You'll have to excuse my complete ignorance here - I'm a landlubber A skimboard - is that like a kiteboard but with no fins ? So you can zip around in a couple inches of water? And dig in the edge for control - maybe something like a snowboard? So theoretically if I could master the balance/edge thingy I could use one of these on a lake or a flooded area or anywhere I had more than a couple of inches of water? I take it falling over in a couple inches of water is not quite as fun though!

Skimboard= tiny, strapless, finless surfboard. Used in the shallows at the beach, users usually run, throw it down as a wave recedes, and ride that receding wave into the next small crashing one.

Falling in a couple inches of water can be incredibly painful(Surprisingly painful!), and a skimboard is a great way to bust your ass. I know from experience! Can you kite with one? Yes! (Heck, Lou Wainman kited with a lunchroom tray as a board to prove a point, once.)

Is a skimboard what Alex's is using here? Or is this a kiteboard with no fins? (sorry, not sure what the heck I'm talking about!!)

Skimboarding/Kiteboarding

Thats a kiteboard with no fins...

this is a skim board:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhnD7OYhDXM

not to be confused with a wake skate:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d37LU4nhOPU

Thanks for that. I see the wake skate is quite small by comparison and no straps on the skim board. I quite like the idea that I can wander down to the local lake, find the appropriate on shore breeze bit and fly a foil over the land and not worry about drowning it. I have a sneaking suspicion it won't be that easy!! sigh...it never is.....

a skim board really has no rocker, so it narrows its use is for FLAT and usually light wind, larger ones have a rail line for better upwind ..really could be just a piece of plywood truly bidirectional. riding position is more up right and balanced on top of the board. brutal fails because the lack of edge in shallow so there is little or no speed control, in deeper water an edge can be worked and speed managed better. a skim can be run right down to wet sand but not so fun, an 1" + is better.

a wakeskate, small stiff wake board, completely naked. behaves alot like a kite board and can handle alot of speed where edge control is just like a kite board. it has rocker for popping the board up i think its called kicker tips, also some board effects like chines or ultra small finn. speed and edge control are the difference, planning speed is faster than a skim and does better in a little more depth.

both require balancing board skills, once riding kinda tame fun fairly easy, BUT the start, esp the skim, requires, hot, hop starts and grabs and solid one hand kite control.

when the air is marginal and the tidal pools are filled in i jump on the wakeskate because i can run out past the break and back with some decent control.

the skim thing you really have to have a nice larger pro model for fun. the smaller ones are injury machines in shallow stuff

Skim boarding with a kite is amazing! They are the best for light wind days and on low angle beaches. I just kites 5 miles down wind on one in South Padre. When its too light to kite, grab the skim and have a ball. I use the 20$ ones from the gas station.

I knew a kiter who only had an 11m and one kiteboard and one skimboard.
He never missed a session.
I've never bought one due to price
$20 model I can do

its a board with 50% less fat

Quote:

Originally posted by bluefunelement I knew a kiter who only had an 11m and one kiteboard and one skimboard. He never missed a session. I've never bought one due to price $20 model I can do

sounds like most of our crew here. if you're blessed to have a stack of junk you pass it and share it til you forget who actually owned it.besides you can really only fly one kite and ride one board