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Liquid Force 2010 Kitefish Analyze This Board Review

TESTED: 5’3”
AVAILABLE SIZES: 5’3”
STYLE: Surf Skim
TESTED IN: La Ventana, 15-20 knots, chop and small wind waves

FROM THE MANUFACTURER

The new Liquid Force 5’3” Kite Fish is the board that makes bad days fun and good days great! This unique board defines its own category.

Starting with its full-sized fish outline, kite specific rocker, twin-plus trailer fin set up, combined with LF’s ultra-durable capped construction makes this a great board for small, sloppy surf, rolling river swell, or light wind cruising. Comes with a fully integrated EVA deck pad, inserts, and adjustable surf straps.

At $349 complete, LF makes it super easy and affordable to add the Kite Fish to your quiver.

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THE KITEBOARDER REPORT

Out of the Box: The outline of the Kite Fish may be similar to a fish surfboard, but the board reminds us more of a skim board. The bottom of the board has very little rocker and a single to double concave bottom. The rails are thin and hard, especially in the rear third of the board.

The tail sports three small fins. The board is a little on the heavy side, but looks and feels like it’s built to take a beating. Our test board did not come with foot straps, but production models will ship with them in addition to the full EVA deck pad.

On the Water: The LF Kite Fish is very easily driven and takes hardly any power to get up and going. Once on a plane, it became immediately clear that this board is very loose.

It’s very easy to push the tail into a slide when smacking small waves or chop. Because of the looseness, you have to adjust your riding style to keep your weight more over the board, similar to riding a skim board. The board goes upwind great and has a good amount of pop. Small strapless jumps and shove-its are a blast on the Kite Fish.

THE VERDICT:

This is not a replacement for a surfboard, but a fun alternative if you are ready to spend some time with it. The LF Kite Fish has excellent light wind performance and is a blast to ride without straps and try skate-style tricks.

The board’s looseness makes it very fun to smack small wind chop or swell, but that looseness takes some getting used to.

Consumer Review: From Alexis Rovira, TKB Staff
“I was stoked to see how far upwind it would shoot up without even trying, but don’t put too much pressure on the tail or you’ll skip out. Once I got the board dialed and saw how much pop it had, all the standard skate tricks were tried with ease.“

TIPS:

  • Keep your weight over the board. This board is very loose and it’s easy to have the tail slide out if you have your weight out over the water, instead of over the board.
  • Be careful with your shins around this board. The thin hard rails really hurt if you whack your shins on the rails.