Hello, guys!

I've been following this forum for about 3 months daily and I guess you guys could help me out.

I live in the NE of Brazil (Natal), where we have winds around 20-30 knots from august to october and the rest of the year around 15-20 knots. I've been kiting for about 8 months now and my today's quiver is: 2010 Cabrinha SB 12m2, 2010 North Neo 9m2 and my board is a Kiteloose Light power (don't know the year) 135 x 43,5 cm. As you can notice, so far I've bought everything second hand.

Well, now I guess I'm ready to "invest" (empty my pockets ) in this sport. I've decided already to trade my North Neo for a new Rebel 9m2 in the middle of the year and, since I'm travelling to the UK in june, I was thinking about getting a new board over there (it's about 20-30% cheaper than here).

Since there are infinite options on boards, I've decided to stick to one brand. After reading many forum threads, I saw Nobile is a solid company that cares for quality (I guess the same way we see North kites). Great material, durability, straps and everything. So I'll stick to Nobile!

Right now my board is a "door" (135 x 43,5 cm)! It was awesome to learn how to go upwind and everything (not a problem for me anymore), but now I'll go for something smaller and lighter. I'm not into learning tricks and stuff like that. I just like easy riding, downwinds with friends, now I'm learning how to jump (wo handle passes - IMO it's just a way of getting rotator cuff tears), going toeside and playing with small waves (50cm). I'm 1,70 m tall and weight 65kg. Today, actually, I tried a Nobile 2009 666 134 x 41 cm and really liked it. Unfortunately, the previous owner hit one heelside fins on something and it's out alignment and I guess it's just a matter of time until it breaks off.

About the conditions where I ride: usually river gorges (Barra do Cunhaú) where it's as flat as a lake and sometimes closer to Natal where's there is a little bit of chop (I hate water spraying on my face!). I'm not experienced enough to know if a board has more pop, flex, is more comfy or anything like that. I just know the board I rode today was lighter, not as wide (a little bit more difficult to go upwind, but no big deal) and maybe a little more concave at the tips ('cause I wasn't getting splashes on my face as with my Kiteloose).

So... Between Nobile boards, what would you recommend?!
- The NBL has a great price (I guess it's the best cost x benefit ratio) - @powerkiteshop they're selling the 2012's for 349 GBP or 375 GBP (with Kiss system - is it worth it?)
- People also talk a lot about the T5, 50Fifty and 2HD... Do they really make a difference?
- And what about size? The 134 x 41 cm I rode today I guess was okay for my height and weight..

Thanks in advance for all your replies!

Greetings from NE Brazil!

Adriano

Hi Adriano, why not pre-book some test rides befor you get to the UK..

Will you be bringing your gear with you..

I tried the NHP and also the T5 from nobile; I bought the NHP which I have been riding for a year now. That board is awesome in the chop. We get chop all summer long. It has good pop; not explosive but ok. It really tracks upwind very good for a board that has so much rocker. If you release your grip it will feel a bit skatey; very easy for switching toeside. I tried a lot of board and it is one of my all time favorite.

The T5 wasn't bad at all, 2 of my friends ride that board and they love it. The best would be if you could try them before you buy. There are tons of good board out there, Laluz, Carved, Traxx, Rsc etc...

If you like North, you should really try their boards, I heard that they make really good boards. I guess I am not helping you decide hey ?

PS: One of my friend was riding the 2HD but I heard it splashes more, remember that we ride in choppy water.

PS2; at your weight you should go with a 131 X 40 maybe even smaller but not too much. I weigh 77 kg and my NHP is 131 X 40. Tried the 134 X 42 and it was too big.

Well, I didn't think about that. Actually, I'm going to a medical congress in Edinburgh and after that I'll spend 6 days in London. My fiancee already doesn't like the fact that I'll be stuck at the congress for 5 days and I guess if I tell her that I'll kite 1 one those 6 days in London, she'll kill me or something! hahaha!



Thank you for your opinions! Our closest Nobile dealer is in Jericoacoara which is something around 800km from here, so I can only try these boards from friends. The only one I rode was a 666 (todays NHP).

Btw, I'll stick to Nobile, otherwise I'll go crazy with so many options! ehehe

Interesting you say 2HD splashes more... They're supposed to be the ones to splash less. But nothings beats you actually trying it!

About the board's size, my current one is 135, the 666 I rode was 134, but once I rode a friend's Airush which was pretty small it felt really different. I've never seen charts with kiteboard sizes x weight but I suppose mine should be smaller.

Thank you guys!

Adrian,
Sounds like you have great flat water conditions to kite in which is great to hear. Nobile offers an excellent line of boards which can make choosing in some ways quite difficult cause they are all so good. However saying that I think the NHP is the one that really can work well in so many conditions and still allows intermediate to advanced riders to gain the benefits offered. The control and performance offered from this board is amayzing. At 65kg the 131*40cm would be the size I would recommend if you can say you are at least a solid intermediate. For some reason if you are expecting to putting on weight then go for the 134*42.
The Fifty50 is another great choice, but in some ways i think this board benefits the more advanced rider more than the intermediate. Those who ride this board love it.
The 2hd is a very stiff board and does excel best in cleaner conditions. Differnt than the older NHP666 but in some ways similar in that it is very fast and loads up big. The responsive feel of the 2hd was taken to a whole new level over the older 666 in my opinion.

Last week I had the opportunity to try the following:

2hd
50/50
NHP
T5

I was riding flat water and wanted a board that would grip the best- I kept trying the boards back to back.

Here are my thoughts

For flat water and big jumps go 2hd
For chop and pop I liked the NHP over the 50/50.
For all around chop and flat water T5

I have to say the T5 was close to the 2hd.

I the went out in the chop and it's NHP hands down.

I already have a board for chop so I got the 2hd.

Both 2hd and NHP had the softest landings. It spares your knees.

Just my $.02

Thank you guys for all your replies.

I ended up buying a 134 x 42cm NHP. I was really going for the NBL, but I realized I wanted a board for the next 3 years at least. So, let´s go for the best one of them! Since we have a lot of chop and spraying is a pain in the @, I figured I´d get the NHP (your opinions helped me a lot!). All I heard were good things about this board, so I figured it´s a guaranteed satisfaction.

As for the size of it... Well, I asked 3 close friends of mine (2 with 7years of kiting and another with 5 years) and they were categorical about the size: 134 x 42 cm. They all agreed it´s a little large for me, but I think it has to do with our conditions over here. Maybe one other thing is that it´s not common to have a 2 or more kites quiver, and we see a lot people riding a bit overpowered. I´m kinda different to have a 12m2 and a 9m2 kite. So I guess since it´s common to be a bit overpowered, with a larger board would be easier to hold your grip. Well, I´ll find out!

Tonight I´ll get my board and fortunetely I´ll try it out this weekend. I´ll let you know my impressions.

Thank you, guys!

Adriano

I tried the 134 x 42 NHP. It doesn't feel big at all because of its shape. You will love it! Have fun!