Does anyone know if that clear grip stuff from NSI is any good, does it offer as good a grip as wax? and if so why don't surfers use it more?

Mike

A kitesurf Firewire board will not break if you are worried about that...they are rock solid. Pads or not, you are good to go

Each FW board has a production number on it. Can you please give us the production number for the KTJ boards that represents the beginning of the 3rd generation?

Well after almost 8 months since i first asked the question about surfboard vs kitesurf board i heard and read a lot of opinions some true some not but either way, everything was usefull.
My opinion is this, in March i bought a second hand elchipo 6.2 thruster poly surfboard for strapless riding. It allready had some heel dents on it but i didn't mind that much cause it was cheap and i didn't care if it would snap after 5 sessions. The only thing i cared for was that i didn't wanted to have too much tail rocker so that it planed ok.
After almost 7 months of use in mainly choppy crappy conditions and some good clean double overhead waves i can say to my surprise it is holding up just fine. The ride is way smoother than on my other kitesurf boards and i tend to use it most of the times i go out.
IMO if you're planning on going strapless go for it. The forces aplied to the board are way less than in strapped mode and i honestly don't see myself spending - correct that - wasteing the huge amount of money for a firewire board. Please don't get me wrong i'm sure firewire and the likes boards are verry good but from 100 euros to 600+ euros for a board that's going to be used only strapless is way to much of a difference.
Strapped is a hole different story and for that i trust my beloved wainman 6.1

ps. i'm sure that deck pad would be great and it'd also put some more protection to the deck of the board, how does it compare to wax in terms of grip and how much did it cost you? (if you spend more than 60 euros for it i 'll just buy another board).

ps. i'm sure that deck pad would be great and it'd also put some more protection to the deck of the board, how does it compare to wax in terms of grip and how much did it cost you? (if you spend more than 60 euros for it i 'll just buy another board).


It depends... (booties or barefoot? ater temp?)
I never use booties and preferr wax, but the water here is relatively cold (15 to 19 deg C) which means I have to use very soft wax, which tends to gets a little slippery towards the end of a long session. I don´t know how a harder wax for warmer water will hold up.
Sometimes it helps to stick just a little sand on the wax or as I do, I allways have a piece of wax with me and rewax on the water evry hour or so.
I don't like pads, but that is a personal prefference.

A poly board with a couple 6oz layers on the deck is gonna hold up pretty well. There is a guy around here who skys it huge strapless constantly and though he has some pretty severe landing craters on that thing it hasn't snapped, yet. Other than the airs, kiting strapless still puts WAY more stress through a deck than just surfing. We power through and bash over all kindsa whitewash that surfers never subject their boards to. Most poly board are single 6oz decks and sometimes just a 4 oz bottom. No question there are lots of kiters who can go through those in a few sessions. Might last you a season, but you cant really count on it and it just kinda sucks to mentally tip toe your way through every session. Then there is the performance, and no question, you can have fun on stiff tough kiteboards, but the feel of a true surfboard can spoil you and you end up wanting both, feel and durability. Not a lot out there production wise just yet, but things are heading in the right direction. If your looking to save the bucks, a poly board with a heavier glass job is probably the go. LF and Stretch and a few others do it this way.

this is the point. It is all in the glass job. most poly boards, have a light glass job becuase they are made to stay light and keep the flex. Heavy glass jobs will remove the flex, and you'll end up with a board that has less flex than a epoxy.

My GF and I have used it on our longboards. With booties on the grip is excellent. We are in the N. Pacific so booties are on our feet all winter.

http://thelazyrando.wordpress.com/?s=ns ... +longboard

I just applied Clear Grip to my Slingshot Tyrant surfboard. I'll be kiting it with booties for now, but I'll try it barefoot once we get to summer.

safe riding,

Vik
www.thelazyrando.com

I dunno about the nsi specifically, but have used other types, and no it is not the same as wax...surfers don't use it because they lay down on the boards...try to lay rub your body on sand paper

Thanks guys,

Always wear boots where I ride, so might give it a go.

Mike