Kite Snowboard?

Hunter Welles · Post by **Hunter Welles** » Sun Jan 16, 2005 10:47 am

I am having trouble trying to strap into my bindings with my kite flying and I am looking at getting a pair of flow bindings and a seperate board for kiteboarding only. What I would like to get is a stiff, twin tip board with little side cut. Now what I have just said is very hard to find because all of the twins are for park and really soft, and the stiff boards are somewhat directional and for carvers and big mountain, a lot of times with a lot of side cut. If anybody knows of something like I just said please tell me.

Also I am wondering about size, do I want to buy bigger, smaller or the same size as my park snowboard. People are going smaller on skis but that I think would be very different. If I were to buy a smaller board, then I think that there would be less edge and would be harder to edge against the kite, but if I buy bigger would it make it harder to do more techical stuff as well as spins.

My last question is about the Eskape boards. I know that they are designed for kiteboarding and have a longer edge straighter edge and have cut tips. Does anybody know the sizes that they come in? I remember they had a website that I can't find anymore and their smaller version was a 158, I think. Would a 158 be too big for me if I ride a 150 right now. I would like to make this board last a while for me, but i do not want to buy a board that is way too big. Does anybody know if they have a website, or a dealer around here?

Jeff Gorton · Post by **Jeff Gorton** » Sun Jan 16, 2005 11:10 am

Hunter, I met you yesterday in the greenhouse (gray beard). I have Flow bindings on a Nitro Natural and it works fine for me. Of course all I do cruise around. I was wondering why you want less sidecut. I've heard people say that a straighter edge would be better, but I'm not sure why. I've been holding an edge fine in the conditions at Kite Island, and don't have any trouble riding switch. I started out looking for a twin tip but sort of gave up. See if you can talk to Eric Spottke. He's experimented with all kinds of boards including a kite-specific model.

Tighe · Post by **Tighe** » Sun Jan 16, 2005 11:45 am

check out this thread in Learn to kite.com

also in the Knowledge section here.

http://web4.blueearth.net/learntokite/f ... .php?t=345

rudeboysaude · Post by **rudeboysaude** » Sun Jan 16, 2005 11:47 am

I also have decided to Go Flow and am ordering a pair from Jason on Monday. They've got to be better then fiddling with strap bindings!

Talk to Jason from Boardsports too about board length. He rides a whopping 193! That thing is huge but he swears by it! Scott won a 180 board at the Mille Lacs event and he might be able to tell you if it's alot cooler then his previous board too if he's gotten it out yet. With a really long edge you'd think you'd be able to hold a lot of power down which has to pay off for jumping right?

Hunter Welles · Post by **Hunter Welles** » Sun Jan 16, 2005 12:19 pm

Jeff Gorton wrote:Hunter, I met you yesterday in the greenhouse (gray beard). I have Flow bindings on a Nitro Natural and it works fine for me. Of course all I do cruise around. I was wondering why you want less sidecut. I've heard people say that a straighter edge would be better, but I'm not sure why. I've been holding an edge fine in the conditions at Kite Island, and don't have any trouble riding switch. I started out looking for a twin tip but sort of gave up. See if you can talk to Eric Spottke. He's experimented with all kinds of boards including a kite-specific model.

The reason you want less side cut is because then you can hold more power of the kite and go in a straight line better for upwind or just cruising. The reason a board has side cut is so it can turn/carve on a mountain, but too much for kiteboarding just makes you slide more instead of holding an edge.

Does anybody have any information on the Eskape boards, they look really nice and I would like to get my hands on one, and I think for kiting a 158 would be okay.

Tom L · Post by **Tom L** » Sun Jan 16, 2005 3:41 pm

I agree with Hunter. On skis I found the same to be true. Too much side cut and the ski is always trying to turn up wind on you. On hard snow I currently am using 207 downills and they can hold a lot of power & track like silk. I still like turnier skis when the snow gets deep or cruddy though.

I am sure Alex must have some of his own ideas on this. I think he uses twin tip free style skis, which don't have a ton of side cut either.

That long snowboard sounds like a neat concept.

rudeboysaude · Post by **rudeboysaude** » Sun Jan 16, 2005 5:28 pm

Hunter.

I saw a reference to this company in Outside magazine:

http://www.monsonboards.com/customs.php

If nothing else you could get a custom board with your name on the bottm so when your spinning in the air upside down everyone will know who you are! Cool...

SCOTT RIDOUT · Post by **SCOTT RIDOUT** » Mon Jan 17, 2005 8:20 am

I have not tried a shorter board but love the one I use now and am able to really hold an edge, unfortunately with the conditions as they are more ice or hardpack than deep snow it's rough on the legs no matter what size or style of board you are planning on using, holding your edge to me " now this is only my personal experience" is really going to matter on the amount pressure you put on your heals to edge, I have tried the long board that I won and it's a blast, tons of edging power, I'm talking about almost no slip at all, almost makes sense, more edge on the ground more grip. I too only have used Flow bindings, they are awsome, no messing around, get the kite in the air step in snap the back up and off you go!!

ChristianS. · Post by **ChristianS.** » Mon Jan 17, 2005 10:49 am

Hi guys

I am pretty new to serious snow kiting and I use a Venture Zephyr snowboard with my Ozone 12. I am cruising around and have not started to jump yet. I have been out on it just the last 4 weeks. I can easily hold an edge and go in a straight line. The board is very stiff and wide 166 x 28. You can get one from Steve Blain. Here is a link to thier website http://venturesnowboards.com/zephyr.html#

It totaolly rocks as a snowboard going down a slopes. This is just my experience, but I do not by any means claim to be an expert, just a 50 year old kid having fun.

Good luck

Boardsports USA · Post by **Boardsports USA** » Mon Jan 17, 2005 12:48 pm

Hunter,

I haven't had a chance to try the Venture Snowboards yet, but have heard good things about them. Steve, when do I get my demo buddy? Lookiin' forward to it. I don't think a guy could try enough kites or boards in a single life time...could he?

Here are a couple affordable kite snowboard ideas. ($300 approximately)

Currently we have the Flow Karma Series boards. Go to http://www.flow.com and click on boards and find the KARMA series.

They are symetrical in side cut from end to end however they are not technically twin tip. I think they would make great kite snowboards myself.

Another great twin tip option would be the GNU Carbon High Beam series. These are true twin tip boards. They can be found at http://www.gnu.com These boards are also affordable. Plus Gnu boards are HAND CRAFTED in the good ole' USA!!

Yes we also carry the Flow bindings. Right now we have a good stock of the 'rentals' which are no frills basic flow bindings, black in color and bomb proof in construction from what we can tell. We also have various pro models in stock.

Let us know if we can help any further...

Jason

Denis · Post by **Denis** » Mon Jan 17, 2005 4:27 pm

Hunter, to get back to your question about Eskape boards, I haven't heard much from them lately. Apparently, they are a sub-company of Takoon, but I am not sure. I can't find their website. The only pictures I know are from Eric S.

Last year, I tried the Fanatic Raptor for a kite snowboard, and it was awesome! One of the sides has a longer cut radius (13m heel and 9m toe), so I was able to load that thing for massive jumps. Looks like they discontinued it though.

Here's a picture from Eric S again:

And the specs are here:
http://www.fanatic.com/de/hardware/arch ... oardId=199

Denis

Hunter Welles · Post by **Hunter Welles** » Mon Jan 17, 2005 8:06 pm

Thanks for the help from everybody, what I am trying to see if I can do is get a monson board, to the dimensions of the fanatic but scaled down to a 155, that would be amazing. I sent in a little form thing, seeing if it was possible, I will find out tommarow.

rudeboysaude · Post by **rudeboysaude** » Tue Jan 18, 2005 11:00 am

Sweet! If you decide to get it, give us a first hand review of the board with pictures!