nothing wrong with that board. try to edge a lot harder or bolt some boots on it, you can hold down a lot more power in bindings.

at 41cm wide it's not helping your cause. Try something around 35cm wide, use some mate's boards etc to get a feel for it. Square rails, larger fins, square tips, narrower board will all help. My old naish sol from 05 is awesome, but i'm sure there are others out there

Evan Chia said...


I am intermediate 72kg rider, presently riding a 135x41 cardboard tempo that has loads of rocker and quite a tapered tip, in flat to small swell.

IMO At your weight....that board is waaay too big and you simply dont have the weight to hold that much edge when fully powered.
I am 84kg and ride a 128 ( Nobile Shinn ) a 129( Lunacy ) & 126 (cardboards ).

THe board you have would be awesome for wakestyle/ unhooked tricks at the lower end of your wind range. ie : use the extra length/width to get going in lighter winds and so you dont sink after tricks.

i'm about 78kg and ride the same board. i offer my experiences and ask some questions for those who've ridden more boards and who are better kiters. (my basic jumps and transitions are fine, starting to unhook, and at this stage i'm not interested in boots.)

i get going in less wind or with a smaller kite than similar sized guys but at the top end i'm not sure its helping me. i can edge fine but it seems thatt edging enough to stay in control of the kite in gusts has me losing too much speed.

one obvious answer is to try some other boards and i plan to, but in the meantime, would a flatter and or smaller board let me control the kite and retain more speed? are there specific edging techniques i may not be getting?

i travel light, so after a one-board solution for flat water and some chop on port phillip bay. something that works well with straps and will help me progress. 666? lunacy? how similar are the underground flx's to the tempos?

harry potter said...

Evan Chia said...


I am intermediate 72kg rider, presently riding a 135x41 cardboard tempo that has loads of rocker and quite a tapered tip, in flat to small swell.

IMO At your weight....that board is waaay too big and you simply dont have the weight to hold that much edge when fully powered.
I am 84kg and ride a 128 ( Nobile Shinn ) a 129( Lunacy ) & 126 (cardboards ).

THe board you have would be awesome for wakestyle/ unhooked tricks at the lower end of your wind range. ie : use the extra length/width to get going in lighter winds and so you dont sink after tricks.

I completely disagree - I went from a 05 128 Underground Flex (about 36cm wide) to a 139x43 LF concept and can ride them both in similar conditions with similar hold. The concept does take a bit more to get it to hold down but not much - there are so many factors that come into play other than board size - and technique is a big one to consider.

don't be scared of a bigger board, I'd say 135 is perfect for you, if you go smaller you might find other things a lot harder. Play with your stance and riding position first.

^^^ its easier to edge against the kite when you have it low.. damn did no one learn back in the C days where if it got real windy u keep ur kite just above the water and edge like its ur grandmamas business?

ur boards fine mate dont waste time looking at other boards, narrower and smaller will just hinder ur pop and landings. rather look at getting a smaller kite and learn how to edge properly...

BUT if u really have to look at another board get something around 130 - 132 x 40...

hell last summer i was between 74 - 78 kg and only rode a 142 x 43 (with bindings) but i could easily ride a 135 or what ever the cesar of 09 was at kitestock with straps on. i dont condone strap use i just borrowed it for loops.

I got an Ocean Rodeo Mako 150 x 34. It is very stiff with a big concave (max 18mm), which makes it cut through the chop and hold the rail very well. At 83kg, I used to fly my 12m in 25 knots and edge like crazy on that board - so it definitely has some high end.
However I am not edging that hard anymore, cause I find it rather inefficient. Why riding overpowered and then spending lots of energy to burn that power?

When I want to translate the pull of the kite into maximum speed, I am trying to ride more like the speed kiting dudes, keeping the board flatter and sitting further back.

For holding down maximum power with the least effort, I just ride one handed and lean back as far as possible. Makes me point very high, but costs some speed.

get with the times.... kites have changed

we dont double declutch cars anymore either

Abesy said...

get a macas tray and put ur foot hooks and fins on that. more flex and pop than any board out there!!! you will be able hold down 60knots easy

Forget the straps, skim board on the cheap anyone?

What windspeed do you start doing the poo stance at Foorked?

Charl dv said...

^^^ its easier to edge against the kite when you have it low.. damn did no one learn back in the C days where if it got real windy u keep ur kite just above the water and edge like its ur grandmamas business?

ur boards fine mate dont waste time looking at other boards, narrower and smaller will just hinder ur pop and landings. rather look at getting a smaller kite and learn how to edge properly...

BUT if u really have to look at another board get something around 130 - 132 x 40...

hell last summer i was between 74 - 78 kg and only rode a 142 x 43 (with bindings) but i could easily ride a 135 or what ever the cesar of 09 was at kitestock with straps on. i dont condone strap use i just borrowed it for loops.

what he said put your kite on the water and edge like a mo fo in those gusts.although my newest kite is o5.but i hear the fuels havent changed to soft issue land yet.

Thank you to all who have contributed to this post. I have tried out quite a few boards over the last week and have some feedback for those interested.

Before I do I need to clarify:
- this post was about board performance, not technique
- anyone can hold down a bow kite, had no trouble even when gusting to 39kts, but a c kite is different
- changing kite size is important, but is not always possible with changing conditions

Over the last week I have tried:
- Nobile 555
- Cabrinha Caliber
- RRD (not sure which)
- TB Haura
- Liquid Force Drop

All of these boards could hold down more power than my Cardboard Tempo. Don't get me wrong, the Tempo performs better than the others in many more ways, especially pop. The Tempo is awesome, but I ordered the super flexible version and unfortunately when you edge hard in the gusts, it turns into a banana and you fly out of control. Djdojo, this is probably why you can't keep a straight upwind line.

So, after trying all the boards above, the two most important factors for me in holding down power is:
- heavier board
- stiffer board

Of course length, width, rocker and shape all affect performance, but I feel to a lesser degree in regards to holding down power. So now I am stuck with trying to find a board that is heavy enough to hold the power (but not so heavy I can't throw it around), and stiff enough that it doesn't bend to much when edging (but not so stiff that my weight can't bend it to get a decent pop).

Yeh. A mate is getting one next week. Will give it a go. Just worried that with it's rectangular profile it will suck in the chop we often get here.

So you don't want my 135 x 36 carbon fiber pickle fork with bindings then.
It holds more power than any new board and goes faster but has no pop and the spray off the bindings is huge.

If I'm not unhooking I always ride with the kite fully powered even when it is 35-40 knots. I ride c kites and I have a 138 tempo. I'm not saying don't use the depower strap, point is with the kite skimming the water and leaning back hard you can pretty much out edge anything. Definately technique nothing to do with the board as others have mentioned.