TONA driftwood kite skate

[Dereck]

Hey I am new to this forum but I have been following for some time. I have been doing prototypes and testing on wake skates and we finally got a production going... I though you guys would like to see some photos of the testing....

Thanks.

DC.

[Dereck]

Here are some pics of the R&D in Maui and the gorge.

Ck out our blog page http://www.tonaboards.com/driftwood/ to find out more or the development of the Driftwood and for updates..

[spewing]

They look like great fun.

Hope they sell well.

Have you got a UK distributor?

[Dereck]

Thanks.... we are looking for one... Interested? Contact us.. info@tonalife.com

[Lonny]

Awesome Dereck. Thanks for posting the information. Glad to see that the Tona has launched!

[Kaito]

Been wondering & gotta ask..!
I tried a 'standard' wakeskate last year, (Hyperlight) and was let down since it didn't want to stay on a plane, nor go upwind.
I did better on a smallish twintip in the same conditions..

So~ are these kite-specific wakte skates better performers than the boat-power-needed skates?
Can you kite skate these in the same winds/kite as a standardish twintip, or do they need more wind like the boat-skates? Maybe less wind than standard twintops?

I'd really like to add a skate to my quiver, but don't want to have to be litt just to ride it..
Thanks for any input/experience.
Rgds,
K.

[treeboy]

From my limited knowledge id say kite skates need about as much wind as a twinny. Normal skates are smaller and have alot of rocker so you'd need to be maxed with a kite. You can definately hold some power down on the tona as you can just stamp on the back foot and dig in. I found it super nice in chop too!

[Kaito]

Thanks for the input Treeboy.
So the Tona skate needs about the same wind a normalish twintip.
Thats good news cause its better than a boat skate!
If I have ca$h left after the holidays, I might have to consider the TONA Skate!
hmmm..

[treeboy]

Yeah go for it they are super nice boards

[Dereck]

Sorry to take so long to respond.... was zoned out...

Yes, you can kite skate on any skate really, but the TONA driftwood skate I designed for the kite pull.. Basically, it has to be more efficient than anything that is pulled behind a boat because behind a boat you have unlimited power.. So we played with lots of different rocker lines to maximize the efficiency and keep the looseness of a wake skate. If you use a standard wakeskate, you will find you will need lots of power to get going. Everything behind a boat is designed to have lots of drag, something we can not afford behind a kite. (same is true with our Wake style TONA boards too) .. so if you just try any skate, your first impression is that you need lots of wind... not true with a kite designed kiteskate...

The good thing about the kite skate is the range. Because of the freedom to place your feet anywhere, you have unlimited pressure you can put on the deck to handle light winds to heavy wind.. If you are totally lit and over powered on you twin tip, you can jump on a skate and have a blast!!! It can get going in lighter winds because the rocker is refined and again you can place your feet towards the middle of the board to continuously adjust the deck angle for maximum efficiency. You will be surprised that it does not take much to get going once you figure out the foot placement thing...

Another thing we did was pay attention to the rail shape.. behind a boat you can find flat water to ride in. Behind a kite you may encounter chop with the wind so we have shaped the rails for this. A little more rounded near the middle... You can also sand them rounder if you always ride in chop and make it easier to land rotation tricks.. Yes you will mess up the paint job on the rails if you sand it but just put your own color to seal the wood and you are good to go!!

Another consideration we paid attention to was the weight. Most of our prototypes were too light!! great problem to have as a board builder...! : ) we found it needs to have some weight to keep the board under control in the chop and wind when the board leaves the water..

I hope I answered the questions.. If you got anymore and i don't respond in good time, email me and I will pop back and answer any more questions... dereck@tonaboards.com

thanks,!

DC

[Kaito]

Hi Dereck,
Thanks so much for your informative reply!! That's exactly what I was looking for!
The details you noted should be in the board's description on the Tona site! ~ Really good to know all the details & refinements in the board.

Sounds much much better than the experience I had with the boat-skate.
I think you've just about pushed me over the edge to order one of these!

Great to hear it direct from the shaper too!
Thanks!
K.

[Dereck]

thanks Kaito,

Glad I can help out... Good idea about putting the info in the description... I'll run it by the guys and see what they say... I kinda have to be careful and hold myself back cus I could tent to give too much info and bore readers!! LOL Maybe we could provide a link to go a level deeper on the distraction part for the readers that like this sort of info... But great suggestion!! Let me know if you got any more questions...

DC.