I use Force Fins because they are easy to get off and on over my booties. http://www.forcefin.com

Did use the ones from Hawaii with velcro because they were so light and flat but I was exhausted by the time I got them on my feet due to how hard they are to put on in deep water.

I use the "original" Force Fin. They are nice............

chemosavi-

Thanks for the info, which ones do you use there are so many different types.

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Aprox asked: "Is the reel self-winding? If not, how do you put it back together when it extends?"

Answer: It is a fly fishing reel which has a little stub of a handle on the side, which you use to reel in the line, just like you were fishing. It is not hard to reel in the line, as long as you tie the reel on to your harness, so that it does not flop around. I tied my reel on using about 2 foot of shoe lace, by lacing the shoe lace through some of the many holes in the back of the reel, and looping the lace around the straps on the harness. I also drilled 2 holes in the plate which normally is cinched down under two rings on the fishing pole. I also fed shoelace through these 2 holes and looped the lace around one of the straps on the harness. The less the reel moves around on your harness, the easier and faster it will be to reel in the line.

They do make a spring loaded self reeling fly fishing reel, but no real fly fisherman would use it. They are kind of a joke among the fishing crowd. I don't think that this type of fly reel would be powerful enough to reel in a kiteboard, so I didn't bother to try one. I think that this type of reel must contain gears along with a spriral wound spring. I bet that using a spring and gear mechanism, one could make a self-winding kite reel leash that would allow a kiteboard to go out a safe distance from the kiter (30 feet?), and then automatically reel the board back in. If kiteboarding was a larger sport, then it might be profitable for someone to go to the trouble to make a proper kiteboard leash. I think the Oceanic leash was designed for surf boards.

How was snowkiting today?

Do you carry fins solely for situations where you must detach yourself from the kite??? If we start carrying things for every possible screw-up situation, we might as well be towing a pontoon boat every session.

I guess before going far from land, I would always have a plan for getting back - unassisted, without kite or board. Then I would come up with a better plan, so that I could get my kite and board back to land unassisted.

You did the right thing - when the chips were down, you sacrificed your gear. But if I was going out in cross-off conditions with currents and extremely cold water temps, I'd stick pretty close to land or have boat support already on the water, or do the 7mm + fins thing so I could swim a few miles with little/no risk of hypothermia.

The more risks you take, the more prepared you should be.

I've got to say, that going out in those conditions is just plain stupid. Swimming against the wind/current is really difficult at the best of times. The odds of something going wrong are pretty high - losing a board during a jump is not such an uncommon experience, & to be in cold water & close to dark with no exit downwind is more risk then it's worth taking.

I have spent 25 years windsurfing & kiting in (seasonally) cold water, often alone, & in that time have several times broken booms, masts, fins, kitelines, bladders & lost boards. Where I ride the wind is generally onshore, which means if something goes wrong I will drift in to shore. I never go further offshore than I judge I will be able swim/drift in with risking serious hypothermia.

Aprok, Had a great time snowkiteing yesterday in a field in Medford about the size of 20 football fields until the cops came and kicked me out because I was using the top bar of a soccer goal net (@ 8-10 ft. high) for a rail. Boy that was fun. Then I went to a sand pit in Jackson NJ where it had more terrain. (hills, and ramps) The sand under the snow was a bit soft and every once in a while I would come to an abrupt stop. 2hrs. in the ride I looked up and saw some deer hunters watching me. I'm sure they were thinking, "What the hell?" Friday we should get some more snow and if anyone in central NJ wants to go, I need some people to make it more exciting. Gets kind of boring by yourself.Let me know.

Noel,

What type of board are you using, I have been thinking about trying snowkiting but I would need to get some gear,Board, boots, bindings, pants jacket, Any deals on equipment. I may just save the money for OR Drysuit.
I was planning on getting back down to James Street on Saturday if the conditions are good I can handle 40F air temp and 47-50F water temp, with my current wetsuit setup. Currently the outlook is for 15-20 West winds which will be good for James St (On-shore) but at the point its easy to get out.

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Noel,,,, are you still out there man...Send me a private message if you don't want to post. Maybe your still out in the cornfields of NJ!

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