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advice: surfboard for bad knees?

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Starsky
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Re: advice: surfboard for bad knees?

Postby Starsky » Wed Apr 23, 2014 3:44 am

Way better riding and way less edging.... and way better strapless airs but thats beside the point. Surfboard and bad knees.... I suggested strapless with smaller kites. You suggest powered boosting?

surfboard wise, yes bigger wider boards are gonna be more bouncy in choppy conditions, and a smaller narrower board is smoother through chop, but it doesn't really work that way in matching boards to conditions. Id posit that you can wreck your knees on anything depending more on how you ride it than anything else. Crank around powered on a needle and your knees won't last as long as feathering a smaller kite while surfing a bigger board. I fully plan on kiting into the sunset and once joints are in need of more consideration, its the boosting that will become less of a focus. Fortunately how you ride a surfboard in its element is an endless pursuit well worthy of your time. I plan on doing it with a quiver of surfboards and a kite or two.

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Re: advice: surfboard for bad knees?

Postby Ozone Kites AUS » Wed Apr 23, 2014 8:35 am

Dodgy knee and age (58) not a good combo for strapped and powered riding, so to continue riding I lost the straps and hardly ride TT or boost anymore. Was wearing a cti brace all the time now never when riding strapless.
Boards I like are the 2013 and 14 Cab skillet 5'10", and Axis Pure Wave 2014 same size, if its windier I've got a 5'7" 2013 Pure wave. Also like the Cab sig quad from 2013 in 5'10" too.
Smaller kites that a TT by at least 1-2 M everytime, work the kite, work on switching feet, upwind (especially directly), turning from heel to toe and vice versa, switching before and after each way, and keeping fit and still have a blast in waves up to head high, but thats not big as I'm 5'5" ha!
Never give up!

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Re: advice: surfboard for bad knees?

Postby SO_FL_Kiter » Wed Apr 23, 2014 1:42 pm

I've found the OR Mako's to be very forgiving on knees, more so than any TT or surfboard I've ever ridden. You can ride them with a much more neutral stance and they cut through chop like nothing else. If you're committed to a directional board, maybe think about a Mako King ridden in mutant mode.

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Re: advice: surfboard for bad knees?

Postby markchatwin » Wed Apr 23, 2014 1:48 pm

Having tried a fair amount of surfboards in my day I can say without question the easiest on my knees is an Aviso (carbon fiber shell) Doc Lausch 5'11". It is damp and you're literally riding on an air filled shell. Some surfers say the ride is too damp and prefer the "crisp" ride of a normal surfboard. But as I'm bouncing through chop strapless on this board my knees are happy :D

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Re: advice: surfboard for bad knees?

Postby Peter_Frank » Wed Apr 23, 2014 4:06 pm

Strapless is the way to go for your knees, definitely :thumb:

And it seems that 98% of all who ride waves, dont boost anyways, as the fun is extremely small, compared to riding the wave full bottom turns and cutbacks, and everything else you can do on a wave / riding a wave.

Of course you will lose the high aerials, and/or you have to do strapless smaller aerials instead (some loves that) - but IMO it is no big deal missing out if it is good for your knees :rollgrin:

If you want to ride strapped, you can find waveboards that has a really soft feel, and not hard nor bouncy.
They are all very different in this respect.

8) Peter

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Re: advice: surfboard for bad knees?

Postby Bille » Wed Apr 23, 2014 10:43 pm

Peter_Frank wrote:Strapless is the way to go for your knees, definitely :thumb:


...

8) Peter
I Can't do that Peter ; but do Ya think this "Might" work :

How about if i traced the outline of a decent quality surfboard, complete
with rocker ; then built one that was like 5-10mm thick , to absorb the vibration
from the surface of the water ? It would have enough Volume to float itself
but that's about all.

Bille


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