I know this topic has probably been hacked to death heaps of times but I thought I'd start it again.
What's your opinion on the best board and fin setup for kiting your normal run of the mill surfboard?
For everyday 15-20knt average wave kiting I personally like a nice wide board with a square tail quad setup with a nice set of futures

Select to expand quote

upsidedowner said..
I know this topic has probably been hacked to death heaps of times but I thought I'd start it again.
What's your opinion on the best board and fin setup for kiting your normal run of the mill surfboard?
For everyday 15-20knt average wave kiting I personally like a nice wide board with a square tail quad setup with a nice set of futures

If you ain't unkooked, strappless and finless, you ain't hardcore.

Depends on wave size and shape .. Smallish and little fat say to 3ft nice wide tail is the go.... The bigger it gets the narrower I like the tail.

Ive been playing on the SB for the last 4 years and am now starting to feel somewhat comfortable with strapped and strapless - but to be honest I cant tell the difference between a quad and thruster fin setup !! Ok no I don't come from a surfing background so I'm behind the 8 ball from the start ;-(
So 15 to 20 knots and in average 3 to 5 'surf - I'm thinking the skill of the rider will surpass the equipment that is being ridden (rode?? grammar LOL )

A old snapped 6'4 phantom channel bottom that I rounded the nose on and is now a 5'9. Glassed in fins,but not sure what size(I'd say medium). Channel bottom holds in nice when laying rail .. Got heaps of boards kite and surf but I find the one you least expect to rip goes the best. Don't get caught up in the latest and greatest crud

Such a broad question mate. Every board is so different and again every fin is different from the next, then add that some fins work better with other boards and conditions. Try em all, swap fins heaps, eventually you will find a set up you like in the conditions you kite most.

To chime in, I kite
tomo vangaurd with john john thruster: light wind or big waves
tomo vader with rasta quad: big wind small waves

I surf with a thruster but prefer a quad for kiting. It gets a bit skippy down the face when it gets really big, but thats kind of a fun feeling in itself. To me thats the added bonus of kiting is that I can produce the massive spraying hacks which i can't quite pull off when i'm surfing...

As above, it is a bit of each to their own, but my general comment would be to get a flatter and smaller fin than you surf with. That bit of concave in the fin is great for generating power on a wave and a bit more bite in your turn when you are surfing, but it is dog at the speeds you are going on a kite. If i ride my MR spitfire i can actually feel the vibration on the back foot.

I've given up on the dream of a single board that i can surf and kite with. I find the sort of board i need to surf has too much volume for kiting and the rail isn't hard enough. Its great to be able to ride a board that you know really well, but its ultimately a compromise unless you can surf really well and catch a wave on a pretty small board.

I like a board with a fair bit of width and volume for onshore and windswell waves with up to around 25knots but more wind or nice side shore with proper waves it's gotta be a more narrow gunny shape.

I am 105kgs and have a 5'5 nugget- light wind and free ride bump and jump, fun in onshore small waves but the rocker is too flat and shape a bit eggy for real waves.

Also a bws/dhd White noise 6'1- fairly wide allrounder- nice fins on this one fcs carver thruster- I get the most carry from the wave on this one and this is my favourite for Sloppy or decent waves as long as the wind is under 25 knots

The gun is a 6'2 North pro which was a prototype I picked up secondhand in Maui, I think it's different than the production model but I'm not sure, it's 18.5 wide and at my size its 100% control, it gives me confidence on the rare occasions I am faced with a real wave

As far as fins I tend to just use whatever is at hand I prefer a thruster for decent waves and quad is nice in real onshore conditions or free ride

One of my favorite boards is a cheap n nasty is a 5'6"X 22x2"1/4 with a nice n wide with a big square tail quad n futures fins great for all round conditions up to about 22knts

I like short thin boards as I find anything with too much width get's a little hard to handle in higher winds and is too buoyant for my liking. I also found wider boards are harder to gybe as they felt more unstable. Right now I have a 5'3" Firewire Vader and love it, not too big and wide, I can use it in high winds or low, it's just right for me :).

Standard HPSB, nothing beats it.