Iv been kiting two years now but have only ever tried one board, my crazyfly all rounder. I'm upgrading my kit this season and I am looking for a board to help me progress with more aggressive jumps, upwind and carving.i was looking at a crazyfly raptor pro but I am unsure which size would best. I am 82kg.
Have a go on as many boards as you can, ask some other guys if you can have a quick ride of their boards because your trying to decide what to get.
The more you try, the better idea you'll have for what kind of board you feel most comfortable with.
I haven't tried any crazyfly boards. I'm a big fan of my Naish Motion at the moment and like the Shinn boards too.
Really depends on board what size I find. But me being 80kg I ride 140cm I could even go bigger to a 144 I recon.
Select to expand quoteMohally said...
Iv been kiting two years now but have only ever tried one board, my crazyfly all rounder. I'm upgrading my kit this season and I am looking for a board to help me progress with more aggressive jumps, upwind and carving.i was looking at a crazyfly raptor pro but I am unsure which size would best. I am 82kg.
Water conditions and average wind speed is pretty import also style of riding your doing or wanting to do
Depends what style you want to kite. I use a 141-142cm but I ride that with boots. You could ride anything from 137-144 depending on what you like.
yeah going too big will just wear your legs out unnecessarily. i'm 80 and I'm fine with a 140 on boots and anything from a 135- 140 on straps if i needed to do that.
Riding style, edge control and wind conditions are 3 key factors that affect what board you choose. you could get huge benefits from riding a 140 but if you don't have the leg strength or edge control you won't be seeing those benefits anytime soon.
Select to expand quoteMohally said..
Cheers bud.Just got to find people to lend me ther board now.
Where are you?
In my local area there are 3 shops. When I was looking for a new board, 2 of these shops openly encouraged me to try their boards.
1st shop where I had my lessons and purchased my gear in 2012 (so they know me) told me straight – he wasn’t going to sell me a new board without me trying it first, here it is see you in a couple hours. How’d it go, give this other one a go…
2nd shop I had to show ID, sign a form and take the board for the afternoon. Which is fine as they don’t know me, no pressure, try this next one he said – see you in a couple hours.
3rd shop is run by an utter prick and when I’ve purchased stuff there I just get treated like ****, needless to say I will never go back – but that’s another story.
Or contact the local shops and ask when they are doing a demo day. They will have a big selection of boards at the beach to try one after the other. Personally I prefer the first method, the only demo day I’ve been to I felt I didn’t spend enough time on each bit of kit, it was crowded with others waiting for boards and kites.
Yeah sure they will only have 1 size in each board, but you get a good feel of the different shapes and characteristics
+1 Shinn Dundee good board if you can get one.
Its all about the width not the length. Most modern boards are 41 wide usaully in the 135 range.
Depends on what you want to ride as well. Demo Demo Demo.. Good shops will.
Select to expand quoteskywalker3d said..
Im 83kg and any board under a 144 is a wast of time for me.
Different strokes for different folks .....anything over 133-135 feels like a boat to me.
I'm 93kg and ride a 128 NHP... my boards have gradually got smaller since I started...... At the same time I have got heavier 
150cm Cabrhina Icon ( me 78kg)
140cm Naish Haze
132cm Underground FLX
128cm Cardboards Freeride
126cm Cardboards Freeride
129cm Slingshot Lunacy
131cm Nobile NHP
128cm Nobile NHP
Select to expand quoteharry potter said..skywalker3d said..
Im 83kg and any board under a 144 is a wast of time for me.
Different strokes for different folks .....anything over 133-135 feels like a boat to me.
I'm 93kg and ride a 128 NHP... my boards have gradually got smaller since I started...... At the same time I have got heavier
150cm Cabrhina Icon ( me 78kg)
140cm Naish Haze
132cm Underground FLX
128cm Cardboards Freeride
126cm Cardboards Freeride
129cm Slingshot Lunacy
131cm Nobile NHP
128cm Nobile NHP
You CAN ride a board that small, but it's not ideal. Personal preference for sure but I would imagine you probably ride a reasonably large kite for the conditions. I started in 2003 and started on a 110, then got a 120 Naish Sol (which felt big for the time) then up to a 130 then 133 and finally up to the 138 and 141 sizes. At 85kgs, especially in boots, you need the extra size. For a strap board at this weight I reckon the perfect board size is 138x42. Small boards are fine if you're powered but there is little advantage to them. A larger board with have more pop, better low end, more stable landings, and better feel. We have a few guys around here that ride tiny boards as well but it's kind of an old school way to think. In wakeboarding the idea is to ride the biggest board you can comfortably ride.
Ive got a ansih haze kicking around at home, crazy long but not overly wide. Anyone in vic is more than welcome to have a play.
Does you height have anything to do with board size? I know weight plays a big part.
