Hey all,

I think the title says it all. How long did you fly your traction kites before you jumped on a board?

I've been flying 2-line stunt kites for a while and just recently got my 2.5 from Kite Innovations. I also have a 3.6 coming in by the end of the week. I'm loving the kites, but i know that scudding is going to get boring at some point.

I'm just curious when, and what, was the deciding point to get on a board.

Thanks,

-Dusty-

I flew daul line kites for years before I started flying my foils. I bought my foils for the sole purpose of wanting to kite ski. Static flying was never really part of my equation (though I do enjoy it). I started kite skiing in February of 2005 and bought my landboard in March of 2006 because we had no snow last winter and I was tired of looking at foils sitting in my basement without the opportunity to use them. At that time, if I was going to just go fly, I'd fly my sport kites. Now I just fly sport kites in sub 8mph winds and board any time the winds blow above that.

Personally, because of my kiting background, I don't think foils are nearly as challenging to fly as sport kites (assuming you do more than just simple loops and turns with your sport kites). So I'd say if you flew static for 1-3 hours just to get the feel of the kite and the powerzone and braking, etc. you could jump right on a board and get going. Of course, I think the learning curve for boarding is kind of steep but I don't think you need to spend weeks and months flying static before you progess to a board or buggy, or whatever.

When you are comfortable with the kite its time to add some wheels. Only you will know when you're comfortable.

I don't find them amazingly challenging. the hardest part i have is milking all the power out of the kite.

I do snowboard as well.

If you snowboard you should love it next winter. If you kite and if you snowboard (ski) and you do both well, you'll put them together real easily. I don't snowboard but I ski with a bunch of riders who kite surf and snowboard. They have given up on kite landboarding because they find it more challenging than surfing so they just surf now.

I think you'll have an advantage because if you snowboard you are more used to the way the bindings of a landbaord will be set up, but my guess is you will still struggle to figure out how to get rolling without getting yanked off the board and then staying powered and getting upwind on a landboard takes a while to figure out too. But its the progression that makes it fun. Landboarding is very much a balancing act between toe and heel pressure and body angulation to keep the tension in the lines and power in the kite without over carving and coming to a stop or undercarving and killing the kite by causing too much slack to form in the lines.

Welcome to the forum and sport, by the way!!

Thanks..

I think i'm gonna be buying a board next month. That give me time to get a little more comfortable with the kites and time to come up with money. It seems that so many people are overly afraid of doing anything but static flying.

BTW... How do you like the Pro Flight?

The Pro Flight has been a great board. I weigh 145#s and have the older (2005) setup with the older style trucks and the non-leather Talon bindings. My bindings took a couple of sessions of adjusting to get them the way I like them to feel but they are worth tinkering with.

Its a shorter board more geared to freestyle but I don't have much problem cruising with it either. I have the stock yellow/orange T3s in it and I'm undecided if they are too stiff or not. Whenever I think I'm going to go with a softer cube I have a great session and think "forget it" but then there are times I'd like to be able to carve faster and ride toeside and I think "I should get some blue cubes".

Nevertheless, its been a great all-around board and the warranty is outstanding (not that I've needed it but its nice to know).

i'm still looking at boards and the GI ones look to be decent. I might go with more of a "cruising" board and eventually get a shorter one with some pop.

-Dusty-

Quote:

Originally posted by ratindahat i'm still looking at boards and the GI ones look to be decent. I might go with more of a "cruising" board and eventually get a shorter one with some pop. -Dusty-

Very decent indeed! With the cube technology you can fine tune it to your specific needs! And of course, they are a SC based company!:D

you can cruise pretty well with the pro flight. Just today I flew with it at lunch and made long, straight runs with it no problem. The nice thing about the GI boards is you can stiffen them up (with the stock T3 or higher) which allows for nice cruising or soften the ride to allow for more carve with a softer T3.

So if you think you might want to cruise around, I'd recommend the shorter board with the stiffer T3 simply because a real long board, even with a softer cube, will likley never be as snappy (though it may ?? have more flex since the trucks are further apart - could be good or bad depending upon your weight and if that causes you to bottom out or not).

If you can get to a shop that has them, go and bounce around on a few and ride them in the parking lot so you can really get a feel for what works for you. GI used to post the recommended rider weight ranges on their site but I haven't been able to find that since they redid the site. But depending upon if you are heavy or lite, may also play into the decision of which board you ride so you don't get one that is too stiff or not stiff enough.

nice looking board Tridude I may need to get me some of those new talons

I really like the idea behind the bionic trucks. I'm glad people are liking them. Those are the boards i am looking at.

I'm honestly looking at the GI AK103 "Bionic" because it isn't too expensive and looks to be decent. I doubt if 1 board will be the end all answer for everything, but i figure the 103 would be pretty good to start with. Opinions?

-Dusty-

but then i wonder about a flight 93 as well. only $30 more. There is also the Patrol in that same price range.

BTW i weigh 155-160 lbs and am 5'11"

Decisions.... Decisions... And there is no shop in my state

Have you ever seen the AK??

I'm not sure if / how the '07 version compares to the 05 but I can tell you the 05 was super flexible. I don't recall the difference in the number of "plys" in the deck between that and the patrol or flight but I'm sure the deck is not as thick which makes it better for junior riders.

I'm only 145 and just standing on it in the store and jumping I could come close to bottoming out the board - so if you add the height you can get with a kite, you will likely bottom out. Or your weight when leaning against the kite will force the board to flex and constantly want to carve upwind. Again, GI no longer posts weight limits and I was originally going to buy the AK but after standing on it - no comparison between that and the flight and I think you may be close to the upper limit of that board's recommend rider weight.

Additionally, unless its changed on all models but the AK, you have a torsion screw & plate which you can use to add slightly more or less pressure to your T3 to damper or compress the cube even further to stiffen the ride. I don't use it that much but it does make a difference and can give more flex to a stiff cube if you back the screw out. You can't do that with the AK (or at least you couldn't on the old style).

Lastly a rider up here (I forget if he is 185 or 225# but he's bigger than me) snapped his AK jumping. He had drilled new holes in the deck to adjust his bindings but he snapped it nevertheless and replaced it with a patrol deck which he felt was much better.

If you are really on a budget I'd suggest you look at the MBS Core 8. I've played on that too but never rode it with a kite. It gets great reviews but it has skate style trucks which are subject to speed wobble until you learn to ride them. Bionic / Channel trucks won't wobble.

For $30 I'd go patrol or flight. It will be small money compared to the frustration you may experience if you flex the heck out of the deck and find yourself constantly carving upwind or worse, bottom out and break it. You could be fine and love the AK and it could last you a long time but if you have to buy without ever standing on the board, go with something other than that to be safe.

Hence why i asked.. I'm thinking about the flight or patrol.

And i am stupid, it's a $130 difference, but in the grand scheme of things that isn't much money. I'd rather pay that then snap a board. That is never fun.

Well hopefully next month i'll be buying my board. Just have to decide on which one now. I think the flight or patrol. How far apart are your bindings on the flight?

thanks,
-Dusty-

If there is an EMS store near you, they used to carry AK boards - might be worth checking out.

Or, as I said, if its a board on a budget, check out the MBS Core 8. Some sponsored riders still use that.

I'll try to measure up the stance distance and let you know. I'm guessing its about 24" between the toes and around 15 inches on the heal side.

It is a little tight for a slightly bow legged guy like me but nothing you can't get use to easily.

Wish there was an EMS over here, but i'm in New Mexico. It would be a drive to get to one. :-D

The cores don't look too bad, but i hate regular skate-style trucks. I've never liked speed wobble because it can really hurt.

I'll look around town to see what options i have available here, if nothing else, just to get a feel for a few boards.

I have the Gi Patrol. I weigh around 240 lbs, and No Problem.
I also have the mbs 26x. The GI is my favorite so far.

The mbs is a monster and I use it for running down/over hills.
GI is great on the beach... Only had to get tubes..lol.. because I use it so much.
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Sami 3m
Sami 5m ( on the way )
Blade IV 4.9

GI Patrol
MBS 26x

I'm really looking at GI.. soon i hope.. :-D

For the pro flight, the distance between the heelside bindings is 21". the distance between the toeside bindings is 13" which makes your mid sole stance about 19" (feet apart from each other).

You could adjust that slightly but not radically.

Thanks for measuring that.

I would recommend the Flight over the AK as well. I am 245 and have been riding the Patrol 106 for a while now with no problems. The AK does have skate style trucks where the flight has the new 2007 Bionic Trucks with the new T3 cubes. Awesome board. The Patrol 106 is a slightly larger board than the Flight 93 but has the same 9 ply maple deck and Bionic Trucks / T3 cubes.

The new 2007 GI boards have an improved bionic truck and cube hanger which is awesomely strong and lighter than the older boards. They even have a kit to upgrade to the new cubes/hangars for the older boards.

Also, GI just introduced the new Vegas hubs here at the 2007 NABX event. These new hubs are a composite electroplated hub that is available in different colors. They have engineered more flex in them over the crosshairs which allows for a stiffer rim for better tire pressure and support while still having the flex in the hub so it isn't brittle and they are also lighter in weight than the Crosshairs. The colors are awesome, I seen the cherry red, chrome silver, bright gold, and the green glow. They also said there were going to be a couple more colors added as well. Sweeeeeet!

We should have these new hubs in stock soon and they can be used on any Ground Industries board (and maybe a couple other brands as well).

I will try to get some pictures of them for ya'll.

GI makes an awesome board, you won't regret your purchase at all!

Good to know. Thanks for the info.