Hi Kiters and surfers out there!
Was hoping i could get some constructive feedback about board choice.
I had a 5'10 cheap surfboard that i loved and lost, time to buy a new one. I have $200-250
it was over 19" wide, can't remember exactly.
seems a smaller board (2 inches less than your height) is recommended by Ben Wilson.
My last board was a swallow tail, I loved that feeling, however I don't have much experience surfing.
board only used for strapless kiting. These are for sale now, in my budget and I'm ready to buy, let me know your thoughts.
Will be buying in next day or two.
i'm 67.5kg and 5'7" i think
here's the list.
Misfit-(Space dolphin)5,8, 19 1/4, 2 1/8
5'7, 19 1/4, 2 1/4 Trigger Brothers Squishfish
Js king pin 5,10 x 19 x 2 3/8 (quad or thruster)
This one is perfect for you 
www.seabreeze.com.au/Classifieds/Kitesurfing-Surfboards/~af1wo/2010-Naish-Custom-Fish-5-8.aspx?search=RPeb4RVZNniHnNtRF2Cilw==
I tried an 18.5 and didn't like it, I felt the wider boards were more stable in the air.
what's lol about? You've got some experience, put your thoughts down man.
Do any brands stick out in terms of quality of design or build? any better regarded in case i sell it?
the JS has thruster/ quad which is sweet...
With a budget like that I'd just go with what you think will work best for you in your local conditions and current style.
No real need to consider resale in this case, just get one which ticks the boxes and build your knowledge up from there, imo.
Anything wide needs less rocker to help plane, and wide sucks in the chop. Theres alot more to surfboards then dimensions
^^^^Agree with gcd here but correct me if i'm wrong didn't you mean to say "anything narrow needs less rocker to plane"?
I mean wider is already bigger and floatier so it will plane faster than the equivalent rockered skinnier board right? I have a 4'8" x 21" low rockered egg that planes amazing compared to my 5'8x 19"hybrid. I like both but I prefer the egg.
Since you're doing airs you'll want strong fin fixings. The 2nd 2 boards are using FCS, the first one has Furtures. FCS can be strong but they gotta put extra glass fibre in the mix. Mostly they don't so the safe bet is the futures. Also the toe in on the 1st board seems a little straighter which I know some guys prefer for kiting. I like the JS shape but I know a guy who worked in their laminating room and their stock boards only have 2 x 4oz lapping the rails. Not a lot to take a hard landing with.
in terms of quality build, good materials, and kiting suitability i would recommend the trigger bros board.
if you're only paying $250 that squishfish is a good buy and the pick of the 3 hands down in my opinion
edit: i'm pretty sure trigger bros boards have 2 layers of 6oz on the deck & 1 x 6 oz on the bottom
The JS will be too big and floaty for your weight and height, which can make it harder to edge and tendency to spin out when turning or edging hard. My vote is the squishfish.
Forget the JS Kingpin, great surf board but to big for your dimensions and it will fall apart after 5 decent sessions if it hasn't snapped before that.
Not built for it, paddle surf board only! The smaller option board as Stamp suggested is your pick of that bunch.
thanks everyone. I was tossing up between the Trigger cos its little and the JS cos of the nice shape/ fin adjustments.
thanks Stamp, Ex and savagbee, that's why i love seabreeze!
I will try the Trigger cos i haven't had a board that small before and it's worth a try.
let u know how i go. Can't wait to progress in the surf, video to come by next summer at least ;)
what ex said. their won't be anything left of the JS after a few months. it'll look like a golf ball
Trigger good build and future fins. Clean all white easy to find when dragging around the ocean.
Good to here you're getting into the strapless. And good that your staying away from the 'production' kite surfboards. 
I didnt like those boards for a few reasons:
General dims, I find a 'traditional' surfboard shape works best. For my 75kgs, I go for a 5'10 18"1/2 2"3/8
Outline, looks like too much tail vol for the 1st and 3rd board. Too much tail foam makes a board horrible in the pocket for vertical turns.
As said before, fin setup and glass. I will never again get a board (for kiting) with the twin tab fcs plugs... I bust them just turning, don't even have to touch the bottom. Futures all the way. And as above the JS boards don't hold up to surfing, let alone the punishments of kiting...
Condition, hard to tell through a computer screen but they look a bit knocked around (as a seller wtf wouldnt you strip the wax and present it properly?)
But ebay and gumtree are the place for boards. $250 should get something pretty nice!
Look at the completed listings section and offer peanuts for the boards that didnt sell.
Post up how you go with whichever board you get!
Select to expand quotesurfingboye said..
Good to here you're getting into the strapless. And good that your staying away from the 'production' kite surfboards.
I didnt like those boards for a few reasons:
General dims, I find a 'traditional' surfboard shape works best. For my 75kgs, I go for a 5'10 18"1/2 2"3/8
Outline, looks like too much tail vol for the 1st and 3rd board. Too much tail foam makes a board horrible in the pocket for vertical turns.
As said before, fin setup and glass. I will never again get a board (for kiting) with the twin tab fcs plugs... I bust them just turning, don't even have to touch the bottom. Futures all the way. And as above the JS boards don't hold up to surfing, let alone the punishments of kiting...
Condition, hard to tell through a computer screen but they look a bit knocked around (as a seller wtf wouldnt you strip the wax and present it properly?)
But ebay and gumtree are the place for boards. $250 should get something pretty nice!
Look at the completed listings section and offer peanuts for the boards that didnt sell.
Post up how you go with whichever board you get!
Thanks for your input man,
My previous board had a swallow tail and i loved it for the few months i had it, i felt like i could control speed really well. It was 5'10 and stuck to me like glue in the air. (lost it in a massive offshore squall, was crazy)
Then i bought a 5'11 x 18.5, rode it half a dozen times, felt way too long and narrow, really fast, airs were not happening.
I think the tail shape had a lot to do with it. I'm buying the 5'7, 19 1/4, 2 1/4 Trigger Brothers Squishfish
Hopefully it works for me. I'm even considering cutting a swallow into the tail and re-glassing myself when the board is trashed, just to try it.
The Mulcoys look nice but i'll have to save for a while. (5'10" x 18.3" x 2.25"), damn makes me wonder if my board is too wide.
also checked out firewire for next summer.
Ps got him down to 200 
^^^^well done, I paddle a swallow tail the same dimensions as that an it's a great board, haven't kited it yet. The squidfish has FCS fusions not Futures so you will be leaving your Future fins in the shed with this one and getting out your twin tabs. Go plastics = risk breaking heaps of fins, Go glass and risk ripping out your plugs .
You've prolly bought it already an lovin it but this one, although way too big for what you're after, something like this would take a pounding.
www.seabreeze.com.au/Classifieds/Kitesurfing-Twin-Tips/~a2pc_/2010-Byrne-Mullet-188-cm.aspx
must be a few smaller like this floating around?
