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Too old to start?


Plezzy

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You'll see from my profile that I'm no spring chicken and since stumbling in to this sport 3 years ago I've been a confirmed buggyier. However, my son is now getting into boarding and, whilst both disciplines are broadly compatable, the beaches he can use for learning freestyle don't always accommodate my big, cruising bug. Plus it's a much easier to just chuck the boards in for an evening session.

 

So! If you agree that I'm not too old to dabble on a board, what should I be looking for in the 2nd hand market? I'm 6ft and 13stone, and I've no desire to leave the ground. Are skate trucks preferred?

 

Kite wise I've a ruck of fixed bridles from 1.8 to 7.5m, but like the idea of depower. Son has 10/13m V2s, which I could use, but they are lifty. Would the ideal be an Access of some description?

 

Any advice welcomed, but not looking to buy just yet so hold fire with the sales pitches.

 

Cheers,

 

Paul.

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Go for it Paul. You're never too old for a dabble :)

Skate trucks are twitchier and lighter than channel trucks.

If you are planning for more cruising/speed than airtime, channel type is best. I personally would steer clear of the MBS Matrix trucks for kiting due to the kingpin bearing/housing not being able to handle sideways stress at speed.

(It does so happen I have a nice KiteDeck with Revos collecting dust that may be of interest to you, but I aint pimping it just yet).

 

As for kites, the arcs are awesome for boarding (auto-zenith). You can cut the lift by sending the kite across the window slower and adjusting the internal strap.

 

Come and pick my brains with an on-shore wind :)

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^^^ Totally agree.

 

Even if you don't want to leave the ground liftier kites are still better for boarding. The lift helps you with your balance and makes the crashes less of an "impact" and more of a "fallng-over-on-the-moon" affair. Arcs are great, and Blades are brilliant if you want fixed-power.

 

Knee pads and shin guards are a good addition to a helmet, and you may also find hip/arse padding useful.

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I started to dabble with a landboard the year before last with an MBS Core 8 my 5m and 7m Riots. Certainly very different but also good fun and much more portable than the buggy. I was forced to do this due to limited space in the car when we went for a holiday in Cornwall. I would have been 47 at the time and still planning to do it again as well as kite surf which I started to dabble in last year :).

 

Steve.

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Go for it plezzy! With all your buggying experience you'll be fine. if you know your kites inside out (which im guessing you do) you only have to worry about controlling the board which is very simple.

think about something long with channels- as weight and spinning ability isn't a problem you shouldn't have trouble finding a board...

Arcs are great for cruising because of their stability and they can flown to get minimal lift. I bet you might try a sneeky jump when your son isn't looking just to feel what it's like to get airbourne;)

sonicseal- just a little thought but wont the kitedeck be a bit short for low level cruising?

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hi im 49 not that fit and i got a blade mk4 4 meter. be recing and small jumps for a year now and just got a flexideck board. went out with it on friday for the first time and it was great. i was going down wind like a pro had probs getting back up wind but managed it in places. and apart from dogs ******* on my bag and another running through the lines it was a good day.

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DO IT!

 

as for jumping i had no intention of jumping either (the thought of jumping a kite scared the hell out of me) until i going a lifty kite and discovered how easy it was.

 

When you are on a tiny feild/beach zinging back and forth without jumping gets pretty old pretty fast. getting in the air adds another dimension.

 

ps you don't need to do back flips in the air a nice float, float down is also worthy.

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you are never to old to start, im sure you'll have the feel for the kite already so that's most of the problems out of the way, as the others have said id go for a nice stable depower kite so you can lean back into it, going down out the back door is far better than a face plant! doit!

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Thanks for the advice and push towards a board guys. Interested to hear the views on going with the Arcs, which previously had put me off having a go on my lad's board.

 

@Dave J - I'm definitely not ditching the buggy, just extending my options:D You'll be able to have a laugh at my expense on N Wales beach some time soon:o

 

Cheers

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The PL V2's are ideal. Perhaps a 16M for those light wind cruising days.

Too old ! No, It's just different, not harder ! It wasn't till I got my 1st Venom that the landboarding really started to work for me.

I've got a Scrub Regolith, and as a cruising board it suits me fine.

Cheers

Tim

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I don't jump on a landboard Plezzy - leaving the ground on a board for some reason scares me! But the 13m V2 really is perfect just for a bit of tootling, it's really easy to never jump on it - just don't pull down on the bar! We have a Flexboardz (click me) which is something like 11kg so leaving the ground is really hard work & suits me fine - carves amazingly & really stable, borrow it for a couple of months if you like? It's another one of those though: whatever board you get, the more expensive it is, unfortunately the easier you'll find it to ride, get a bottom of the range one & you'll possibly either quit or end up upgrading it anyway.

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