Does any manufacturer have a board like this available and would anyone else be interested in?

Strapless super light 70L 5'1 board weighing around 4 kg or less pad included. Primarily for wave riding / carving and freerace in flat water. Rigid enough for pumping. I am 70kg.

Strapless: there wouldn't be unnecessary weight from strap inserts, and it wouldn't need to be built for jumping. Also there's no need for an overly long foil track since foot placement during the start doesn't have to be so precise. Minimal deck pad.

Such a board is not available in anyone's selection? I presume there are riders like me who would benefit from it?

I'm a bit frustrated that top of the line boards from major brands can cost $2,000 and still be very heavy and bulky.

A lightweight board is important because it allows for using a smaller stabilizer and enables more precise riding (wave and speed). Pumping also becomes easier.

However, I don't want a sinker board - prone boards are too tricky and exhausting to use with small 500-600cm2 foils.
With a lightweight 70L board, I could handle all conditions and still make it back to shore reasonably well when the wind drops.

get a custom. personally I build my own, but for reference for your 4kg target, I have one board this weight which is 5'11"/93L, and even has footstrap inserts and HD sandwich, and can hold up to my size (198cm/130kg).

4kg is easily achievable for most custom builders. And it might even be cheaper. Production boards can't compare.

I build boards all the time
4 is too light if you want it to last. For reference - My 16" tracks put into a block properly is 1kg before you start. so yeah 4 is doable but you won't be able to drop a knee on it and good luck if it sees a rock in the car park.
I also think in something with such little swing weight, I doubt people can feel 500g or so in the business area of tracks to front foot. So a bit of rail reinforcement up front isn't going to kill your waveriding. 4.5 seems to be a pretty sweet spot for all those trade-offs


My foildrive ready ML (with battery compartment so far bit extra stuff in there, in vicinity of 300g extra bits ) is 5.5kg

Omen just released 3 new boards. Here is some ad copy that sounds right up your alley.
Being dedicated wave boards, the Emissaries have no strap inserts to maximally reduce weight.
omenfoils.com/collections/boards/products/emissary-hp

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Mark _australia said..
I build boards all the time
4 is too light if you want it to last. For reference - My 16" tracks put into a block properly is 1kg before you start. so yeah 4 is doable but you won't be able to drop a knee on it and good luck if it sees a rock in the car park.
I also think in something with such little swing weight, I doubt people can feel 500g or so in the business area of tracks to front foot. So a bit of rail reinforcement up front isn't going to kill your waveriding. 4.5 seems to be a pretty sweet spot for all those trade-offs


My foildrive ready ML (with battery compartment so far bit extra stuff in there, in vicinity of 300g extra bits ) is 5.5kg

Agreed re feeling the weight difference. I made 2 similarly sized 5 foot boards around 50l : one super light at 3.5 kg and one heavy (for a custom) at 5kg. A difference of 1.5kg and in retrospect, I wish I build the lighter one (a narrower board) in the heavier construction. The added materials made it incredibly stiff and a thrill to ride.

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Mark _australia said..
I build boards all the time
4 is too light if you want it to last. For reference - My 16" tracks put into a block properly is 1kg before you start. so yeah 4 is doable but you won't be able to drop a knee on it and good luck if it sees a rock in the car park.
I also think in something with such little swing weight, I doubt people can feel 500g or so in the business area of tracks to front foot. So a bit of rail reinforcement up front isn't going to kill your waveriding. 4.5 seems to be a pretty sweet spot for all those trade-offs


My foildrive ready ML (with battery compartment so far bit extra stuff in there, in vicinity of 300g extra bits ) is 5.5kg

That might very well be true, that 4.5 kg is enough. My current Takoon Glide is significantly heavy, but also extremely durable and stiff. The knee didn't go through the board. The knee broke, but the board didn't.

Kalevi, I have a number of boards. A most are heavier (6+kg for 110+ L), but all are durable. I also have a very light board (<5kg for 110L). It's much lighter because there's a single skin and this makes the board fragile. I've bumped it and the outer layer was compromised. I tried a repair and it was impossible for me. Got a mate who has some repair skills to have a go and he struggled, but it worked after lots of effort.
With all these things there are pro's and cons. I reckon the lighter board will not have the same life expectancy as my heavier boards.
Give me extra weight and durability.

If it's for carving and wave riding then look at the shape first and then at the weight. A board with a good shape - done with having wave riding in mind - could feel more responsive and more fun to ride than a lighter board that's made for some other purpose.

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KyleT said..
I'll disagree with some people here. In most cases, Heavier does not equal stronger. (though, yeah sure, it is possible that's the case) Heavier usually means that they are building for 'production' instead of for performance. So... lot's of build decisions done to reduce production time & steps, and to increase repeatability and cost margins.

That means added weight for things like fairing putty, or not taking the care to properly sand or smooth between steps, or maybe not vacuum bagging so you have extra resin (which is not only heavier but also weaker). You could actually have a weaker board.

It's not a rule that a heavier board is built better, more durable and will last longer. I'd almost guess there's an opposite correlation.

if you are talking factory boards, yes sometimes heavier is all filling etc

but that's not what this thread is about.

in my boards there is no crap so yeah heavier is stronger.

Funny but I'm not a fan of super low weight boards, I do like to have a certain weight in boards to keep momentum. I do not whip the nose a lot however, maybe because of my style of riding or my lack of style in riding waves lol.

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TuberiderG said..
@Kalevi

Maybe you'll find what you're looking for here:
www.airinside.ch

-> 70 liter board = 3,5 kg.

They are just starting out, but have gained some experience with Formula windsurf boards - there is also a video on YouTube where someone hits the board with a windsurf fin...
I haven't found any testimonials anywhere. But the weight is sensational !

This is interesting! Thank you!

Thanks TuberiderG for the tip for Airinside board. I just got mine, and it`s awesome. Ordered w/o foot-straps, so it was even lighted than the weight listed on the website. Mine`s 72Liter, and the weight is 3.34 kg. First test-drive posted here:

www.tiktok.com/@letsgokitesurfing/video/7483437461289323784

Heavier definitively is stronger, especially for impact resistance.

And impact resistance is very important with EPS, as your first dent will risk putting water into the blank that will never get out. (less risk with vacuum-bagged full PVC sandwich however)

So, in a way, production ultralight boards are kind of "disposable", as they will not be ultralight anymore after the first ding.

And Mark is right: you should look at the actual swing weight more than the "static" weight.

KT SuperK 2, custom, no footstraps, 68L, 3.6kg, new sandwich construction which is significantly stiffer than the "normal" Carbon construction. Same weight but needs noticeably less effort to pump on foil. The picture is of the 85L board. I absolutely love both boards, they ride incredibly well (I'm 190lbs), come up ridiculously early (20 inch wide), and when you're riding it feels as if the board just isn't there. I agree w everything that was said here, the secret to these narrow boards is low weight and stiffness. Every pound or two you feel pumping and most of all in the turns. I've ridden the predecessor for over a year nearly every day and am surprised by the amount of progress (earlier takeoff, turns better, less board to throw around, more stable when standing still).

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colas said..
Heavier definitively is stronger, especially for impact resistance.

And impact resistance is very important with EPS, as your first dent will risk putting water into the blank that will never get out. (less risk with vacuum-bagged full PVC sandwich however)

So, in a way, production ultralight boards are kind of "disposable", as they will not be ultralight anymore after the first ding.

And Mark is right: you should look at the actual swing weight more than the "static" weight.

There is actually a way to get out even big amounts of water (but it's not straightforward for the average person, shapers using advanced composites should be able to do it though ) through vaporisation of the water under vacuum and heat. Basically under vacuum the vaporisation temperature of water gets lower (just as water boils at lower temps at higher altitudes). So put the board in a vacbag/ or seal only around ding (laminate opened enough) (you might need to airtighten the vent and/or also need to replace goretex vents afterwards), then add vac pump and heat (check vaporisation tables, something like -0.9 bar relative and 50deg-60deg Celcius should be enough, stay below 80deg C or the eps will start to melt). The water will come out as vapour and condensate in the pump, so don't let oil based pumps run too long with the water inside, they will need an oil change asap, maybe more depending on water amount and pump size. With a lot of water you might need to do it in intervals, opening the vacuum slightly to let air into the system which is needed for the vaporisation.

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aa212 said..

colas said..
Heavier definitively is stronger, especially for impact resistance.

And impact resistance is very important with EPS, as your first dent will risk putting water into the blank that will never get out. (less risk with vacuum-bagged full PVC sandwich however)

So, in a way, production ultralight boards are kind of "disposable", as they will not be ultralight anymore after the first ding.

And Mark is right: you should look at the actual swing weight more than the "static" weight.

There is actually a way to get out even big amounts of water (but it's not straightforward for the average person, shapers using advanced composites should be able to do it though ) through vaporisation of the water under vacuum and heat. Basically under vacuum the vaporisation temperature of water gets lower (just as water boils at lower temps at higher altitudes). So put the board in a vacbag/ or seal only around ding (laminate opened enough) (you might need to airtighten the vent and/or also need to replace goretex vents afterwards), then add vac pump and heat (check vaporisation tables, something like -0.9 bar relative and 50deg-60deg Celcius should be enough, stay below 80deg C or the eps will start to melt). The water will come out as vapour and condensate in the pump, so don't let oil based pumps run too long with the water inside, they will need an oil change asap, maybe more depending on water amount and pump size. With a lot of water you might need to do it in intervals, opening the vacuum slightly to let air into the system which is needed for the vaporisation.

No. you can't get it all out like that