I am 3 seasons into my kiting journey and still ride my first twin tip and a surf board now. It is a question I also agonised about in the beginning but own experience and observations have confirmed the initial thought. A slightly larger board (140/41.5) for my 85kg was the best solution. It now also serves in lower wind situations with my 16 and also allows me to go from Mullallo to Hillarys and back in a southerly (done again yesterday). I can go upwind harder then with a smaller board. I have two friends who got sold a 132 and a 134 in the beginning and we swapped boards for some sessions and they found it much easier to go on the bigger board. I am not saying huge (like a 154 or bigger low wind cruiser) but for you I guess a 138 would be about the same. If you are aiming at freestyle you may want to buy a second hand smaller board later but I do not intend to sell my beginners board.. it serves me well still.
my 2c is -- go a little bigger in the beginning .. it also helps for learning turns and going over the waves, it gives you a little more buoyancy.
good luck with your endeavour.
regards
gmd

65kg on a 128 nobile 555
is great for me atm .
only when super powered in chop at warp speed do i have drama loading
have some boots to try when powered too
bottom end bout 15knots

thanks for the suggestions i will surely find out of it

ac17 said...

Thanks for your posts - I guess I should have added that I can snowboard fairly well - I have done two complete winter seasons in both Japan and Canada, so I am not worried about the learning of board skills to the extent that this would be plaguing someone who has to learn from scratch.

Obviously I do realise there will be differences between the sports, but I am anticipating a quick transition...

My kite flying is more of a concern to me, which is why I have been practising without a board for a while...

Snowboarding is very similar to flowriding but nothing like kiteboarding. Kiteboarding is like wake boarding.