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WHAT
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LOOKING
FOR Whether you want the ultimate foiling and light wind weapon, high-end freestyle performance with added freeride versatility or simply a kite that puts a smile on your face every session, Naish has what you’re looking for with the new Boxer, Dash and brand new Triad. Built with our industry leading construction, Naish Kiteboarding continues to march forward and progress the sport the same way we have for the past 20 years: to make everyday on the water a good one, no matter the conditions.
FEATURING 2 - KITESURFING MAGAZINE / VOL 5 / ISSUE 2
TRIAD, FOR ANYONE.
All-around Freeride SIZES 4–12, 14 • Easy handling with forgiving control • Smooth power delivery
BOXER, FOR ANYWHERE.
Lightwind Freeride/Foiling SIZES 3.5–12, 14, 16 • Amazing low-end power • Lightest single strut kite ever made
DASH, FOR THE NEXT LEVEL.
Freestyle/Freeride SIZES 5–12, 14 • Fast-flying for kite loops & big air • Great load, pop & slack
Pacific Boardsports LLC NaishKiteboarding
Naish_Kiteboarding
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NaishKites.com
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FOIL
SPIRIT FOIL RANGE
NE W
BY
DUOTONE
“ B Y S I M P LY S WA P P I N G O V E R T H E W I N G S , I C A N Q U I C K LY G O F R O M C A R V I N G I N T H E WAV E S T O T O P S P E E D S O N T H E WAT E R .” J E A N
G U I L L A U M E
R I V A U D
R I D E R : J E A N G U I L L A U M E R I VA U D
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PHOTO: TOBY BROMWICH
SELECT
YOUR
FLIGHT MODE
SPIRIT CARVE CARBON WINGS
SPIRIT FREERIDE CARBON COMPOUND WINGS
SPIRIT GT CARBON WINGS
SPIRIT SURF CARBON WINGS
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CIT MODES / WAVE - ALLROUND - FREESTYLE
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FOLLOW US ON
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corekites.com | facebook.com/corekites | instagram.com/corekites | twitter.com/corekites
CORE Kiteboarding + 49 (0) 4371 / 88934-0 info@corekites.com Fehmarn, Germany
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TWO CHARACTERS. ONE KITE. kitesurfingmag.com
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We a tha re so c t 30- we ba onfide day ck e nt i n per v ww form ery N our k w.s ling a nce EW pu ite’s pe sho rch gua r ts p ase form ra o r ts .com ntee. L with ance a an nd ea /slin gsh rn mo exclus const re a ruc ive ot-3 tion t: 0da y
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OFF THE TOP PHOTOS: Diana Wood LOCATION: Adicora , Venezuela RIDER: Ricardo Campello “It’s my second time kiting on those salines. The first time, it wasn’t as loaded as it was now. Kiting there is not as easy as you might think. Super shallow water with basically just enough space for your fins. Theres is no room for mistakes. The bottom is basically Crystalized Salt and it feels like glass , super sharp and as you can imagine if you cut yourself its going to sting quite a lot. If you have a drip of this water in your eyes you’re not going to have a good time ! But it was all worth a shot!” — Ricardo Campello
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PHOTOGRAPHER: Thomas Burblies RIDER: Maarten Haeger LOCATION: Cape Town, South Africa
32m Jump! What started out as a family vacation for 17-year-old CORE team rider Maarten Haeger, turned into a surreal dream when he was the first to smash through the 30m barrier with an amazing 32m jump on January 2nd, 2019. Yes! The Dutch rider was on a family vacation in Cape Town when he kicked it up a notch in 48-knot winds and 2m beach break. Congrats, Maarten for being the first to break 30m! “It’s all about the take-off,” commented Maarten, “You need perfect timing and the right kind of kite.” Naturally, his Core XR5 kite tested on page 82 of this issue is made for this kind of thing. The student from Bergen, Alkmaar raves about his XR5’s gravity-defying lift, and incredible hangtime..
OFF THE TOP
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FEATURES 52 SHAPER’S CORNER Kitesurfing Magazine shakes hands with Core Surfboard shaper Gero Tragatschnig. 56 LADIES OF THE KPL Who are to top female riders in the Kite Park? Sensi Graves introduces us to the sport’s best. 74 BRAZIL RE-DISCOVERED Cape Hatteras’s Evan Netsch and Canada’s Lucas Arsenault share one of their favorite destinations with us; Ceará, Brazil.
Volume 5 // Issue 2 // No. 12
82 BIG AIR KITES The best big air kites of 2019 go head-to-head with the Kitesurfing Magazine test team.
When Jaws gets too big for the surfers, it’s time to kite. Maui’s Olivia Jenkins is up to the challenge. Check out her story on page 38. John Carter photo
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UPFRONT 14 OFF THE TOP 24 EDITOR’S INTRO 28 ON THE COVER 30 KING OF THE AIR 32 STUFF WE LIKE
DEPARTMENTS 36 TOOLS OF THE TRADE: Julien Fillion 38 SESSIONS: Olivia Jenkins at Jaws 42 HOW TO: Back Roll 44 HOW TO: Mario Jump 40 PROFILE: Aaron Hadlow Sensi Graves looking steezy in the Hood River, Oregon slider park. Read all about the Ladies of the KPL Tour on page 56. Bromwich photo
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LIGHTEST HARDSHELL ON THE MARKET
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If you don’t read this caption you might think this is John Bryja, that’s OK with him... but it’s James Ropner. Richard Hallman photo
FIELD NOTES Jumping in Feet First
The first time I saw someone jump a kiteboard I knew it was the sport for me. And the first time I jumped was like riding a bike; or should I say driving a Flintstones car? The board flew off my feet and I pedalled the air at a million miles an hour. The harder I pedalled the higher I flew. That’s how my subconscious was convinced it worked at least. With each jump, I pedalled harder and flew higher. By jump attempt number twenty I was getting twenty feet of air, and pedalling the air so fast I could have made butter. My son Kai has inherited my Flintstone car pedalling ability. His love of jumping has fueled that endless tree watching that every kiteboarder knows; hoping for that first sign of wind. “I really want to go kiting,” has become a daily refrain. Following his progress has me flashing back to my progression in the air, and has rekindled my interest in jumping. I’m not sure how long I’ll be the biggest jumper in the family, but I’ll claim that title for today, and work hard to maintain it tomorrow.
This issue, if it had an unofficial theme, is all about jumping. The Kitesurfing Magazine test team takes a look at the best jumping kites on page 82. Five-time world champion Aaron Hadlow shares his thoughts on the progression of kitesurfing, and today’s resurgence of big air. And Reider Decker shares a few tips to learning the Mario jump (when I work on that one, I’ll need to stop pedalling when I land on the board). See you at the beach. The next jump awaits. John Bryja
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CARBON
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MASTHEAD VOLUME 5 / ISSUE 2 / NUMBER 12 PUBLISHER / EDITOR-IN-CHIEF JOHN BRYJA ART DIRECTOR DAVE AMOS TEST EDITOR SHANE THOMPSON COPY EDITOR COLIN FIELD WEB DESIGN KAI HULSHOF & ERIC FEQUET CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
LUCAS ARSENAULT, JJ BOSHOFF, RICARDO CAMPELLO, COLLEEN CARROLL, REIDER DECKER, JULIEN FILLION, SENSI GRAVES, MAARTEN HAEGER, OLIVIA JENKINS, EVAN NETSCH CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS
ERIC AEDER, LUCAS ARSENAULT, IAN ARTZY, JAMES BOULDING, TOBY BROMWICH, THOMAS BURBLIES, JUSTIN BURNS, KYLE CABANO, JOHN CARTER, SI CROWTHER, NIK GANDERTON, RICHARD HALLMAN, AXEL REESE, ANDRE MARGARAO, DAVE MARSHAL, SAM MEDYSKY, WILLIAM POLLOCK, SVETLANA ROMANTSOVA, YDWER VAN DE HEIDE, SOPHIE WALL, DIANA WOOD Kitesurfing Magazine is an independent publication published three times per year. —Spring, Summer, and Gear Preview — by Kitesurfing Magazine Inc. STONG MIND, STRONG BODY:
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ON THE COVER | OLIVIA JENKINS
PHOTOGRAPHER: SI CROWTHER
LOCATION: MAUI, HAWAII
“This photo was from my first session out at Peahi during the 2018-2019 winter season. This is also my second time ever kiting out there. It had been about seven months since my first session, so I was definitely nervous when we pulled up to the wave on the jet ski. The wind was super strong and offshore, making the conditions very different from my first session. I was on a six meter Duotone Neo, but definitely should have been on a four meter! This made it challenging, but that much more exciting. It took a while for me to warm up but I was finally able to catch some fun and scary waves like this one. Definitely got the adrenaline going!
The photographer Si Crowther happened to be taking photos in the channel of the windsurfers. My boyfriend Patri Mclaughlin was on his jet ski running safety for me and offered to take Si aboard so he could get closer to the wave in order to take photos. This meant he was able to get a couple of close up shots of me. It’s pretty exciting to see Si with his camera pointed at you when you come flying into the channel. I am hoping for another session like this one before the winter season comes to an end!” — Olivia Jenkins
"YOU'RE GONNA NEED A BIGGER BOAT" 26 - KITESURFING MAGAZINE / VOL 5 / ISSUE 2
The FSeries is designed for high performance. It is very well balanced and delivers, no matter if you are into new Freestyle tricks or big kite loops.
Peter Stiewe Team Eleveight Franz Schitzhofer
We paid special attention to keep the product design of the CS Vary bar slick and functional while integrating new features, allowing the rider to fully concentrate on riding.
QUICK MATIC SYSTEM
SIZES: Small (42/50cm) / Large (47/55cm)
CS VARY FUNCTION
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COMPETE | KEVIN LANGEREE WINS HIS THIRD KING OF THE AIR
PHOTOS COURTESY REDBULL Kevin Langeree absolutely dominated the 2019 King of the Air competition. The high-flying Naish international team rider rotated brilliantly through the event in South Africa to become the first person to win the Red Bull King of the Air three times (twice using the Naish Pivot kite tested in this issue of Kitesurfing).The Red Bull King of the Air is unquestionably the most prestigious big air contest in kitesurfing today. This year's action started with two-time winner Aaron Hadlow (UK) crashing out in round two with a rib injury, while South Africans Joshua Emanuel and Ross-Dillon Player also exited in round four. The famous 'Cape Doctor' wind then rolled into Cape Town's Kite Beach for the final day of competition handing the world's best kiteboarders the chance to unleash big air tricks. Only six competitors remained out of 18 for the last two rounds with Dutchman Langeree drawing on his two titles in 2014 and 2018 to triumph, thanks to
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breathtaking rotations in ferocious high winds. Maui’s Jesse Richman took second and F-One team rider Liam Whaley third. "This feels amazing,” says Kevin Langeree. “I put so much time into training and coming out on top. There was a lot of pressure on me as defending champ. Jesse and Liam were on fire and went big. I had to pull everything out of the bag. I couldn't be happier!” "The action was mind blowing,” says head judge Alex Vliege. “You can see this is the best big air event of the year; it shows in the combinations. They're innovating tricks and combos year-on-year, evolving the sport." The Mystic ‘Most Extreme Move’ award went to 2013 champion Jessie Richman for his powered Kung Fu 1080 Handlepass on the first day and he took home $1000.
FUN FACTS RED BULL KING OF THE AIR •The very first Red Bull King of the Air ran at the hallowed windsurfing spot Ho’okipa in Maui in 2000. The event evolved into how high and far competitors could go in storm force winds. •Riders like Ruben Lenten began throwing ‘Megaloops’ up to 40-feet high, which saw the event move to Cape Town in 2013 where it has stayed ever since. •Crowds of up to 13,000 pack the shoreline to see riders hit speeds of around 30 knots, often aided by a south-easterly wind known as the ‘Cape Doctor.’ •Judges look at extreme big air and overall impression with height (70 per cent) favoured over extremity (30 per cent) and the three best tricks of a run counted. •A fourth unique score for overall impression is determined by considering technical difficulty, style, variety, execution, risk and innovation. Kevin Langeree soars into first.
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STUFF WE LIKE | 2019 KITES CABRINHA MOTO Sizes Tested (m): 12 Sizes Available (m): 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 14 The Moto is a new Cabrinha model and it’s designed to handle the full gamut of freeride disciplines. Lighter and more nimble than the legendary Switchblade, the Moto features a three-strut, hybrid platform that gives it plenty of boost, and sporty handling that is quick and responsive. It has the familiar feel of a Cabrinha design, with solid pull and smooth power delivery, but the Moto offers lighter touch steering and a more reactive feel. This Moto is stable and predictable. It may not have the perfect drift capability of the wave-specific Cabrinha Drifter but the Moto’s lightweight frame and compact bridle configuration ensure it has its fair share of useable depower and wave-worthy handling. Decent low end power and plenty of range with easy depower and balanced drift, the Moto is ready for anything you throw behind it. The test team was impressed with the good boost and hang time of the Moto. The wide wingtips keep the Moto reactive with good direct feedback. All around, this Moto can handle most situations without compromising much performance in wave, foil or freestyle specific disciplines. It is sure to be a popular model in the Cabrinha line for the riders that want crossover performance from freestyle to waves and foil. Best For For kiteboarders that want a light and reactive kite that is versatile for any style of riding and can help advance riding skills into the waves or on a foil board.
AIRUSH LITHIUM V10 Sizes Tested (m): 8, 12 Sizes Available (m): 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 14, 17 Control Bar: Core Cleat Bar V4 The Airush Lithium V10 shows the refinement of a kite that has gone through a decade of evolution. It remains one of the industry’s longest standing, most reliable, do-it-all designs loved for its easy power and reliable performance for a wide range of skill levels and disciplines. Featuring a three-strut, Delta hybrid canopy shape the Lithium delivers great low end power and quick pivotal turning. Its got easy to love performance and is a great kite for advanced riding and flying skills with efficient water relaunch capability and an easy, sheet-in-and-go, power. It has a very central pivot that doesn’t pull too hard through the turn which has applications for beginner and advanced riders that want quick no pull turns for riding waves or on a foil. Lots of instant depower and good balance and drift give the Lithium some good wave capability and keep things gentle and controlled. Premium construction with Airush Load Frame Tech, the Lithium is built to last but at the same time the three-strut canopy is light and efficient. The test team was impressed with the improved feedback and more reactive feel of this year’s Lithium. The more direct feedback and quicker turn initiation steps up the performance for the advanced rider. Top marks for the new Lithium. Best For The multi-disciplined rider of any skill level that wants to push their limits and never stop learning new things.
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LEN10
MAJESTIC X HARNESS
#BREAKBOUNDARIES
RIDER: RUBEN LENTEN
T h e L E N 10 M a j e s t i c X h a r d - s h e l l h a r n e s s is developed together with big air legend R u b e n L e n t e n . I t ’s b u i l t a r o u n d t h e s t i f f a n d lightweight Bionic Core Frame, featuring an unequalled carbon construction! The specific placement of the fibers allows a f r a m e t h a t i s e x t r e m e l y s t i f f, w h i l e m a i n t a i n i n g t h e f l e x d i a g o n a l l y. T h e L E N 10 Majestic X is the most advanced harness in our range, the quickdr y Flaremesh lining on the inside gives extra insulation and a
P O I NT WEBBING
sof t touch for riding without a wetsuit.
M Y S T I C B O A kitesurfingmag.com R D I N G . -C31O M
STUFF WE LIKE | 2019 KITES DUOTONE NEO Sizes Tested (m): 7, 9, 12 Sizes Available (m): 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 Control Bar: Click Bar The Neo is Duotone’s pure wave kite that’s a test-winning design in the surf kite category over the years. Known for its good low end power, smooth and reactive handling and intuitive feedback, the Neo has a compact, powerful canopy with such great low end power generation that it enables the rider to keep a kite size down. This year the Neo’s focus has gone back to more pure wave performance, as Duotone’s freeride category is a bit crowded with the Evo, Rebel and Dice. Not to say that Neo can’t handle most freeride categories without too much compromise as the front bridle configurations on the Neo will change the kite’s performance to suit some styles and conditions beyond just waves. In its high depower mode, the Neo works more like a freeride kite and sits more forward in the window. In the freeride setting the Neo has a bit more boost for jumps and more power generation through the turns. In wave mode, the bridles can sit the Neo back in the wind for more optimum drift and rounder, quick pivots. The standout qualities the Neo has are really the power delivery and the ability to drift and react when you need it. The Neo’s reactive tips also ensure you can initiate the pivot on the Neo, while the kite is highly sheeted out. Smooth power and good boost and handling for strapless airs, the Neo is a highly refined, dedicated wave kite. Best For Surf specialists that want the best drift and sweet power and pull of one of the world’s top wave kites.
DUOTONE DICE Sizes Tested (m): 7, 9, 12 Sizes Available(m): 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 Control Bar: Click Bar The Duotone Dice is the three-strut, hybrid design that offers freestyle and wave crossover capability. This kite is sporty and exciting to fly and for both hooked-in or unhooked freestyle. Silky smooth handling with smooth and consistent pull through the powered loops, the Dice feels alive and manoeuvrable but highly controllable and stable in any situation. Great pop and control while unhooked and even better boost and hangtime than previous versions, the Dice will keep the aggressive and thrill-seeking rider happy. This kite is a standout in the test for its improved low end power, smooth pulling turns, light touch steering with good feedback, and quick nimble feel. The Dice is a fun kite to have in your quiver; it’s adaptable to freeride disciplines but keeps its sporty, freestyle edge. The 12 meter could handle light wind foil board riding, for the rider that can use its smooth pulling turns for some extra power in the lulls. The Dice is stable, light and well-balanced and has good feedback for positioning the kite in the sky and combines that with nimble handling and turning. Best For Intermediate-to-advanced riders that want a high performance, quick flying kite that can handle both hooked-in, and unhooked freestyle, and also work in the surf or directional disciplines.
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TOOLS OF THE TRADE | JULIEN FILLION'S HAWAII QUIVER
words by Julien Fillion photo by William Pollock
Maui between the month of December and March offers an enormous variety of conditions. Each year I spend several weeks soaking in every possible condition the Pacific throws at us! Here's a list of what sits in the back of my truck on a regular day in Maui.
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A. My kite of choice for Maui is the Liquid Force Wow. We actually designed the first Wow in Maui several years ago. The Wow has one of the smallest diameter leading edges in the whole kite industry. The small LE diameter helps the kite to fly several degrees at the edge of the wind window, allowing more freedom during top turns and roundhouse surfing manoeuvres.
B. The Mission Control V3 bar from LF. I ride both 23 meter and 20 meter lines depending on the spot. I prefer 20 meter in wave riding, the kite is slightly more responsive. Although some wind-shadowed spots in Maui require longer line setups, therefore the two line length setup. C. The MOD Harness from LF, simply one of the most comfortable harnesses out there. I have a slightly compressed disk in my lower back, I can't ride a hard shell, that's why a soft and comfy harness is my pick. D. I know right, a vest? Why would I need a vest? Well, you know what? Maui's waves get massive! When I ride massive outer reef sessions, I always wear a vest in case I have to swim back to shore. You never need a vest, until you need it! E. Patagonia R1 shorty long sleeve. I know it's going to sound weird, but Maui is cold. This long sleeve shorty is my go-to kitesurfing suit on the Maui North Shore. F. Patagonia R1 shorty long johns. This is my go to surfing suit for Maui; you always workout more surfing then kitesurfing. G. Liquid Force Messenger 4.8. This board is tiny, light and nimble. I ride it strapless when the conditions are perfect and the surf is smaller. It's a standard EPS/fibreglass/carbon construction. H. This board is an FCD Fark that Fletcher Chiounard shaped for me. It has inserts for footstraps, I use this board when Maui gets choppy and/or the waves get much bigger. This is my third Fark from Fletcher Chiounard. This board is amazing, and yes it's pink! I. I always keep a twintip in Maui. Some days can be very windy with barely any waves. This year I've been riding the Moon Patrol from LF; it's a directional twin you can ride switch. It's an amazing carving board.
J. I love foiling. I would foil all day and every day if I could. I usually kite with a 36-inch mast and I prone surf foil with a 24 or 30inch mast. I've been prone surfing a lot this year, I love it. I also suffered an injury in OBX this year where I got the wing in the face. Twelve stitches later, it reminds me how crucial to baby step when learning to foil surf. K. Wings, lots of wings! We are developing so many wings at LF, it's important to do a daily comparison and be in tune with their performance and know in which field they perform best. L. ( NOT SHOWN ) This is the FS1, LF's first prone surfboard. It's big, floaty and easy to learn on. It's also a great strapless kite foil board if needed. M. Here are two samples of the ORB, LF's high-performance kite foil board. This is a foil-specific kiteboard. It's light, easy to travel with and feels amazing under your feet. This is basically the only foilboard I kite with. I would suggest this board to any novice who's already been through the foil learning curve. N. I've always loved standup surfing. I was part of the early adopter of the standup paddleboard several years ago and it remains a love at first sight for me. This is a beautiful 10-foot wooden board made by a Canadian company call Beau Lake, for the mellow, end-of-the-day longboard type waves, when the wind is completely gone.
P. A Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu kimono, probably my favourite piece of equipment here. I've been training in Jiu-Jitsu for three years and I'm deeply in love with the sport. It’s such amazing cross-training for kitesurfing and foiling, and one of the most threatening martial art out today. Although it is also called the gentle martial art, no striking, only submissions. Maui has an amazing BJJ school and offers outstanding training with Master Lius Heredia. Q. It rains a lot in Maui, there is a reason why the island icon is a rainbow. This is a drybag from Patagonia, a simple roll-top waterproof bag, an absolute must for Maui, where it rains approximately eight times a day during the winter months. R. Patagonia boardshorts; strong, light, flexible. Enough said!
O. This is an 8-foot mini longboard called the Malibu, also from Beau Lake. I love this board, not only for surfing but also for kitesurfing. On light wind days, this board is amazing when teamed with a 12 meter. I’ve had memorable soul searching sessions kitesurfing with this board.
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SESSIONS | OLIVIA JENKINS AT JAWS You have to edge as hard as possible to stay on the wave in the offshore winds. Eric Aeder photo
“When you first meet Olivia Jenkins you would never know how hard she charges. She loves girly things and she's super humble. I’ve never heard her boast, or even bring up the fact she's kited the biggest wave ever kited by a woman. When people praise her for charging she blushes a bit and laughs it off. I’m sure she’ll continue to push the boundaries of what’s possible with a kite for many years to come. Last April (2018) Olivia Jenkins and Gisela Pulido kited Jaws. When Gisela said she was going out to Jaws I knew it was time for Olivia to have a crack at it. Olivia has been working her way up the past five seasons kiting different outer reefs on Maui and even joined the boys for a swell strike mission to Fiji. Honestly, I was expecting both girls to play it as safe as possible out there. Shoulder hop a few of the smaller ones. Olivia charged though. She was taking off behind the peak and really putting herself in the danger zone. I ran rescue on the jet ski and I was terrified. I don’t mind putting myself at risk, but watching my girlfriend do the same thing is scary. After we got in I told her if she wanted to kite Jaws again she would have to jump off the jet ski in the impact zone and take a set on the head (obviously I would never make her do that). She didn't flinch and she said O.K. That’s how I knew she was ready for another session.”–Patri Mclaughlin.
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IN OLIVIA’S WORDS: In late November 2018, the World Surf League (WSL) big wave tour had an event out at Jaws on Maui. I was watching the live stream from my couch and saw that the wind was picking up early in the day. They ended up cancelling the contest because the waves were too big and it was too windy for the surfers. My boyfriend, Patri Mclaughlin, and friend Jesse Richman found out that they cancelled the event and rushed to prepare their kite gear to go out and kite Jaws. It was going to be huge and too big for me. The boys came back from their session and were so excited about the day they had. They kited some of the gnarliest conditions they had ever been out in. That night we continued to look at the forecast. The wind would be sticking around the next day and it seemed as though the wave height was going to be smaller (but that it would still be big enough for Jaws). Jesse and Patri looked at me and said, “so, are you going to come with us?” Since only three people can fit on the jet ski, two kiters and one driver, I had not thought that I would be going with them this time. Patri had kindly offered to drive safety while I kited. My heart started to race due to a combination of excitement and nerves. That next morning, the WSL contest continued out at Jaws, so we could see how the conditions were on their livestream. It seemed as though they would complete the contest by midday, and the wind had already picked up. We got all of our kite gear packed up in the backyard, and launched the ski into the water about five-minutes up the road from our house. As soon as we arrived up to Jaws, they were just finishing up the final heat of the surf contest. We looked at it for a while on the jet ski and then decided to give it a go. To my surprise, Jesse and Patri looked at me and said, “you’re up first!” I got my kite up in the air and it felt surreal to be the only person in the lineup at the time. Jesse then pumped up his kite and joined me. Patri was on the ski doing safety in case either of us fell. When riding waves of that size, we make a point to always have someone driving a rescue ski in case something goes wrong. I feel pretty lucky to have Patri out on the water with me. He gave me my first kitesurf board, and now he is giving me tips on how to ride Jaws.
Sophie Wall photo
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DESTINATION STATION | CONT. "Every wave I work on getting deeper into the pocket of the wave."—Olivia Jenkins Ilan Artzy photo
Si Crowther photo
It had been seven months since I had been out there last. It took me quite a few warm up waves to get into the rhythm. I think I was more nervous this session than the first session. I even lost my board at one point, and had to body drag out of the impact zone while Patri drove the ski to the inside to pick up the board. The wind was more offshore than my previous session in April, and I was incredibly overpowered on my six meter kite. The offshore wind causes you to fall out of the back of the wave often. In addition, the wind was swirling from the waves before, causing a tornado like effect in my kite. After quite a few warm up waves, I decided to go for a few bigger sets.
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Eric Aeder photo
I caught a bunch of fun waves, and tried to go deeper and deeper as time progressed. I remember one wave where I tried to stay deep, and next thing I hear is a loud crashing noise. I became engulfed by the white water from the wave breaking behind me. It was an amazing feeling to come out of that. I did crash once, and this was my first crash ever out there. I was kiting pretty fast down the face, when the swirling wind caused me to lose power in my kite. I hit a chop in the wave and went over the handlebars of my board. I felt my body turn upside down, so was unsure where the kite was in the air. By accident, I crashed my kite. Luckily, I was not pushed deep, and there
was not another set behind this wave. I was able to relaunch my kite and continue riding and caught a lot more waves. There was another Jaws swell with wind the following week that I went out and kited with Jesse. It was an amazing experience to have kited it two times in such a short period of time—something none of us were expecting. I feel like every time I have gone out there, I have improved on some technique in big wave riding. I just got a new Jaws kitesurf board, so cant wait for the next big swell with wind!
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TRICKTIPS | BACKROLL
WORDS BY JJ BOSHOFF / PHOTOS BY KYLE CABANO One of the many reasons we continue to chase the wind, irrespective of how tough the conditions or how steep the learning curve may be, is progression. Each time you get into the water you will have progressed in some way; from your first body drag, your first board start to your first successful upwind tack or landing your first jump. It is the resultant feeling that pushes us to go further, dare more and ride harder. Now that you’re comfortable with your kiting ability, it's time to add some new tricks to your repertoire. The Backroll is a foundational trick that many tricks will build from, varying in complexity and style. It includes anything from Backroll transitions, Backroll Kiteloops to Unhooked KGBs. Moreso it is an unbelievably satisfying manoeuvre to do. It is very
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achievable and would probably only take you a couple of attempts to perfect it. The most important aspect of any manoeuvre, is to commit fully. When you fully commit to a manoeuvre, chances are you will land it. In preparation for the Backroll, you have to move your hands closer to the center of the bar to dampen your steering response and prevent over steering the kite. Choose the crest of a wave or flat water as your takeoff zone and make sure that the downwind area is clear of any kiters or obstacles. With your kite between 10 and 11 and your hands closer to the center of the bar, edge hard with moderate speed towards your takeoff zone. Keep pressure on your back foot and pressure in the bar.
To release and initiate the backroll, use your front leg to drive off the water by releasing your heelside rail from the water. Throw your head aggressively over your front shoulder to start the rotation. Your body will always follow your head. Be careful not to use your hands to initiate the roll, as pulling too hard on the back hand will result in over-steering your kite. Keep a consistent bar pressure throughout the roll. Remember to keep your core engaged as you rotate around your head. Once you spot your landing, pull the bar towards your hip (front leg). Your legs will drop back underneath you. Reduce the bar pressure slightly and get ready for touch down. Compress your legs to absorb the impact and ride it out.
TO RECAP, REMEMBER THESE FOUR FUNDAMENTAL STEPS WHEN ATTEMPTING THE BACKROLL:
1
2
3
4
1. SETTING UP: Move your hands closer to the center of the bar. Set your kite between 10 and 11. Choose your takeoff spot and edge hard upwind with moderate speed towards it. 2. The edge and release: Keep pressure on your back foot while edging towards your takeoff zone, at the same time keeping pressure on the bar. Release your heelside edge by driving your front leg off upwind and off of the water. Use your head to aggressively look over your shoulder. As you release from the water, your body will follow your head. 3. THE ROLL: Keep your core engaged as you release from the water and start to rotate around your head. Keep consistent pressure on the bar as you come around to spot your landing. Once you spot your landing, pull the bar towards your front hip. 4. THE LANDING: At this point you would have spotted your landing and your feet would start to drop back underneath you. Reduce your bar pressure slightly and get ready to touch down. Compress your legs to absorb the impact and ride it out. You may have to try it a couple of times before landing it, but soon enough you will feel like an aerial acrobat and impress the spectators on the beach.
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TRICKS & TIPS | MARIO JUMP Airush's Reider Decker with a Squamish Mario. Medysky photo
WORDS BY REIDER DECKER The Mario Jump developed over years of using the kite to launch me back downwind to my surfboard after falling. I was doing this starting in waist deep water at first, but then started doing it off the beach and seeing how far away I could let the board drift and still land on it. It is incredibly bizarre how much fun it is. A good trick to already know before trying this is the twintip version of a hot launch beach start; basically just this with the board connected to you the whole time. That helps you get the feel for loading up against the kite. The lining up with your board for the landing is definitely the trickiest part. 1. Point the nose of your board directly downwind of you and let it drift. 2. Bring your kite far to the side of the wind window, pretty close to the water at beside 3 or 9 o'clock. Continue adjusting your body positioning if needed to make sure the board is still downwind of you. Very important!
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3. Turn your kite hard to the center so it falls back in the wind window and is straight in front (downwind) of you. You are basically creating a hot launch effect. 4. Keep the bar sheeted out and continue to resist the pull from the kite until it is shooting higher up towards 12 o'clock overhead. This gives you a lift straight up out of the water versus just pulling you downwind and slightly of the water. If you know how to boost big on a twintip this is the same principle. 5. When the kite’s around two-thirds of its way up towards 12 o'clock, sheet the bar in and let the kite lift you up into the air. You can shake your legs, do scissor kicks, put your legs above your head, whatever you are feeling, to keep your balance mid-flying.
6. Spot your board and adjust the kite to bring you directly over it while in the air. Maybe you are too far left or right so you need to whip your kite a little to one side or the other to bring you more on top of it. Or maybe you are just crushing it and don't need to adjust the kite at all. That's even better. Congrats, you’re a rock star. 7. Since you basically just hot launched yourself straight downwind, to continue with decent speed and give yourself a soft landing, potentially you will need to downloop your kite. When you downloop your kite depends on how far you flew underneath your kite and how far over you moved it when flying through the air. This is similar to doing big airs. The bigger you go, the more you will have to downloop in the air.
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PROFILE | AARON HADLOW Ydwer photo
INTERVIEW BY AXEL REECE Born on the fourth of October, 1988, Aaron Hadlow turned 30 this past fall. His star went on in 2004 when he won the world title for the first time. His dominance in the following years was inimitable, like no one else before or after him. He has been crowned wakestyle champ five times, his life was competitive and result-oriented. The englishman has since expanded his repertoire of tricks. Moves such as the Double Handlepass Mobe 7 were invented by the Duotone rider. In 2005, he was the first to land Double-Handle Airpasses in the World Cup, which was a small revolution back then. Even then, Aaron was considered a training machine and had a coach, who drove with him to the contest. Following his fifth title in 2008, he stepped down from the World Cup Tour, shifting his focus Kitesurfing Magazine: Up until 2003 the World Cup freestyle was dominated by high jumps and kiteloops. Stars like Mark Shinn and Flash Austin were replaced by you almost overnight. And the discipline of wakestyle was decisively influenced by your first world title in 2004 . Aaron Hadlow: Yes, the evolution of kiteboarding has gone through many stages. When I first started it was all about what we now call big air. Soon after becoming the World Champion it was about board-offs. In 2003 we saw the first handlepasses and from then on I was able to stay on top of the game by learning and creating new wakestyle tricks. It’s funny how this has all come back around again!
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to promotions for his sponsors, and was competing infrequently in other kitesurfing events, like the Triple-S in the U.S. It was Aaron who developed the style in wakestyle during these years. The kite was flown deeper and deeper during the tricks, grabs were built in, which in turn impacted judging in the World Cup. Because of Aaron's style, World Cup riders in the wakestyle discipline ride in boots without exception. Right at his World Cup comeback in 2013 he drove back to the podium. In recent years, the events in wakestyle have become rather rare, so he is eager to compete in the Red Bull King of the Air and at the new Air Games. We sat down with Aaron to ask about his 15 years of professional kitesurfing.
KM: Your ACL was not so funny! It held you back in 2012. How did you fight back? AH: I was out of the game for one year with two operations. It was the toughest time in my career. Not only do you lose some level of yourself, you also lose one year of progression that your competitors gain. It is an incredibly tough journey back to the top from that point. In some ways you gain some motivation, some sort of renewed passion. I was very driven to regain my level and status in the sport.
KM: In 2013 you were back on the board after only two months and immediately re-entered the World Cup. What expectations did you have? AH: After about three months of riding, the first event of the season was around the corner. It was what I was aiming to be ready for. In the end I almost did not go. I was nervous to push myself so early and it was my first World Cup since 2009. I had to do the trials but then continued all the way to the final of the main event. It was one of the best moments of my career despite winning multiple world championships. The following year I managed to get first place at the Kitesurf World Cup in Germany; finally I had made my goal.
Axel Reese photo
KM: In recent years the Wakestyle World Tour has deteriorated and events have become rare. Does your heart follow this tour a bit? AH: It is really sad to see what has happened over the last few years. The format is great and the level is high. The story of former champions all fit and fighting together and the new up and coming stars has been slightly missed which is a shame for the sport. I follow it closely and hope that it picks up for the next generation. In 2018 we have really seen some serious talent emerge. KM: The new format "Air Games" demands new elements from the World Cup. So different disciplines like big air, kiteloops, freestyle and air style tricks have to be shown by you in just one heat. Looking back on your World Cup career, what challenges does that mean? AH: I have seen and done all these moves since I was tenyears-old. I only have to relearn a few tricks and get them back after not doing them for a while. This makes the new format quite suited to me. I favor the strong winds. It is challenging to do these tricks on a 13 meter kite, it is not that motivating for me, but when the wind is strong I think the format is great. The biggest challenge is the equipment; to get the best score in each category would usually mean you need a different board or even kite. This is one element that I am not so keen on but at the moment I don’t see any other way.
Ydwer photo
KM: Beside the equipment, did you start with the wrong tactics at the Air Games World Cup this year in Tarifa? AH: In Tarifa the wind was incredibly light. In my opinion there is a wind limit to such a concept but for various reasons this does not always happen. I tried but there was nothing more I could do in this situation. KM: At events depending on light, medium and strong winds, sometimes the other riders will be favored? AH: I agree that different winds favor different riders. You are judged on being the most complete rider and this extends across the entire year in different conditions. For me the light wind limit is debatable; how does light wind work for a discipline that heavily involves big air? In my opinion light wind for this format is maximum power on a 13 meter for an average weight rider. We saw this in Germany during the first days. The windier the conditions the better the show, but I think if you have good power on a big kite then understandably the contest can take place.
Ydwer photo
KM: What tricks will riders need to win the Air Games in light-to-medium wind conditions? AH: There are three categories: handlepass, kite loop and big air/board off. In lighter conditions technical difficulty is scoring well, height can be hard to find, so amplitude is considered in combination with maybe a 720 handlepass. Large hooked kiteloops are also impossible on big kites so technical unhooked kiteloop handlepasses get the best score. In these conditions the final category is a tricky one but I would say a board off with multiple rotations could score well if you can find enough hangtime. Others may keep their boots on and try a technical powered trick without handlepass.
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PROFILE | CONT Ydwer photo
KM: And in strong winds? AH: The heat changes slightly; if you can go massive for a powered 720 handlepass I am sure it would score well, but I tend to prefer a huge sent handlepass with some rotations. In very strong wind conditions it is quite risky. For the kiteloop you will see big hooked in kiteloops with rotations, maybe with a board off or even handlepass. For big air most would change to straps for a big board off but it is also possible to go for huge multiple rotations. KM: And what do you need today to become World Champion, in addition to winning the last World Cup title in 2008? AH: Being ten years younger would help a lot! The sport has developed and changed in the years I have been competing. Naturally it is more competitive, but to make it takes much of the same as before. Support from a young age, dedication, talent and
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hard work. It has become more professional. I think coaching, staying injury-free with additional training will become more common. You really have to dedicate yourself to the discipline that you choose. KM: How long will it take for a kitesurfer to dominate the sport like you did between 2004 and 2008? AH: I think there are signs of that happening now. I see Carlos Mario so dominant at the moment as well as young Mika Sol. It is hard to keep it up for so long but for Carlos, he seems to see no pressure, he just loves every moment and his natural talent is incredible. I can see him going on for many years to come. KM: Away from Carlos Mario, you are especially known for your preparation; even on the beach. You do sprints before your heats, stretch, do loosening exercises.
AH: I am pretty much one of the oldest at most events. Having a serious injury changes your preparation, it is something I have to do to stay riding and competing the way I want to. It is actually not too much, just a small routine before I hit the water. Although there is a lot of work off the water away from the beach too.
KM: Aaron, imagine there's both a full Wakestyle and Air Games World Tour in the future. Which one would you choose? AH: At this point I would have to choose the Air Games. The level on the original pure freestyle tour is massive in 2018. I decided to stop last season and without 100 per cent dedication to a single discipline there is no way to stay at the top. I like to do different things,: King of the Air, Rail events like the Triple-S and now the Air Games.
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CORE SURFBOARDS INTERVIEW BY AXEL REESE
Designed in Germany, handcrafted in Portugal
Core Surfboards are being shaped and laminated in the wave spot Peniche on the Portuguese Atlantic coast. What sets them apart from their competitors? A look behind the scenes. Gero Tragatschnig grew up in Münster, Germany and went to the island of Sylt at 17 to do his civilian service. But secretly it was windsurfing and surfing that drew him to the North Sea island in 1984. He soon developed all the skills required to become a shaper; at Paradise Customs Sylt (former German windsurfing brand) he learned the craft using a custom-made forge. He learned lamination, grinding and so on through many successful years on Sylt. He’d work in summer months, and at the latest in November he’d go surfing in Australia, Hawaii and Indonesia.
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Kitesurfing Magazine: Gero, how does a young guy from the island of Sylt come to settle in Portugal? Gero Tragatschnig: Sebastian Wenzel (shaper for the windsurf brand Fanatic) had settled in Guincho/Portugal in 1995 and asked me to train his staff for lamination and grinding. So it happened I had spent my winter in Portugal and surfed regularly at the Portugese hotspots Peniche and Ericeira. And then came the founding of my own business for the production of surfboards in Peniche and also my own brand Fatum. Thomas Lange, former world-class German surfer, cooperated with me in the beginning and in the following years we grew fast. KM: With your production of Core kitesurf wave boards and surfboards under your label Fatum, you are one of the big producers in Portugal. What makes you different? Gero Tragatschnig: We are big, yes, but not too big. Our company achieves a consistently high quality. There are so many variables in surfboard production that can go awry, and there is a need to consistently apply rigorous quality management. KM: And if you would produce more boards? GT: Then you cannot keep the quality, at least permanently, so high. Such negative examples are always to be found by other board manufacturers. Because at some point a detail on the material or in the production stage is not right and then the kitesurfer or surfer does not have the optimal product under his feet. This does
not fit with our corporate philosophy. By the way, this is also the reason Core has their wave boards built by us. KM: What makes Peniche for you? GT: With our production we are at one of the hot spots of the European surfing scene. This pays off in the long run, so that every employee is also an inspired surfer and every detail and every component, starting with CAD milling, backshaping, laminating, grinding and so on can evaluate and strive for maximum quality without end. Furthermore you get to see trends in the market. It cannot be better and more consistent. In contrast, 80 per cent of the world’s surfboard production comes from Asia, and so many variables on the board are intangible, incomprehensible. KM: Asked again, every employee is also a surfer? GT: Absolutely. For example, one employee of mine, Quim, manages to be on the water every day. For me, I’m also out regularly, but I also like to go to special spots, like individual locations in Indonesia or in Panama. KM: You’ve already surfed most of the major waves on the planet. And for almost all conditions you build surfboards. GT: Yes, whether for beginners or advanced surfers and also all board type as well as for all spots. That goes up to special Nazaré boards or for the standing wave at the Eisbach in Munich (legendary surf spot at the river of Eisbach in Munich).
KM: How big are the changes in surfboard shapes these days? GT: There are trends back and forth. For example: surfboards become more surfable for surfers who are on the water for maybe three weeks a year. The boards are sometimes slightly wider and keep the speed on each part of the wave. KM: What exactly are the differences between surfboards and kitesurfing directionals? GT: That’s the joke. The differences of a 6’0” surfboard to 6’0” kiteboard is vanishingly small. The kite is just the tool to get on the wave. I would like to mention three points: 1. The fin placement is different in terms of the angle and the degrees to the board’s longitudinal axis. 2. The rails are a bit sharper in the back area (up to the tail). 3. The rocker course is a bit flatter. KM: What are the advantages of PU/polyester surfboards from your production to the sandwich boards from China? GT: The flex behavior of PU/polyester boards is worlds better. Why is it like that? To be completely honest, we don’t know. Maybe it’s the PU foam that gets softer and softer on the inside, giving the board the unmistakable flex. Or the combination of the PU foam/stringer to the polyester resin? No surfer would get the idea to go on a sandwich board in the wave. And if it were otherwise, maybe we would build sandwich boards too.
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KM: And what are the differences between kitesurfing directionals coming from your production and the boards being made in Asia? GT: Apart from the design, the PU foam is the ultimate. I have been shipping the blanks from South Africa for 25 years because they are a lot better than blanks from other areas. That does not mean that blanks produced in China are basically bad, but there are often significant flaws and the quality is just not that high. The foam core in a board contributes significantly to the surfing characteristics. Important here are the weight, the flex and the resistance. KM: Today you are using a CAD machine for the pre-shape. GT: Yes, and for the last 15 years too. This will not be replaced. The CAD machine achieves very exact shapes within 20 minutes. Only then is it possible to exactly reproduce shapes. This is not possible by hand. KM: And the back shape is another 20 minutes? GT: Yes and that is only cosmetic. I put all the measurements in the computer and so the blank comes with a 100 per cent shape out of the machine. Otherwise it would not be possible to reproduce exactly the same shape on a longer term. Other manufacturers work in another way, but it´s the wrong way. Now there are kitesurfers, as well as surfers, who want to have a completely handcrafted board. But only a few. If so, then that’s the romantic. Do you know what is more important than the shape? The processes of laminating and sanding, meaning the sanding after lamination. Here you have to work very precisely and much bigger mistakes can happen.
of riding a wave cannot be achieved with these constructions. KM: Let’s stay with the PU blank. The more foam you shape away from the blank, the softer the core. GT: And that is why it’s so important to take only as little as possible. Therefore, we strictly align the sizes on the boards that we finally build. Also every six months we get new blanks from Durban/South Africa. What if a delivery of blanks is different? That’s the disaster! Then you can knock a big batch of boards into the trash. I travel to South Africa on a regular basis to keep in contact and to ensure that we get consistently high quality. KM: Also a reason not to grow with the board production? GT: Yes. Otherwise many steps can no longer be controlled to that extent. We aim for the highest possible perfection and could no longer ensure this with a larger company. KM: Change of topic: fins! GT: Fins are very important because the speed with which they are flown is very large. But fins are also a big challenge and there are crucial questions to ask: where do I position the fins, which angle do they have and which material are they? Three factors that are super important, but also there is little or no scientific evidence. KM: Your boards all have a stringer. GT: Yes, also an important topic. We’ve been using only a specific wood for a long time, so we do not have any variances, so we can keep the properties high and keep everything under control.
KM: Are the shapes of the Core wave boards also shapes for riding waves without the kite? GT: Yes, if you have the skills to surf a 5’9” or 6’1”. We have already talked about the minor shape differences. Plus, they’re a bit heavier and more robust than the boards we build for surfing.
KM: How did you come to cooperate with Core? GT: About ten years ago, Bernie Hiss (Core CEO) came here on a stopover to Brazil. He was looking for a production facility for directionals in classic surf construction. And now we manufacture these Core wave boards.
KM: And that’s what you’re doing with the construction methods? GT: The Core wave boards have more glass layers than conventional surfboards. In addition, there is a carbon layer in the area of the tail, in the area of the footstraps and of course the plugs for the footstraps are particularly reinforced. On the other hand, the Core 720 strapless board is already closer to the surfboards, because the pressure exerted by the kitesurfer is much better distributed here. Added to this is the blank. We use five different densities. The density describes the density of the blanks. For an EPS blank for the epoxy sandwich construction this is 25kg/m3 and ours is in the range of 48-60. A blank with a higher density also has a greater resistance.
KM: How are new kitesurf board shapes developed? GT: We receive a briefing and build prototypes, but also from Core certain ideas about shape details come up. These are tested by the team until it comes to the final board.
KM: Thus, a blank takes on the tasks of an epoxy sandwich construction. GT: But that does not give you a coherent overall package. The typical surf feeling
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KM: For more than 20 years you’ve lived here in the wave riding Mecca Peniche. What has changed since this? GT: 20 years ago, almost nothing was here. There were only a few surfers on the water. Surfing has only gradually developed. Nowadays, the spots are already crowded and the surf schools are partly talking about who is out at what time of day with the students. Just think, there are 160 registered surf schools here in Peniche. There are also a number of unofficial schools.
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COMPILED BY SENSI GRAVES The Kite Park League is the premier kiteboarding competition series for professional-level park style kiteboarding. Park style is a stylish and fierce discipline in kiteboarding where riders hit floating obstacles such as kickers, rails and sliders. The 2019 KPL features three stops starting with the Triple-S Invitational in North Carolina, moving on to the Hood Jam in Hood River and ending with the Kite Mansion Open in Tremembe, Brazil. Many more spots are popping up with competitions burgeoning in Poland, Turkey, Russia and more! Meet the leading ladies of the KPL. The women that are crushing it, smashing never-been-done (NBD) before tricks and pushing women’s park riding to the next level.
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KAROLINA WINKOWSKA Age: 28 Home Park: Warsaw Wake Park Country: Poland
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Winkowska visits the home town of Slingshot, Hood River. OR. Bromwich photo
WHAT MOTIVATES YOU ON THE WATER? Better execution. I am always working on my tricks to look better and better. Once I master one rotation, I will try to spend extra time to make it look perfect. It’s easy to get a reward from it, especially if you see it in photos. Simple trick, steezy grab is definitely my goal at the moment. WHAT IS YOUR OFF-THE-WATER TRAINING LIKE? Yoga, surfing, wakeboarding, gym and healthy food. ANY RECOMMENDATIONS FOR LEARNING NEW TRICKS? Lots of practice, always keep changing your routines and tricks. Strong pop and keep your kite lower, as it will be easier to get the slack and pass the handle behind your back!
WHAT WOULD YOU SAY TO ANYONE WANTING TO LEARN TO KITE? Get a trainer kite to give it a go. WHAT INSPIRES YOU? I am inspired mainly by other riders and other boardsports. Always checking out the latest videos from my favorite wakeboarding, snowboarding and kiteboarding athletes. WHY DO YOU LIKE COMPETING ON THE KPL? The KPL is such a great tour, with amazing athletes as well as amazing friends. The style of riding and general philosophy of this tour is definitely what keeps me competing. Rewarding good style, and proper execution has always been my main concern in kiteboarding. I also really like the format where 6-to-8 competitors battle it out, so there are more variables in each heat.
HOW DID YOU GET TO WHERE YOU ARE TODAY? It’s been a long journey for me. I rode freestyle in footstraps for seven years, then changed my riding into a more stylish approach and started using boots. I continued riding in the Freestyle World Tour and won my first world title in 2012. After 10 years on the freestyle world tour and three world titles in my pocket, I decided it was time for me to push my riding even more and challenge myself in the kite park events. This was in 2016, when I decided on pursuing the Kite Park League events including the famous Wind Voyager Triple-S! Three years on the KPL went so fast, as this tour is the most exciting thing for me in kiteboarding.
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Smooth flat water session in Sicily. James Boulding photos
LAUREN HOLMAN Age: 22 Home park: Boarder Pass Wake Park Country: Canada
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WHAT MAKES YOU SO ATTRACTED TO PARK RIDING? Ever since I started kiteboarding, my main focus has been on freestyle progression. Getting into park riding a bit more over the past year or so has allowed me to shift my focus to other aspects of our sport. It’s rewarding and motivating to progress in more than one discipline. The KPL crew is also a pretty unique group to be a part of. From sending it in the park, to putting on very well-organized events, to beach clean-ups; everyone’s head is in the right place and it feels good to be a part of it. WHAT MOTIVATES YOU ON THE WATER? It seems like the limit to what you can learn in the park doesn’t exist. There are so many variations, grabs, rotations and unique styles that you can add to tricks. It’s motivating knowing that I’ll never be, “there.” There will always be something new to learn or improve on. I’m also driven by the high level of riding amongst all the girls. The sheer progression side of things will always push me to try something different, incorporate a new grab and try to build my own unique style in my tricks.
WHAT IS YOUR OFF-THE-WATER TRAINING LIKE? Like many of the girls, I do a lot of yoga and stretching. Runs are part of my daily routine as well. I just went on my first cable trip to Phuket Wake Park in Thailand; that was pretty cool. I’ll definitely try to work in a few more trips like that in my year. Cable consistency is so helpful in learning new tricks that will hopefully carry over to the kite park. ANY RECOMMENDATIONS FOR LEARNING NEW TRICKS? I find the thing that holds me back the most is second-guessing myself. I usually have my biggest crashes when I hesitate or think too much. Visualizing helps, but at a certain point, you just need to go for it. WHAT WOULD YOU SAY TO ANYONE WANTING TO LEARN TO KITE? Kiteboarding can be for anyone of any age. The sport can be what you want it to be, whether you’re in it to learn some unhooked tricks, boost huge or cruise. When it comes down to it, kiteboarding is incredibly fun and it’s something that everyone should have the chance to experience.
TOP BOOK RECOMMENDATION? Good question! I definitely spend a lot of time with my nose in a book on no-wind days. Right now, I’m reading The Friend by Sigrid Nunez. It’s about a woman who loses her best friend and finds herself adopting his great dane. The story follows the woman’s bond with the dog and how they are both dealing with this grief. I’m about halfway through. It’s a great read so far! WHY DO YOU LIKE COMPETING ON THE KPL? It sounds cheesy, but competing on the KPL feels like competing in a league that goes beyond just kiteboarding and competing. Sure, the main aspect is our sport, but the events themselves incorporate so much more. The beach clean-ups, the reusable goodies and so on show that the crew cares about taking care of our playground, which is really the most important part. It’s neat seeing kiteboarding events that don’t lose site of the big picture. I’m still pretty new to the KPL.
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KATIE POTTER Age: 25 Home Park: Melbourne Cable / Hood River Country: Australia WHAT MOTIVATES YOU ON THE WATER? Riding with people better than me and people that are exciting to try something new, talking to friends about what I’ll try next, seeing those friends try and land something new and competing with girls better than me to see how far I can push my riding. Supporting my friends’ success really motivates me and makes my time on the water extra fun. ANY TIPS TO LEARNING NEW TRICKS? I watch lots of cool videos and visualize the trick I’m going to try in my head multiple times. My body also doesn’t do what my brain wants it to do until I try it, so I often need to practice the movement and position of my body off the water to understand how it feels. I ask people who know the trick well what I need to focus on thinking about. I think about each body part individually, because what you do with your head, shoulders, arms, core, legs and board will all impact what the trick looks and feels like.
WHAT WOULD YOU SAY TO ANYONE WANTING TO LEARN TO KITE? Be patient. One thing this sport has taught me more than anything is to be patient, keep trying, enjoy the journey and challenge yourself to learn your tricks in all conditions. WHAT IS YOUR OFF-THE-WATER TRAINING LIKE? I’ve never really done any training off the water. I ride enough as it is to stay strong and I hate the gym because it feels forced and boring. In the last year however I’ve become the biggest fan of Pilates classes with instructors that focus properly on technique. It releases tension in all the tight muscles and activates new muscles that haven’t been used properly. I always walk out of Pilates with my body feeling so much better.
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Katie Potter at the Hood River, Kite Park. Bromwich photo
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Pro-rider and Duotone marketing co-ordinator Colleen Carrol. Bromwich photo
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What makes you so attracted to park riding? Since everyone is focused on a fixed point in the water, taking turns and riding the same obstacles, I find that it’s more social than other disciplines in kiteboarding. Which is not only a benefit of park riding but also a necessity. With park riding, you often have to work together to move obstacles and set up the park which sometimes can seem like a hassle but I think it also makes you feel more invested. I also naturally gravitated towards the park since my home spot is Hood River, Oregon; home to the Slider Project Park and I was enticed by seeing other people riding it everyday. What motivates you on the water? I tend to feel the most motivated when I’m riding with friends who I know are also pushing themselves and working on new tricks. Even if they are attempting totally different tricks to what I’m learning, knowing that they are pushing their own limits inspires me to push past my own.
Any recommendations for learning new tricks? Spend time on the water with kiters who are better than you. If that’s not an option, think about what you’d like to learn and look up instructional videos to understand the basics of what you need to do. Spend time off the water visualizing the new trick and also make sure that you are solid on all of the fundamentals required to take your moves to the next level. If you aren’t sure, take a step back and break down the trick into parts. Start small to go big! What would you say to anyone wanting to learn to kite? As Nike put it: just do it! Don’t wait any longer, do a bit of research and find your local school or look for one with a great reputation and consistent conditions and book a week. You’ll be rocking it in no time. What inspires you? Riding with other kiters who are throwing down, landing new tricks, seeing my lady friends stomp NBDs and witnessing beginner kiteboarders gain their stoke for the sport. Why do you like competing on the KPL? I think the KPL is made up of some of the most passionate kiteboarders on the planet which makes it something pretty incredible to be a part of.
COLLEEN CARROLL Age: 31 Home Park: Slider Project Park, Hood River, OR Country: USA
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Brazil park session. Magarao photos
JULIA CASTRO Age: 24 Home Park: None Country: Spain/Denmark
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WHAT MOTIVATES YOU ON THE WATER? I have a really strong drive for excelling in all I do and making the best out of it. WHAT IS YOUR OFF-THE-WATER TRAINING LIKE? Three times a week, I normally do a gym session that makes me workout my whole body. I try not do to ‘only legs’ or ‘only upper body’ but to do all. I am also trying to focus a bit more on being more flexible and elastic through yoga. ANY RECOMMENDATIONS FOR LEARNING NEW TRICKS? Go little by little and ask the ones that know. I realize now that If I asked for help I would have learned much faster and easier. WHAT WOULD YOU SAY TO ANYONE WANTING TO LEARN TO KITE? What are you waiting for? Well, apart from that I would recommend to anyone that wants to learn to find a good school and once they’ve got their teacher, listen to him like it he is your god. I have the feeling that sometimes people don’t have a lot of confidence in their teacher and that slows down the learning process. WHO DO YOU LOOK UP TO? I’ve always looked up to all the big Spanish athletes: Rafa Nadal, Gisela Pulido, the Moreno Twins.
It really motivates me to see Spanish people having success around the world. WHERE DO YOU HOPE TO SEE WOMEN’S KITEBOARDING TAKE YOU? I am not looking to have women’s kiteboarding take me somewhere but for me to help the situation in which we are. There’s still quite a gap in gender equality and I want to fight to make the situation better for all the ladies killing it out there. HOW DID YOU GET WHERE YOU ARE TODAY? Well, it’s been a lot of effort. I come from a kind of poor family; we are five siblings and money has always been a bit of an issue for my fam so, imagine starting to kite. I’ve put countless hours in the water and I’ve been lucky to count on some awesome sponsors that believed in me and helped me be where I am today. WHAT TRICK DID YOU LAND AT THE 2018 HOOD JAM THAT GOT YOU THAT NEVER-BEEN-DONE BEFORE NINE-POINT SCORE? I did a Heelside 90 in to Board, 270 out. I’ve practiced this trick a lot during my winters in the wakepark in the Philippines and when I saw the obstacle (Cabrinha Box) set up I knew I had to try it. During the warmups, I did not dare to do it and then, in my second hit, I went for it. And it worked! The feeling was awesome! It was the first time I heard everyone cheering for me. I can’t get that moment out of my head. kitesurfingmag.com
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Big ups to Sensi for helping put this article together. Bromwich photos
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SENSI GRAVES Age: 30 Home Park: Slider Project Park in Hood River, OR Country: USA WHAT MAKES YOU SO ATTRACTED TO PARK RIDING? Park riding has always been the discipline in kiteboarding that I’m most attracted to. I love the feeling of sliding over the bits of plastic. I love styling out a press or trying to get technical on the features. It’s a great culture to be a part of and I find it to be super fun and engaging. WHAT MOTIVATES YOU ON THE WATER? Riding with other men and women that are better than me is the best on-the-water motivation. I particularly like riding with women because I can identify more with where they’re at. It’s much easier for me to think, “if she can do it, I can do it!” However, riding with anyone that’s just a bit better than me is inspiring and encourages me to try new things. WHAT IS YOUR OFF-THE-WATER TRAINING LIKE? I incorporate a daily circuit and weight training regimen to keep my muscles strong. I mix in cardio when I’m feeling it. I also practice yoga a few times a week and pay particular focus to my upper back and shoulders which get really hunched and tight from kiteboarding. I also do a lot of massage, foam rolling, acupuncture, heat therapy and general muscle maintenance.
TOP BOOK RECOMMENDATION? You are a Badass by Jen Sincero. WHY DO YOU LIKE COMPETING ON THE KPL? I’ve been competing in park riding for almost seven years now and still my favorite part of competing remains getting to hang out with the other riders in various locales around the world. The KPL is truly a family and I enjoy catching up and hanging out with everyone. I know our group can seem intimidating from the outside, but the individuals on our tour are some of my favorite humans. WHAT GOT YOU WHERE YOU ARE TODAY? Consistency, resilience and a willingness to try.
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A classic summer day in The Gorge. Bromwich photo
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ANNELOUS LAMMERTS Age: 25 Home Park: TerHills Cable Park in Belgium. Country: Netherlands
WHAT MAKES YOU SO ATTRACTED TO PARK RIDING? There are so many different tricks to do and you can get really creative with the set-up. After doing mainly freestyle for a few years I was looking for a new challenge and park riding opened a whole new world. Park riding is inspired by other board sports more than any other discipline. What I really enjoy as well is combining park riding and freestyle. In Brazil I would do an air trick and without hooking back in I would hit two more rails in a line. There are really just so many different lines to do and it really pushes you to go switch and spin both ways since it doesn’t look good to switch stance or change your leash in a line. WHAT MOTIVATES YOU ON THE WATER? Progression. Since I started kiteboarding I had this drive to learn new things every session and I still have that. Progressing is so much fun and there are always so many little things that you can improve to make your riding look better. Progression is not only about learning new tricks, but also learning new grabs, grabbing longer, pressing more on the rails, going bigger off the kicker, being more locked in on rails and so on. WHAT IS YOUR OFF-THE-WATER TRAINING LIKE? When I’m not kiteboarding I try to stay super active and mostly I still try to do other sports on the water. At home I like to wakeboard when it’s not windy, surf when there are waves and when there is light wind I still go foiling most of the days. I also
like cycling, running and doing workouts on the beach and when it’s too cold outside I go to the gym. I also stretch everyday after doing sports. TOP BOOK RECOMMENDATION? I would recommend everyone to read We Are Our Brains by Dutch physician and neurobiologist D.F. Swaab. It is an easy to read book and it explains so much about why people are how they are. I think if everyone would read this book people would judge each other less, accept each other more and understand each other better. People would be more open minded and there would be so much less racism. WHAT INSPIRES YOU? What inspires me the most are other athletes: whether it is in kiteboarding or other sports. I love to watch videos of not only kiteboarding but of pretty much all boardsports. Watching women kill it in their sport is definitely inspiring since it can be more relatable. WHO DO YOU LOOK UP TO? There are a lot of different people that inspire me and that I look up to. I look up to a lot of athletes and there are so many women killing it at the moment. Like skateboarder Lacy Baker, wakeboarder Anna Nikstad and snowboarder Anna Gasser are just a few examples! They are all amazing at what they do and make it look so good. I love to look at their riding and it influences my riding as well!
WHY DO YOU LIKE COMPETING ON THE KPL? I have always liked to compete and I have been competing in freestyle, big air and slalom racing for quite some years before I started to compete on the KPL. Competing is an extra motivation to progress and to make sure you can do your tricks in any condition and under pressure. Before and during the competition you are riding with the best kiteboarders in the world so whether you perform good or not, it definitely motivates you to improve even faster. I really like to compete on the KPL because the tour is really pushing kiteboarding in the direction that I want to see the sport going. I agree with the judging criteria, the stops are hosted in really good locations and last but not least the vibes on tour are really good! WHERE DO YOU HOPE TO SEE WOMEN’S KITEBOARDING TAKE YOU? Kiteboarding has taken me all over the world and that was something I could only dream of when I started kiteboarding. There are still so many tricks I want to learn, not because other women haven’t done them yet, but because I know women can do them. I still want to film a big video part and keep competing with the best kiteboarders. I guess all these points are not really specific to women’s kiteboarding, but I think if we all keep pushing the sport we can inspire more and more women to start kiteboarding too.
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The Wind Voyager Triple-S event in Cape Hatteras is one of the biggest prize money events in kiteboarding! Bromwich photo
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ISSY VON ZASTROW Age: 25 Home Park: Hood River Country: Half American, half Kenyan. WHAT INSPIRES YOU ON THE WATER? Park riding never ceases to inspire me due to the ever-changing elements in the park. My imagination can run in all different directions with the diverse combinations of rails and kickers. No session is the same especially while riding with all the talented KPL riders showing their own style. WHAT MOTIVATES YOU OFF THE WATER? When I am not under a kite, I try my best to be on a board in any other sport. Whether it is snowboarding, wakeboarding or surfing, a board is a board and it helps my comfort level to try new tricks. When shredding isn’t an option, I like to bike for stamina but I will do anything that keeps me active! WHERE DO YOU HOPE TO SEE WOMEN’S KITEBOARDING TAKE YOU? Kiteboarding is going to lead me to new adventures where I can push my limits. I hope it takes me closer to joy and personally that means outside my comfort zone. I want to push women’s kiteboarding where it hasn’t gone before. ANY TIPS TO LEARN NEW TRICKS? While learning new tricks, my first advice is to visualize over and over and over again. Even more important than that, I suggest having fun. Associate your new trick with joy by bringing positivity around landing it and how good you will feel when you stick it! kitesurfingmag.com
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WORDS BY LUCAS ARSENAULT AND EVAN NETSCH PHOTOS BY NIK GANDERTON AND JUSTIN BRUNS Every fall hundreds of kiteboarders migrate to the well-known windy paradise of Brazil. Evan Netsch and Lucas Arsenault usually meet up at this time of year somewhere within the state of Cearรก. Brazil gets a lot of exposure and publicity. With wind all day and all night for weeks on end. It is so consistent pro riders can actually lose motivation, they become picky, and even begin to lose appreciation for getting on the water. They take days off, maybe only kiting right at sunset to avoid the heat of the day. Three different kiteboarding events would coincide in the state of Cearรก within a few weeks of each other. Both Evan and Lucas would go their own ways to attend two different events after a week spent in the small but very popular town of Taiba. This is their story.
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Buggies are a must to get your front row lagoon parking spot.
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Lucas grinding his way through the Kite Park League event at Kite Mansion. Ganderton photo
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CHAPTER I: TAIBA Lucas Arsenault: Taiba is never home to any events, nor does it have that huge of a name as a destination but its popularity is growing as it sits next to the bustling town of Combuco only a short drive away. Home to some of the biggest lagoons and even decent swell and being just slightly off the beaten path, this fall we found some pretty insane crowds here. With the WKL freestyle event just weeks away in Combuco, the Kite Park League event in Icapui and the GKA Strapless event a couple hours north in Preá, there were riders from all three of these world tours training on the same small stretch of beach. We have both spent our fair share of time at this lagoon and with the growing crowds we decided it was time to do some exploring for the week we were in Taiba and break free from the chaos in the main lagoon. While much of the Brazil coastline may look desolate and beaten by the constant driving winds it is beautiful, raw and unique. Local fisherman rely on the constant wind to sail miles offshore in handmade boats that are little more than a wooden skeleton filled with plastic bottles and miscellaneous pieces of foam to keep afloat. Trees are sculpted by the blasting salt air dunes that go on for hundreds of kilometers and wind turbines provide the vast majority of power to the region. It is an area where humans and nature live in harmony as well as anywhere I have seen in the world. Over the years of visiting Brazil, we’ve both had some of the best sessions of our lives along different parts of the coast. Evan was extremely determined to recreate what he remembered being his, “best Brazil session,” in the neighboring village of Pecem. Back five years ago, Evan and a few friends scored a dreamy session lining up perfect wave kickers in Pecem. He constantly talked about it and finally convinced me it would be worth checking out. This turned out to be one of the biggest missions of the trip. So late one afternoon we packed our things and set out for Pecem. There was swell in the water from a large Atlantic storm thousands of miles away and while the wave never really gets big at Pecem it lines up perfect and the spot looked amazing. The wind was blowing side off shore, directly downwind from the large shipping port. The tide was low and starting to rise as the kickers shaped up perfectly. Evan and Nik, who shot the majority of this feature, fully stoked, rushed out to the water and the wind quickly dropped and shifted just slightly more offshore really creating too much of a wind shadow for the spot.
We only had a few hits each so decided to stick around in case the wind would come back, but it never did. We only had a short 30-minute beach buggy ride back home so just as the sun neared the horizon we finally decided to head back to town. For those who have driven a Brazilian buggy before, you’ll know how difficult a salty windshield is to see out of when it’s dark; it’s nearly impossible to see three feet in front of the buggy. Brazil is amazing for beach driving. The roads are rough and bumpy and can be fairly indirect, so when you have the opportunity to ride a flat beach, you take it. On another note, if you are on the beach you likely have one of these sand buggies. They are literally the most unreliable vehicles. If you make it two weeks without issues, you’re a hero. Surprisingly, returning from our unsuccessful Pecem adventure, we made it to Taiba safely. However, arriving near our apartment, it was necessary to take a wide turn to give ourselves room to climb the steep beach and hit the soft sand hill with a bit of speed. As I turned wide, the buggy sank like a rock in the wet sand. No chance that thing was moving. Even a light vehicle in wet sand is not a good combination. Better yet, it was dark and the tide was rising so every minute was crucial. Between four of us pushing, that buggy didn’t move an inch. This was most definitely the worst feeling considering it was my credit card on the line for this buggy. A half hour went by and we tried countless methods but this buggy wasn’t moving one bit. At this point, I took off on the streets looking for a truck, tractor, a pack of mules or anything with the potential of pulling our buggy out. As I left, the tide line was just touching the rear wheels. Using the Google translate app on my phone, I was able to communicate with local Brazilians and find a tractor. I was thrilled and shocked to say the least, as this must have been the first tractor I’ve ever seen in Brazil throughout the years. We quickly rushed back to the beach. As I arrived, our friends, Noé and Aaron, had shown up with a 4x4 truck and managed to pull out the buggy. At this point the little buggy was getting swamped by the shorebreak, the fiberglass body filled with water as high as the steering wheel. It took a few strong ropes and eventually they were able to pop it out of that wet, heavy sand. Moral of the story, don’t drive your buggy near the tide line at night. Looking back, I highly regret not taking any photos during this event. However, I guess I had bigger issues to solve. Pretty clear why most of these things have finicky
electronics and aren’t known for their reliability. After calling the guy we rented from, he advised us just to get it regreased and it should be fine! Sure enough in the next week to come it was no worse for the wear. Evan Netsch: This was our only trip to Pecem, while we never did get the amazing conditions that we reminisced about from a trip years before there were many other nearby spots we were keen to explore. While we were staying right next to the Taiba lagoon we made it a point every day to travel and ride a new unique place, even if it was not a better riding spot. Kiting in new locations always seems to inspire new ideas, and ultimately makes you a better rider. We explored a nearby spot called, “Secret Spot,” which is not so secret as it was equally or more crowded as the lagoon. We stayed there for all of about five minutes before continuing on to Paracuru. Paracuru is a really cool riding spot and unlike a lot of Brazil we have seen. While it is no secret either, it has a nice outer reef and actually can have some decent waves. It reminds me a lot of Kite Beach in Caberete, D.R. It’s a soft right hand wave, side onshore wind with a fairly large semi-flat inside section between the wave and the beach filled with everyone from local pros to kite schools giving lessons, giving it a fairly chaotic feeling. While Paracuru has a bit of something for everyone we decided to venture on, ending up at Cobra Lagoon. Cobra Lagoon is known for its expansive riding area, clean waters and lack of cattle dung along the shoreline.... or not. While this might hardly qualify as a good riding spot we had an amazing time. Our only visitor was a local security guard for the turbines who drove by, likely confused by what a couple gringos were doing in the puddle, then left to go about his day. The drafts coming off the wind turbines made for some interesting wind adding just a little extra challenge and we left with our kites poo-stained from crashing on the beach. We made sure to crash with our mouths closed and washed our ears out with alcohol after the sessions. But as miserable as that sounds it all came together and was pure fun. So after a week of goofing around in Taiba, while everyone was preparing for their events, it was time we parted ways. Lucas would be heading south to the Kite Park League event while I would be heading north to take part in the Global Kitesports Association Strapless Tour in Preá.
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The Kite Park League team paying it forward to the local community in Icapui just before the event started.
Lucas pruning the lawn in an unnamed lagoon somewhere north of Combuco.
Evan and Lucas maxing out the capacity in what was already a questionably small lagoon.
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Evan grabbing for the camera. Apparently the turbulent wind coming past the turbines made for some interesting drafts, gusts and wind holes. Ganderton photos
Over the years of visiting Brazil, we’ve both had some of the best sessions of our lives along different parts of the coast. Evan was extremely determined to recreate what he remembered being his, “best Brazil session,” kitesurfingmag.com
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CHAPTER II: ICAPUI KITE MANSION OPEN Lucas enjoying an early morning session for himself before the crowd kicks in around 8:30am.
The Kite Mansion marks a new beginning within the world of kite parks. This was by far the most unique event format ever completed by the Kite Park League. Lucas: As the news came out that the Kite Mansion was hosting a KPL event in Brazil, I knew this year was going be our best yet. Not only was a kite park formed in the glorious wind land, but also a new destination within Brazil is being discovered and put on the map. The Kite Mansion is located approximately three hours south of Fortaleza airport in a small town called Icapui. The usual routine is traveling north, and the further you go, the windier it gets. Turns out, the same effect happens when traveling south. The Kite Mansion is a luxurious pousada that provides service fit for royalty. It includes breakfast, an amazing restaurant, pool, ocean-front kiteboarding and much more. The kite park is found in a small river mouth just a few minutes down the beach from the Kite Mansion. A 4x4 is not required as the sand is hard-packed and easily accessible. The park consists of a few handrails and a perfectly constructed kicker. It’s a tidal spot, so you cannot access the lagoon at the highest tides. It’s important to speak with the locals and understand how
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to store the rails and safely use the park if you plan on making the journey out yourself. The Kite Mansion marks a new beginning within the world of kite parks. This was by far the most unique event format ever completed by the Kite Park League. The two biggest changes were handrail features instead of normal, wider plastic floating boxes, and the new ‘line’ format. Instead of being scored on one single feature on a scale based from 0-10, we lined up for two rails. As for the rails there is a big difference between a nice, wide, floating plastic boxstyle rail and a real metal handrail. Not only is a small round rail more challenging, it is not enclosed so if you fall on the upwind side, you run the risk of wrapping yourself around a metal leg. Not to mention, the salt takes its toll on metal quickly and just the rusty metal alone is much more intimidating. The goal is to complete a different move on each feature, maintaining a solid flow between each rail. Judging is based on the whole performance instead of just a single feature. The goal was to hit the first feature,
land your manoeuvre, continue downwind remaining unhooked down the line, and perform another move on the following feature. The score was based on a 25 point scale: 10 points for the first feature, 5 points flow between features, and 10 points for the last feature. Each rider had four attempts and their best one counted. Along with this, your best kicker hit from both the left and right side is added to your score. It’s a challenging event with a unique format and it’s nice to see events breaking free from the standard formats. Just to be invited and part of this event is amazing. Kiteboarding is a small sport and while everyone is a competitor on the water, everyone is friends off the water. It really does give the push to everyone ultimately pushing the riding level of the sport as a whole. While I missed qualifying for the finals by just a few points I did have one of my personal best events and one of the best parts of events is the satisfaction of feeling your own riding progress.
Evan clearing the gap between two lagoons and keeping an eye on the ride. Ganderton photos
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Small and large local fishing boats in Prea go out in the mornings,and evenings. The rest of the time they live on moorings just offshore. Bruns photos
The scene from the air during the GKA tour stop in front of Rancho Do Kite, in Prea.
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The infamous Mosquito enjoying his office with Evan Netsch and Matt Elsasser at the Rancho Do Kite school during on the beach in Prea.
CHAPTER III : PREÁ GKA CEARÁ KITE PRO Evan: So while Lucas traveled south to find some new flatwater and light winder wind for the park event, I made my way about four hours north where the wind is a bit stronger to check in with Rancho do Kite and step back onto the world tour for the last stop of the season. After a string of small injuries the last pro event I did was the GKA stop in Morocco in the fall of 2016. While I have never had the skill or time to follow the full tour I have done a few events over the years and in the past have been very consistent in my finishes. Keeping an eye on the tour from a distance I knew the riding level had gone up a lot since my last event, which for me took the pressure off; I had no expectations to do well and was simply there for the sake of it and to enjoy the event. It had not been that long since I was last at Rancho do Kite. It is an iconic location within Brazil and the kiteboarding community and a topend resort and kite school run by the unmistakable legend Mosquito and his wife Vanessa. The kite school is one of the largest, if not the single largest in the world, and the resort and kite school work in unison; both powered by the unrelenting wind that scours the long coastline of the entire state of Ceará. For most people around the world to be able to kite a few days a week after work or be lucky enough to actually have a windy day coincide with a weekend is a treat. For most of us wind is just not that reliable or forecastable. When it is good you better go, or else you miss it, as simple as that. But in Brazil things are different. There is no checking the forecast, or wondering if it will be windy tomorrow, or next week. If you are
there in the windy season, it will be windy, all day, it’s as simple as that. Most contests have a waiting period, or at least a time frame within the day where you check in to see if the conditions are up to par yet or not. But not here, not in Preá, Brazil. The rider meeting is at 8 a.m. First possible start at 10 a.m. and that is that. No delays, no waiting, no wondering, no wasted time. Heats all day, every day for four days and a result is in. Something that is unique and spectacular in its own regard. For the average rider or student in town this is something just as valuable; no off days. We arrived a few days prior to the event starting. I knew that once the event started the days would go by in a whirlwind and having a few days to enjoy the area before the event would be worthwhile. With a fun section of small waves downwind from the resort, escaping the crowd and slowly making your way downwind toward the town of Jeri is an easy way to explore and have some space to yourself. After a few mellow days of exploring the area with friends, the event was on and the schedule was set. Along with a few friends that came down for the event, I met up with fellow Cabrinha teammates Matt Elsasser and Keahi de Aboitiz who flew in for the event. Mosquito and Vanessa set us all up with an amazing house, front and center, within the Rancho do Peixe resort. About a 30-second walk to the beach and overlooking the event site from our front porch, living was easy for all of us for the week. True to my form and frankly surprising myself, I finished up in the exact position I have in each event before, getting knocked out
by the unstoppable Airton in the quarter finals who went on to win the event and the overall tour for 2018. At 4 a.m. the next morning we were up and in a taxi headed back to different homes across the US and around the world. While we were without any plans of meeting up again we all knew it would not be long until we crossed paths, whether it be another event or just a trip in search of wind or surf. Meanwhile Lucas, a few hours to the south in Brazil, would continue his time in paradise for a few more weeks heading back to his home away-from-home of Taiba. For many kiters, Brazil is a destination that is as sure as any in the annual schedule. Whether it be to ride flatwater in a lagoon, compete on one of many world tours event, hit rails or even ride waves, it is one of the few locations in the world that is an icon in the kiteboarding world.
Keeping an eye on the tour from a distance I knew the riding level had gone up a lot since my last event, which for me took the pressure off; I had no expectations to do well and was simply there for the sake of it and to enjoy the event.
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BIG AIR KITES WITH EXPLOSIVE LIFT AND EXTRA HANG TIME There’s no mystery why the Red Bull King of the Air contest still dominates the kite world as one of the most watched title events; jumping is at the heart of kiteboarding and it never grows old. Kiteboarders love to do it and it’s one of the most visually spectacular aspects of kiteboarding. Over the past few seasons the popularity of this old school style of riding has experienced a resurgence. This specific style of riding consists of big, hooked-in jumps combined with some spins or flips and often the removal of one or more feet from the foot straps of the board. These big air, boardoff manoeuvres require a kite with lots of lift and extra hang time. Every brand has at least one model of kite they consider their big boosting model in their lineup. In this round of testing the Kitesurfing test team compiled an assortment of the best big jumping models and put them in a head-to-head test format. There are three sub-categories in this big air grouping of nine kites. They include the newest breed of big boosting models, followed by some more of the versatile do-it-all kite models that are amazing at boosting huge and finally a pair of popular, classic freeride models that have big air fused into their freeride DNA.
SPECIALTY JUMPING MASTERS FOR EXTRA LIFT AND GLIDE In response to the rising demand for kites with big boost and glide capability, a few brands are building kites that are extra efficient at lifting to the stratosphere even if the wind isn’t necessarily pumping. The Airush Vantage, the Liquid Force P1, and the Cabrinha AV8 are three examples of the new breed of big lift, specialty kites. They feature similar design platforms with a longer and narrow canopy shape that’s fully supported with five struts. The swept and narrowed wingtips also add to their stability and extra wide wind range. These kites tend to sit more forward in the wind window, pull solidly from front lines and offer amazing upwind drive. Their long narrow shape also makes for wider, sweeping turns that can generate some extra power and pull. This can make these models more technical to fly but they reward honed skills with more range and extra lift and hang time. Low end power is similar on all three but test riders felt the Airush Vantage had the most efficient light wind power generation. The Vantage has some race functionality as well, so it offers some added low end power and performance and the most aggressive and efficient lift and drift in the lighter winds. It is more technical to fly than the other two however, with the Cabrinha AV8 taking the podium for the easiest kite to boost with. The AV8 had the classic Cabrinha feel with smooth pull and a big sweet spot. It was the easiest of the three to boost with and offered good amounts of hang time. The Cabrinha may be the best suited of the three to more intermediate skill levels, with its simple jumping formula that offers easy, sheet-in-and-lift-off feel with good upward pull and enhanced glide. The Liquid Force P1 was a standout for being incredibly efficient at jumping and staying airborne for long distances. It also features some sporty handling with quicker reaction and turn initiation than the other two. The P1 also goes big, has an easy to find sweet spot and offers quicker pivotal turns that assist in landings from the massive hang time that it delivers. All three are top choices for any rider that wants a kite that jumps big and pulls fast upwind. Look to the AV8 for the classic smooth, Cabrinha pull and more effortless hang time. For a kite with the most efficient low end, and greater lift in the lighter breeze, the Airush Vantage is the ticket. For more sporty performance that can better crossover into other disciplines of freeride, the Liquid Force P1 can adapt better to other freeride categories.
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HIGH PERFORMANCE CROSSOVER KITES THAT BOOST HUGE The most popular kite models of any brand’s line are the versatile freeride design thatcan dabble in several of the freeride disciplines of hooked freeride jumping, unhooked freestyle or waves. The Naish Pivot, the Eleveight RS, the Ocean Rodeo Razor and Slingshot’s new RPM, are four kites that are the more aggressive, jumping kites in their respective kite line, but they aren’t dedicated big boosting or race-oriented kites. These kites have more of a mid-aspect ratio shape with wider mid points and more compact, tighter arced leading edges than the first group. The Naish Pivot needs no introduction as a great jumping kite. Naish pro rider, Kevin Langeree won the King of the Air competition on the Pivot in both 2018 and 2019. The Pivot’s extensive lift and mad hang time is accentuated by its amazing control and smooth quick flight across the window and at high angles of attack. The Pivot gets back when you need it to and its smooth pull make it really fun to boost with. The Pivot also has lots of low end pull, and strong and definitive power with a straight forward sheet- in-and -go feel. It’s a high performance kite that anyone can handle. The Eleveight RS is a big jumping crossover kite as well, and it mimics the Pivot’s ability to jump easily and respond with quick pivotal turns. The RS has some slightly more pull through the turn than Pivot but offers nice light-touch steering and good feedback. The lighter three-strut frames of the Pivot and RS give them more efficient lift and hang time and the reactivity and control give any rider the confidence to go big. The Eleveight has a slightly softer, less aggressive pull than the Pivot but both get top marks for jumping. The Eleveight RS and Naish Pivot aren’t as comfortable to hang on to for unhooked freestyle as the Ocean Rodeo Razor or the Slingshot RPM. The wider, squared-off wingtips and more squared shape and C-shaped leading edge give these kites better performance for unhooked freestyle. They deliver great pop when the lines are loaded up for an unhooked freestyle jump and grant that nice slack on the back lines that’s ideal for handlepasses and more complex wakestyle manoeuvres. The Ocean Rodeo Razor and RPM also have amazing boosting ability with aggressive but smooth and consistent pop and good lift. The Razor, with its FST tips has more sensitive turn intuition while depowered, giving it the edge in the upper wind range over the group. While the ultra-wide tips, big sweet spot and smooth pull of the RPM define its big pop and smooth looping character. Both the RPM and Razor sit further back in the window than the Pivot or RS and both have more pull through their loop. The Razor and RPM may have slightly less hang time than the RS or Pivot, but they have better, more significant power through the kite loop. This can add to the hang time of these kites while doing big jumps and mega loops in fully-powered or over-powered conditions. Riders that want a kite that can unhook and play in the park and slick should consider the Ocean Rodeo Razor and Slingshot RPM. They offer better unhooked freestyle performance and reward the aggressive rider with more performance in their upper wind range.
LEGENDS OF BIG AIR The Duotone Rebel and the Core XR5 are top freeride kites that are renowned fortheir big air capability. The kiteboarders that ride the Rebel or the XR5 will put a strong emphasis on their kite’s jumping and hang time performance. Both these kites feature a flatter canopy, slightly higher aspect ratio and are supported by five struts. This structure gives them more range in the upper end and keeps things controlled and comfortable in overpowered conditions. The Rebel and XR5 fly more forward in the window and have incredible amounts of wind range. The new Rebel has had the most significant evolutionary changes over the past two models. No longer supported by a loaded 5thline bridle set up, the new Rebel is a more fluid and lighter feeling kite than previous versions and this makes it easier to fly and squeeze extra lift and height from. The Rebel has good low end power delivery that’s not quite as grunty as the XR5. The Rebel however, excels over the XR5 in the upper wind range and remains solid and reactive when pushed into its upper wind range. Having good control and wide upper-end wind range can be a key factor for pulling off those stratospheric jumps. The Rebel provides the most direct feedback and can be easily tracked while performing mega boosts. The lighter touch steering of this year’s Rebel makes it easier to use its sweeping turns to generate some extra power through transitions or loading up for a jump. The Core XR5 might be the easiest kite to go big on that’s ever been made. It’s the kite that makes almost any level of kiteboarder a jumping hero. The XR5 unique bridle system is designed to flatten the canopy when sheeted in and increases the arc as it sheets out. This grants the kite more effortless hang time and increases efficiency of low end power. With more power and lots of easy glide with the kite overhead, the XR5 has less need of the proper timing and load to get that extra height and drift. Simply send it and sheet in and the XR5 sends you airborne for longer than you’re accustomed to on any other kite. If you have slightly less experience going big, the Core XR5 might be the better choice, but If you want to boost huge and far while riding in you kite’s upper wind range, the Duotone Rebel might be the ultimate weapon.
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Big air kites dominate the King of the Air. Kevin Langeree soars on his Naish Pivot. Ywder photo
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AIRUSH VANTAGE SIZES TESTED (M): 11, 13 / SIZES AVAILABLE (M): 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19 / CONTROL BAR: CORE CLEAT BAR V4
REVIEW SYNOPSIS The Airush Vantage is a light wind boosting machine that offers solid pull, impressive lift and fast and slick upwind drive. THE TRADE OFF Harder to get the timing down to boost with this kite but rewards the skilled big booster with unparalleled hang time. BEST FOR The rider that wants a light wind boosting machine that will pull them fast and get them back upwind to do it again.
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THE GOOD STUFF The Airush Vantage is a race inspired design that delivers incredibly efficient lift and upwind drive. With its long and narrow shape it sits very forward in the wind window and drives with good power and slick pull speed. Airush has done an exceptional job at keeping their kites light and efficient and their exclusive Load Frame technology eliminates heavier Dacron panels while keeping the canopy strong and reinforced at the same time. The Vantage’s light weight and powerful canopy ensure good levels of low end grunt, especially for the more skilled pilots that can employ some sweeping turns to generate that extra lift and power. Test team riders were impressed with the overall balance, responsiveness and light wind efficiency of the Vantage. This kite responds and turns at a quick pace which is key because long, narrow kites can take extra time to transition but the Vantage feels surprisingly quick and reactive. Long and narrow kites inevitably take more time to pivot but the Vantage moves quick through the turn when you need it to and it doesn’t fatigue your forearms and elbows when flown aggressively. The Vantage performs a helmet down water relaunch surprisingly well, despite its narrow central shape. Count on the Vantage also for good levels of depower and range as this kite sits forward and continues pulling solidly in the upper wind range. With the right timing the Vantage offers absolutely soaring hang time and massive lift. Even in light winds the Vantage can find some great height and distance. If fast riding freeriding and boosting lofty airs is the number one priority in kite performance, the Airush Vantage will not disappoint you. Best suited for intermediate-to-advanced skill levels that can anticipate the pull and flow of a high aspect ratio kite.
CABRINHA AV8 SIZES TESTED (M): 12 / SIZES AVAILABLE (M): 9, 11, 14 / CONTROL BAR: OVERDRIVE
REVIEW SYNOPSIS Classic Cabrinha feel with easy to access lift and tons of extra hang time. TRADE OFF Slightly more bar pressure and less versatility then some of the other good jumping Cabrinha kites, like the Switchblade. BEST FOR Intermediate-to-advanced riders that want more hang time and easy sheet-in and boosting.
THE GOOD STUFF The AV8 is Cabrinha’s answer to the growing trend of boosting big and throwing down old school board off manoeuvres. When Cabrinha introduced their legendary bow kite the Crossbow, it was loved by so many for its ability to boost and glide long distances and without much effort or that perfect timing required by some high aspect designs. The AV8 follows this design philosophy and keeps things consistent with that legendary Cabrinha feel that’s much loved by so many. Following the formula that guarantees great hang time and lift, the AV8 features a flat and higher aspect canopy that’s supported with five struts. Slightly more bar pressure for turning, the AV8 sheets in and boosts with the best of them. It also sits more forward in the window but has an easy sweet spot to find. Bar pressure is moderate when aggressively worked, and the AV8 delivers some smooth power through its sweeping turns. Not a kite for unhooked freestyle, the AV8 pulls fast and drives upwind. This kite is designed for optimum hang time so riders can work on their high altitude manoeuvres.
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ELEVEIGHT RS SIZES TESTED (M): 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 / SIZES AVAILABLE (M): 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 14, 17 / CONTROL BAR: CS VARY BAR
REVIEW SYNOPSIS The RS is playful and precise, Eleveight’s got it dialled for well-rounded performance and sporty handling to reach into any level and discipline. TRADE OFF Not as great for unhooked freestyle, and maybe less low end than some of the other big boosting freeride kites. BEST FOR The freeride lover that wants a good boosting kite, that’s reactive and quick in any scenario. The RS rivals some of the top all terrain kites that have become legends.
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THE GOOD STUFF The Eleveight brand arrived last year with lots of test-winning success across its kite line. With a few design tweaks in 2019 and the new X4 Teijin Ripstop canopy material, they are showing no signs of slowing down. Designated as the freeride crossover kite in the Eleveight lineup, the RS was well received last year by kiters that like to jump big and have a kite that offers some playful hang time. The RS is designed around a three-strut platform and features a Delta Hybrid canopy shaping which is a classic and proven design shape for well-rounded performance. The RS feels light, crisp and solid in the air and offers quick steering and turn initiation and solid and direct feedback from the kite. This kite also has good low end power and has enough light weight design features to let the RS excel in light air for some light wind foil sessions. The RS is also surprisingly easy to boost and offers great hang time. It holds its own against some of the top big boosting kites of the test. In the air the RS has easy to access power and offers smooth pull and can perform more drawn out turns, but also responds to more aggressive input, with some quick, smooth pulling turns. This is a kite that can be flown aggressively and it rewards the rider with smooth and predictable steering and even pull. The new features on the control system add to the overall finish and quality package that Eleveight offers for 2019. This kite has easy access and high end performance for a broad range of riders. With top-of-the-line materials and quality kite design and performance, the Eleveight RS is a great choice for the multi-disciplined, freeride junkie that wants a great jumping kite.
LIQUID FORCE P1 SIZES TESTED (M): 7, 9 / SIZES AVAILABLE (M): 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13.5, 15 / CONTROL BAR: MISSION CONTROL BAR
REVIEW SYNOPSIS If you want to ride fast and boost big, the P1 has the horsepower and handling of a high performance kite that anyone can use. TRADE OFF Less options for unhooked freestyle with the P1 and it flutters a bit at high angles of attack or when looped at higher angles. BEST FOR Freeride cruisers to advanced riders that want extra lift and glide in jumps, from a quick handling and fast pulling kite that offers more power and range per square meter.
THE GOOD STUFF The Liquid Force P1 answers the call to a freeride kite that boosts and hangs with the best of them. With extended range and upwind drive, the P1’s features include a five-strut canopy that is flat and powerful and it gives this kite ton of easy-to-find lift. The efficient wing is reactive and smooth across the window and the swept and narrowed tips also give this kite lots of range as it sits forward and drives upwind easily. Sheet-in-and-go performance with plenty of lift and quick pivotal turning, the P1 feels light and reactive in the sky. Test riders were impressed with quick pivotal turns and the playful and reactive performance of the P1. This is a kite you can drive hard and it will keep delivering. Easy to boost, with lots of hang time, the P1 reacts quickly to rider input and its light touch steering and quick pivotal turns are useful for ensuring soft landings. With lots of low end power and depower and overall wind range, the P1 may feel bigger with more power than its size suggests. It’s also light and playful enough for light wind foiling, with great upwind drive, just keep the kite size down. Not the best unhooked freestyle, the P1 is well suited to the freerider that loves to boost. The P1 is well suited for most skill levels and dishes out no surprises with good water relaunch, stable and predictable flight.
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NAISH PIVOT SIZES TESTED (M): 9, 12 / SIZES AVAILABLE (M): 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 ,10, 11, 12 ,14 / CONTROL BAR: TORQUE ATB
REVIEW SYNOPSIS Winner of the Red Bull’s King of the Air in 2018, the Pivot has highly refined, all terrain performance that adapts to waves, freeride or big air. TRADE OFF If you are only strapless riding waves and don’t care to jump or freeride, the Pivot has more power and lift than some might care for. BEST FOR Intermediate-to-advanced riders that want a freeride kite that can boost big but also has the power range and versatility for a wide range of conditions and riding disciplines.
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THE GOOD STUFF The entire Naish lineup of kites has been dialled into some added level of performance with some weight reductions, a bladder lock system and a new leading edge seam that’s many times stronger than anything ever before it. These additions and refinement in shaping have made the 2019 Pivot lighter and stronger and more reactive. The Pivot has lots of low end power so you can rig smaller if you’re using a surf board or foil. It has smooth pull and power, easy sheet-in-and-go performance that’s suitable for a wide skill range. Great wind range, although the Pivot will pull hard when overpowered and the lift and power can let you boost huge. Despite its mid aspect ratio, it still glides and lifts like a big air kite should with rapid lift and lots of hang time. The direct feel and easy to track sweet spot of the Pivot makes it easier to send it hard one way and bring it back quickly for soft landings. Advanced wave riders will appreciate the Pivot’s direct feel and tight pivotal turning. This year’s Pivot also seems a bit more balanced for optimum, down-the-line drift. The 2019 Pivot is one kite that offers top level performance in more than just a single discipline.
OCEAN RODEO RAZOR SIZES TESTED (M): 10 / SIZES AVAILABLE (M): 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 14 / CONTROL BAR: SHIFT CONTROL BAR
REVIEW SYNOPSIS The Razor slices and dices with smooth powered loops, great lift and offers better unhooked freestyle with its fixed bridle option. TRADE OFF Maybe not quite as much hang time as higher aspect shapes, but better for pop, unhooked freestyle and mega loops than the dangling, hooked-in big air kites. BEST FOR The intermediate-to-advanced level rider that wants to push the limits of mega loops, big air and unhooked freestyle but also wants the wind range and versatility of a fully bridled kit
THE GOOD STUFF The seventh generation Razor is a refined beast and remains the aggressive looping and big jumping machine of the Ocean Rodeo lineup. Designed to push the limits of the latest freestyle trickery and high altitude action, this kite has some unique design features that contribute to the fast and reactive turns and smooth unhooked pull. The Razor’s five-strut frame supports a mid aspect ratio. The kite delivers good low end and pulls smoothly when unhooked. Test team riders were impressed with this kite for some flatwater slick sessions. For dedicated park and wakestyle riding the Razor’s bridle pulleys can be put in a locked mode which gives the kite more of C kite feel and performance. In standard mode, the Razor still has great pop and direct feel but offers high levels of depower when you need it. Lots of wind range and solid, direct steering and powered loops, the Razor rewards aggressive flying and manoeuvres with solid feedback and performance that doesn’t let you down. The leading edge has a C-shaped arc that’s also swept back for easier water relaunch. The exclusive FST wingtips also allow the wingtips of the Razor to be wider, which make this kite highly reactive with fast and powered loops that will keep you smiling.
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CORE XR5 SIZES TESTED (M): 12, 9 / SIZES AVAILABLE (M): 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13.5, 15LW, 17LW, 19 LW / CONTROL BAR: SENSOR 2
SYNOPSIS Powerful, stable, enhanced feel and feedback and rewards any level rider with easy boost and huge hang time. TRADE OFF Extra power, boost and glide mean slightly less instant shut off but rather manageable forward pull and more bar pressure. BEST FOR The do- it-all freerider that wants a kite to focus on power freeride and hooked-in freestyle, but can also handle the gamut of disciplines in the waves or freestyle. Great skill building kite for the intermediate that wants to explore every discipline.
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THE GOOD STUFF The Core XR5 is the dynamic freeride workhorse of the Core lineup that offers a full range of performance to a wide range of skill levels. Packed with all of Core’s exclusive, high-quality materials and technology, this fifth generation XR feature the Delta-Bow kite shape with swept wingtips, five struts and short and compact bridles. The bridle system employs a three pulley set up which manipulates the leading edge arc of the kite, thereby changing the power, lift, pull, steering and feel when the kite is sheeted in or out. It’s more dramatic in the larger sizes of 12 meters and up, but when you sheet in the XR5, the arc flattens giving the kite more lift and power. This helps to explain the XR5’s impressive low end power and great wind range and makes the kite ideal for the power freerider or even the multi-discipline rider that wants a versatile model that can boost huge and handle the full range of conditions. Water relaunch is quick and easy and overall the XR5 is stable, well-balanced and easy to fly. The XR5 12 meter has good low end power and combines it with that sheet-in-and-go performance as the canopy flattens and increases glide and low end power. The feedback of the kite has been improved over previous versions with slightly more bar pressure that gives you the ability to feel where the kite is, especially when gliding overhead. This kite boosts so easily it lets the less skilled riders boost big floaty jumps with effortless hang time. It’s a kite that people try and it instantly puts a smile on their face because it rewards the less skilled with big boosts, additional hang time and access to soft landings.
DUOTONE REBEL SIZES TESTED (M): 9, 12 / SIZES AVAILABLE (M): 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 / CONTROL BAR: CLICK BAR
REVIEW SYNOPSIS The ultimate freeride specialist with the soul of a legend, the Rebel continues to deliver big lift and plenty of hang time with reactive and direct steering. TRADE OFF Not as versatile as it once was for waves, but exceeds the demands of the modern freeride blaster that wants to go big. BEST FOR Intermediate-to-advanced freeriders that want a big boosting, powerful kite with lots of range.
THE GOOD STUFF The Duotone Rebel received a major redesign last season which saw this legend evolve from a loaded fifth line set up to be more reactive. The refinement continues for 2019 with a reduced leading edge diameter and flatter canopy profile which grants the Rebel even more intuitive steering and greater low end power. The Rebel has always been a great boosting kite with a fast pull speed and explosive lift and the newest incarnation is no exception. What’s different is the more accessible performance for the intermediate skill levels with more sheet-in-and-go performance and a softer more forgiving feel in the upper wind range. The new Rebel is easier to jump and was one of the biggest jumping kites of the test. The Rebel performs best for jumps and hang time while fully powered and this kite can be pushed to the limits of the upper wind range. The Rebel still rewards advanced riding skills with super speed, upwind drive and fast and reactive turning. The five strut canopy holds strong through massive gusts and the efficiency and upwind drive of the Rebel is best in class. Not the most comfortable for unhooking, the Rebel is more designed for freeride big air and riders that want a kite that offers that explosive lift and extra hang time.
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SLINGSHOT RPM SIZES TESTED(M): 9, 12 / SIZES AVAILABLE(M): 4.5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14 / CONTROL BAR: COMPSTICK
REVIEW SYNOPSIS The same legendary RPM feel with solid drift and smooth, unhooked pull, revamped with more versatility from a kite that has more power and bigger boosting, faster reacting performance. THE TRADE OFF Still maybe a little shy of the overall wind range of some of the all terrain freeride kites but for those that want to use the added powered loop, handling and unhooked pull, the RPM is in a league of its own. BEST FOR RPM is suited for a wider range of kiteboard styles and skill levels in 2019 with smooth power delivery, bigger boosting and crisper handling. It won’t hold back in unhooked freestyle, but can still boost and hang for those big air sessions.
94 - KITESURFING MAGAZINE / VOL 5 / ISSUE 2
THE GOOD STUFF The legendary RPM received some major design overhauls for 2019 that have expanded the kite’s wind range and also enhanced its handling and jumping ability. The new RPM’s main design changes include a reduced open C canopy shape and a deeper more arced profile. The new bridle system called FLYLINE, combines their IRS bridle with an older single pulley system. The result is more power and crisper handling with a wider wind range. The first and most noticeable is the added power of the RPM which has been notoriously underpowered size for size with the other freeride kites over the years. The test team riders were impressed by the improvement in low end power and power delivery. The RPM canopy shape features a lower aspect ratio and wide wingtips. It’s a kite that sits back in the window so it still gets that nice slack line drift and pop for freestyle and park riding. Its smooth power and tight, compact canopy shape keep the kite controlled through gusts. The RPM still has some of the smoothest and consistent pull through the kite loop as its low aspect shape and wide tips generate smooth pull through the loop. It definitely has more power and better lift and boost in the air but it still feels like the RPM at its core. This kite has always been a smooth-pulling kite and it’s still ideal for having that nice smooth controlled pull, while unhooked. Great kite for pushing the limits of unhooked freestyle. Now equipped with more low end power and some better hang time and lift, the new RPM also feels crisp and more reactive so it’s well equipped to offer those soft landings after big jumps. Many who have learned to love the feel of the legendary RPM should be excited about this kite. It still feels like a RPM but with added lift and power that expand its wind range and overall freeride fun factor.
kitesurfingmag.com
- 95
96 - KITESURFING MAGAZINE / VOL 4 / ISSUE 2
•NAISH •DUOTONE •LIQUID FORCE •DAKINE •FIREWIRE
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F-One’s Mitu Monteiro finds the perfect wave in Anakao, Madagascar. Photo courtesy F-One.
Surf Heavy Issue 10 Best Barrels Single Strut vs Surf Kite What’s best for you? 2020 Gear Preview Behind the designs interviews Coming September 2019
Moona Whyte’s Surf Trip
Plus: Tools of the Trade, Tips To Rip, Trade Secrets and More.
98 - KITESURFING MAGAZINE / VOL 5 / ISSUE 2
kitesurfingmag.com
- 99
P. Sobolev & J. Boulding
James Boulding
NEW
H20
Multi Adjustment Premium Binding
SWITCH BLADE Alby Rondina
LIVE FREE. RIDE FREE.
Performance Freeride / Big Air
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