hey guys im looking at getting a new board, just asking what are the top 5 boards for all around kiteboarding?
cheers
Firstly let me say,
PIMP,
Blade Deuce.
Then let me say any board you feel comfortable riding. Get out and try as many as possible before you decide to buy.
Top 5 boards will be different for every person.
Cardboard Wave, to me the ultimate all rounder. Read my reviews (no affiliation)
Shinn Monk II seems to get gushing reviews allround...
Thinking of swapping from Nobile NHP to Monk if I can get a test drive sometime...
Just got xenon infra 2012 with ronix one boots and man it flogs all the other boards ive ridden. Flat water or choppy ocean no probs! The new 2011 is going really cheap too at Kitepower.
I've been a shameless kiteboard slut in my time. Here's a torrid potted history of my twin tip promiscuity and a couple of notes on each liaison.
Crazyfly Raptor Pro 2010: Too stiff and up tight. Brought me to my (sore) knees. Plus riding toe side was harder than necessary due to toes being miles away from toeside edge.
Cabrinha Imperial 2008: Long narrow type wench with not much bite or pop. Very uninspiring company.
Cabrinha Custom 2010: Loved her the moment we met. Still have her and ride her often. She's just not great upwind.
Underground FLX 2010: Nothing has come close to the razor sharp grip and acerbic wit of this baby on flat water. But with any chop she spat tip spray right at my eyeballs with marksman precision. Had to let her go.
Slingshot Misfit 2011: Awesome pop but with a no hips freestyle shape and a very flat bottom she required a heavy foot on her back to keep her in a straight line. The high maintenance type.
Shinn Monk 2011: Best baby yet. I will never give her up. Fast, grippy, low spray, even tempered. She's a blast to ride with in all respects. A wild 'hooligan' girl who likes to live fast and carefree. She did however want for a little more up top so I gave her a little augmentation which put some more pop in her. (see post here www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Kitesurfing/Review/Mod-your-Monk-for-more-pop/?SearchTerms=mod,your,monk)
I found my perfect kite in the RPM. Now I can stop whore-ing around with boards and settle into my Monk, well, for a while. I'm sure something will tempt my proclivity again sometime. But for the moment...My Monk is it!
Having ridden freeride flexy boards, ultra-flat freestyle flatwater machines, and rockered wakestyle boards I can now say with much confidence that my fave all-round twintip is the Nobile 50fifty.
For anyone beyond beginner, who is not a complete wuss, this board has a sweet combination of grip, rocker, stiffness, speed, control, pop, and comfort. The Nobile pad/strap setup is not my cup of tea but other than that, a perfect board for flat water, chop, playing in little waves, cruising, popping and carving.
The 50fifty has it's rocker in the middle rather than the tips, so you still get decent clearance of the nose (no spray, and controllable at speed in chop) while the flat and stiffish tips provide speed, upwind ability and pop. This is the reverse of most freeride boards that have flattish midsections and rockered soft tips; a style of board whose day has passed, for this little vegemite at least.
It depends on what you want to do.
If you want jumpy spinny stuff then a TT is the go. I prefer a short wide flat TT. Doesn't really matter who makes it.
For me for all round fun I would have an F-One Fish 5'4". It's great in light wind, great in mega strong wind, great in choppy waves, pretty good in decent surf. Goes upwind like a raceboard. Jumps ok. Good fun strapped or strapless. Throw in a 9-10m depowerable kite and I am in heaven.
Hi Nicor,
The 50fifty is fine in marginal wind so long as you are nimble enough to find a good line through any chop. For really light wind you're better off with a second board, but compared to my previous board - cab custom - the 50 has significantly better low end and upwind ability. Compared to flatter boards like Underground Styx, or Nobile's 2HD it will require a little more grunt, but is correspondingly more rewarding and forgiving (landings are sensational) once you're powered.
Edhead,
As a team rider it's my job to pique proclivities and tantalise tendencies. I try to use my powers for good, representing gear accurately and for the right contexts. Thanks to SHQ for their ongoing support!
ive ridden the laluz back to back with the monk and the monk has it licked by a long way apart from the pop,ive owned and trialed a fair few twinnys and they feel like riding a plank compared to the monk, cant comment on the 2012 model , my edge 11 and my monk make a great freeride combo, well for me
Flying High, I went with the 50fifty over the NHP primarily because it's longer and narrower, and I find that suits my physique (tall and slim) and my preferred stance (wide) and helps with landings as I tend to stick the nose in less, especially in chop, with a bit more length outside of each foot. That said, koma (same height and weight as me) rides the NHP and loves it.
If I preferred a narrower stance and was shorter I may lean more to the NHP.
^^^ I'm pretty sure it does but you'd be wise to double check with someone who has the two boards side by side.
If you're demoing the Nobiles be aware that their strap/pad setup positions your feet closer to the toeside than others, so if you have trouble edging it may not be that the board is too big, just that you'd be better off with another strap/pad. The inserts are well positioned, just the geometry of the pads is not my cup of tea.
FYI - I sell Shinn & Nobile
My personal point of view - they are both awesome boards but listen to those frothing over the Shinns.
IMO they are a generation ahead - dont take my word for it just demo and see for yourself. They require no pimping. KSS has most of them available for demo anytime.
About the 50/50 NHP debate - I only ever recommend the 50/50 to flatwater freestylers. But djdojo's preference for it anywhere has been backed up by several riders I have seen using them in the surf lately with rave reviews. Maybe I better take another test. But whatever the result; for me; the flex & comfort of the Monk & the NHP will always rate them higher than any board as stiff as the 50/50.
The Monk is the one to test for an all-rounder with high performance and with just enough flex to make it a dream ride in any conditions.
^^^ Horses for courses. Yes if you're comparing to most freeride and some freestyle boards the 50 is stiff, but next to real wakestyle boards its pretty flexy. If the 50 didn't exist I'd be riding a cab custom and they're significantly stiffer than the 50. Rockered and stiff or flat and flexy is the simple version of this choice.
I don't want a soft (soggy) board in chop, I want a board with enough grip that I can keep it locked in under highly variable loads and enough rocker that the nose stays clear without burning out my back leg. I use my leg joints -hip, knee and ankle - to deal with the bumps. Then if I want to pop - for a trick or to get over a breaking wave - then the stiffness ensures that what you put in, you get back out.
Learning to ride a rockered board well takes a little bit of practise, but it's a good investment of time - like learning to ride a C kite - that will open up new performance possibilities.
On the Nobile 50, 139 or 140. They seem similar in size but might ride quite different.
Any thoughts on what might be a better size for me???
I'm 78 kg (173 lbs) ride mostly in chop, 12 to 25 knots.
^^^ At 78 kg I'd say the 139 if you want to progress with powered tricks, but the 140 may suit in terms of the lighter wind you have to deal with or if you're cruising around and dabbling in waves.
monk monk monk all the way it does every thing it says . when i have enough money to replace my kits a monk will be part of it...
Xenon Laluz is my best board so far. Very light, good pop, no spray and gentle on the knees due to the flex. Also goes upwind a lot better than my last North Xride.
