Kite&Surf dual-use board: advice needed

So the caveat is that anything you use for two things is a compromise... but if you are learning to kite with a surfboard and you are fairly amateur on a surfboard then you can get away with it for a fair while. Eventually you will get good at one or the other or both, and then the surfboard you want for surfing has too much buoyancy for kiting or the surfboard you want for kiting is too small to surf.

This was the board I bought to start surf kiting with, as both my kiting and surfing board. Eventually i got better at kiting and then it just became a surfboard. If you're interested send me a PM and you're welcome to take it for a session, I am mainly holding onto it for sentimental reasons but could probably afford to drop below 12 boards if it worked for you.

Otherwise, general principle - buy a board that suits you to surf, because you will not outgrow it quickly, and then you can get a kite specific board ($$$) later to add to the quiver. Surfboards take a bit more of a battering when you're kiting, but when you start out you won't be pushing them that much. Look for something solid with a tuflite or similar coating, firewires seem to go ok. All this assumes you are intending to kitesurf strapless obviously.

In terms of not all surfboards suitable for kiting, lighter/thinner boards and high performance stuff will break easier but any board can be kited. Once you get the hang of it you can pick up low volume grom boards cheap and have a ball, they will break after a season and get another one.

In general, if you are buying second-hand surfboard find someone who knows how to surf and get their help - its easy to get a **** second hand board that is not right for you and a second hand board for kiting can easily be something that snaps in half the first time if you're not really sure what to look for.