Monday, April 19, 2010

What size kiteboard?

So I was chatting to a few newbies last weekend, both who bought kite gear without really knowing anything about what they were buying.  They both had pretty small kiteboards and bought them because they were cheap.

When it comes to buying your first kiteboard you have a few decisions to make.
1 - Is this going to be your only board, do you plan on keeping it for a long time?
2 - Is this going to be your beginner board that you will upgrade once you become a competent kiter?

I personally would suggest going for number 2 if you are a beginner, but thats only because it will make the learning curve of kiting a little bit easier.

As a genereal rule, the bigger the board, the more it floats, the less power you need from your kite to get you up and riding. 
When you are learning to kite, your kiting skills will probably be mediocre, you won't have the power control that you need to get up, and stay powered up enough to ride.  A bigger board will be very forgiving and keep you floating and standing on your board while you try to figure eight your kite again.
A smaller board will not give you this buffer and you will have to have much better kite control to get up and ride.

The results are twofold.
1 - Those with big boards will not have learned the subtle kite control manouvres but will be up and riding (probably downwind) and will get the buzz from their first tack.
2 - Those with small boards will struggle at the start but will have much better kite power skills and when they can get up and ride on their board they will be more advanced than the same person on a big board.

If you are impatient and want results fast (results being that you are kiteboarding and you don't care where to or how, you are just standing up on your board)  then go for a big board.
If you don't quit easily then buy a nice small board and learn the hard way.

So what constitutes big or small in a board? 
It all depends on your height and weight - the bigger you are, the bigger the board you will need.
I am 5'6" and ride a 128cm board as my standard board, I like it because its fast and responds quickly.  I learned on a 134cm board which gave me a little bit more flotation for starting out.
I know girls who are 5'2" and ride 123cm boards, but there aren't many people who can ride smaller than that.
Generally if you are an average male, say 5'10" and 80kgs a board anywhere from 134cm - 140cm would be good.  Taller or heavier than this then opt for the bigger board (138cm - 142cm), smaller/lighter then go 132 - 136cm.
The above sizes are a guide only, based on the people I know and what boards they ride on for their weight.  I'm also only talking about twin tips here, surfboards and directional boards I will cover in another post.

If you are struggling to decide, always opt for the bigger board rather than the smaller board.  By the time you need a small board for tricks, you will know what size you want, right now if you don't know, go big, go floaty and have some good first sessions.
There are always people wanting to learn, so the re-sale on beginner boards is pretty good.

4 comments:

  1. Also width is very important. Most boards sold to beginner males are in the area of 136/40 cm. smaller than this is a bit small really.

    I personally (87kg) ride 135/40 but will be switching to 138/41 asap. As the kites have more depower these days the width can help you get up and going and glide through the lulls.

    Nice info though M

    Dan

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