We can get Ground Industries through our local supplier, So I'd like to keep it to ground industries.

I'm 250lbs, new to landboarding, been buggying for a while now.

I'm wondering what board they carry that'd be well suited for a larger fellow, looking to get into jumps, freestyle and the likes.

I have been using the Ground Industries Patrol Deck (older 2004 model) for a few years now. I am 240 and am pretty aggressive with my board so it has had some serious abuse. Awesome board. I would suggest the Flight 93 or the Patrol 106 as your best choice (both new 2007 models). I would step up from the AK model because the others are just so much better in design. The AK uses standard "skate style" trucks & rubber bushings where the others use the Ground Industries Bionic Trucks which are built tank style - they also have the T3 cube technology which is just plain genius and works awesome. If you got the bucks then go for the Flight Light 100 or the Conflict - both are composite boards with all the bells & whistles, top of the line stuff.

Hope this helps.

Thanks for the input, Is it really worth the extra $$$ to get the composite deck?

I bounced around on a flight light and then bought a ProFlight 93. The composite deck was nice and looked cooler and was lighter but I'm no radical freestylist and couldn't justify the extra $$.

I have the older deck as I bought it in 2006. I only weigh 145 and I think the board is a bit stiff so with your extra weight you may get more flex out of it without stressing the boards limits.

GI used to have nice breakdown of each board, its strong points (street, kite, carve, bomb) and the weight ranges but I haven't seen that on their new site.

I really like my Pro Flight 93. The bindings took a while to set up the way I liked them but that was expected. The board carves nice. I have the 2005 T3 cubes (yellow - standard) and I think they are a bit stiff. I don't think I could get over to toeside by carving but I don't really ride toeside anyway and so the cubes I have really excel in carving and tracking and you can still get up and down wind with them.

Great board, IMO and they are warrrantied for life as long as you don't go drilling holes in them, etc. so that's encouraging too - especially if you are going to be jumping and could bend a truck, break a hub or snap a deck - none of which I've had to worry about as the build quailty is so high.

I just rinse it down, rotate the tires every now and then and I haven't even needed to change or grease the bearings yet and the board is almost 1 year old (but I don't fly at the beach).

Hay guys, got my first board the other day and went out for my first go, the wind was good, and I was getting big slides across the sand while I warmed myself up. I had been reading a few posts on the site before hand to prepare myself and thought I was ready. However I could not get going. I had the kite holding at the edge of the window and it did feel like there was power in the kite but I just could not get going. I have read several posts about keeping the board at the right angle to the wind and not trying to go straight down wind but it just didn’t seem to work. Could this be due to my 2.5 pepper being too small? This would however be odd as I said at the start of this post I was getting 2 + meter slides off the wind when not on the board. Any advice? Cheers

Well, you may have been a bit underpowered, yesterday we were getting 10m+ worth of slides.

When starting out you want the board on close to a 45deg angle to the wind, you'll dip the kite to the side and as you start moving you want to turn the board so it's pretty much going cross wind. Timing is key here. If you turn too late the kite will probably luff, mainly because you're going straight at the kite and unloading the lines. If you don't point the board downwind enought or cut upwind too soon there's a good chance you'll get pulled out the front door.

Once you're moving, if you find the lines are going slack on you, you're going too far downwind, if you find that you're slowing down and the kite's right at the edge of the window you've gone too far upwind.

I have no problem getting on a board and getting going when I have enough wind for the kite, when I'm underpowered at all, I find it next to impossible.

Cheers Pablo, reading your post it may have been the skip between 45degrees and cross wind that was the problem, I think you hit the nail on the head with timing. Does your answer imply that in the right conditions my 2.5 should be fine for boarding.

Also the 2+ meters was not a boast I’m in no doubt that more experienced flyers could have harnessed the conditions but I was still quite chuffed

Hey, I've been out both in the buggy and on a board with a 2m Buster and almost overpowered, depends on how strong the wind is, If you've got enough wind to get skudding the 2.5m, you should be able to board with it.

The thing I found and still fight with is when I've got a larger kite up, the kite always stays up over a 45deg angle to the ground, it'll never really get low, This helps pull me up instead of across, making it easier to lean on it and ballance. When I go out underpowered and I have to drop the kite low I have trouble keeping from getting pulled out the front door. With time and practice it should be more than possible, but seeing as I also buggy, I'll usually put up a large race kite and jump in the bug.

Following up on Pablo's comments, boarding is much easier when you are really powered. If the kite needs hard working you probably aren't going to enjoy your day and you'll never get upwind.

As he stated, your best sessions are going to be the days when you can keep the kite above 45 degrees and lean against it so you can move all over the field simply by leaning back and standing up on the board to control your upwind / downwind balance / direction.

Boarding is harder than it looks and it takes time to figure out the technique but if you can get out on a day when you are really powered but not way overpowered, you'll put things together faster.

Well, finally settled on a board, not what I was looking for but I just couldn't pass it up. My buddy decided to rid himself of one of his boards to get a buggy, So I ended up with his old board, I've ridden it many times and love how it rides, so it's all good.

Board's an older MBS Blade, composite board, egg shocks are already set up for my weight and the local park, A little bit heavier than I was looking for but for $150 I figure I can't go that wrong, thing's still nice and shiny and the guy just overhauled the board for me as well.