Upgrading to a new board

[SamPolish]

I can highly vouch for shinn monk, I also ride in south of uk chop and its great, my knees don't suffer any more and it jumps good. I ride mine with naish apex bindings and loving this setup.
Have heard very positive option nion of xenon Laluz from Poole kiting friends

[andylc]

This as ever is basically a ‘tell me what you ride which is the best thing ever until you get your next board which will then be the new best thing ever’ but anyway...love my Lieuwe Shotgun if you want something a bit special.

[TheJoe]

Sorry but a board is not going to make you progress any faster. Time on the water and lots of practice. You want to learn faster then make sure to jump both directions. I only ride 140 and up it does not matter what the wind is. A light board does not have any advantage unless your doing board offs.

[k2thiago]

Mate i was more or less in the same situation as you (skill level wise) and looking for a new board. My requisites was: a light construction, good pads and good upwind capabilities. After some research I was down to three boards: crazyfly ltd raptor, core fusion and shinn bronq. The three boards are made from carbon fiber/pawlonia core, “freeride performance” oriented.
All three are awesome boards, you cant go wrong with any of them. I’ve end up getting the Shinn Bronq (and actually was a shot in the dark, i havent tried before buy it, but i got the best price between them and the seller was outstanding during the purchase process) it did meet all my criteria, and its really beautiful. Good pop, tracks very well upwind and is ridiculous light. The ratchet system of the pads is the best ive tried so far. But again, any of those boards will make you smile

[Mike101]

Same as you two weeks ago. Upgraded to a Shinn Monk and the difference is unreal. Remember that carbon boards, whilst being more expensive and lighter, are also typically stiffer and will not be as smooth over the chop as a wood core. See you at Camber! Looks good for today! (Although I might go to Lancing as it's half the drive).

[Kitemenn]

Come on, should i count for you how many posts already exist about this or will you take a look by yourself ?

Sounds like someone badly needs a kite session....

Dutch summer has been tough!

[Brucey]

Thanks k2thagio. The shinn boards do seem to pop up again and a again. I think I have a few now that I need to demo. My only concern with boards like the raptor is being completely black would be a pain to find in rough sea if I came off it (I'm not a fan of a leash)

[Brucey]

Same as you two weeks ago. Upgraded to a Shinn Monk and the difference is unreal. Remember that carbon boards, whilst being more expensive and lighter, are also typically stiffer and will not be as smooth over the chop as a wood core. See you at Camber! Looks good for today! (Although I might go to Lancing as it's half the drive).

Yeh I think I will head to camber today it's about an hour for me and about the same for lancing. I'll speak to the guys at the centre to see if they have any demo boards I can try out. Thanks for the help.

[k2thiago]

Thanks k2thagio. The shinn boards do seem to pop up again and a again. I think I have a few now that I need to demo. My only concern with boards like the raptor is being completely black would be a pain to find in rough sea if I came off it (I'm not a fan of a leash)

Definetely the colour scheme of the CF although beautiful, is a recipe to lose it in murky waters. When im kiting in a place that i can easily lose sight of my board i use a small arm buoy, like the one that kids use, attached to the handle, yellow or orange. You can see your board from miles away! Actually was a guy that owned a CF raptor that give me the hint. The bronq comes with hi vision bright yellow fins, the bottom also have a yellow paint, what also helps, but i do like the buoy. It looks funny, however I don't care as that can save me from lose a couple of hundred dollars...

[fluidity]

Go more rectangular for better jumping.
Rounder ends for smoothness in carving.
Heavier and/or concave for smoothness in chop.
Flatter for better upwind and more time in the air.
More rocker for blitzing fast in chop leading up to a jump.
More concave for better up wind.
Less concave for softer landing and more flex.