2016 Naish Skater 5'2 vs 2016 Airush Cypher 5'4 ?

Rider: 85kg , Intermediate

Looking for a surfboard for gutless, crumbly onshore mush for 15-25knot winds - wanting to get more fun from these sessions. No real push from these types of waves so my WAM doesn't go the best.

Wondering if anyone has ridden both of the above and can offer thoughts as to how they compare. Wanting a shorter length board with a lively feel and snappy turning, tough enough to handle some jumping. .

Cheers in advance.

I've got a 5'2" Skater & ride it with 8m Pivot/10m Park. Awesome board, super quick, turns on a dime and I boost all day long and often land hard & flat - so far so good, I'm 90 or so kg's.

For that sort of wind range and using the vanguard shape why wouldn't you consider something even smaller? the kite is going to give you your lift and speed, the board is just for slashing the wave. I'm thinking more about good rails, rocker, tail and fin set up, a little concave under the nose.

For similar conditions as you mentioned I looking a 4'8" Sunova custom

I got to have a couple sessions on the 5'6 cypher, I really liked this board. I haven't tried other vanguard style boards but this one seemed like a bit of a cross between the full vanguard and a regular surfboard. It was a good mix between being wide and stable with a lot of float and glide and carry through the turns and also having really good control with nice snappy turns, upwind was really good, I was riding strapless and going upwind would tend to ride the front part going upwind but could easily get the foot back to throw in a turn, it was quite fast and surprisingly smooth through chop for a board that is 20" wide.

Construction was the heavier of airush's 2 options and it felt really solid fairly heavy but I reckon it would be able to take a beating

I am 105kgs for reference and the 5'6 felt like a really nice size for me

I have only ridden the Airush compact 5'4. I am a big fan. It goes up wind super well, it has amazed me how far up it points compared to other people out at the same time.

It turns nice and tight as you would expect from a short board. It feels quite stable and doesn't wobble from rail to rail during bottom turn to top turn combos.
Mine is the fly tech construction so it is a tad heavier than an average surfboard, but it is lighter than a lot of other kite boards. I wouldn't hesitate to jump with it.
The only down side is when it's absolutely nuking, it can be tricky to control and switch between rails. I have only found this on days when I'm overpowered on a 6. My old Compact was much better on those conditions.

I live/kite at Yeppoon so it's pretty wind blown chop most of the time and my Naish Skater handles it well, very smooth ride.

Lighter winds?