A quick (not so quick) ATB 101 for ya.
-ATB=All terrain board
CONSTRUCTION:
-Older models are generally made of all wood; newer ones are wood, or fiberglass/carbon composite.
-Good manufacturers make their wood boards out of very fine materials; they are sturdy and durable and inexpensive but heavy. Good for beginners.
Composite boards have the same traits as wood boards, but are lighter, have a varying range of flexibility, and can be more pricy.
DECK TIP ANGLES:
-Trampa, Scrub, and Ground Industries generally have boards with deck tip angles of 15 or 32/35 degrees. Skate-style ATB trucks fit universally on 15
degree tips.
PROS: Very light, good handling, inexpensive.
CONS: Tend to break easily. Do not handle hard impacts as well.
-32/35 degree tip angles: MBS/Scrub Channel, MBS Matrix, Trampa Vertigo and VerTigo, GI Bionic, etc. all fit 32/35 deg. tips.
PROS: Very durable, very adjustable, very good handling, very good impact resistance.
CONS: Tend to be expensive and heavy; twice as heavy as skate trucks in many cases.
-Some boards have weird deck tip angles, like the MBS Pro 90, which is at 20 degrees. As far as I know, only the MBS Matrix Lite trucks will fit it
effectively. However, this is an expensive and advanced board, so you don't need to worry about it.
-BOARD LENGTH:
-Shorter boards (overall length 90-105 cm, approx.): Very good for kiting, as they are generally lightweight and compact. Usually the deck tip angle
is 15 degrees, unless you have a Pro 90 or custom Trampa. However, these are not good for cruising, as they are unstable at high speeds, and hard to
control going downhill.
-Medium boards (overall length 106 cm-115 cm): Good all-around boards. Can be used effectively for kite freestyling/cruising/general use, but are not
exceptional in any of the above. Deck tip angle varies, so you can customize them.
-Long boards (overall length 115 cm+): Best for racing, downhill runs, Boarder X, etc. Bad for freestyle kiting and big air due to their bulkiness,
but are very stable at high speeds.
-Grab handles: Many freestyle kite landboards come with a grab handle, or holes for one. These are used to carry the board around, and also to perform
advanced arial maneuvers while freestyling. If your board is not pre-drilled, take extra precaution when drilling holes to avoid weakening the deck.
-WHERE TO START:
Here are some quality, cost-effective boards that are suitable for a beginner.
-MBS Core 90, Core 95, Comp 90, Comp 95
-Any Trampa (buy a used setup, as they are very expensive new)
-Ground Industries Flight 93 (good boards, but hard to find... Dino [DAKITEZ] has some modified '06 models in the range of ~$250-300. Ask him about
them.), Prodigy, Catalyst, Bomber... ***NOTE: GI is currently SOLD OUT of their 2010 lineup! GI boards in general are a bit hard to find right now,
you will have to ask around a little.
-Scrub Psycho
-Flexifoil Hunter
-Radsail R1 R2 R3 RKB
***Many, if not all, of these boards can be found somewhere used if there's one you really like but can't afford. Stuff goes on sale on this forum all
the time. Just keep looking around. The more you get to know people, the more resources you'll have. The pre-owned kite/kite accessories market is
huge.
Hope that helps! Did I miss anything?
Cheers,
Seanny
Sean Tully
i like kites.
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