Now that youre looking I have a question. Theres a guy in my area selling one of those cheap "mountain boards"

such as this http://cgi.ebay.com/SDS-MountainBoard-Mountain-Board-Skatebo...

I could get it for next to nothing. I was thinking about picking it up and getting some bindings and using it to learn on. I could prob keep the whole thing under $50.

Yes, no, maybe so?

Is $50 a "disposable" amount to you? If so, then why not? That's about my disposable limit where I'd feel no guilt blowing the dough and finding out it was short term, enough to get used to or what have you. I think I've seen those boards and they should be just fine for getting things sorted I'd think. If it's the same board it's quite short so you'd want the simplest strap bindings you could find so you could set them as far out as possible w/o rubbing your shoes on the wheels while you ride. Nothing wrong with the "skyhook" binding shown there either.

$50 is a tank of gas for me. I could walk if I needed. (If my wife ever caught wind of this pearl of my "logic" she'd probably understand a whole lot more about all the kite bags downstairs....)

do you have a board yet. that one will not last long but it would be a good start. otherwise save up for the patrol pro on the forum.

How much do you weigh ?
That board doesn't look too substantial ?

Like Macboy says , at $50 you get a ride that may let you down at some point. With a quality used board costing $150 or more you can break 3 of these and still not have spent too much ?

You get what you pay for !

True. I just dont want to drop $300 on a board because I wont be using it everyweek but I could go up to about $200 for a used one. Im saving at the same time for a depower too though

I wouldnt mind dropping $50 do get used to riding swtich on a ATB. I used Weldngods the last time I made it to the beach and was doing really good till I ran into the fishing poles...haha

I was thinking if I did buy it I may just throw some old straps on it from some old snowboard bindings so I can use it with shoes this fall and winter. Then by next summoer Ill just buy a new one :D

As long as you don't weigh too much I would expect you would get some use from this board. If it means the difference between getting a good depower kite and not, I would say it's a good plan. Knowing you will eventually want to trade up ! At that point you can probably still get $50 for it. If it's still in one piece ?

Thats the way Im thinking. Im only 140 lbs. anyway. Im not a fatty :D

So Its either this complete board for around $50 or a GI Boxacar deck for $65 + all the other stuff.

I was in this same dilema at this time last year when i just got into the sport and my Crossfire 2.4 was just not enough. I still hadn't had my depower and and needed a board and needed everything cheap just in case i sucked at it and would try buggy instead. paid $130 for my MBS core 90 on Ebay. Not the best kiting board out there, but it's friggin great fo me. Havn't turned back since. I also weigh 140lbs and the board is great. brand new it's $260 so not an expensive board compared to the higher end MBS or , GI, Flexi boards. Now i need to get myself a buggy but at the moment not in a rush. :wee: as you can see by my quiver. I am at the moment a one kite quiver guy. LOL I need to sell some stuff i don't need anymore to get myself another kite..........think the Wii needs to go LOL need to clean out the closet and get selling on ebay. pathetic i still only have 1 kite after a year hehehe:megan:

haha. I know what you mean. Man the company I used to work for paid me very well but ended up closing down so now Im making about $1200 less a month. I used to have some nice change to play with and at the time most of it went into photography equipment. Lost my job, lost the wife and lost the extra money. Now I have finally cought up with most of the bills after 2 years

Just wish I could have landed more photography gigs this year

Just noticed your in Norfolk, VA. You could also hang with the WaveJunkies on VA Beach. www.wavejunkies.com

I was just up there with them a couple weeks ago.

I would seriously hang tight on a board and do it right the first time. I only get to use my ATB maybe once a month if that. I've had it for several years and it's still in perfect shape. I have a Flexifoil Kava and have tried several of the "cheaper" boards out there and they don't compare to a nice board at all.

You get what you pay for. A cheaper board could break at an inoportune time and really hurt you as well.

A guy on the beach here had a cheapie board "just seeing if he like the sport". The board broke and he crashed hard. I don't think he got to badly hurt but it could have been bad.

Good luck-Scott

Thats what I was thinking too Scott. Im just gonna bite the bullet and hold out for a little longer.

I knew a few of the wave junkies but that was years ago, when they were first getting started. Havent talked to em in a long time.

If you have a large piece of concrete you can use a regular skateboard.

Here I am flying a 3 meter kite in light wind on a skateboard.
http://s226.photobucket.com/albums/dd82/speleopower/?action=...

Later-Scott

Man I wish. Only thing we have around here like that would be a running track around the local high schools. I have 2 longboards that would be perfect for carving like that too :D