CRITERIA TO CHOOSE YOUR KITEBOARD
A lot of kitesurfers have a hard time to choose: which kiteboard is the best for me? We want to give you some tips how to choose the right one. Your riding level, your weight and the style you want to ride all point towards a different board. If you would rather answer a few quick questions instead of reading the whole guide, use our Board Finder.
FIELD OF APPLICATION
First of all you can decide between a twintip (bidirectional), a directional kiteboard and a foil board. Twintips have symmetrical tips, allowing you to ride in both directions. Directional kiteboards are meant to be ridden in only one direction, usually strapless, without pads & straps. This allows you to keep your stance in the riding direction. A foil board carries a hydrofoil under the hull and lifts you above the water surface, which is why it still works in wind where every other board stays on the beach.
Within the twintip range you can choose between:
- Teaching
- Beginner
- Freeride
- Freestyle / Wakestyle
- Big Air
- Low End
KITEBOARD COMPARISON AT A GLANCE
The table shows which board fits which purpose. The details follow below.
| Field of use | Rider level | Woodboard model | What defines it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Teaching / kiteschool | First sessions | BEAM | Large area, forgiving, easy to step on |
| Beginner | Beginner to intermediate | BEAM | Concave and venturi channels, goes upwind early |
| Freeride | Intermediate | CHAME | Allround board for every condition |
| Freeride / Freestyle | Intermediate to advanced | CRBN | Carbon, stiffer, more pop |
| Freestyle / Wakestyle | Advanced, unhooked | TRASH | More rocker, strong pop, double concave |
| Big Air / Airstyle | Advanced | CRBN LITORAL | Deep channels, holds the edge, soft landings |
| Light wind | All levels | BEAM | Venturi channels instead of extra size |
| Strapless / directional | Intermediate to advanced | AKTAIA | Strapless freestyle, carbon over a foam core |
| Foil | Intermediate to advanced | STORK | Compact wood core board, 103 x 43 cm |
KITEBOARDS FOR TEACHING
Kiteboards for teaching kiteboarding are usually a bit bigger than the average kiteboard. During their first times on a kiteboard, beginners like to step on it actively, therefore a bigger area offers more resistance and stability. But pretty fast they will learn to start dynamically and adapt to a smaller kiteboard. Boards bigger than 145 cm are usually meant for kiteschools only. Private riders can normally get a smaller board right away. Once you are able to start and ride consistently, those large kiteboards bring some disadvantages, like the lack of mobility.
Good kiteboards for teaching are the Duotone Spike SLS and the Woodboard BEAM in its largest size, 143 x 42.5 cm.
BEGINNER KITEBOARDS
A kiteboard for an inexperienced user should not be flat at the bottom running base. It should have a single concave at least, which will significantly help to go upwind. With a flat running base a kiteboard gets stuck on the water easily. For the rider it feels like the board is turning really bad and slowing down constantly, therefore it is quite exhausting to ride. A beginner usually does not profit from channels, a single concave is more than enough.
Proven kiteboards for beginners are the Duotone Gonzales and the Woodboard BEAM. The BEAM comes in 135, 138 and 143 cm, so it grows with you: you can learn on the large size and stay on the same board once you ride upwind confidently. Which size fits you depends mainly on your weight, we explain that in our guide on the right kiteboard size.
FREERIDE KITEBOARDS
A freeride kiteboard should have channels on the running base. Those channels are profiles on the bottom of the board to direct the water. Companies in the industry are working on different concepts. Some channels are parallel to the axis of the kiteboard, this helps the rider to keep a straight direction, even at high speed. Others are working on constricting channels that speed up the water under the kiteboard, resulting in more uplift force. The kiteboard has a loose feeling and a good low end. This concept follows Bernoulli's law, better known as the Venturi effect. If you want to know how the different shapes work, read our article on the world of kiteboard channels.
Nice freeride boards on the market are the Duotone Select, the Woodboard CHAME and the Woodboard CRBN. Both Woodboards are equipped with venturi channels. The CHAME is the allrounder for riders who want one board for everything. The CRBN is built in carbon and answers faster, which pays off as soon as you start jumping. Riders who want the sharpest version of that concept should look at the CRBN 2026.
FREESTYLE AND WAKESTYLE KITEBOARDS
Freestyle and wakestyle boards need to have three main characteristics. The kite should stay deep in the wind window and the board should deliver a strong pop during the takeoff. Unhooked landings are generally quite fast, therefore the board needs to keep direction and perform well at high speed.
More rocker generates resistance in the water, which prevents the kite from flying to the edge of the wind window. A strong pop is provided by the right construction and the chosen materials. Accurately placed channels help to keep resistance while taking off, even at high speed and with a lot of power. A double concave delivers smooth landings.
Good freestyle boards on the kitesurf market are the Duotone Freestyle SLS and the Woodboard TRASH.
BIG AIR KITEBOARDS
For real Big Air enthusiasts there are special Big Air boards. Once a rider reaches the 15-meter mark, it is useful to get a Big Air kiteboard. Woodboard offers a kiteboard strictly designed for Big Air and Airstyle: the CRBN LITORAL. Deep channels in all areas of the board allow to hold the edge to a maximum. This results in a strong line tension and that is exactly how you get all the energy to jump really high. The double concave takes the impact out of fast landings, which is what keeps you going for a whole session instead of two jumps. It is built in full carbon on a paulownia and beech core and comes in 133, 135, 138 and 141 cm.
Classic "load & pop" takes some getting used to on a board like this, as it is designed for massive winds and big kickers. An average rider might struggle, but Big Air riders are reporting up to 20% more height with the same technique.
Good Big Air boards are the Carved Imperator Pro and the Woodboard CRBN LITORAL. We compared both of them, together with the Lieuwe Falcon, in three of the best kiteboards currently on the market.
LIGHT WIND KITEBOARDS
There are two different concepts to enhance the low end ability of a kiteboard. We can increase the area to create more floatation. Or we try to speed up the water under the kiteboard to generate more uplift force.
Bigger boards have a bigger area to create uplift force. Therefore the area enables the rider to start gliding faster, like the "doors" back in the days. But those big kiteboards have a significant disadvantage: the bigger the board gets, the flatter and higher it sits on the water surface. That small angle to the surface reduces the uplift force a bit. In the end the advantage of the bigger area gets evened out by the poor angle to the surface, leaving a couple of disadvantages for the big kiteboards, like a lot of spray and a hard ride on the chop.
Woodboard concentrates a lot on the idea to create a high uplift force by speeding up the water under the kiteboard. This happens by constricting channels, which generate a faster water flow. This concept is based on Bernoulli's law and the Venturi effect.
A German kite magazine made a light wind test with our first kiteboard with venturi channels. The Woodboard BEAM in size 135 cm won the race against many way bigger kiteboards.
Find this on our Media page!
Good light wind boards on the market are the Core Fusion LW and the Woodboard BEAM in 143 cm. If the wind drops even further, a foil board is the better answer, see below.
DIRECTIONAL AND STRAPLESS BOARDS
A directional board is ridden in one direction only and in most cases without straps. You keep your stance towards the nose and change your feet at every turn, the way a surfer does. That makes it the natural choice in waves, and it has become just as popular in flat water for strapless freestyle.
Our answer in this category is the AKTAIA in 4'8''. It is built with carbon layers over a pressure resistant Vertex foam core, so it stays light enough to throw a board off, and its full 3D shape carries the same constricting venturi channel as our twintips, plus a double concave for soft landings. You can order it with pads only or as R2R with pads and fins. We described the whole development of it in this article about the AKTAIA. A strapless board asks for more technique than a twintip, so most riders come to it after their first seasons, not before.
FOIL BOARDS
A foil board lifts you above the surface as soon as the hydrofoil generates enough lift. Because the hull leaves the water, drag almost disappears and you can ride in wind that would leave every twintip on the beach. For anyone kiting on lakes or in a region with unreliable wind, a foil turns unusable days into sessions.
The STORK is our foil board: 103 x 43 cm, 7 litres, 2.8 kg, built in 3D fiberglass over a wood core. The convex hull reduces drag and makes the water start easier, and the stiff layup gives you a skate like feeling while you stay in control of the kite. It takes SABFOIL and most other hydrofoils with a 140 x 90 mm or 165 x 90 mm mount, straps are optional. The foil itself is not included. Foiling is a discipline of its own, so plan a few sessions to get used to the movement.
MATERIAL AND CONSTRUCTION
Shape and field of use decide how a board rides. The construction decides how long it does that. Our twintips are built on a wood core, which is where the name comes from. Wood carries the flex back to its original shape season after season, it dampens chop instead of transmitting it to your knees, and it can be repaired instead of replaced. Depending on the application we choose the matching layup on top of it, from fiberglass on the BEAM to full carbon on the CRBN LITORAL. Every board is produced in Europe. If that side of a board matters to you, read about the quality criteria of a kiteboard and about kiteboards and sustainability.
BOARD SIZE TO CHOOSE
The board size you want to ride mainly depends on the rider's weight. As a rough frame, most riders end up between 130 and 150 cm, with a length to width ratio of around 3.3 to 1. The full chart with the recommended length for your weight is in our news blog: the right kiteboard size for beginners and upcoming riders.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
A beginner board should have at least a single concave on the running base, enough area to get going early and a soft flex. The Woodboard BEAM covers that in 135, 138 and 143 cm, so the same board still works once you ride upwind and start your first jumps.
A twintip is symmetrical and can be ridden in both directions, so you never change your stance. A directional board is ridden nose first in one direction, usually strapless, and you switch your feet in every turn. Twintips are easier to learn on, directionals are the choice for waves and strapless freestyle.
Not in your first season. A single concave is enough to go upwind and keeps the board predictable. Channels start to pay off once you ride faster and edge harder, because they speed up the water under the board and add uplift. Constricting venturi channels are what make our boards plane early despite their moderate size.
Rider weight is the main factor, riding style and average wind shift the result by one size. Most riders are between 130 and 150 cm, and a board should keep a length to width ratio of about 3.3 to 1. The chart with the recommended length per weight is in our guide on the right kiteboard size.
A big air board needs deep channels to hold an edge, a stiff construction to build line tension and a double concave to survive fast landings. The CRBN LITORAL is built for exactly that, and it makes sense from the moment you jump consistently high.
Yes. You can ride our boards at the Woodboard testcenter before you decide. If you already know what you are looking for, the Board Finder narrows it down in a few questions, and the whole range is in our kiteboard shop.
Last updated on August 31, 2026