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Welcome!

Welcome to losethestraps.com - the original site dedicated to kitesurfers that are evolving the strapless scene. Please introduce yourself to the forum by posting here.

Moderator: Lonny

Re: Welcome!

Postby Lonny » Fri Apr 23, 2010 12:55 pm

funkster wrote:Hi everybody, I am Yiannis from Greece 8)

I started kitesurfing 2.5 years ago and recently I got a reaaaaaly sick board...the Underground Kipuna 5' 8''
It was my first ever experience with a surfboard and after a couple of strapped sessions I said to myself LOSETHESTRAPS and try again!
I am hooked forever :wink: :wink: :wink:

I am 72kg and ride Best Nemi 12m '08, Nemi 10m - 8m '09, North x-ride 135x39

Be safe and hope you give me some good info about this exciting new sport for me 8)


Hey Yiannis,

Welcome to LTS. Thanks for joining us here, and sharing your love of your new board! LTS is only as good as the membership that contribute, and we have some really great members here. Hopefully you will learn a lot, be inspired, and in turn, contribute and inspire us! 8)
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Re: Welcome!

Postby jjtango » Thu Jul 15, 2010 6:20 am

Greetings!
Found your site as it was recommended by a bunch of the local riders (Okinawa).
I am new to kiting and look forward to getting on a skim board.
Any advice for a newbie is much welcome!

jason
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Re: Welcome!

Postby Lonny » Thu Jul 15, 2010 12:09 pm

Hey Jason,

Welcome to LTS! Glad to hear the guys in Okinawa recommended you join up. 8)

Here are some great links to get you started:
Skimboard FAQs
Skimboard Reviews
Good Information on Surfboards
Great article by Jon on Strapless Surfboard Riding
Great Video on Skimming
Another Vid on Skimming
Tons of great vids to watch

Lastly, if you have any specific questions post them in the related forums and I am sure you will get some great replies.
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Re: Welcome!

Postby 2tall » Sun Jan 09, 2011 8:54 pm

Hey folks! New to the forum, but I've been a lurker for a year or so.

I've been kiting a little over three years. Live in the midwest, but make trips to OBX, Keys, Maui, and San Diego when I can. Grew up in San Diego surfing, bodysurfing. Never a great surfer, but I loved being on the water. Also, been snowboarding for 18 years (yeah, I'm old)....still using my Morrow Drive I bought in 1993!

Current kite gear is:
12M GK Trix
9M F-one B3
17M SS 3
Mostly ride a Nobile XTR.

Looking to start riding a strapless surfboard in two weeks...heading to Maui and hoping for some wind. I'll be riding mushy, smaller waves for the most part and lake swell. I'm 6'7" 220#. I've been looking at the Airush Choptop LW and the SS Dialer, mainly because of my size. I've also just thought about buying a beater surfboard off Ebay to save some $. Any advice is welcome. I consider myself to be a pretty solid intermediate...caught on quickly, but I'm pretty mellow. That's part of the attraction to strapless riding for me. It seems like plenty to learn without the pain of high speed/altitude wipeouts.

Thanks.
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Re: Welcome!

Postby Lonny » Tue Jan 11, 2011 8:19 pm

Hey 2tall,

Welcome to LTS! Thanks for officially joining us here, and coming out of the shadows! 8)

I am old too, well at least in Kitesurfing years. :D I consider it a badge of honor. I regularly tell the youngsters, "let's see when you are 40 if you are still getting on the water, and ripping." It's a lifestyle, and as long as you have a passion for it, and love it, why ever stop?

As far as your question regarding your surfboard goes, I would suggest posting it in the Shredding on Your Surfboard topic and see if you get some replies.

Personally, I would give some very strong consideration to a used board for your first kiting specific surfboard. Just so you can get dialed into your riding a bit, and also what suits your riding style. Keep in mind that width in the board is really key vs. length - especially for a bigger guy. I would look for something in the 5' 10" x 18 3/4" or so and with a nice thumb tail. There was a good discussion on surfboards for bigger guys here as well:
viewtopic.php?t=705#p2782

I also would highly recommend the S-Quad series from Cabrinha. I have ridden the 5' 7" for the last 3 years, and it excels in a wide variety of conditions. I think the 6' 1" x 18 3/4" Cabrinha S-Quad would be worth giving a go.

Hope that helps!

Enjoy the forum, and hope to see you on the water some time!
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Re: Welcome!

Postby RebelRyder » Wed Jan 12, 2011 7:42 am

I Like It ... The Stoke for Kitesurfing Strapless !!

Lonny and the others are active moderators and help to keep this forum lively ... and alive. Forums need to have continual input to keep people stoked on the sport -- good job to you guys !!

I grew up in Hawaii (Oahu) many years ago and loved surfing but had to move back to the mainland, since my parents were moving back for work. Now I'm in the Seattle area and there is a good kiting community up here. Surfing was my passion, but I transferred to other board sports since they were more readily available. It's fine here in the land of HO/Hyperlite, Obrien, (and others as well) but I miss the beach action that the warmer environs provided. And with wheels now, there is plenty of kiting and kitesurfing action in Oregon, Washington, and B.C. I've been kiteboarding for 2 1/2 years and find that I am drawn to the strapless boarding due to experiences in my youth.

I've traveled to SPI to learn on the Laguna Madre and one of the local kiteboard shops there is run by an ex-ski instructor out of Colorado that turned me onto skim boarding; his knees were feeling the effects of many years busting out of snow ski bindings and it turns out that riding strapless is much more forgiving for aching & ailing knees. So before even trying it, I bought a Victoria Ultra skimboard (with a full-on deck pad) to ride in the light wind conditions that we have here in the Puget Sound (in Washington State). It seems fine but it is all that I know ... I have only used it a few times since my comfort level was more in tune with the TT boards and the ability they give beginners & intermediates to progress in the sport. I'm stoked with the strapless riding and plan to practice more on the skim board. I hadn't known of all of the other skimboard brands available, so I only hope at this time that the Victoria Ultra large board will allow me to progress riding strapless in the mush and small wind-waves that we get here in the wintertime.

But, I want more. Not having wind one day, I stopped in at a local kiteboarding shop to check on new equipment. Some of the 2010 models are now on sale and I've been thinking about picking up a surf style board to add to my quiver of boards. We have several manufacturers based up here: North, Naish, Slingshot, & Ocean Rodeo. I've been thinking about buying a 2010 Slingshot Verve 2-2 (either 6'0" or 6'2") or a slingshot Ben Wilson Pro 6'2" because that is what the local shop carries and the 2010 models are discounted 33% from new prices. Another forum had some input on these boards, but the guys posting were based in California and may have different conditions/waves than what we get here in Washington State along the coast & the northern coast of Oregon.

=>> Checking here, there isn't much discussion on these brands ... any advice for the Slingshot boards listed above ??
Thanks, --Michael
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Re: Welcome!

Postby 2tall » Wed Jan 12, 2011 6:06 pm

Thanks Lonny and crew!
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Re: Welcome!

Postby Lonny » Wed Jan 12, 2011 8:01 pm

RebelRyder wrote:I Like It ... The Stoke for Kitesurfing Strapless !!

Lonny and the others are active moderators and help to keep this forum lively ... and alive. Forums need to have continual input to keep people stoked on the sport -- good job to you guys !!

Thanks, --Michael


Hey Michael,

Thank you! I appreciate your kind words. All the people here make LTS a great place to stop by, hang out, ask some questions, and generally share our love for kitesurfing - especially when losing the straps! :D So, I thank you for being a part of LTS!

I am very familiar with the Victoria Ultra Large, and it will not hold you back at all - especially for your first skimboard. After you have ridden for a while and feel comfortable in what you are doing you might choose a new board based on certain features. If you have more questions about that when you are ready let me know and I will be happy to give you all the feedback you want. Just post your question in the Skim section.

I saw you already re-posted your question in the surfboard section, and hopefully you will get some replies there. I have not ridden any of the models you mentioned in your post - so I do not have any real feedback for you there. As I mentioned above, I would highly recommend the S-Quad line of boards from Cabrinha, and would add them to your list of boards to try. Also, if you are into the skim, you might like a more skatey/progressive style of surfboard, and the new Skillet also from Cabrinha is a blast to ride. If you have more specific questions about either of these boards let me know.

Thanks again for your post and being part of LTS!
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Re: Welcome!

Postby RebelRyder » Thu Jan 13, 2011 12:46 am

Hi Lonny & LTS Crew,
Great to hear back from you and to be welcomed to the LTS community. I have the strapless urge for sure. Its good to hear that my first skim board, the Victoria Ultra Large is one that I can use being a newbie and progress on.

After posting in the skim boarding forum I took a tour to see what the popular boards are. Lonny's review of the ZAP Custom Kite Skim board was very informative and interesting. When I'm ready to upgrade from the Victoria Ultra Large board, the ZAP Custom Kite Skim board is one that I want in my arsenal.

Here in the Puget Sound region of Washington State, there is some strapless surfing, but not much skim boarding yet. I actually got the stoke for kiting strapless with a skim board from a kitesurfer named Joel who runs the South Padre Island Kiteboarding shop in South Padre Island at the southern tip of Texas. He's an ex-ski instructor out of Colorado and all the effects of many years busting through moguls, blasting down snow covered mountains, and landing jumps over bumps & rocks took its toll on his knees. So riding strapless on a skim board is much more forgiving for aching & ailing knees, and in the mushy surf on the gulf side of South Padre Island, it's a blast to do too versus riding kite surf boards strapless.

A popular beach near Seattle (Jetty Island) has lighter winds in the summer time and skim boards make so much sense.
It will be fun to kite and ride while most everyone else is waiting on the beach for the winds to pick up.

Keep The Strapless Stoke Thriving, --Michael
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Re: Welcome!

Postby Karst71 » Thu Nov 22, 2012 1:26 pm

Hi All,

I'm Karst from the Netherlands and started kiting 2 yrs ago, riding twintips. I never rode strapless, but I just finished building my first skimboard so it should happen soon (if it's not too cold....brrrrrrrrrrr) :roll: . Anyway I really like the forum, especially the building part, with great respect for Tungsten!

I'll post my skimboard-build here as well :D

Cheers,

Karst71
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Re: Welcome!

Postby tungsten » Fri Nov 23, 2012 4:43 am

Hi Karst71, welcome to LTS and thank you for the kind words! I'm glad you joined the crew of DIY board makers. You will be amazed how gratifying it is to ride your own gear. A skim is a perfect first board to make.

Please take the time to document and share the buildig process here on LTS, this is a great help for others who want to get into doing the same. Don't worry if your first board isn't perfect, the next one will be better. Soon your boards will be beyond any production board.

cheers, tungsten
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