light wind surfboard

tstansbury · Since 06 Jun 2006 649 Posts Rowena and P.C Addicted

Last week In baja on a light wind day a friend and I decided to try 7'6" surfboards and 10m kites instead of the 12 to 16m kites and 6' kiteboards everyone else was useing. Afterwords we agreed that it was the most fun we had in light wind and waves. We both rode these board the next couple of days and loved them.

flipper · Since 17 Oct 2011 320 Posts Obsessed

http://vimeo.com/5573335

C Johnson · Since 17 Apr 2009 853 Posts Seattle Opinionated

tstansbury · Since 06 Jun 2006 649 Posts Rowena and P.C Addicted

Not at all like that we were in good waves and useing the bigger surfboards so we did not have to use big kites

Windian · Since 28 Apr 2008 899 Posts Newport, OR NEWPORT OG

I have experimented with multiple light wind surfboards from 10' down to 6' and they are all super fun and work great. My go-to board for good surf conditions is a 6'-6" Firewire quad fin Spitfire (45 liters) which floats really well and goes upwind like a sailboat. I find you need the extra volume at times when the wind goes so light that you just need to stand on top of your board and not sink. The low volume surfboards will start to sink and you end up falling backwards into the water since there is no power in the kite to keep you upright. Ultra light air is not the most exciting kiting, but you can still have fun, go upwind and ride waves. IMO it is better than getting blown downwind and having to do the walk of shame back up the beach which is something I loath. Plus, it is a good way to drag out the dozen or so surfboards in my garage and actually ride them instead of just collecting dust.

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