Board options for crazy Gorge wind

BS · Since 23 Apr 2011 21 Posts Portland

Question for you experienced Gorge riders.... I moved here in the winter from the not-so-windy Great Lakes area where my go to combo was a 14 kite/ 135x40 twintip. I weigh 150 lbs. I've since been riding a 6/10 quiver of RPMs, which feels like the right size kites, but I still feel overpowered / poor edge control. I'm thinking I should either 1. get a smaller board or 2. put boots on the 135x40. I'm leaning towards 2. (I love that board) Any thoughts?

Thanks

ldhr · Since 21 Jul 2009 1489 Posts Hood River XTreme Poster

rig a smaller kite. when I learned i used a huge twintip (150 school bus) and i no trouble riding it with a 8 meter kite,,, as long as it was the appropriate kite for the wind and i was not overpowered.

beech · Since 21 Aug 2010 485 Posts Longview, WA Obsessed

its a big jump from a 6m to a 10m. might need an 8m in there then you should be covered. tons of folks use those size kites and that size board with no prob. Lean back and dig that edge in!!!

rePete · Since 18 Dec 2007 215 Posts Mosier, Oregon Stoked

Try the Ocean Rodeo Mako's. They ride better than any board I've tried. Great in the chop, waves and upwind ability. They make 4 sizes. Demo one first and ride it for a full session to get use to the different feel.

HRnico · Since 22 Mar 2008 262 Posts Da Hood Obsessed

No need for light wind flat boad technic. Lean on those rails. I use a 10m Vegas all the time in the Gorge.

BeerKite · Since 29 Mar 2011 471 Posts Obsessed

depends on where your going to ride I think. If your going to stay close to the sandbar and hit flat water/ features, the board you have along with your 10 should be pretty much perfect. If your going to head upwind to the bridge and ride swell, take the 6 and a surfboard. My 2cents.

MKHR · Since 28 Aug 2007 116 Posts Hood River Stoked

Lots of good advice so far. While costly, it is really nice to have both a surfboard and twin tip for the gorge.

The Mako is a fun board. Another one to try is a North X-ride. I'm sure people will suggest lots of twin tip options in this post. My advice would be to demo some boards. I could not believe the difference from board to board. It is amazing how for the most part, twin tips look very similar (except the Mako, that thing is very different) yet they can feel so much different. Might be interesting to try something a little smaller (133 X sub 40) given your weight. For instance, the difference between a North Jaime Pro and X-Ride was incredible, yet they look virtually identical. There was thread a while back where someone made the comment that boards make a way bigger difference in the riding experience than kites......I would tend to agree.

One thing you might notice after a little while of kiting here is that the wind up by the bridge and farther west (above Wells, Swell, etc.) is a lot stronger and steadier, while down at the Event Site/Marina is is lighter and a little flukier. If you are going to stick around the Event site, rig a little bigger. If you are headed up to the bridge/Wells/Swell, rig a little smaller.

As someone else mentioned, you might find that an 8m kite will round-out your quiver, and based on your weight, will probably be your goto twin-tip kite.

Bettyboarder · Wed Jun 22, 11 11:35 am

The board you have is fine for here just get a 8m. The current is ripping right now which is prob why your having a hard time give it a couple weeks 135 will be perfect

BS · Since 23 Apr 2011 21 Posts Portland

Thanks guys, great advice. After 5 years in midwest light wind, "10m kite too big" is a concept just starting to sink in. Smile

Cheers