7 replies to this topic

[Jake]

yes that amount of rocker makes a big differance. I was not really convinced that it was a big deal until i used my Aggression Phatty this past weekend behind a boat. Yes i was able to ride it and yes you could use a wakeboard for kitesurfing, but they ride and feel completely different.

while i was riding my phatty as a wakeboard i could feel the differance in the rocker, for example my board was much more slippery and it popped out and plained much faster. When i tried to jump off the wake the board would slice through it instead of using it as a ramp. It also felt really tight when carving, more like a solemn ski. I could carve sick turns and kick up huge walls of water, but the board just wouldn't pop off the water since it was so flat.

you see the extra rocker in a wakeboard gives you the ability to pop off the wake and it will also soften the landings in the flats. while kiting you use the kite to soften your landings. The straiter rails of a kiteboard also help you load up the board for jumps.

yes you could use a wakeboard, however getting into your bindings while holding down a kite is a little dangerous for a beginner. Straps are the wayto go for easy entry and exit from the board.

[trent hink]

You'll find you can ride upwind much easier and with much less power on a board with a flatter rocker line.

[D_Clark]

I would recomend against using the wakeboard.  I have seen it tried and it will hold up your progress.  

The rocker issue is real.  Highwinds I like a lot of rocker, and low wind less rocker and lightwind no rocker.  

I know looking at the price of kiteboards will have you looking for an alternative, but kiteboards work best.  I have several really good kiteboards and I have never paid over $450 for a board.  So you don't have to pay $600+ for a new board.

Look for a nice used kiteboard,  we are almost to the end of the model year.  And alot of used gear comes on the market in the fall and winter.   Kiteboards wear much better than kites so you'll get a good deal.  just stay way from anything that is older than 2003.

- DC

[Noabacca]

Ehhhhhh, I'm not so sure about things like pop, or edge hold, or planing, when it comes to rocker.

This is what I feel.

ROCKER IS DRAG.

Wakeboards have a lot of rocker compared to a kiteboard.

You want drag on a wakeboard, since it slows you down after a hot landing.
Without it, you'd end up with a slack rope almost everytime.
Actually, I think the rocker, helps dampen the landing, for the most part.

Last Sunday, I took my 122 Kiteboard behind the boat.
Yes it would edge, and I sure could pop fine, but landing was rough.
Not having that drag during landings, made the board want to slip out ahead of me.
Meaning the nose would tilt up and I'd fall toward my trailing foot.
Not a common fall, like the heal side slip out, to butt splat.

Also, lacking bindings made a huge difference in landing comfort and for maintaining control.

Kiteboarding is so much easier than wakeboarding, to go out and jump and spin.
It is like cheating, if you are used to Wakeboarding.
The pull is nearly straight up for those tricks, and the landings are usually delicate.
USUALLY.

So for your question on Wake Vs Kiteboard.

For kiteboarding, especially learning, you want very little drag.
It is really best to learn in lighter winds, with a small kite and big board.
A big, FLAT, board will plane up, and maintain a plane in those conditions.

Trying to kite with a wakeboard will be a drag.

As for the fin question.

It's has 2 sides.
People with wakeboard experience, and who can edge hard enough to pull the boat around...
There is no real need for fins.

Now.....
Kiteboard designers put fins on their boards, the fins work, so there is no reason to change stock fins or take fins off any board.

I'm a hypocrite, in a way, because I put larger fins on my old Pickle Fork 171.
I will admit, on an old school kiteboard, bigger fins will help stay in control while riding the board flat, but all new production boards (POST 2003) work great AS they come.

Am I making sense?
-Hmmmmmmm

[AlphaHelix]

I tried taking the fins off once, just to see how it felt. It was a light wind day and a good chance just to try it. I actually liked the feel of it. It felt more like snowboarding. The board would just slide around turns nice and smooth like. But keep in mind the wind was light and the water flat. I tried the next time out, with a bit more wind. I made one trip and ran back to put the fins on. I found it very hard to hold and edge without the fins and I would almost get dragged straight downwind with the board just skipping on its edge. It was enough to make me put fins back on. Now, I just leave them on because Im too lazy to switch back and forth. I'll wait for snowkiting to get that snowboard feel.