Been riding the Vanguard (5'6") for a few weeks now and really liking it, I do have some northshore inc stick on screw mounts for a front foot strap but I have just been riding strapless to date.
Its such a smooth board and gets up and going very quickly, as a quad its fast and draws long turns but I like it better as a thruster (I have my Vanguard surfboard setup the same way).
Very impressed with the weight too - I had one of the first firewire kiteboards and it weighed a ton, the new board is pretty damn good I think.
Really enjoyable board to ride
Nice looking board, I'm yet to have a go on a vanguard style board, how do they go top to bottom with that wide tail?
lots of I these style boards getting around now, has anyone spent some time kiting on the timbertek range of firewires,
id be interested to here if they are any good construction wise for kiting?
Select to expand quoteherbyburger said..
Nice looking board, I'm yet to have a go on a vanguard style board, how do they go top to bottom with that wide tail?
lots of I these style boards getting around now, has anyone spent some time kiting on the timbertek range of firewires,
id be interested to here if they are any good construction wise for kiting?
The kite-specific range of Vanguards are brilliant. I have been riding the 5'6' for a few months. Although a bit heavier than I would like it is bullet proof. Very snappy and fast.
Yep certainly a fun board, I find there is no 'hanging' when setup as a thruster where as a quad isnt as snappy and almost forces you to draw larger arcs.
The float the nose generates when heading out through surf is a bonus too, makes life a lot easier.
Really am very happy with the board so far and looking forward to a great summer full of sea breezes
Anyone tried the regular FST or LFT Vanguard (or new Vader) as a kiteboard? Not sure which is the stronger / more durable construction.
I want one for surfing as well as strapless kiting and am wondering how well he normal firewire construction holds up? I'm just zipping around the waves and doing little airs but no big jumps, so shouldn't be stressing the board too hard.
Select to expand quotecolin71 said..
Anyone tried the regular FST or LFT Vanguard (or new Vader) as a kiteboard? Not sure which is the stronger / more durable construction.
I want one for surfing as well as strapless kiting and am wondering how well he normal firewire construction holds up? I'm just zipping around the waves and doing little airs but no big jumps, so shouldn't be stressing the board too hard.
I'm running an FST Vanguard and its kiting days are over. Managed to ding the rail so not very confident it has the strength to handle kiting anymore. I was relatively happy with how little the deck had compressed up to that point. The place i am getting it repaired at was surprised that i had been kiting it. He has seen a few where the deck has caved and has also had a few issues with boards delaming after water ingress. I'm regretting not waiting and getting the kiting version, would rather sacrifice the extra weight surfing but gain the strength for kiting. Would love to have the 1 board for both, but I'm just too much of a gumby and keep dinging surfboards kiting.
If I was 10kgs lighter I would easily surf the 5'6" kite version of the Vanguard, I can free surf a 5'8" but any smaller and Im not surfing for very long :)
FST is far more durable than LFT or Rapidfire but still not built for the rigors of kiting - sometimes just to get out the back in a hurry I look at the forces these boards have to go through compared to surfing and its just not the same - that said BWS are offering a board that can do both!!
Hi lance, where did you get the board from in WA. Would like to have a look at one I am in perth.
Cheers
Select to expand quotelancekenny said..
Been riding the Vanguard (5'6") for a few weeks now and really liking it, I do have some northshore inc stick on screw mounts for a front foot strap but I have just been riding strapless to date.
Its such a smooth board and gets up and going very quickly, as a quad its fast and draws long turns but I like it better as a thruster (I have my Vanguard surfboard setup the same way).
Very impressed with the weight too - I had one of the first firewire kiteboards and it weighed a ton, the new board is pretty damn good I think.
Really enjoyable board to ride
Anybody know where you can get these in Melbourne? 5"6 Kitesurf construction. Cheers
To get my 5'2, I just rang my local surf shop that was a FireWire dealer.
Obviously you need to ask for the kiteboard construction version.
Select to expand quoteBigbeno said..lancekenny said..
Been riding the Vanguard (5'6") for a few weeks now and really liking it, I do have some northshore inc stick on screw mounts for a front foot strap but I have just been riding strapless to date.
Its such a smooth board and gets up and going very quickly, as a quad its fast and draws long turns but I like it better as a thruster (I have my Vanguard surfboard setup the same way).
Very impressed with the weight too - I had one of the first firewire kiteboards and it weighed a ton, the new board is pretty damn good I think.
Really enjoyable board to ride
Anybody know where you can get these in Melbourne? 5"6 Kitesurf construction. Cheers
Are the screw inserts for the straps just stick ons 
Are they strong enough if they are just stick ons
How does this board compare with the 2015 Nasih Skater
it is a similar design
The stickons from northshoreinc are pretty good to be honest - I only use a hook on the front foot and have removed the stick on piece at the back
super simple to put on and works a treat
This board feels awesome in the waves, love riding my surf version Vanguard and this is just more of the same but smaller - which if I could paddle this small I would!!!
hey lance, how much do you weigh ? 5'6 is huge for a kiting on these shapes.
I started surfing, not kiting, on a 5'7, have now dropped to a 5'5 and i reckon i can go smaller.
and i'm 89 KG!
kiting you can easily drop 2 inches off your normal hpsb.
Tomo - surfs a 5'2 !
I'm contemplating making my next one a 5'1 or 5'0 for kiting.
still don't get why FW sell the vanguard without inserts, profit margin i guess.
a couple of new north boards looks suspiciously like a tomo copies
any one had a look/go?
Hey madsailor, Im mid to high 80's but Im also old - if I was 20 I would be doing the same as you but at more than double that I really like nothing better than switching the kite off and surfing the waves
I can paddle surf the 5'8" no probs and could probably do the 5'6" also - as for kiting I really like the 5'6" gets up and going in light winds on my smaller kite - thats the kicker for me
definitely not flash conditions here - but just love how kiting can make un-surfable waves fun...
Nice vid, what kind of mount setup did you use? Edit... oh yes just rewatched and saw, prostandard
Nice to see some footage of the vanugard in action, thanks for posting. Looks like a great board to whip around in small mushy surf - how does it go in bigger stuff? I tend to surf shoulder to headhigh fattish waves, with nuking winds, we're pretty lucky up here in the midwest :)
Also how does it go when your drifting the kite down the line (vs fully powered up whipping the kite around with you)?
Thanks in advance :)
I'm looking into getting one of these tomo inspired shapes, have some demos lined up of the North and Naish versions, http://www.northkiteboarding.com/products/boards/surf/whip/
www.naishkites.com/product/skater-48/
But not sure I'm going to have any luck finding the vanuguard up here in Geraldton
hey beefie
this bloke had a nano for sale in gero posted a while back on buy n sell
www.seabreeze.com.au/Classifieds/Surfing-Shortboards/~tlty3/2014-Firewire-Nano-5-5.aspx?search=O80BVJ6L6jNKkKXf5$UYhg==
not sure if still around, but if still for sale you could hit him up to try it. let me know how it goes if you do!! should be able to paddle the 5'5" too according to my sources 
Select to expand quotemadsailor said..
any pics of the bottom ?
Not the best pic but here we go:
Select to expand quoteLivit said..
Sunova's version of the vanguard
Puetz said..
^^^ wow, that looks magnificent! 
Great looking board!
Do you have the specs?
Pricing?
Select to expand quoteWicksy said..
Great looking board!
Do you have the specs?
Pricing?
5'2 x 15 7/16' x 17 1/2' x 15 3/8" x 2 1/8" 22.2 L
$1000
brought a 6' nano fst for surfing last week. Used it kiting and it's a great board. Would like a 5''6" vanguard for kiting now but none in stock. Do you think I can get away with the 5'4" one. I am 6'2" and 110 kegs..
Used nano in 18-20 knots with 10m dice, well powered great up wind and awesome on the wind waves. Couple of heel dents so know FST won't last long kiting.
cheers
Select to expand quotejrickta said..
How light in weight would the sunova be to the firewire vanguard kite version??
Mine is 2.7kg without fins, not sure about the Firewire
Select to expand quotejrickta said..
Durable enough for jumping on?
So far so good!
You can email Martin : tino@sunovasurfboards.com for details on the construction.
