How to best demo a kitesurfing board

You are looking for a new kitesurfing board but you aren’t sure which one to buy? Even though you might have an idea in which direction your board should go, there are so many boards out there it can be hard to find the right one for you.

Fortunately, you can find the right board through testing. Almost every kitesurfing shop offers to demo their boards. Take advantage of this opportunity. You never know how a board feels until you have it out in the water.

In this article you’ll find tips & tricks to make most of a product-demo:

1) Minimize – demo one thing at a time

It’s great to demo new gear. However, even if a shop lets you try as much gear as you want, don’t take out more than one piece of new equipment at a time. If you’re testing more than one piece of equipment it will be hard for you to identify what works or what doesn’t.

Even if you’re on the chase for a whole new quiver of equipment, take small steps. Find out about a new board using the kite you’re used to, and vice versa. This way you feel what the new gear does to your riding.

2) Know what you like – or dislike! 

Before even choosing the board you want to demo, ask yourself what you are looking for. There’s no point testing a wakestyle board if you just want to cruise comfortably. There are tons of kitesurfing boards out there, each board is designed for a certain style of riding. Find your style before you choose your-demo board…otherwise you’ll be searching for years on end.

A few questions to ask yourself to find the right category of kitesurfing board:

• What do you like or dislike on your current board?
• What’s your riding style? Do you want to improve your current riding style or evolve to another?

If you don’t know at all what you want, take another route.

• What is it you don’t want at all?
• Most people know better what they dislike. Exclude everything you don’t like and focus on what’s left.

3) Demo long and thorough!

A board other than the one you’re used to, often feels weird at the beginning. You will have to overcome that to make a decision. Don’t cross the board off your list because it doesn’t feel natural in the first few minutes of your session. Ride around for a while, try different things with the board, and soon you will feel the pros and cons to your own board.

4) Try all your tricks – and again – and again!

The board you demo might be very suitable for one style of riding, but totally suck at another. Try everything you can, over and over again. Before you start your demo make up a little battle-plan in your head what tricks you can pull off and try all these tricks with every single board you demo. You’ll soon get an idea which board works best to perform your favorite moves.

5) Demo all new gear at the same spot – know that spot!

It is hard, if not impossible, to compare two boards with one another if you ride them in totally different conditions. It is equally hard to identify strengths and weaknesses of the demo-board if you test it in conditions much different to what you’re used to.

If possible, test all demo boards at the same spot – possibly even on the same day. This way it will be easy to spot differences between the boards. If you don’t know the spot you’re going to demo a board at all, go out for a short session on the gear you’re used to. This way you can figure which sensations or let-downs are caused by the board and which ones by the spot you’re riding at (currents, wind-holes, etc.).

 6) Adjust your board properly!

Set up the demo board to match your own preferences. There’s not much of a chance you will like the feel of a board if it’s set up in a completely different way than your own board. Make sure the width of your stance and the angle of the pads are similar to your own board. Especially make sure the straps are adjusted correctly.

Lastly, speak to the people in the shops! They have a great interest in getting you the best board possible. As long as they understand what you’re looking for they can choose the best boards for you to demo.

We are looking forward to see you in the Vanhunks Boarding shop to demo our kitesurfing boards!