Bay Area Kiteboarding

I've narrowed down my options and I thought I would see what fellow BAK'ers are liking these days.

My criteria is a kite specific surfboard between 5'5-5'8x17.75"-19.5" with a 5 fin box so I can switch it from a thruster to a quad. I only ride strapless and like to do airs, so durability is key. From my research these are my best options...

Airush Cypher 5'6 & 5'8
Epic Reef ATV 5'7
Firewire KHF 5'6
Naish Global 5'5
North Wam 5'8
Wainman Gambler 5'7
Amundson Airflow (custom)

In the kiting completely powered grom sized directional game to me all the boards seem to be fairly interchangeable

If I were in your shoes I'd pick whichever one fit your 5 finbox criteria and was within my budget

+1 for the Wam. I had a 5'10" last year, a 6'0" this year. Rides well.

I would get a Naish Sky Pirate.

Wainman Gambler and Passport might be somthing to check out this weekend. At least one was on your list...

Gambler comes with full pads and straps. Fins can be setup as a thruster or quad setup, Passport only comes with rear pads, no straps and is strictly a quad.

Gambler is probably the best choice. Passport was designed to be paddled or kited...

sloughslut wrote:I would get a Naish Sky Pirate.

This is exactly what I'm looking for... shortest length @ 6', 3-fin box only, & dual front-foot straps. Perfect!

Aloha wrote:In the kiting completely powered grom sized directional game to me all the boards seem to be fairly interchangeable

If I were in your shoes I'd pick whichever one fit your 5 finbox criteria and was within my budget

I was thinking mostly the same thing, but any feedback to narrow down my options would great. I'm currently riding an UG Freewave, so anything I purchase I know I can get used to since it's such a different feel. So far I've only demo'ed the new Cypher in the 5'8 which I liked a lot.Does anyone know where I could demo some of the other boards on my list?

Chris - I plan to be there on Wed. I would be psyched to try the Gambler 5'7 if you have one available.

Yoda wrote:

Aloha wrote:In the kiting completely powered grom sized directional game to me all the boards seem to be fairly interchangeable

If I were in your shoes I'd pick whichever one fit your 5 finbox criteria and was within my budget

I was thinking mostly the same thing, but any feedback to narrow down my options would great. I'm currently riding an UG Freewave, so anything I purchase I know I can get used to since it's such a different feel. So far I've only demo'ed the new Cypher in the 5'8 which I liked a lot.Does anyone know where I could demo some of the other boards on my list?

Chris - I plan to be there on Wed. I would be psyched to try the Gambler 5'7 if you have one available.

It will be there waiting for you Mark!

You can try my hellfire if you want. I'm out for a couple of weeks for surgery. I love it. Super strong, 5 fin option, short and a little wide. Turns super fast.

Just wondering why the need for a quad? Everyone I know who used to ride quads is now riding thrusters with the rest of us.

Not to be a brand whore I rode Amundson boards for years but recently switched to SS because their new boards matched the colors of my Rallys (joke) but the new 5' 11" Tyrants are getting "best directional" reviews right and left.

I don't have one. I have a 2010 BWS Pro 6'2" that I love and a 2011 Tyrant 6'2" that I really like. I ride exclusively strapless, as do many of the pros that ride these boards.

I'm hoping SS sends someone our way this summer so we can demo the new boards.