Kitesurfing boards are a quite often underestimated element when thinking about solutions to be able to kitesurf during those nice sunny summer days when the wind is just not enough for the standard kitesurfing equipment quiver.

Up until recently, kitesurfers used bigger and bigger kitesurfing kites to make use of that gentle wind and be able to cruise gently. But bigger kitesurf kites means also slower kites and it is in general very painful to relaunch such a big monster when it falls from the sky.

Today, more and more people are realizing that the solution is not using bigger kites but using floaty kitesurfing boards instead. The principle behind is that when using a positively buoyant board, the pull of the kite is only needed to move the kitesurfer on the surface of the water rather than out of the water and therefore much less energy is needed. Once the kitesurfing is moving, it is possible to make a better use of the available wind by moving the kite and generating apparent wind. As a result, a medium size fast turning kite together with a floaty board are a much better solution than a less floaty board and a huge slow kite.

There are different solutions available…

Directional surfboards. This kind of boards are designed to be used when kitesurfing in waves and therefore there buoyancy is much higher than a twin tip board. They are not symmetrical, nose and tail have different shapes, and the nose has to point in the direction the kitesurfer is moving. As a result, it is necessary to either jibe or ride toeside whenever direction changes.

Floaty Twin Tip boards designed for lightwind. These very floaty kitesurfing boards are designed to be used either by heavy rides or in light wind conditions. The advantage over the surfboards is that they can ride in both directions and it is possible to do all kind of tricks like with a normal twin tip board, the only limitation is set by the strength of the wind. In some of them riding toeside can be quite challenging.

Skimboards. These boards are either the same ones as used for skimboarding or special ones adapted to kitesurfing. The main difference with a twin tip is the lack of foot straps and fins (fins can be added). This board is very enjoyable en flat water and small waves, they are ridden strapless what adds a novelty element to kitesurfing and the kind of tricks that can be performed are closer to kiteboarding than kitesurfing.

Race boards. Directional kitesurfing boards are designed specially for reaching high speeds. They are almost only used for racing competitions although they are starting to be used in other situations because their excellent light wind conditions performance.

We are now working on a report focused on light wind twin tip boards, we will review the best boards designed for those conditions. Join our RSS feed if you want to received these new articles as soon as they are published. We also recommend you to join our newsletter as it may
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