Surf style board- for higher airs

Hi. Been riding a Phase 5 Ahi for a while. Love the drive and stability, but can’t seem to pop very high on it. I know it’s prob technique, but I got on an Ashley Kidd board for a few runs, and thou it had less drive, it was way easier to get air and try to grab.

Any advice on board set ups to boost higher? Thinking about fin set ups too, I usually run a quad.

Go to a twin setup. That on my buddies Aku makes it super fast and maneuverable. The Aku is my absolute favorite board.

can you post a video of your riding?

My soulcraft with it's big ol' fins pops pretty good old man airs. My limiter is how high I can lift my knees because the board seems to go as high as my feet will let them. More flexibility would result (i think) in more air, but I'm not flexible so I settle for slo mo video ;-)

from shawndoggy on Vimeo.

(sorry not sure why the video double posts from the embed code)

Thanks for the advice. Here’s a vid... mostly my tail seems stuck in the water.https://youtu.be/qXYpKzjfCgw

Originally Posted by vissnz

Thanks for the advice. Here’s a vid... mostly my tail seems stuck in the water.https://youtu.be/qXYpKzjfCgw

yeah a custom like a chaos or a soulcraft would definitely help!

your form looks pretty good in my amateur estimation. You could bring your knees higher and the board will follow.

Thanks! Your airs look proper. I had been eyeing up some Soulcrafts... any board model you can recommend?

Originally Posted by vissnz

Thanks! Your airs look proper. I had been eyeing up some Soulcrafts... any board model you can recommend?

many more qualified here to answer that than me. My board is a 5 year old fang tail. There are many newer and more evolved models now.

I am no expert but have been working my airs for a while and have been adjusting my technique to get higher and to be able to turn the board in air to land coming down the wave.
The advise I have gotten is to drive down the line and not be to heavy footed on the back foot as that keeps your back foot from getting the board up high.
Approach lip like in your video but have even weighted stance (more weight forward)....throw your arms forward/up as you launch off the lip and pull your knees up as high as you can and at same time, try to open your body toward the boat so the board lands coming down the wave.
It was really awkward feeling to me at first but after a few sets I was getting my back foot up higher and was starting to get the board turned down the wave.

Lots of boards would work and much of what would work for you depends on your experience level and style of riding. My personal experience is with Soulcraft boards. I currently ride a 4' 6" Voodoo and really like that board, does everything well for me. The Soulcraft Secret Weapon is my favorite board for air's, its a narrow board with hard rails that make it great for launching. I can always get higher with that board.
Another thing I was told was speed alone does not equal big air, I was dropping back and then driving forward as fast as I could to get as big as possible but many times the speed would throw me off balance when landing and I would wipeout.

This picture is the type of air I was stuck on this summer, I could get my front foot up high but always had trouble getting the back foot/knee bent up high to match the front due to my bad technique.
Now that I have learned the right technique, I am focusing on doing it correctly so its automatic and then will start trying to go big. The pointers I got made a big difference, its the subtle things you do with stance/body/head when doing tricks that make or break them.

Would be really cool if some pro's put out video's to explain the proper technique/approach details on air's and some of the other tricks. I know there are some video's on youtube showing some things like 360's, etc... but would be awesome if there were some more video's made showing technique and other tricks of the trade for advanced tricks. Watching someone really good do tricks helps for sure and I have learned a lot watching video's and being in the boat watching great riders.....but a detailed explanation to go along with it would be next level.

Emily Agate (Soulcraft Rider) posts quite a few how to's on her IG page.

Originally Posted by vissnz

Thanks for the advice. Here’s a vid... mostly my tail seems stuck in the water.https://youtu.be/qXYpKzjfCgw

Few things...

I ride the same board and can air it pretty good for a old guy....

You need some more speed, launch at the top of the wake, so maybe further back o the wave to drive up and launch at a taller part.

Throw your whole body up in the air, bring your arms up higher and that will help propel you up. your arms are below your shoulders...

https://youtu.be/JF6Gmf31YAA

Here is a clip of me not landing a big air. But i slow mo you can see it pretty clearly

When comparing to mine you can also see how much higher LKA can bring his knees than me. Which makes the distance between the lip and the board at the top of the air that much greater.

Originally Posted by shawndoggy

When comparing to mine you can also see how much higher LKA can bring his knees than me. Which makes the distance between the lip and the board at the top of the air that much greater.

He was doing a good job over bringing both his knees up.

However, you need more lift off the wake as well. Not just lifting the knees, (that is a factor for sure) More speed up and off the wake will help as well as bringing your knees up. Your whole body needs to lift off the wake.

Thanks for all the replies

I took out the quad trailers and it made a huge difference.
More release, more pop and started grabbing the board which I couldn’t do before.

Stoked!!