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Are NSP boards any good?
They are cheap when most surfboards specific for kiting seem to be crazy expensive.

I want a board around 6'2 that i can ride strapless, although the option would be nice.

I will be riding onshore sloppy waves and want something that will be fun and cheap but not feel like a bag of shit on the water?

Anyone out there riding one or got any other suggestions

i have a nsp 5'10 fish before 2 years , very nice construction , i use in strapless for litle wave or low wind
it's very easy , funnyboard , very good confort , nice for up wind ( with a foot on a midle of board )
i like this board

for big wave i prefer a surf board with strap

ya there sweet... and tuff man!! you cant go wrong with one!!! you dont need a kite specific board!! just watch there isnt too much rocker on what ever surf board you get !!!

Although they are pretty strong, like any other board, they do break if you jump them.
I am not a big fan of the ones I have tried. Felt a little like riding on glue, and they are very stiff. I might have been on boards that aren't ideal for me, but the one I have now feels like it has breaks on the tail. Might be because of the fins, and the size...
Again, I should probably give it more time. They sure do have a good price point, but I'd say I have a lot of boards I like more than the NSP's.

a.

Looks like Tophat still has an NSP shortboard in his quiver. Looks like the 6'2".

tautologies wrote:I am not a big fan of the ones I have tried. Felt a little like riding on glue, and they are very stiff. I might have been on boards that aren't ideal for me, but the one I have now feels like it has breaks on the tail.
a.

He's riding them without the center fin.

Yes, NSP boards are good, though I only have experience of kiting with one in particular.
I bought the 5' 6" Fish brand new, to learn the riding strapless thing. As you say, it was a cheap option to get into riding surfboards. I found that the relative wide board of the fish style was ideal for learning and after a short time have progressed to something with a bit more performance.
For some time it was the only board I was riding, the twin tip never out of it's bag. I've ridden it hard through chop and in half decent waves, the durability is excellent. Apart from a few chips of the gelcoat, easily repaired, the only other "damage" was some indentation around the area of the front foot placement.
I have just sold the board on to someone in a similar position and have also sold my only twin tip.
My quiver of boards are now two Resin8 surfboards, a 6'1" and a 5'10". The performance of these boards are superb, superlight and fast. My waveriding has someway to go but I can really recommend the NSP as a first venture.

I'm taking the fish 6'0 for both surf (occasionallly, 1-4 feet) and kiting in low wind and flat or small waves. I've already used a BIC 7'3 for kiting but i found too slow (in riding) and slow on wave. Without the center fin it felt abit better but no significantly.

I should expect good improvemnts from the NSP fish? I sould start without the center fin?

Poldo,
I've spent a good amount of time on the bic 5'10" fish and 8'4" magnum with a kite. The fish I hated initially, until I started riding it as a twinser (no center fin), now I really like the board. Not as slow nor stiff.
I found the magnum to have too much drive for my taste, it goes upwind really well though. I find I like the magnum better as a single fin (fin all the way forward in the box) with the side fins removed.
I just got the mini-mal but have yet to try it with a kite. I'd suggest trying it with a a) single fin b) 9 cm side fins instead of the 10.5cm (thruster). c) 9 cm side fins (twinser).
I really like the bics for kiting as I don't ever have to worry about dings like I do on my other epoxy/polyester boards, very durable.

NSP boards suck! Sure, they are cheap and bombproof, but the riding qualities are terrible! They are heavy, and like the other guy said, they are SLOW.. I used to ride one and thought it was ok, until I rode a surftech board about the same size. The surftech board is half the weight, and has a livelier ride to it, but is still pretty strong. They are more expensive, but if you want a serious board for the surf, it is worth paying the extra coin IMHO....

After spending a lot of time on my Bic 5'10" fish as a twinser, I've found a better configuration. The twinser works well on flat water. But for aggresive surf riding, I found it didn't hold an edge well enough, so upwind suffered. The stock uses 10.5 cm fins. On suggestion from Gabe Brown I put a smaller fin in the center, using a 9 cm fin from my magnum. I have 10.5 cm fins for the side fins, and a 9 cm fin as the center fin. The board rides just to my liking now. I found the 10.5 cm fin in the center to be too draggy and too stiff for my liking. The Bic fish is a fun board for strapless riding.
The minimal (thruster) works with a kite, not as much fun as the Fish, but more responsive than the magnum.