Do the landings on cable kickers always suck?
 

A few friends and I have had multiple conversations about how brutal the landings are on cable kickers...is it just me/us having this issue? I have ridden cable over a dozen times and each time the landing on anything higher than 6ft up seems just flat out brutal (compared to behind the boat)...even worse than a comparable (or larger) double up. I would assume it's because of the cable going at a slower speed since it feels like I hit the brakes every time I land and the board just sinks into the water.

Anyone else struggling with the same issue(s)? I would love to just charge into the kickers and punt something massive but each time I get a little more aggressive on my edge in and send it a little bigger/farther the landing just gets worse. Is this just one of the differences between cable and boat?

They're definitely brutal. I try to hit the kickers going as fast as possible, and try to maintain high line tension so that I land with more forward momentum. But they're still rough.

That's the method I have been taking Jarrod. In addition I try not to pop off the lip to keep my forward momentum/trajectory a little flatter. Even then it's still a pretty stout landing...comparable to what I feel is a monster dub landing in the trough. I have tried flex boards, stiff boards, big boards and small boards to no avail. However, when I watch some videos of the pro cable riders they make those landings look a lot quicker and less traumatic so I am not sure if there is something I might be missing or if I just need to develop better/stronger leg and back muscles (and probably lose a few lbs too, haha).

I've never had this issue. Especially on a two way. The landings always seem super soft. Maybe it is because I come from snowboarding and am just used to absorbing hard landings? I noticed a little bit of what you are saying on a 6 tower, but nothing that I would consider brutal.

It really depends on the size and shape of the kicker. At Hexagon, they have a huge, steep kicker that is just super tough to land flat off of. My wimpy little open toe bindings feel like they are going to explode trying to support my feet on the landings. They have some smaller, more rampy kickers that you can charge and land without issue.

I would totally agree they are harder. My LCL will also agree as that's what has put me out for a few weeks now from doing exactly that. I also believe it's the slower speeds the cable runs. I'm used to riding at 23mph if not 24 sometimes behind my boat granted I'm not always going as big but I do feel like I just land hard and deep in the water off of the kicker which usually results in the handle being ripped out of my hand.

Land with speed, and continue to edge away (keeps the line tight too), just as you do on a boat... Cable speed has some to do with it, but prob not as much as it's being accused of.

Thanks A-dub. I had not thought about edging away on the landing. I always land, grunt it out and wait for the line to pull me back into the cable pathway. Edging out may get rid of that short period of slack where the board is sinking into the water for me.

I think the more flat on your board you land the more it hurts in my opinion
So i try to land a little on my tail

I put my board on the bolts.

Hit the gym strengthen your legs and the landing pain goes away fast. I used to pass on the kickers all of the time. They are no problem now.

Yes, they hurt. Great opportunity to work on rail hits more though.

the type of rocker and base contours also have some effect on how softly it lands on flat water (just like landing in the flats behind boat). for the rocker line, a continuous board will carry more speed on the landing i.e. easier landing on the knees compared to a 3 stage. also having a center spine or channels on the board will help break the water's surface tension compared to a board without base features

The gym definitely helps. But occasionally I will feel the landing if I am not edging away on landing.

Now the wooden dowel handles are a whole other topic!

Land on edge carrying speed. Landing on edge breaks surface tension of the water causing less slapping and buckling on landing. If you hear a big slap from someone's board it's not just from going big but landing flat footed and not on edge to reduce the shock

I always land flat because you can get away with murder on the landings. When you land on edge you have to deal with line tension and angles. Flat I can under rotate, over rotate and still sneak way without a yank.

That said I've been riding for two decades about 17 yrs hard and I am lucky to have "good knees".

I'm 230lbs boosting kickers is all fun and games until you land.. my lower back and knees have been wrecked all summer from a few days at the cable in June. those hard landings,my extra 30 lbs and my lack of flexibility don't help. the only thing that helped me was landing on edge but no madder how you look at it the landings are hard.

If you guys watched the redbull even that was just put on (big air?) they built a landing ramp and during the even they asked Rathy and a couple other guys how they liked the set up and the answers were the same. " it's cool to be able to hit a kicker this big and land so smooth, it makes it fun to try new stuff without the repeated hammers of landing flat." (in my own words) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etWcEd40n8o

@JustinHarrelson you must be doing something wrong to have good knees after this long. "you ain't doin' it right" just kidding more power to you for staying healthy!

Yeah the landing can be bad but nothing some leg days won't fix!(a little)

Hard landings is one of the main reasons that I stick to wake to wake boat riding. That and 4 back surgeries and 3 knee surgeries...... lol

Probably a bigger reason I don't like the cable is waiting a minimum of 20 minutes before you can try a trick you have been working on. The walk back and the setup and waiting in line sucks when you can just get right back up behind the boat and your mindset the same to try whatever you are working on..... The falls are not as bad on cable but I don't mind taking a beating every once in awhile if it is not straight down on my knees or back.

Need to come to OWC. A lot of times there is no line to speak of and the size of the advanced cable makes the walk back easy. I try to land with my tail down and tip up. Plus the Jobe Conflict I'm riding now has some pretty soft landings.