Why does everyone recommend a 131cm ish board?

[acctx]

I started kiting about a year ago. When I started, I called a few kite shops on the gulf coast and asked local kiters to find out what kind of boards people use. Even locally on our gusty inland lake, people seem to favor boards around 131cm like the crazyfly raptor (which I have). My experience has been that this board does not work at all when there are significant lulls. When I have strong steady wind, the board is fine, but it is a lot of work to go upwind. For example if Im doing a 2 mile reach the board frankly just sucks because it takes so much effort to stay upwind.

I weigh 175 lbs, but my most used board on the lake (where it can be blowing 15-20, but will drop to under 10) is a 163cm flydoor. This board is huge, but gets me through all lulls and goes upwind with zero effort.

My next most used board is a 140 OR mako. This board is great on the coast when Im sailing the sketchy, mushy shorebreak (the crazyfly is bad in this because it doesnt handle swell at all). However when I try to use this board in wind that has lulls it sucks too.

Im wondering if it is just me and I need more practice on the smaller boards to be more efficient or if these boards simply arent that suitable.

Im feeling that a 138-140 or so board is a good general purpose size and a 131 is just way too small under most circumstances.

[davesails7]

Im wondering if it is just me and I need more practice on the smaller boards to be more efficient or if these boards simply arent that suitable.

Im feeling that a 138-140 or so board is a good general purpose size and a 131 is just way too small under most circumstances.

I'm with you. I don't like riding small boards. I ride in lightwind conditions a lot though.

I'm 165 lbs, and use my Mako 140, Mako King, and Raceboard equal amounts. Never felt the Mako 140 was too large, even in 30+ knots, but it does ride more like a 135 more square-tipped twintip. I don't want to take out the 140 in anything less than 15 knots. I could ride it in less, but it's just a pain to stay up wind.

Personal preference though.

[L0KI]

It really has more to do with width than length, but 131cm is a fairly short board, the question is how wide is your Crazyfly?
Width is way more significant, one centimeter of width will do what ten centimeters of length will.
A 140X40 will plane about the same as a 132X41
There are piles of 135cm boards out there and most of the time, they are what seems to get recommended, your basic standard shaped twintip.
On the lake a 135X42 wide would work fine as long as the tips are not too narrow, it will plane fine at your weight and carry through the lulls as well, a 135X44 is generally regarded as a twintip for big guys.
Your Mako Wide 140 does require a fair amount of power to go upwind well, the Mako Wide 150 is much better for that, big difference between the two. Speaking of Makos, concave and rocker also play a big part in what make a board plane easily and glide through the lulls.
Your Flydoor 163 is an aircraft carrier and is not really comparable to anything else.
Don't give up and only ride a massive board, you will miss out on being able to jump easily and learn to do tricks. Ditch the Crazyfly and get a better standard twintip for your conditions.
Next time you are at Pfugerville, ask some of the guys if you can take a spin on some of the twintips there, you will be surprised at how easily some 133,134,135 boards will go upwind and carry through those lulls. When the wind id dropping below 10 in the lulls, then keep riding the Flydoor.

[acctx]

It really has more to do with width than length, but 131cm is a fairly short board, the question is how wide is your Crazyfly?
Width is way more significant, one centimeter of width will do what ten centimeters of length will.
A 140X40 will plane about the same as a 132X41
There are piles of 135cm boards out there and most of the time, they are what seems to get recommended, your basic standard shaped twintip.
On the lake a 135X42 wide would work fine as long as the tips are not too narrow, it will plane fine at your weight and carry through the lulls as well, a 135X44 is generally regarded as a twintip for big guys.
Your Mako Wide 140 does require a fair amount of power to go upwind well, the Mako Wide 150 is much better for that, big difference between the two. Speaking of Makos, concave and rocker also play a big part in what make a board plane easily and glide through the lulls.
Your Flydoor 163 is an aircraft carrier and is not really comparable to anything else.
Don't give up and only ride a massive board, you will miss out on being able to jump easily and learn to do tricks. Ditch the Crazyfly and get a better standard twintip for your conditions.
Next time you are at Pfugerville, ask some of the guys if you can take a spin on some of the twintips there, you will be surprised at how easily some 133,134,135 boards will go upwind and carry through those lulls. When the wind id dropping below 10 in the lulls, then keep riding the Flydoor.

The crazyfly is 131x42

[L0KI]

So, it is a little short but the width is good, not sure why it is causing you trouble.
Probably because you spend so much time on the Flydoor, everything else seems like work to go upwind. Only a Sector will go out lighter than your Flydoor and I'm not sure they will do anything more. I would use the Flydoor when it it light, but get more time on the Crazyfly.
But still try some of the other twins the rest of us are riding to get a comparison if yours is a gem or a dud.

[Slappysan]

I am pretty new and I have a Mako 140 and I find the exact same thing, unless I'm powered up I can't stay up wind. Once powered it carves up wind without issue at all though.

I got it because of my bad knees and the chop that we ride in here but in retrospect I would have rather gone with a used Naish SOL or something like that. That way I could ride less kite in more conditions even though it might not be as good at dealing with the chop.

I'm also considering switching to a surfboard instead as having my feet in a duck stance isn't doing any favours for my knees either.

[L0KI]

I loved my Makos 150 and 140 and King.
But my Shinn Monk is far smoother in chop than my Makos ever were.
Hard to believe but true.
And with the right pads and straps, you don't need to be too ducked at all.

[Slappysan]

What pads do you recommend to avoid having to duck your stance?

[L0KI]

I have pads here from Ocean Rodeo, Epic, Shinn, Caution, Cabrinha.
I think the Caution allow for the most straight pad placement.
Really, you just have to look as a bunch of different straps at a shop or from friends or whatever and see who make the ones that will go straightest, they are all a little different.
My Shinns are pretty ducked.

[KYLakeKiter]

I had the same issue with board size recommendations starting out and found the answers to be very regional. I got started down in Destin (where I now know the winds are pretty light most of the time) and they were riding and recommending big boards. Later that year at Kittyhawk, I was on a 148 and everyone there commented on how huge that board was and that I needed to go to a smaller wide board to ever get upwind. Interestingly enough that day there ended up being about 20 people kiting out and back doing a 3 to 500m walk of shame back up the beach all afternoon (I was one of them, but it had nothing to do with big or small boards, we all just lacked skill). Now I find that the water condition has a little more to do with how hard it is to stay up wind. In heavy chop, a big board really seems to reduce the effort it takes to stay upwind. I am sure it is all a math problem about surface are though because a skim board stays upwind easy and they are really short, but nobody wants to ride one it 2ft chop.