An inexpensive wave twin tip for a big guy
Posted: Tue Jul 29, 2008 2:07 pm
Just thought I'd share my experiences looking for a wave twin tip. I weigh 245 lbs (110 kg), have been kiting for 8 years and surfing my entire life. I only kite in the ocean, mostly downwinders and what I enjoy most is riding waves. I'll add that I tend to prefer to ride just slightly underpowered so I can actually ride the wave a bit rather than just kite in front of it. Over the years I've tried lots of boards and recently tried an OR Mako Wide, but it just felt too "squirrely" and small. So I continued to look. The guys here swear by their Jimmy Lewis Rad F's but that's just too small for me. I started to spec out a board to either build myself or have made for me when I accidently ran into an ad for a Liquid Force Proof 161.
I picked one up a couple weeks ago and have been riding it since. I modified the board so that one end is "thruster" finned (just like Jimmy's Rad F) and am using CrazyFly AllAround pads and NSI straps. Total investment was around $350 and I've got to say it's not a bad board at all. I love how the "tail" literally sticks to the water and the round rails allow easy transitions. Overall I'm pretty happy with it. The only negatives I'd say are that the finish is not the same as the $800 boards (there are slight "dimples" in the bottom under the foot inserts) and this bugger is -heavy-. Imagine your heaviest board and then add some. But since I'm not exactly a lightweight myself once on the water I really don't notice it.
I'm sure there are better boards out there, but at my weight they are usually not "scaled" correctly to me and end up being heavy wind boards (which isn't what I wanted). For me this board isn't bad at all and considering the price I'm happy.
I picked one up a couple weeks ago and have been riding it since. I modified the board so that one end is "thruster" finned (just like Jimmy's Rad F) and am using CrazyFly AllAround pads and NSI straps. Total investment was around $350 and I've got to say it's not a bad board at all. I love how the "tail" literally sticks to the water and the round rails allow easy transitions. Overall I'm pretty happy with it. The only negatives I'd say are that the finish is not the same as the $800 boards (there are slight "dimples" in the bottom under the foot inserts) and this bugger is -heavy-. Imagine your heaviest board and then add some. But since I'm not exactly a lightweight myself once on the water I really don't notice it.
I'm sure there are better boards out there, but at my weight they are usually not "scaled" correctly to me and end up being heavy wind boards (which isn't what I wanted). For me this board isn't bad at all and considering the price I'm happy.