Among the different kiteboard types and depending on their design features we can have a wide variety of models, as if it were a sample of colors.
When you want to buy a used kitesurf board in Mallorca, or your budget allows you to buy a new one, the guide under these lines will teach you how and what to choose.
Each manufacturer designs his kite board according to different objectives and oriented to different benefits in the water. Of this last, unfortunately, the people who kitesurf know very little, or, to put it another way, most of those who buy a kiteboard base their choice, out of ignorance, in practically nothing, no base at all.
The most expensive kiteboard on the market -1950 euros-
This choice of your future kite board is more likely to happen, because we are advised by a friend – who will not have tried many types of boards either – or by resorting to what the nearest kite shop offers, and without further request or research.
FLYSURFER KITE BOARDS
The brand of kitesurf boards preferred by our school is the German brand FLYSURFER. The flysurfer flyboards suppose the best relation QUALITY/PRICE of the market with difference.
These are boards in which both, performance and materials, including weight reduction as well as breaking resistance surpass all other kiteboard brands.
Follow the following link for more information:
https://flysurfer.com/project/rush/
https://flysurfer.com/project/flysplit2/
KITESURF BOARDS – WHICH AND WHY?
Some kitesurf boards can be very different from others based on the following factors:
1.- WEIGHT
2.- RIGIDITY
3.- LONGITUDINAL CURVED SHAPE
4.- EDGES
5.- SHAPE
Undoubtedly, to the above described we must add a very important and generally definitive factor: THE PRICE
There is no doubt that a low cost kiteboard will offer much more limited benefits than a high cost board.
Obviously the price of one board or another will vary from a cost, to, double or triple. Is it going to be better kiteboard which weighs half the other? We can invariably say that: YES
This does not mean that some boards being heavier but not too much, stand out in their navigation performances, whatever the goal with which it was designed.
From the very moment of its construction, some parameters or others are chosen, which make navigation and behavior of a board in the water characteristic, or in other words: Some boardss are designed more in order to be fast, others to be more agile, basically.
DIFFERENT KITESURFING BOARDS
When a board has a good flex, it will be more fluid and pleasant in navigation and its objective will be that it rotates more freely on the water, therefore it will be more indicated to a navigation in which we want to make figures on water, in contact with the water, choosing courses or gybing or what is the same, navigation on waves without necessarily having to be a wave board.
FLYSURFER KITEBOARDS CLICK HERE
A board with little flex, meaning stiffer, will offer more speed on the water to avoid those flexes that otherwise would make us lose speed. In the same way, a more rigid board will have more pop, facilitating the takeoff upwards more aggressively in the jumps.
Now, returning to the issue of price / weight, it is evident that, of what has been described above, a lightweight or very light board, even though in 90 percent of the cases it is rather more expensive, will increase and improve the specific results on its objective when it was designed
For beginners or if kitesurfing in very light winds, flysurfer XL are the queens of the big boards category. Very light and with a perfect flex, they carry an extra fin on the heel edge that facilitates the riding upwind.
KITEBOARDS, WEIGHT AND SENSATIONS
A rigid board is more demanding to our joints because logically it will offer minimum absorption of the chopp while we sail, but even so, a rigid board tends to favor heavier riders, otherwise a board with flex would make under the higher weight of the rider make it behave like a spring and hinder the difficulty to reach the glide.
This type of stiffer boards, more rigid, are also aimed at those who want to do freestyle maneuvers and who wants to navigate in strong wind conditions.
In the first case, because they facilitate the takeoff upwards in the jumps and in the second case because being less flexible in case of navigation in strong winds the excess of flex would only serve to slow down the navigation, or in other words, reduce the speed immediacy of response, so it is assumed that who is sailing in strong winds are people with a high level of skills.
In strong wind conditions, if you are a beginner kiter, more flex will offer less grip in the water, and with it the behavior of the board in the chop will more loose and will offer lesser control.
A board that is more rigid in its central part should compensate with more flex at its ends. And it is evident that unless the person designing the board does not repair in expenses, a more rigid board tends to be generally cheaper, since generally it is stiffer, though heavier and its agile behavior will not prevail but its rigidity and therefore the weight, which, even being in all cases very important, in this particular case it will not be decisive.
When we try to check the flex of a board, the fact that supporting a point against the ground and applying some pressure in the center of the board with our hand or with the knee, although it will give an idea of its flexibility, it does not imply that when we are sailing that feeling is transmitted in such way one hundred percent, since that is not the position in which our feet are located in the board and therefore the pressure that we will exert on the board when we are sailing is other.
THE BOARD EDGES
The edges of the board can vary from sharper to more rounded, as well as some boards can be thicker or thinner edges than others. Here, again, the materials / price factor of the board will also be decisive.
All this contributes to a navigation that admits more or less errors because at the moment of the turns or when having the sensation of a board more directed not to slide laterally, but more fixed in its course in the water, it can cause that in the more or less chop of the surface of the water in which we are kitesurfing, we make an error and the board is key, causing us to lose balance
Sharper edges will give a greater sense of control in strong winds but it will be a more technical board, requiring a higher level of control, while more rounded edges, if they coincide with a greater concavity, will allow spraying from the center of the board and that will influence that the final part of the board or tip, carries more or less pressure against the water.
THE BOTTOM OF OUR KITEBOARD
The bottom of the board can be of different shapes: flat, more or less curved and also with some rails, although at present there are few boardss that do not have certain concavity, or with more or less concavity, depending on our taste and objectives.
A more concave board will provide a surface whose main purpose is to channel to a greater or lesser extent the flow of water under it. This will also influence the result of the course that we wish to achieve, in such way that a flat board will have a greater sensation of being able to slide laterally, while a board with channels will tend to obtain a more direct, straight course without lateral distractions.
Compared to a standard double concave base, Advanced Jet Bottom channels the flow of water along its edges. Especially in chop water conditions. The difference is remarkable and when landing the jumps as the channels facilitate a smoother landings.
This water channeling on its different options, will help to expelled the water by the back tip of the board which in turn can give more capacity of response also, of hekp the board provide more radical turns.
As it can happen with the possible channels at the base of the table and, likewise, all of the aforementioned, evidence the possibility of different sensations, styles and objectives when navigating, which we should be able to test before being able to choose and buy our kiteboard.
DISTANCE BETWEEN FOOTSTRAPS
It is what is known as stance of riding. The position of the footstraps changes the performance of the board to a large extent as well. We should try different distances between footstraps until we find the one that makes us feel more comfortable and adapts better to our navigation style.
When the distance between footstraps is smaller, that is farther from the board tips, this will allow us to ride easier against the wind, also providing better performance in light winds.
A position of footstraps more separated, closer to the board tips, will make us feel a bit strange at first, since we need to lean towards the rear end of the board in order to be able to ride upwind, however, we will obtain greater stability , especially after the landings in the jumps.
There is also what we might call “negative flex”, which is the effect that is created when we consider the distance between our footstraps, because on more separated footstraps, that negative flex effect will become more evident since it is more towards the ends of the board where we apply our weight, which in some way, accentuate the effect “against flex” by making the center of the board elevate a bit instead of bending down.
Although really what prevails when deciding the distance between footstraps as well as taking them on a straighter or more open positioning towards the edge of the board in front of our toes is, without a doubt, the sensation of comfort and control that we are going to feel. An erroneous arrangement of separation and angle of placement of the footstraps will cause knee injuries as well as an unnecessary burden on our legs.
FINS
To conclude with this short report we will also talk about the fins or keels. These are available in different materials and in a variety of shapes and lengths.
G10 fins are built with the best material, as it is more resistant and rigid. The length of the fins is an important factor. Shorter fins make your board feel looser and more maneuverable, while longer fins give your board more traction and make it more stable at high speeds.
Some links of interest:
The rebirth of a kitesurfing board CLICK HERE
Climbing to a kite surfboard – CLICK HERE
