteOESaustralia said...
Not for me , but each to their own !
Gosh kiters are brave! Imagine facing those bruises, broken bones, contusions every time you hit the water! 
Select to expand quoteJOYRIDER said..
I worked out a few things today!
We windsurf because we can.
kiters kite because they can't windsurf.
pretty simple really
i kite ok up to 30kts, beginners, still no big jumps:), but really enjoy.
just buying beginners windusurf set and can't wait to test this quote.
i bet you i plane i 2 hours. give it up, pump kite up, and go boost. 
Select to expand quote1950 said...JOYRIDER said..
I worked out a few things today!
We windsurf because we can.
kiters kite because they can't windsurf.
pretty simple really
i kite ok up to 30kts, beginners, still no big jumps:), but really enjoy.
just buying beginners windusurf set and can't wait to test this quote.
i bet you i plane i 2 hours. give it up, pump kite up, and go boost.
Ba ha ha ha
No, you won't.
Select to expand quote1950 said..JOYRIDER said..
I worked out a few things today!
We windsurf because we can.
kiters kite because they can't windsurf.
pretty simple really
i kite ok up to 30kts, beginners, still no big jumps:), but really enjoy.
just buying beginners windusurf set and can't wait to test this quote.
i bet you i can't plane in 2 hours. so i give it up, pump kite up, and go boost.
fixed it for ya
Do both, not so much kiting these days. Sometimes when the shorebreak is too knarly the kite is the only real option!
Don't agree i surf and in light off shore i use my sail too get out and on waves and alot of times i am surfing down the line and up wind one handed mote like mal surfing though 
Select to expand quote1950 said..JOYRIDER said..
I worked out a few things today!
We windsurf because we can.
kiters kite because they can't windsurf.
pretty simple really
i kite ok up to 30kts, beginners, still no big jumps:), but really enjoy.
just buying beginners windusurf set and can't wait to test this quote.
i bet you i plane i 2 hours. give it up, pump kite up, and go boost.
10 days now, you must be on the pro tour. How are ya going with it?
Select to expand quoteObelix said...
Windsurfing works really well for my fitness. Much better than gym.
My back has improved greatly.
After years of suffering from a back pain I can now bend better, even do a few chin-ups 
.
My overall muscle tone overall is better when I sail regularly (at least once a week).
If I sail more than once a week I lose weight too.
I do run out of breath when overpowered in a choppy waters after a few kilometres.
Haven't tried kiting, but it seems physical too.
I agree, my 6 day stint wavesailing scaling up and down cliffs with gear on the head and heart rate at 120 over 60 for periods of 20 mins at time in 4 hr sessions is among the fittest of the fit its the lulls that loose our fitness a lot of guys talking from there experience its all bull**** I know it gets me fitter than all training when its on constantly 
Select to expand quoteikw777 said...OESaustralia said...
Not for me , but each to their own !
Gosh kiters are brave! Imagine facing those bruises, broken bones, contusions every time you hit the water!
Kitesurfing is very safe today. I have dropped my kite countless times downwind, if you don't pull the bar nothing will happen. Accidents like the video above usually happen when stupid people do stupid things. Accidents can happen in windsufing too, but windsurfers are normally a bit more mature and the sport doesn't attract the typical knowitall sunnyboys, easily recognizeable by their boardshorts. (NB I can understand that some kitesurfers want to protect their wetsuit, i.e. when they sit at the beach. But a cheap 3mm wetsuit does not need protection, these days they are cheaper than boardshorts and anything thicker than 3mm and you aren't gonna sit at the beach....) The other problem with kitesurfing is that it allows relatively quick progression once the painful waterstart is mastered. Windsurfing needs much more technique and dicipline so you won't loose the respect for the sea as you are constantly reminded that there are limits...
Regarding comparing the sports. I think the best comparison is that Windsurfing is essentially the minaturized version of an fore to aft rigged boat and kitesurfing is the minaturized version of a square rigged boat - however the fact that the sail is completly detached from the board and can be steered in 3 dimensions opens up a lot of possibilities.
I'm glad kitesurfing didn't become olympic though. It's not the type of sport for that imho. 
Select to expand quoteKit3kat said..
Regarding comparing the sports. I think the best comparison is that Windsurfing is essentially the minaturized version of an fore to aft rigged boat and kitesurfing is the minaturized version of a square rigged boat - however the fact that the sail is completly detached from the board and can be steered in 3 dimensions opens up a lot of possibilities.
I'm glad kitesurfing didn't become olympic though. It's not the type of sport for that imho.
I found this prototype image of the new Naish square rigger kite. I like to think that one day these will race in the Olympics.
Select to expand quotefreeskiing said..
the question was targeting the kind/mode of pressure on one's knees with windsurfing as compared to kiting. as i just have had my 4th knee operation i am thinking of what is going to be in 3-5-10 years.
I had my knee operated on about 35 years ago, removed most of my Medial meniscus, the doc said you'd get back to about 85%. He was right, but that was awhile back, what's left of my meniscus is about all worn off now, I'm now close to bone to bone. However I'm still out there in the waves windsurfing as long as the wind is blowing, and I have very little problem with it, I just don't jump like I used to. When windsurfing I keep my knees bent and flexible absorbing the sock in the process, you can see what chop is coming so there really aren't any surprises, just pay attention.
Where I do have a problem is with running and my SUPing. Standing there paddling seems to grind both my knees, and spending any time on my knees is not nice anymore, and there is no unweighting while SUPing like there is with Wsurfing, so I can't SUP for very long. With Wsurfing, your front foot is actually pressing up in the foot strap more than down on the board, and when my bad knee is in the rear I make sure my knee is inline with my foot and ankle so the leg isn't twisted. I can stay out there 2 hours easy riding waves and being in wind from 5.2 to 3.7, no problem. I don't see myself having to give up Wsurfing anytime soon, my bad knee is keeping up with the rest of my body, but I may have to hang up my paddle in the near future, and no more running.
Kiting? I don't go there, and my knee doesn't need another learning curve.
Keep windsurfing, it may actually help by keeping your leg muscles healthy, which a bad knee needs.
I've also been wearing a neoprene knee brace/sleeve (no hardware) under my wetsuit for about 20 years now.
Select to expand quoteMastbender said..
You give me hope 
. I tried SUP'ing a few years ago for 9 months and had to give it away for the reasons you describe.
Select to expand quotejn1 said..
Mastbender said..
You give me hope . I tried SUP'ing a few years ago for 9 months and had to give it away for the reasons you describe.
I also should have mentioned this. Because surfseat harnesses are almost impossible to find anymore 
, I bought a new waist harness a couple of years ago (DaKine), and gave it about a year and a half to get used to. Didn't work for several reasons, the two main reasons, harder to breathe, and it put quite a bit more pressure on my knee(s). I've since gone back to my old surfseat (DaKine), love it, as does my knees, and I can breathe again.
Select to expand quoteMastbender said..jn1 said..
Mastbender said..
You give me hope . I tried SUP'ing a few years ago for 9 months and had to give it away for the reasons you describe.
I also should have mentioned this. Because surfseat harnesses are almost impossible to find anymore , I bought a new waist harness a couple of years ago (DaKine), and gave it about a year and a half to get used to. Didn't work for several reasons, the two main reasons, harder to breathe, and it put quite a bit more pressure on my knee(s). I've since gone back to my old surfseat (DaKine), love it, as does my knees, and I can breathe again.
Sorry to hear that guys ..have you tried wider boards that don't rock or move as much .11 glide .
yep I smashed my back a few years ago ..waist harnesses kills me ..I use a seat harness even when waves sailing .
not many kites at our joint to many rocks to tangle up with ...many have tried ..what a birds nest ..
i do wreck a few sails ..the ezzy ones handle it ...never tried kiting just impossible to launch .where I sail .
with the rocks and wind shadow . I love the speed rush of windsurfing ..
i go west every year you don't have to have that much gear .3 sails 1 board 1 mast 1 boom .
Select to expand quote1950 said..JOYRIDER said..
I worked out a few things today!
We windsurf because we can.
kiters kite because they can't windsurf.
pretty simple really
i kite ok up to 30kts, beginners, still no big jumps:), but really enjoy.
just buying beginners windusurf set and can't wait to test this quote.
i bet you i plane i 2 hours. give it up, pump kite up, and go boost.
My boss kites. He says "I learnt to windsurf in an afternoon. It was easy. Kiting is much harder."
Should I stab him in the eye?
Select to expand quoteevlPanda said..1950 said..JOYRIDER said..
I worked out a few things today!
We windsurf because we can.
kiters kite because they can't windsurf.
pretty simple really
i kite ok up to 30kts, beginners, still no big jumps:), but really enjoy.
just buying beginners windusurf set and can't wait to test this quote.
i bet you i plane i 2 hours. give it up, pump kite up, and go boost.
My boss kites. He says "I learnt to windsurf in an afternoon. It was easy. Kiting is much harder."
Should I stab him in the eye?
Tell him its a bit more than just standing on the board and floating about.
Stab him in the eye anyway!
