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colin71 said..
Anyone tried the regular FST or LFT Vanguard (or new Vader) as a kiteboard? Not sure which is the stronger / more durable construction.

I want one for surfing as well as strapless kiting and am wondering how well he normal firewire construction holds up? I'm just zipping around the waves and doing little airs but no big jumps, so shouldn't be stressing the board too hard.

I agree re setting board as quad. I find I am riding it thruster more often.

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shunter said..
Hi lance, where did you get the board from in WA. Would like to have a look at one I am in perth.

Cheers

colin71 said..
Anyone tried the regular FST or LFT Vanguard (or new Vader) as a kiteboard? Not sure which is the stronger / more durable construction.

I want one for surfing as well as strapless kiting and am wondering how well he normal firewire construction holds up? I'm just zipping around the waves and doing little airs but no big jumps, so shouldn't be stressing the board too hard.

I agree re setting board as quad. I find I am riding it thruster more often.

You can get them at Kite Addiction in Myree

Just picked up the Vanguard 5 foot 2. I used to ride the % foot 6 but found it a bit hard to whip around in higher winds - well this certainly does not apply to the 5'2"!! This board is brilliant. I have ridden in 13 knots to 20 knots with a 9m and over 20 knots with a 7m. This board is THE ONE!! I am 94kg.

I highly recommend this size Vanguard.

very keen to see how it holds up

I've had mine out about a dozen times now & it's holding up great with no heel dents yet.
Only compromise is the kite construction is a touch heavier than the standard surf.

I have Naish skater 4ft8 and 5ft2, I love these boards, great light wind, upwind, toeside and most importantly as Daniel Thompson say's you can get deeper in the wave. Awesome control in bottom turn and hold's it's grip getting to the lip.
The biggest surprise was the ease of jibing. Think this is to do with the balanced distribution of foam. Tried many directionals over the last 5 years, will not be going back to traditional surf shape. My advice get size 6-8 inches shorter than your traditional shape. The 5ft2 will do for most conditions, except over 25knots, when 4ft 8 comes into it's own.

You must be your kite stores new best friend! Around 2 and a half k for 2 boards, wish I could afford that - I'd have 4 new sticks in the quiver!

What's the weight like bermand? Any chance to hold against same size vanguard?

Yeah bit of gear junkie. The 4ft8 was Daniel's board so was a bit cheaper. They are very light boards but with solid honeycomb construct. For what I want to do this is perfect two board quiver. I have not felt weight of vanguard. I like having inserts and being strapped. Mainly front strap. For kiting these boards make huge sense. Especially people riding reef breaks where getting upwind is key

how does it ride in mush?

^^^^^ Guys, take it to the Skater thread please.

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toppleover said..
^^^^^ Guys, take it to the Skater thread please.

not the skater the vanguard,

i didnt rate the skater, hurt like **** underfoot

Sorry tomme, thought there was a thread hijack underway
The VG goes great in mush/choppy waves, but you need to get right back on the tail to get it to really bite in aggressive turns - I've read online how great its low end is but I find it goes even better in high winds & use my Nugget in 10-15 knots.

Video's by the Germans on the new shapes:
Firewire vanguard: gleiten.tv/index.php/video/action/story/v/1775/s/18/page/436/
RRD Cotan: gleiten.tv/index.php/video/action/view/v/1755/page/351/
North Whip:gleiten.tv/index.php/video/action/view/v/1787/page/351/
Slingshot T-Rex gleiten.tv/index.php/video/action/view/v/1410/page/351/

My impression of the video's: the RRD Cotan seems to turn better

Sorry just a fad..

Do you see KS or Mick Fanning ride such a craft...!!!!?????????

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Tony Armstrong said..
Sorry just a fad..

Do you see KS or Mick Fanning ride such a craft...!!!!?????????

Yeah, they said that about the internet when it first started.....

I demoed the new North Whip briefly. It's a very different ride from a traditional kite-surfboard. I liked it's smoothness, it felt corky though. For the brief time I was on it, I couldn't easily dial in the turns. It seems like it prefer a more drawn out radius and it wasn't remotely slashy. Again maybe I need more time on it. I hear the Firewire VG is different, and better all around. I'd be interested in trying the North Whip again, and especially the Vanguard.

Mmmmm sorry tony...

And…. he just rode, well he didn't actually catch a wave, a 5'4" tomo

Stu Kennedy seems to be riding now a normal shortboard on his website. My vid was from 3 years ago.

To the guys that ride the Vanguards, whats the biggest frustration with them compared to a normal shortboard?

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Tony Armstrong said..
Sorry just a fad..

Do you see KS or Mick Fanning ride such a craft...!!!!?????????

classic
cats out of the bag!

www.tracksmag.com.au/news/kelly-on-tomos-425802

The good thing about firewires is you can go grab a demo at a demo centre retailer (who usually have fcs fins to demo as well). I'm 73kg and have been riding a a 5'3" x 17 7/8" firewire epoxy tomo vader as one of my main paddle shortboards. For a pop out board, this thing is unbelievable. It's critical to select the correct dimensions for your size. I see guys riding them way too big. Go and demo one and see how fast, hard, and high you can push it. Works with the FluRo green carver fcs2 in a thruster config or medium (blue) mick fanning fins. I think it's good to find one of these or other board models that are machine shaped world wide, that work. Means I can go anywhere, and either 'demo' a board or grab one off the rack.

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bjw said.

To the guys that ride the Vanguards, whats the biggest frustration with them compared to a normal shortboard?

They're like having an ugly girlfriend that no one else likes! Paddling into bigger waves late, especially when there's rip and bump.

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Tony Armstrong said...
Sorry just a fad..

Do you see KS or Mick Fanning ride such a craft...!!!!?????????

Hi Tony,I was a bit of a sceptic myself,but I've been using one for the last 6months and absolutely love it for kiteing,once you rap your head around what it looks like and get used to it they go well in any sort of swell big or small and for holding ground kiteing there insane,l take out a conventional board after kiteing with a vanguard and it feels like it's pushing water and harder to go upwind,maybe I'm getting long in the tooth but the vanguard makes for easy kiteing...

Hi! Pls, what length would you recommend for a guy 77kg, 187cm? Want use it only as a Kiteboard, strapless of course, around Sydney? The dealer from Gerrington recommended me 5'4, but based on what I read here 5'2 should be enough, right? Thanks a lot!

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lancekenny said..




Been riding the Vanguard (5'6") for a few weeks now and really liking it, I do have some northshore inc stick on screw mounts for a front foot strap but I have just been riding strapless to date.

Its such a smooth board and gets up and going very quickly, as a quad its fast and draws long turns but I like it better as a thruster (I have my Vanguard surfboard setup the same way).

Very impressed with the weight too - I had one of the first firewire kiteboards and it weighed a ton, the new board is pretty damn good I think.

Really enjoyable board to ride

A guy in spain just tried to sell me your board

I've posted a wanted to buy on seabreeze and he sent me your picture. Offerred to send it fully insured from spain!

haha, i recognized the pic straight away as Ive been googling firewire boards a lot lately.


He uses the email palmsound74@gmail.com, so just a little warning to anyone who gets offered anything from him

Here's my 5'2" Firewire Vanguard, with NSI stick on pads with inserts, and Cabrinha straps. I weigh 77kg and am a hobbit 166cm TALL! I used Tefgel on the SS screws as they are brass inserts, and from past experience with this product I'll have no corrosion issues for the life of the board. Use on any screw threads with dissimilar metals used in water.

I really like the board in mush to shoulder high surf, we often have bigger than that here in Northern NSW, but I love the way this board rides and turns. The lack of nose shows up in bigger surf coming down faces, and also getting out the back over big white water. The boards seem quite tough to me, I don't jump on them, but my one has handled me falling on it a few times. I like it most in onshore conditions, especially if the wind is a bit light for my biggest reo/12, its a session saver for sure and very fun to ride. I've turned the front strap around since I took this pic when it was brand new.

Don't be afraid to buy online they are extremely well packed and should travel well - keep the bits they are packed with they are excellent and can be used over and over.

I just picked up a 5'3" Vader, I'll post some pictures later and write a review.

Hey there, are the kite versions just fst construction? look forward to hearing how vadar goes.

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Ozone Kites Aus said..
Here's my 5'2" Firewire Vanguard, with NSI stick on pads with inserts, and Cabrinha straps. I weigh 77kg and am a hobbit 166cm TALL! I used Tefgel on the SS screws as they are brass inserts, and from past experience with this product I'll have no corrosion issues for the life of the board. Use on any screw threads with dissimilar metals used in water.

I really like the board in mush to shoulder high surf, we often have bigger than that here in Northern NSW, but I love the way this board rides and turns. The lack of nose shows up in bigger surf coming down faces, and also getting out the back over big white water. The boards seem quite tough to me, I don't jump on them, but my one has handled me falling on it a few times. I like it most in onshore conditions, especially if the wind is a bit light for my biggest reo/12, its a session saver for sure and very fun to ride. I've turned the front strap around since I took this pic when it was brand new.

Don't be afraid to buy online they are extremely well packed and should travel well - keep the bits they are packed with they are excellent and can be used over and over.

How you put these inserts? Are special order from firewire? Or you made it custom?

I'm Soo Close to buying one of these but I keep holding off hoping they release the sci-fi in fst. Has anyone heard any rumours of this?

Small to medium waves, charging upwind better than anything else.
Firewire vanguard in kite construction,
Don't think there is anything better.
You won't be disappointed.
However if you want to hit bigger decent waves down south then you need a Delta Designs!