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Re: WAM or Whip for chop
Posted: Mon Nov 05, 2012 8:24 pm
by spacemonkey
10 feet waves? I would go for kontact, I ride it strapless. Bit more technical to fine or to tack than whip or wham. I love it.
Re: WAM or Whip for chop
Posted: Mon Nov 05, 2012 9:10 pm
by nicor
spacemonkey wrote:10 feet waves? I would go for kontact, I ride it strapless. Bit more technical to fine or to tack than whip or wham. I love it.
Just to be clear the majority of the time I'm kiting in small lake waves and chop, max wave height is 3 feet. 10 foot waves is when I make a special effort, which I do from time to time. This board would be used for bigger waves, but mostly in high winds (20 kts and up) with lots of chop. I'm just doing what I can to save my knee - even if that means riding a gun surfboard - I've found my current surfboard is so much easier on my knees that my TT.
Re: WAM or Whip for chop
Posted: Mon Nov 05, 2012 9:50 pm
by letsgoflyakite
SupaEZ wrote:My favorite board is neither one............. for the conditions you describe
I go for the 5'9" Kontact...it is a chop killer...the EZiest there is for the knees
Nothing tracks through chop like that board...with minimum bounce due to it's narrowness and shape
Works like magic for me at 75kg/165lbs with my 10-8-6 and 5 Rebels...from 20 to 40 knots
Ocean surf chop......intracoastal river chop.....that board rips it...and keeps the knees happy for more
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That's what I was getting at. Slimmer cuts through chop, so this is way to go. You are constrained by your knees condition, so what waves you kite in is pretty irrelevant for board choice. Best small wave board, whip? = worst board for your knees.
Re: WAM or Whip or Kontact for chop
Posted: Tue Nov 06, 2012 2:23 am
by SupaEZ
I ride 2 boards .....i can't really just have one to cover the whole wind range...on 19M to 5M Kites
From 8 to 20kn...Whip 5'7"(2011)...with XR2LW Core Riot 19M......or with my 2011 Rebel 12M
For all higher winds 20kn+++++++++++
10M-8M-6M-5M
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bye Whip & nasty Chop....and hello
Kontact 5'9"x 16 7/8'x 1 3/4" (2010)
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Re: WAM or Whip or Kontact for chop
Posted: Tue Nov 06, 2012 4:44 pm
by pixelpedro
I ride a 2011 6'0" Wam here in FL (east coast) gets very choppy at times, and is a dream, I too have challenged knees, and so far is a great choice, I go quad for the most part, but when it get bigger, I loose a fin for thruster setup and is killer.
I've recently acquired a Stretch Ratboy (not sure what year) but is a 5'6" also fun in the mushy choppy stuff. And although is a that ToughLite (I think is called) material, feel like it has more flex than my Wam, and I guess is stronger than a regular surfboard. I have not tried a regular SB yet though.
Where are you located?
Good luck
Re: WAM or Whip for chop
Posted: Tue Nov 06, 2012 5:48 pm
by Vikb
nicor wrote:
I'm just doing what I can to save my knee - even if that means riding a gun surfboard - I've found my current surfboard is so much easier on my knees that my TT.
Most kite specific surfboards are a lot stiffer than traditional surfboard constructions. That's great for durability, but not going to be as good for your knees if they are the priority. You might want to consider a straight up surfboard. That will give you more flex and offers tons of shapes. They'll be perfect strapless and if you need straps there are 3M glue on pads with inserts available.
You may end up buying a new surfboard more often, but if you are enjoying your sessions more who cares?
Re: WAM or Whip for chop
Posted: Wed Nov 07, 2012 6:52 pm
by nicor
Vikb wrote:nicor wrote:
I'm just doing what I can to save my knee - even if that means riding a gun surfboard - I've found my current surfboard is so much easier on my knees that my TT.
Most kite specific surfboards are a lot stiffer than traditional surfboard constructions. That's great for durability, but not going to be as good for your knees if they are the priority. You might want to consider a straight up surfboard. That will give you more flex and offers tons of shapes. They'll be perfect strapless and if you need straps there are 3M glue on pads with inserts available.
You may end up buying a new surfboard more often, but if you are enjoying your sessions more who cares?
Funny you bring this up. Originally I was thinking about a slightly stronger surfboard like a BWS or Firewire, due to the amount of flex which might handle chop better. But I got a little concerned they might be a bit too fragile.
Any thoughts if a flexible surfboard or gun shaped board would be easier on my knee?