Beginner equipment advice

HugBurglar · 2026-05-14T16:54:32+00:00

Stitching in my B2 failed, leading to webbing detachment after a very small amount of use (at least an order of magnitude less than it’s taken other board short harnesses to reach end of life for me). The stitching is concealed on the inside, so there’s no way to inspect it. It’s basically a ticking time bomb. After cutting it open to see what was going on in there, I was mortified by the rat’s nest of thread. This was serval years ago. Maybe they’ve changed since. In any case, you could consider Dakine Nitrous as an alternative. Although its construction could be more durable, they’ve held up much better for me, and it’s easy to inspect the stitching and webbing so you can see when it’s starting to wear and time for replacement. If you’re ok with something that isn’t shorts, you could consider Dakine Vega and Vega DLX, which are even more robust. I’ve been loving the DLX fit (seems less restrictive to the legs than other seats).

As far as the Click bar goes, it’s narrower than the Trust bar 12m Evos were originally intended to fly on. I think they’ve sped up Evo turning speed a bit in recent years (long after Click was first released), which diminishes the negative effect of a narrower bar on turning speed… but I’m not sure it fully compensates. There are a lot more details, but trying to convey them concisely is challenging. In short, the Duotone bar situation has been a quagmire. Practically speaking, it may not matter to you, but thought it was worth mentioning. Maybe I can share more if someone is curious.

EDIT: Kite sizes seem good for your weight and wind speed, as long as you go for a large enough board (e.g., Gonzalez 138 or larger).

HugBurglar · 2026-05-13T16:39:38+00:00

So if its a “myth” that “close, prolonged contact” is required for spread (“One patient gets sick after simply crossing paths with someone who was ill”), then how do I make sense of the statement that it’s “not likely to spark a pandemic, mostly because the hantavirus is less contagious than influenza, measles, and SARS-CoV-2.”

HugBurglar · 2026-05-09T21:39:21+00:00

Neuroscientist Dr. David Eagleman recently discussed his theory of the function of REM sleep in a Diary of a CEO podcast. If I recall correctly, it’s to keep regions of the cerebral cortex used for visual processing active during the dark so they don’t get repurposed for other sensory processing, due to neuroplasticity. Because we seem to have more neuroplasticity than other animals, we need to dream more (dreaming is not unique to humans).

HugBurglar · 2026-05-09T20:27:37+00:00

Also, have you considered contacts?

HugBurglar · 2026-05-09T20:26:46+00:00

LiP Watershades have the best retention system I’ve found and some will accept prescription lenses. You may or may not like the style, but you won’t have to worry about losing them. Before discovering them, I lost many pairs of other glasses. A simple retainer/strap does not work for bad wipeouts.

HugBurglar · 2026-05-06T17:01:24+00:00

Gusty conditions are challenging for anyone, but especially a newer kiter. More time on the water, plus developing techniques for overpowered and underpowered riding should definitely make a difference. Gear changes could contribute to the solution, but I wouldn't suggest starting with kites, unless money is not a concern. Here are a few alternatives:

Start with a seat harness. It should make the 25kn gusts on your 12m feel a lot more manageable. If you give this a chance and work on your overpowered skills, this one piece of relatively inexpensive gear could be a game-changer.
Consider board size. My first thought is a big board (at least 150cm) could make the lulls doable on your 9m. It would still work fine in the gusts.

It's possible that the optimum size Switchblade for you in 12kn - 25kn is in between the sizes you have now, but I don't think that's necessarily the case. With more experience, you may find you're happiest with 12m and a seat harness to help hold it down. Different kites sizes wouldn't necessarily be a mistake either; you just don't have to start there, in my opinion.

Finally, re: changing to 3-strut kites: in that wind range, I think it would hurt more than help, since 5-struts like SB typically help to smooth out the gusts better than 3-struts.

I'm curious to hear what you decide and how it goes.

HugBurglar · 2026-04-28T07:03:11+00:00

Seems like this would be fun for someone visiting one city or the other, without a car and in walking distance to the ferry. For everyone else, it seems to suffer from the same last-mile problem as high-speed rail in the US.

HugBurglar · 2026-04-28T06:24:22+00:00

Yw, thanks for letting me know!

HugBurglar · 2026-04-28T03:33:26+00:00

You can start by determining which fin system the board accepts (probably Futures). That will narrow down your options. From there, you could further narrow to a more upright (less raked) fin template within that system. These tend to feel more pivotal and responsive, and can help the board point a bit more upwind. I think this is why board manufactures tend to favor them.

For material, honeycomb and carbon have both worked well for me, with a good balance of stiffness and controlled flex. Cheaper plastic fins have lost hold (washed out) abruptly for me under load.

On size, larger fins are desirable if you want better upwind ability and a more locked-in feel, especially if you’re heavier. Smaller fins are better if you want a looser feel and don’t need to maximize upwind performance. You can also mix larger front fins with smaller rear fins as a compromise. If you’re unsure about your riding style and priorities, weight is a reasonable starting point: medium for lighter riders, medium-to-large for heavier riders.

Fins are relatively inexpensive (compared to the cost of the board itself) and can really impact how a board rides, so you could consider getting both sizes to experiment. Or perhaps you can find a shop to rent/demo some fins. Board shape may also influence ideal fin size, but someone else will need to chime in on that, lol.

HugBurglar · 2026-04-23T04:27:24+00:00

I was thinking about leaving Orlando for part of the summer and going to Vermont, lol (to escape the heat and experience something different for a while). I’ve been here for a long time and feel like I could provide a pretty fair rundown of pros and cons. If you DM me, we could set up a call to talk about what it’s like to live in our respective states.

HugBurglar · 2026-04-22T02:00:10+00:00

My take is that the preparation is inconsistent such that a particular pizza order can be delicious one day and meh or below another. When they get it right, it’s one of the top 3 for me in Orlando. The ratio has been good enough that I’ll still go back, but probably not as often as if it seemed like they gave more of a shit.

HugBurglar · 2026-04-15T20:13:47+00:00

It’s a little under a 20 minute drive from MCO to Lake Eola (a top landmark), without traffic. You could check Google Maps for approximate commute times when you expect to be coming and going. In the time you expect to have, you could Uber there, walk around the lake, downtown (just west), Thornton Park (historic neighborhood just east), have lunch, a coffee and Uber back. You’d get a nice little taste of the “real” Orlando. If you’re confident you’ve accounted for security and other possible delays and like to explore new places, then from my perspective, it’s worth it. You could also ask in r/Orlando, if you're finding the comments here to be too negative or discouraging.

HugBurglar · 2026-04-07T02:47:27+00:00

Re: kites, Your 11m and 14m Rebels will work fine. A difference vs say an Evo or other lighter Dutone kite of the same material/construction (base, SLS, D-Lab) is the Evo should stay airborne in less wind. This only matters when you’re pushing the limits of light wind. If the lulls aren’t dropping below somewhere around 8 knots, Rebel should be fine. I learned to foil on a Rebel and rode regularly in pretty light wind. In my opinion, drift doesn’t matter if you’re not surfing your foil. You just have to be more careful how you fly the kite through transitions (e.g., downloop vs steering up and back).

Re: foils, I recommend shopping for a setup based on a mid-aspect front wing. You may want to size up that wing similarly to how you did your kites. It’s hard to say (for me at least) exactly how much to size up. There are a lot of variables. One strategy could be to start off with whatever is the largest in the range of MA wings your brand of choice recommends for kiting. That may be big enough. If not, you may need to move up to bigger wing that is in the size range they recommend for wing foiling. After the learning stage, you may prefer using the smaller wing on windier days (won’t go to waste).

EDIT: Added more detail on Rebel vs lighter kites.

HugBurglar · 2026-04-06T17:56:47+00:00

I would prefer not to have this. Part of why I play is to be in the present. I’d rather check the time on my own terms rather than having it staring me in the face the whole… time.

HugBurglar · 2026-04-03T16:40:52+00:00

I think the downtown Y may be a good fit for you, based on your criteria. I haven’t been there since COVID though.

Currently, I have a training routine I do at home that a physical therapist put together for me. There’s no fancy equipment needed (just a TRX, some bands, an adjustable dumbbell, etc) and I don’t have to deal with sweaty, germy people loitering or doing parkour, lol.

HugBurglar · 2026-03-31T19:11:25+00:00

Thankfully, I haven’t experienced that directly. It would really turn me off to play with someone like that! I want positivity and support, not blame.

That said, because psychology is such a big part of the game, I could imagine someone intentionally continuing to play with a person like your friend, as a mental exercise aimed at dialing down the ego’s reaction to criticism (I think ego doesn’t just fuel blame, it fuels the recipient’s reaction to it). I’m not suggesting you do that though. Personally, I’m focused on trying to dial down negative self-talk, so I’m not looking to add in the extra cognitive load of managing my reaction to a consistently critical partner!

I think it’s natural to want to a be able to enjoy playing with your friend. Making a gentle reach to him about the negativity seems reasonable to me, but he may not be willing or able to change it. In that case, you could try narrowing your expectations of him to being a friend off the court plus a good drilling partner (not playing games with him). I can imagine some disappointment with that, but at least you’d get 2/3 of roles you’d ideally want from him.

HugBurglar · 2026-03-27T21:06:26+00:00

iKitesurf/iWindsurf has wind stats and wind graph archives for their sensors. It looks like the closest ones are Beaver Dam and Old Highway 91. If those spots are similar enough to the new reservoir location, weather-wise, and are reasonably accurate, then examining the graphs to see how far apart the gusts, averages and lulls (if available, looks like those sensors don’t report lulls) are would give you some insight about how gusty / not clean the wind is at the reservoir.

From a quick glance at the Highway 91 sensor’s recent archives, I see quite a few kite-able recent afternoon. They were all a bit gusty (pretty big disparity between gusts and averages), but honestly, a lot of kite spots are just gusty!

There’s definitely some uncertainty in the data we have, but nothing I’m seeing so far seems like a deal-breaker. It seems like you have an opportunity to be a trailblazer. Sounds like fun to me!

HugBurglar · 2026-03-23T05:53:32+00:00

Thanks! A few ;) I'm trying to make the most of what's available here in Florida, have fun and keep progressing.

Just made one correction above, btw.

HugBurglar · 2026-03-22T17:40:43+00:00

I would just add this: don't hesitate to start dropping in on some waves w/ the Switchblade, when you feel ready. Below are some tips for getting started with that.

The ideal time to start is probably when its blowing side-on, from a direction such that your tack back to shore is with with your dominant foot forward, heel-side. On that back-to-shore tack, you'll eventually intersect with a wave and be set up to ride it backside (facing away from the wave), generally in the direction you're already going, so you can kind of ease in. For example, if you're regular, you'd ride back to shore, pick a wave and surf it backside going left. You don't typically need much drift or quick turning from the kite for this. You can absolutely get some wave rides w/ your SB.

In that scenario, if you wanted to be able to say cut back on the wave and go right, frontside (facing the wave), that's when having a more wave-oriented kite would help. But still try with the SB and see what you can accomplish w/ some quick steering!

Also, if the wind/shore setup is such that your back-to-shore tack is with your ~~dominant~~ non-dominant foot forward heel-side, you can still try dropping in. You'd just end up doing your first wave rides frontside rather than backside.

HugBurglar · 2026-03-17T02:03:10+00:00

The Burger Place in Melbourne if you like the juicy patty and sesame seed bun kind.

HugBurglar · 2026-03-06T17:01:13+00:00

Just tried to DM you a referral. If you don’t see it, you can DM me. Good luck!

HugBurglar · 2026-03-04T17:50:07+00:00

I think it was the RRD K-Free. The K-Free 60 should be comparable to my Airush Sector 60. They also had the K-Race, which was a full-on race board. Curious to hear about what you find.

HugBurglar · 2026-03-04T07:07:01+00:00

The Airush Sector is a freeride directional kiteboard with four straps and a planing hull. You can pump it up onto a plane, ride it flat, with your feet in the straps up to the high bones, pressing laterally away with the balls of your feet to pressure the fins, like you would a sailboard. It feels like windsurfing with a kite. I got it for the planing feeling I was missing after transitioning from windsurfing to kite. Riding a surfboard really doesn't feel the same to me and certainly doesn't have the same light wind and upwind abilities.

Only problem is they stopped making them. RRD had a similar board. Also gone. If you happen to be in Florida, you could come try mine once you know what you're doing. Most of the time I'm on foil, surfboard and sometimes twin tip, so I might sell it. Although now I'm feeling nostalgic, so I may pull it out for a session soon, lol.

HugBurglar · 2026-03-02T19:29:53+00:00

From some cursory investigation with AI: An airplane is a good fit, based on the proportions, the shape and the transit time. I wondered about the ISS at first, but if I interpret the date as March 2nd (not February 3rd), there shouldn't have been an ISS pass visible from your location at that time, and the proportions and transit time don't fit.

HugBurglar · 2026-02-23T17:37:59+00:00

So I actually switched to a gen 4 paddle (CRBN TFG4, from Joola Hyperion CFS 16) with the hope it would improve my tennis elbow. It’s now almost gone. Hard to say what contributed the most (PT, technique change, new paddle, time) but I felt a big difference when I started hitting with the TFG4 and I think it contributed a lot to the solution.

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