Article Surfing Archive

Knee boarding is similar to surfing wherein the rider paddles on his abdomen into a wave on a knee board, then rides the wave face normally on both knees. However, kneeboard designers are recognized for their wild experimental excesses.

The advantage of kneeboarding is that it gives the rider the skill to deal with tube rides that might require too fast of a take off for a standup surfer or body boarder to get into and might get too tight or steep for a stand-up board surfer to deal with.

Boarders typically use swim fins and an ankle surf leash. Swim fins, or flippers are finlike rubber or plastic shoes worn over the foot to assist and ease movement through the water in water sports activities such as body boarding, bodysurfing, kneeboarding, swimming, and various types of diving.

Also, the speed determines the duration of your tricks. The speed depends on the weight of the boarder. The heavier the knee boarder, the slower the run goes, but if you are lighter, you will go faster.

In performing kneeboarding you must consider certain tools for you to enjoy as you hopefully perform excellent tricks and enjoy the fun of knee boarding.

The Board

There are two classes of boards - trick boards and slalom boards. A good trick board needs a lot of rocker (curvature) on the bottom part of the board and the rails of it should be thick and strong. On the other hand, a good slalom board has a flat end and it does not need too much of rocker or bending and the rails should be sharp.

The usual board measures between five and six and a half feet in length, with a wide round nose and constructed of a grassfire over a polyurethane foam core.

The Rubber Pad

Modern boards may have a rubber pad for the rider's knees, to prevent undue wear of the knees, and to prevent slipping in order to help the rider maintain his control.

The Fins

The fins are also considered as better for slalom and cutting but not so essential for the trick board. Some boards come equipped with retractable fins so that they are good for just about anything to do. Most modern materials including various aerospace elements such as Titanium alloys (for fins), carbon fiber and Kevlar in epoxy matrixes are used for board construction.

The Rope

In knee boarding, you can make use of any kind of a good strong ski rope and it should be at least forty five feet long. A good slalom rope is useful because you can adjust the length of it depending upon how big you want the wake to be where you are.

Indeed, the best type of rope to use is the special kind of braided rope. This rope is specially made just for boarding because its braided design lets you twist and turn all you want and it is also easier to grip the board while you are in the wrap position.

The Boat

The only thing you need to look for in a boat is the wake. The wake of a good boat for boarding should be about twelve inches high with a sharp peak while you are traveling at about eighteen mph.