This post on skim board has me intrigued .

Next summer I expect my local bay to re-open to kitesurfing and I will be inspired to hit the water again. It's a shallow bay and the winds are extremely light . Like 8kts but steady.

I struggle at board sports and have had limited success with my twin tip . Haven't even tried in 3 years to go back. I'm getting novice skill level on the ATB. NO real skim board experience.

Is the Skim difficult to pick up ?

If it is such a good low wind weapon why isn't it more popular?

I have been expecting I will by a door and trade up to a 19m Speed. Now I wonder if I shouldn't try skim 1st? If so would your average drug store board do the job of proving if I like it enough to invest in a quality one ?

Haven't tried it yet but look at the speed and what this guy does on the wave...makes the surfers riding thrusters look slow.

I've been skimboarding since I was 7 and my kids started around the same age. I've never done it with a kite. The hardest thing to learn about traditional skimboarding is commitment. You HAVE to jump hard onto the board with both feet at the same time. Most people are too timid in their approach and lack commitment. Once you land on the board its all momentum but you can't be afraid and you can't be timid. Expect to fall at first and expect always to fall or go nowhere if timid. Once you decide to go for it, go for it and you'll be surprised how much easier it is when you do.

FWIW I ruptured two disks in my neck in a 2008 skimboarding fall and don't do it much anymore but still have one board and will join my kids when the wife isn't looking :bisou:

I have to think the mounting and riding skim with a kite is very different than just riding . More a case of getting on and digging an edge ? Sort of how ATB downhill and kite are different. ( for me at least )

I guess what I hope to figure out for myself is if I want to throw time and money at learning skim or just go straight to buying a door for typical 8kt winds.

I was settled on the door until this whole skim thing got going in my head.

Working on the Pansh yesterday Beamer Bob's fatherly spirit was on my shoulder saying I should have learned by now just to buy the right , quality product ! He's right !

Very well said B-roc. I hardly ever skim anymore either. It's harder to get up off the sand when you wipeout being 40. That is a cool vid skimtwashington! I stress the helmet too now! As much as it sucks. Two summers ago, I fell backwards and blacked out when my bean smacked the hardpack. Remember, we are talking about an inch of water most times when you will be starting off for the run. I know Bladerunner you are not looking for a plain skimboard tutorial here. But I will say a skimboard is night and day different from a skateboard. Even more so if one is traditionally a goofyfoot. I'd try the $30.00 drugstore board first and grasp the basic board balance first IMHO. If you can run down a frozen riverbank and jump both feet onto the ice, you can skimboard. Except when you fall, you don't slide! :embarrased:

Quote: Originally posted by Bladerunner

I was settled on the door until this whole skim thing got going in my head.

Having never kited on water but beeing an avid kite landboarder I have got to think that learning with a strapless skimboard is going to be much more difficult than learning on a board with bindings. Yes, you can get going on a skimboard if you dig an edge in but that's assuming you are still centered on the board and the board hasn't floated away or you haven't been pulled off it or you haven't had it kick out from you as you loose tension on the lines as you tack at the end of your run. If any of those things happen you have to ask yourself how confident are you in your abilities to right the situation and get back to and on your board. If you say that will never happen because I'll ride the shallows then I'll tell you you can't just stand on a skimboard and then get going because it will sink and form a vacuum seal with the sand. You need to start on a skimboard in motion to keep it in motion.


Knowing how to skimboard, if I was to start on the water, I would not start on a skimboard. That strikes me as a bit more advanced which is why you don't see it nearly as often.

Just my $0.02.

I think the best way for you to not succeed with a skim board is to buy a $30 drug store board. If you really want to give this a shot you need to have the right equipment. A cheap board is not likely to be the correct size for your weight. Most of the cheap boards are not going to float either. I think the board from Houston's video I a Victoria foam board. It is going to float well and allow a little more freedom when starting out. Other boards are likely to sink before you can get going.

If you are going to give this a shot go see if you can rent a decent board somewhere. If you are lucky you can find someplace that will apply your rental fees to the price if you buy it afterward. Cleanline in Seaside has done that for me on a couple of things. I think if you are going to try this you owe it to yourself to do it the right way.

B Roc has some good advice too.

Just sayin' bladerunner. I guess I should have chose my figure of speech a little better. Lol. What I mean is, you don't have to spend a fortune to have a good time on a skimboard. I still have my old school base model Zap board I bought 20 years ago. I had the bottom resurfaced about 10 years ago, but she's still ticking. My nephew now rips it up with it. Their entry level boards are very economical and get the job done (skim anyway). Worth checking out if you are on a budget like 90% of us.
Again, IMHO

Do you guys think it would be possible to start with the board on the hardpack sand at the waters edge or would the board just bind up? Kinda like water skiing, when they start on land or off a dock is what I'm thinking. Just a thought.

About price, The price of a good skim board is still significantly less than a door. Unless it is a plydoor. I just wouldn't expect much for $30 cause I tried that. The sand I ate wasn't too tasty. It works for my son though.

I think starting on the hardpack is a no go. If feet were strapped in then maybe.

Quote: Originally posted by ChrisH

Do you guys think it would be possible to start with the board on the hardpack sand at the waters edge or would the board just bind up? .

The board will bind. As said earlier, skimboards need to start in motion to stay in motion. Its about momentum not force.

on the original question.

skimboard + kite ---> will not replace the ease of a door/straps on a kite.

skim boards work on their slipperiness and have a slippery feel . this IS NOT what you want to start on the water with a kite. then add the strapless start and even more skill to make it easy

skim has a similar skatey feel. alot of upright body control and balance

the water we ride in is like ankle deep and the slams are just plain brutal

and up wind is like the rest ..if you tease out the edge, up you go like the rest a little deeper makes it easier. but remember its already light air you are riding in and the net power is small so if u edge out hard, you choke all the juice. this novelty type modality can be fun , the right spot , wind , time to kill , it can be fun. with more wind it gets easier but things can get out of hand and super squirrely quick !

If you can ride strapless on a surfboard, you can easily ride on a skim; the only difference is a skim feels more skate-y since there usually isn't a fin on the tail.

As far learning to ride, start off with the skim in knee-deep water at first. Use your kite to pull your body into the skim and keep your feet pressed on it, then dive your kite to boardstart like normal. If you start off in too shallow water, the board my stick to the sand. Once you get used to how to ride it, you can start in more shallow water if you'd like. Usually I start with the board floating in front of me and jump on while diving my kite.

As far as which skim, I'd *highly* recommend a Slingshot Scud if you can find one. I have the 55inch version and me and all my friends love riding it when the wind is lighter. It isn't bad in high winds either, I was on it yesterday in high winds and a small kite trying to learn pop shove-its. Slingshot Scuds are kinda hard to find these days as they are out of production, but CrazyFly still makes one with removable fins.

We've got wind today and we'll be getting video of us riding. I'll try to get some of someone on the skim and post it up.

You still have this prism nexus 5 stack for sale? I might be interested.