Riding a Surfboard. Riding a TT

[wardr77]

Out of curiosity why do you ride what you ride? Did you start on a TT, tried a surfboard and never went back to the TT? Did you try a surfboard and went straight back to the TT? Or do ride both with equal satisfaction? This is not meant to be a bashing thread of either ride, I'm just interested in the personal reasons behind the choices made.

[dazarter]

started on a tt….still there….trying a surf board and a sector furnace now side by side and its good fun….very different….still don't know which way to go i like both styles…! i know have more equipment !

[tautologies]

I'll ride anything. I started on a mutant then TT. First time I tried a proper surfboard I loved the feeling if really leaning in toeside.. So I got one. Now I ride it all but more surfboard than other boards. It's a function of having great waves and that the condition on the inside where I would ride the TT is not as stable in terms of wind.

[ktflyer381]

I have kited since 2006. Nobody seemed to ride surf boards back then so I started with several TT's including Cab, SS, OR Makos (King and 140), and a Hana Crew. In the last 4 years or so a surf board has been the thing to have (I have two, both strapless, one 5 '10" SS Dialer for light wind, one 6'10" Cab S-Quad that I use in med winds). My only TT now is a Shinn Monk 134x42, now and I love it.

I like real surfing when I get a chance to do it, and I like kitesurfing sometimes. For me though, I only get a few days per year where kitesurfing is actually fun. I hate surf boards in higher winds with choppy conditions. My knees get sore, the waves are usually shit, and I always go back to the Monk which I can ride all day in any conditions. We don't get swell on Lake Ontario, so big waves mean big winds and often chop unless you can find a spot where the waves break outside and reform again inside. Some days can be great, not many. In light winds, I find it very dull to ride a surf board and I am not getting into strapless tricks. I don't want to break my boards (especially when Cab boards are $1000+ without fins - ridiculous, and before you start most brands are pretty close) and I hate getting hit by a surf board.

If I lived in Maui I would feel differently I'm sure, but every time I have travelled to Hawaii I have surfed instead - didn't even bring my kites. I prefer real surfing when I get the chance.

My go to board will continue to be a TT - right now I love my Shinn Monk, but I always liked my bro's OR Mako 150, in my opinion the best of the Makos. You can do a bit of everything with these boards (and lots of others too), including strapless tricks and wave riding. Keeps me interested. But i will keep my surf boards for those few perfect days where I get to ride waves without being punished by the chop.

K

[Kamikuza]

TT, got a directional for low end of kite noodling around, riding both often in a single session. Have a mutant too but getting the time to ride it... Phew!

[GregWoj]

Started on TT then tried Surf. I didn't have a wave surfing background and did more wake boarding so I naturally prefer TT. Lately Ive been doing freeride TT in waves and been LOVING it. Surfboard is fun too, but I feel like the wind direction, speed, and wave/current direction have to be perfect to get the full stoke out of kite surfing. Kind of like a powder day for snow boarding - its fun but doing it in un tracked powder is way more fun but only happens a few times a winter. I feel like surfing with kiting is the same. Maybe I haven't done it enough or learned enough technique. TT in surf is fun on all wind directions, speeds, and wave / currents. Been doing more of that lately and loving it.

[flybykite]

Started on a TT and bought a Naish global sb 1.5 years later.
I like the sb just fine especially after I ditched the straps but my kite of choice is the ozone edge for airstyle and it pulls too hard on a sb unless it's really light wind.
So for the past 2 years I've preferred the TT in most conditions and use the sb on 10 knot days.
I still wish I had the surfboard every time I drop into a big wave in the higher winds. I make the best of it and pretend I'm surfing though. In an ideal world I would have the TT on the way out over the waves, do some old school tricks, and come in on a sb slashing lips.

[plummet]

Started on landboard.
Moved to water on a TT. Love to boost and enjoyed the waves so tried a surfboard. Hated the feel of a surfboard for anything other than down the line wave riding (which is was awesome for). .

I wanted to boost every session and wanted to get better wave performance than standard TT. So I designed and built my own mutant. Now i'm on my own custom carbon mutant. I have a light wind TT aswell but only use that if there's not enough wind for the mutant.

[sarc]

There used to be very different performance envelopes for TTs and SBs, I used to pick one or the other based on wave condition. Then the OR Mako and Shinn Dundee happened...

[Dirk]

Started on big directionals (around 2000/2001). Moved to mutants and rode them for a long time. Then TT, then surfboards which I rode predominantly the last 4 years. This year I mostly rode TT because my jumping skills got a bit rusted and I wanted to work on them. Got new TTs in the last 12 months and I really enjoy it. Right now in winter it will be mostly TT riding in the shallows or on a pond for convenience and safety reasons. Next year I will take the surfboards out again more often.