Board size for beginner...

[bryanleighty]

can anyone give me some advice on a good beginner board size. took my first lesson but really didnt go over this subject too much with my trainer.
i am 5 ft 10 and weigh in the 200 lb range. have a few years snowboarding experience and a bit of wakeboarding time under my belt.

any and all suggestions would be much appreciated!!

thanks!

-Bryan
St. Petersburg, FL

[bryanleighty]

can anyone give me some advice on a good beginner board size. took my first lesson but really didnt go over this subject too much with my trainer.
i am 5 ft 10 and weigh in the 200 lb range. have a few years snowboarding experience and a bit of wakeboarding time under my belt.

any and all suggestions would be much appreciated!!

thanks!

-Bryan
St. Petersburg, FL

[ricki]

Originally Posted by bryanleighty

can anyone give me some advice on a good beginner board size. took my first lesson but really didnt go over this subject too much with my trainer.
i am 5 ft 10 and weigh in the 200 lb range. have a few years snowboarding experience and a bit of wakeboarding time under my belt.

any and all suggestions would be much appreciated!!

thanks!

-Bryan
St. Petersburg, FL

Hello Bryan,

You should consider obtaining more instruction beyond an intro lesson. I would find the best instructor that you can and use his boards and kites for that matter to help you arrive at your own decision. This sport is too complicated to be adequately summed up in a single lesson.

You will probably receive a variety of opinions in response to your question. I too live in an area with lighter winds over part of the year over on the SE coast of Florida. If you were in an area with more consistent stronger winds than South Florida I would provide a different response. That said here goes ...

A larger board should help with your progression while you are learning board control, edging, water-starting, etc. You already have semi-shelter area (i.e. reduced waves) in the St. Pete area, so you shouldn't be slowed down in learning by rough water.

What is a larger board for a 200 lb. person (I am around 185 lbs.)? I normally take two boards with me to ride unless it is reliably well into the high teen mph range or higher. The larger one is an older 181 cm LWD board and the smaller one, a Best 135 cm board. If its really light I might even take along a directional board.

So, I would recommend that you plan down the road to get a couple of boards to cover your bases. For starters however you may want to get a large twin tip (that is with a large area, through length and/or width) or even a directional board. Directional are out of fashion and if you weigh 150 lbs. or live in a higer wind area, you could get away with a fairly small twin tip. If you live in a light wind paradise, as we do, bigger can be better. The larger size should improve your stability, lighter wind performance and learning progression.

[ricki]

Originally Posted by bryanleighty

can anyone give me some advice on a good beginner board size. took my first lesson but really didnt go over this subject too much with my trainer.
i am 5 ft 10 and weigh in the 200 lb range. have a few years snowboarding experience and a bit of wakeboarding time under my belt.

any and all suggestions would be much appreciated!!

thanks!

-Bryan
St. Petersburg, FL

Hello Bryan,

You should consider obtaining more instruction beyond an intro lesson. I would find the best instructor that you can and use his boards and kites for that matter to help you arrive at your own decision. This sport is too complicated to be adequately summed up in a single lesson.

You will probably receive a variety of opinions in response to your question. I too live in an area with lighter winds over part of the year over on the SE coast of Florida. If you were in an area with more consistent stronger winds than South Florida I would provide a different response. That said here goes ...

A larger board should help with your progression while you are learning board control, edging, water-starting, etc. You already have semi-shelter area (i.e. reduced waves) in the St. Pete area, so you shouldn't be slowed down in learning by rough water.

What is a larger board for a 200 lb. person (I am around 185 lbs.)? I normally take two boards with me to ride unless it is reliably well into the high teen mph range or higher. The larger one is an older 181 cm LWD board and the smaller one, a Best 135 cm board. If its really light I might even take along a directional board.

So, I would recommend that you plan down the road to get a couple of boards to cover your bases. For starters however you may want to get a large twin tip (that is with a large area, through length and/or width) or even a directional board. Directional are out of fashion and if you weigh 150 lbs. or live in a higer wind area, you could get away with a fairly small twin tip. If you live in a light wind paradise, as we do, bigger can be better. The larger size should improve your stability, lighter wind performance and learning progression.

[bryanleighty]

thanks for the board size tips.. pretty much what i was thinking.
though it does seem, for every question you ask regarding this sport's equipment needs, you get a whole slew of different answers.
personal preference goes a long way.

The one consistent is to make sure and get proper instruction before doing anything on your own. That I understand and have been doing.

-Bryan

[bryanleighty]

thanks for the board size tips.. pretty much what i was thinking.
though it does seem, for every question you ask regarding this sport's equipment needs, you get a whole slew of different answers.
personal preference goes a long way.

The one consistent is to make sure and get proper instruction before doing anything on your own. That I understand and have been doing.

-Bryan