Today I migrated to using a surfboard made for kiting. Its a bit different from the twin tip kiteboards I’ve been using to date. Twin tip kiteboards I’m told are very similar to wake boards and are basically thin planks of wood laminated with various plastics for durability. They are tough. And they have bottom fins on both ends as they are made to go in either direction. To the right is a picture of one from Naish.
My instructor's kite surfboard
Kite surfboards are similar to regular surfboards, but are optimized for speed and are smaller than normal surfboards. They are usually constructed with foam cores and skinned with fiberglass. The kite surfboard will also have foot straps and traction pads on top. They are quite buoyant and thick. And they have fins only on the back end. They are made to go only in one direction. The advantages are they have more surface area and will allow one to successfully kite in lighter winds. To the left is a picture of me holding one.
I did manage to get up for a short bit before eating it. The video below shows me first getting up for a couple seconds and than setting up a second time and taking off for a longer ride. It was a lot for my little brain to wrap itself around all at once but I got up for about a 50 foot run before crashing again. Benefits are the surfboard allows you to get up in much lighter wind conditions. But, its a lot more squirrelly and much harder to mount. And I got bonked in the head by the obviously annoyed and vengeful board. And than it literally surfed away faster than I could follow in a fit of pique.