Here's one man's experience with a dirtsurfer (extract taken from Flexifoil forum)

The pros say it's great, heres my newbie experience...

I got mine about 5 hours ago and have had about 2 hours time playing with it! So I guess what i'm doing is trying to give some tips that the pros take for granted, and assure people that these boards are usable!! I didn't get round to trying it with a kite today.

Firstly, got home, straight away stood on the board in a doorway, hands either side and pushed off lighty. It really worked well, made it across the dining room first time!

Got down the park, different story!! (but read on, happy ending!!)

First thing I worked out was it is not possible to get on a dirtsurfer without something to hold onto (for the first few runs anyway) so don't waste time trying!

I then tried pushing off a lampost on the flat but couldn't go straight and kept coming off. I think this is because unlike the doorway at home the lampost was making me lean over one side of the board too much.

So I decided the only way to get going was to find a gentle slope with something got hold onto, it took a while but I finally found a spot with a gentle grass slope and a tree for me to hold onto to get on the board, all that was required then was a slight push and you could roll 40-50m fairly slowly and steadily!!!!

Keep repeating the above step and you will quickly build up confidence and start faster steeper runs, it took me only about 20 mins to go from my first steady run to going fairly quick down grass bankings (with a big run off at the bottom to slow down gently).

As soon as you are doing some good runs you'll find it amazingly easy and it feels very safe compared to a mountain board.

The main hints I can give is:

* Don't have the footstraps too tight, someone correct me if i'm wrong but the back foot at least should be right in the middle of the frame, otherwise the board is difficult to keep straight. This may have been my problem at first as I didn't adjust my straps until I was getting very close to doing a steady run.

* Don't try to force the turns, the turning circle is large and you can't do anything about it, turning requires very little pressure and lean, especially at newbie speed. Don't try and turn it harshly like a mountain board, look at the dirtsurfer turning circle and think how little input would be required to get your mountain board to turn like that.

* Try having you leg just touching the calf brake, this gives a better feel for the angle of the board and I found increased my stability althouth the brake was rubbing very slightly.

FInally, you can push start a dirtsurfer to get going on a gentle slope, I can do it 50% of the time already. Just don't try it until you suss out the feel of the board.

In summary, if you fancy one, go for it!! Especially if your into non-kite use. The first hour is the hardest but after 2 I am really confident and can use the brake to help control my speed. I can see the progression of this being much faster than a mountain board as it feels much safer, no vibration, no speed wobble and good brake.

Can't believe I've wasted 22 years of my life without one!