Hey Guys.

  I got the chance to ride Blake Pelton’s Zen in Nebraska this summer and thought it was a pretty damn sweet board!  I’m a pretty fat guy at 210 and was on it on a pretty windy day.  What would you say would be the least amount of wind I would need with the largest Zen to use it properly with a big kite?  Any other fatties have this board?  How does the Mako compare to it?  I know a faster board I might be more apparent wind..

  What would you experience OR guys suggest?  Thanks!

Aaron Saude
http://www.mnkiting.com

I have not ridden the Mako, however, the description on the OR site is accurrate. I would think the most important factor would be your riding style and conditions. The Zen is more wakestyle orientated. I currently ride a zen 135(the bigger one) which is a fantastic all round board(I weigh around 165). For my weight it works well in light wind and really holds a good edge in the heavier stuff.

Not much help, so hopefully a Mako rider can give you advice. obviously at the low end, it really depends on the size kite you are using.

My two cents worth.

Re: Zen or other OR boards..

[quote author=“rudeboysaude”]Hey Guys.

  I got the chance to ride Blake Pelton’s Zen in Nebraska this summer and thought it was a pretty damn sweet board!  I’m a pretty fat guy at 210 and was on it on a pretty windy day.  What would you say would be the least amount of wind I would need with the largest Zen to use it properly with a big kite?  Any other fatties have this board?  How does the Mako compare to it?  I know a faster board I might be more apparent wind..

  What would you experience OR guys suggest?  Thanks!

Aaron Saude
http://www.mnkiting.com

It’s hard to say what the minimum amount of wind is that you would need to ride the Zen, but I can tell you from personal experience that the Mako works in less wind than the Zen. It’s narrow but the extra length, huge concave and low drag make it super fast and quick to plane - like you mention, you quickly build apparent wind speed and can plane through holes because of this. The Mako is very loose and carvy, with a very different feel from anything else. It’s good for going big because of the speed factor. The Zen is much more suited to wakestyle/freestyle than the Mako. I can hook you up if you’d like - .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

I have a Mako, ridden extensivly last summer. I´ve even built my own boards, so it´s interesting to make comparisons. You can see my boards at http://www.kiteboards.se.  I weigh 165 and been kiting 3 years.

The Mako totally redefines board design and riding style. This board is one of the most revolutionary things in kitesurfing today and has been gone unnoticed.

The board has 18mm of full length concave and only 2 symetrically placed fins. Its loose but easy to edge- hard to get that combo: you can wash out the tail, like snowboarding, and hold about 2m2 more kite because it edges so good. OK, its loose, but at speed it tracks like a ski, the speed potential and control at speed makes wakeboards seem squirrly. It is loose but tracks and edges well….should not be possible

But what about turns?

This is where things get redefined. You can drive this board into a full power toeside carve, leaning forward, turning on the entire edge or even on the tip, like a snowboard turn, and drive out of the turn with minimal loss of speed. If things get overpowered just leanback, slip a bit on the tail and re-edge. The rounded outline makes all the slipging and turning progressive and contollable. Shorter boards with square ends dive and dig in.

I´ve only had small waves to ride on, we have lots of choppy stuff here in Sweden, but the Mako just cuts thru it, lean a bit forward, power upkite and it slices thru. You´d be pounding and bouncing on another board, leaning back to prevent the tip digging in.

The combination of outline, full concave, narrow width and two fins makes all this possible.

I have a 122x42 board with rather flat rocker and 15mm concave that is slower in light winds.The Mako works rather well for me in light stuff. The top is end is what is amazing. Where i would normally change down from the 42 to a 38, i can easily stay on the Mako. Even my 122x38 with 15mm concave is harder to hold down in bigger winds.

Whats great about the Mako is how well it works as an all around board, excellent for travelling. Here at home i´d like to have a Mako Large 160x38 and a Mako Small 140x33.

Regards, Tom

Oopps my website is down….Sorry.

TW

Hey dude, yup I have a zen (135) and an older outlaw, I weigh in at 240-250 depending on the season (all muscle I swear :wink: ).  I have yet to really test out the zen but can say on my bronco 16m and the zen I would be just fine at 15kts of wind.  My outlaw is a little longer than the zen but with the concave and firmer board I think it will be good in even lighter wind, but have yet to test that out.

Well, happy and fortunate to say that I have and ride both.  I’m an intermediate rider and weigh 210 - 215lbs.  My favourite board is my Zen 135, although I like to ride it when powered, I have a bigger board for light winds.  I also have a mako, which is a very interesting ride.  I’m land locked so don’t get many chances to play in waves above 2 or 3 foot, but LOVE he mako in choppy water.  It just slices right through all the crud with a nice tight edge and yes, you get can speed on this board.
As far as required wind speed… at 210 on a 16m kite, I’m looking at a min of about 30 to 35 km/h, below that I go for a bigger board (even bigger than the mako).

Jeff
www.kitesource.ca/store/

Thanks guys.

  All the info has been helpful.. I mostly fly a 19M Venom exclusivly since it’s range is huge for a fat guy.  I have an old SS LFT I can ride for light winds but I really do like to ride fast.  It sounds like the Mako might be the ticket.  I guess any OR board would be a blast!  Might have to start saving and get one of each! haha.  I wish!  I’ll make a discion as soon as the snow melts and try to post here the outcome.  I’m sure either will be a dream to ride.  Thanks!

A.

Mako

The Mako is an amazingly versitile board.I have been riding this board for a season now and it just gets better.I am presently in the Dominican Republic.The wind and the waves have been great this year so far.And the Mako has been a dream in the waves.Takes a little getting used to in the large waves,Tends to speed up if you are not on edge{Just depower the kite to the max},It floats over white water like a dream.Easy to slow it down,to catch the waves,and just as fast to outrun the break.I am having a ripping good time going down the line.This board preforms as well as smaller boards,but the extreme concave,makes it so smooth to ride,after a few sessions it feels like a small board.I have also been riding some other custom models,to make comparisons.They all have there own qualities.But i aways come back to my Mako.  

I’ve got to agree with all the good words about the Mako. I’ve been riding mine for two seasons now. I’m 180 lbs after all the neoprene is added, and have had great sessions with the Mako in steady, light winds of 10-12 knots with my 14M Bronco. The same board is just as easy and comfortable to hande in 30 knots. The first thing I ever noticed about this board is the suspension-like ride. My knees and feet don’t get pounded by choppy conditions any more. Don’t be fooled by the length; This board carves up waves (big and small) like something short and smooooth. If you haven’t riden one yet….you have to.

Is the Mako an intermediate/advanced board, or could it work as a beginner’s board with a bow/One kite.  I’m 220 lbs and looking at a 16 One for my first kite to take out in winds around 12-20 kts for my first season.  I was thinking about a flydoor or glide, but am interested in the Mako for the versitality that has been presented in this thread.  I’ll be using it on the Columbia and in the Pacific so chop is to be expected, but in the light wind I want to be able to get up on plane.  Any thoughts?