Utility Board

[OzBungy]

I was listening to a man talking about shaping alaia boards. He said they were too hard for big guys to stand on but were great fun as body boards. It got me thinking.

I have a need/want for a single board that I could use for kiting and surfing.

Not a strapless surfboard, I've got one of those and it's too big and too fragile for easy traveling.

I'm thinking of something short and wide. It could be ridden in the surf as a body board or knee board, ridden strapless as a wake skate or mutant directional. Maybe some easily removed straps so you could change things about quickly without using tools.

Perhaps an alaia shape might do the trick.

I have a paragliding kit that weighs 5kg and fits in a day pack. I threw it in the bag for the last holiday. It would be good if I could do something similar with a micro kitesurf/surf kit. Add some flippers and a diving mask and I have the full set of holiday activities covered.

[Kamikuza]

I have a paragliding kit that weighs 5kg and fits in a day pack. I threw it in the bag for the last holiday.

That sounds like fun... do you have a hard time choosing between kiting or gliding?

[tautologies]

maybe check out the BRM paipo. Great fun. Has TT fins on the tail. It would go a snowboard on the planes...no inserts for footstraps tho...

[OzBungy]

I have a paragliding kit that weighs 5kg and fits in a day pack. I threw it in the bag for the last holiday.

That sounds like fun... do you have a hard time choosing between kiting or gliding?

I did at the beginning of kitesurfing. My flying hours dropped to almost zero. Where I live the north end of the bay is good for kiting and the south end is good for flying. It's too easy to drive 5 minutes to the beach to kite or drive and hour to the other end of the bay to fly.

In recent years I have become more obsessed with quality flying so at every opportunity I head to the mountains to fly and do an overseas trip each year to fly "real" mountains (the Himalayas are about as real as a mountains can get. )

Kitesurfing is more "fun" in terms of yeeehaaa, yaaahoooo, splaaaassssshhh!!!!!! Paragliding is more satisfying in terms of completing a multi-hour flight, doing a 100km speed run or flying over 5000m. Looking up at a big wave in the surf is about as intense as looking at a 5000m peak, but it's a heap easier to do and the consequences are a fair bit lower.