Kiteforum.com

Im thinking of the bic dura tec 11 4 seems like it's more durable than the glass boards.

Is it even possible? Any videos out there of someone doing it in super light winds?

humm.....have you tried other sups before this one ?

I have no idea what I'm doing ideally this will let me have a viable exit strategy for long trips if wind drops I can either paddle or maybe kite back.

I would think that something short and fat would be a lot better. I've tried it only briefly but the hardest part isn't getting up and riding, but turning around. Once you try to flip the board around it's very very easy to slack your lines and drop the kite.

I mean, you can stand on a 7 ft paddle board without any wind, so it's not like it's going to have a hard time floating you as long as it has the right volume for your weight. I would think something in the 8 foot range would be as big as I'd want to go. You'd also be able to have fun once if the swell picks up as well and you'd rather SUP than kite

Suggestions? I weigh 200 pounds and am thinking of packing a 20 pound cooler full of root beer and sandwiches, is there an 8 footer with 200+ liters of flotation and durable enough to take a tumble at 20 knots? Not especially enamored of how long this dura tec bic 11 4 is but I can't find anything shorter with enough flotation.

And what is this "swell" you speak of? Great Lakes Kiter

Let me tell you have one trip I want to do, start out in Lake Erie, kite up the channel thru the Detroit skyline anchor the SUP on Belle Isle, unpack the twintip, kite upwind a bit and ride for a while under the ambassador bridge, then go back to the SUP, ride up to Metro beach, join the rest of the crew at Metro, and finally get a ride back to my car.

With a SUP if I get into a wind shadow I can pack up the kite, and paddle until I get some wind and then relaunch.

Well, you don't really need 200L

I am 140 lbs and my current board (9'2 x 29) is 120L and feels huge and floaty for me. My next board is right around 100L. There are guys heavier than me riding 85-90L boards. I think you would be fine with something a little smaller, without having to bring your flippers and snorkel

The most important characteristic that stands out to me, at least in my experience, is how heavily glassed it is. A lot of the super cheap boards have pretty thin glass and are easy to ding, especially riding at 20 knots whilst chugging beer. The wind makes it a lot more difficult, my board is lightly glassed for performance and I've dinged it so many times just from smacking it with my paddle going over chop.

Other than that, consider that many boards over 10' are not designed to be ridden in the waves, and aren't constructed to be going at speed or in rough conditions. Surf-specific models are meant to take a beating and are going to hold up a lot better than a long cruising board

clydesdale wrote:

is it just me or is he riding unhooked with no leash? hah

tks dylan, though with 220 pounds of my weight + the gear means 190 liters is equivalent to your 120 liters, so 200liters still seems right if I need the capability of carrying 3 kites a cooler and an extra board with me. Maybe 190 liters would be ok.

I am really tempted to get that cheap pelican flow 106. It's entirely made of plastic like a kayak it has to be able to take a lot of abuse.