Hi everybody, I'm looking for some advice on what size board to go for. This will be my first time buy for my girl and me. We are still beginners cruising up wind fine and I am trying Yo learn to jump. I weigh about 74kg and She is about 62kg and we are going to share the hoard as we are still travelling. Everyone here has advised us on about a 132ish board but we have a friend back in the that is telling us to ho bigger like a 136ish.
We am looking to buy something for the weekend and if it's bigger it will be a new 2012 Slingshot Misfit or a 2012 Crazyfly Raptor pro and if it's smaller is between a second hand 2010 North Jamie Pro in great condition or a 2011 X-Ride with Sync bindings in mint condition.
Any advie would be great as we really don't know what to do!?
Cheers Toby
Mertle,
What size have you been riding. If you are able to hold your ground upwind, you must have a reasonable amount of skill.
If your girlfriend is struggling to get moving on the board, then i would suggest a larger board to start off with, perhaps around 140. If you are both going upwind fine, then 132 would be ideal size.
Size will depend on her girlfriends ability, otherwise she wont be enjoying it as much whilst you are travelling
KR
try and demo some,
Airush are on tour ATM.
the length isn't the only factor to consider.
width, rocker and flex all make the board behave differently.
the following are cheap and ride well, in my experience.
Cabrinha Rival.
North Gonzales
Nobile T5
^^^^^ kiteryder:
adding also a slightly larger board will be better in marginal conditions or chop for you both and not much handling wise is lost in high winds either with the newer shapes...
remember to share nicely 
IMO The size for you guys is a 132 board ..... but look for one that is a little wider.
Something like the Shinn or Nobile are built this way... (No affiliation to either brand but have ridden them heaps)
They have a larger surface area for marginal wind (more forgiving when you dont have the kite in the right place as they will plane for longer) not too wide as you can still edge the s*%t out of them,
They are a little more comfortable in chop compared the freestyle boards but will be perform way above what you will need (and your knees will thank you)
They will jump and turn and go upwind just as well
Try looking for ones like ..... Shinn Monk 132 x 41...... Nobile T5 131 x 40........... Shinn Luigi 132 x 42 or any other around that size
132 i'm 177cm tall and have weighed 93kg currently 85 and my last board was a 135
Well I'm going to go against the grain here and say that 132 is just a bit too big.
I am around 85kg and ride a 131 Noble NHP, my board before that was a Shinn 128
Even at my weight I wished I had gone one size smaller on the NHP. Before the Shinn I had a few cardboards at 126.
If your girl is around 60kg a 136 is going to be way too big and even 132
I would be looking at the 128-130 size.
My ex was about 55kg and she was using my very old FLX 132. She changed to a 124 cardboards and her riding improved immediately. She was able to jump much better as she could now actually dig the edge properly and pop.
I am 85kgs. I used to ride a 124 when I was travelling and I loved it even though sometimes I did need to be riding a larger kite to have fun. I now ride a 130 which I love. A 132 should be great for you both. Don't go much bigger or you lose the control you get with a smaller board.
Ive got a 132 slingshot lunacy for you in excellent condition. It your lucky day PM me.
Thanks everybody you have all confirmed what I thought to be true. All your advice is really helpful! I think we are going to go for the 2010 Jamie, it's in pretty much mint condition!
I only skimmed through the posts, but don't see any mention of wind strength or kite size. Smaller boards are great if the wind is good. Big boards are good to learn on. A happy medium would be the best IMO. I'm 82kg and ride a Cardboard 133, my wife is 57kg and flys a 126. We have a quiver of bandit dos's and B3's of 8, 10 and 12m. We also have a bigger light wind board. Any combination of kite and board size will work in different wind conditions. As you're travelling and can only take so much gear, and have to share a board, the 132 would be the best allrounder.
