Latest News, Blog & Videos

In my opinion, Chris Bobryk is one of the most underrated freestyle riders in the USA. Yes, I'm biased as we've been friends for a long time. That said, the proof is in his riding. A decade ago he was the last real potential candidate from the USA in the PKRA. He's invented several never-been-done-before tricks, known as NBDs, and he's single-handedly pioneered what we like to call "back country park riding". This includes things like grinding logs, beaches, and more or less interacti …

Surf foiling has been on my radar for a while now. I took the winter to work on my surfing skills so I could get into some rolling waves on less than ideal days. I learned a lot from Ewan and he actually changed the way I might approach picking a wing setup. Recently, the novelty of pumping and connecting waves has caught everyone's attention. Riding high aspect foils is a great way to make this process easier to learn, but it can be a double-edged sword. On one hand, you can pum …

Choosing a wetsuit can be as easy or complicated as you like. Last fall I did a video on choosing one for a colder climate. I covered my strategy, the pros and cons of different thicknesses, and how to pick if you are on a budget. Having spent a winter living in Florida, I wanted to share my thoughts on the best way to stay warm and save a buck if you need to. Now, obviously, if you live somewhere very tropical, a Neo top is all you will need! If you're somewhere like Florida with some fluc …

The Cabrinha Switchblade has been around longer than most have been kiteboarding. It went though a good deal of research and design up until about 2016. Built by legendary designer Pat Goodman, it's still one of the best kites out there, in my opinion. The past 5 years have seen a huge change in the market. Riders demand lighter, faster kites aimed at big air. The thing is, for some, the Switchblade is still an amazing choice. It's not the fastest kite—it's not t …

Kiteboarding is amazing because it's so accessible to just about everyone. Now, if you want to take your kiting to another level, learn new tricks, ride longer, rider harder, and have less chance of injury, you need to consider fitness.We've had a few requests for some videos on this topic, particularly on how to tailor your training towards a specific discipline. In my opinion, the best training program is the one you will stick to. Ideally, it would be a well thought out program des …

The Eleveight OS is another one-strut option designed for foil enthusiasts and light wind waveriders. The simple design is fast and, like all one-strut kites, it's extremely lightweight. The swept wing tips are designed to relaunch in light wind as well. This is a bit of a must for light wind hydrofoilers pushing threshold winds to the limit. My least favorite aspect of foiling, personally, is swimming back. On the Hydrofoil The OS is drifty, fast and powerful. The range is quite …

The Formula V1 kiteboard is an exciting addition to Slingshot's lineup. Their kiteboards have long been known to be heavy duty and provide a distinct damp feel on the water. The Formula couldn't be further from the rest of their kiteboards: extremely light and snappy with a race car like feel. The Formula V1 is a completely different animal. A Kiteboard with Speed and Snap The Formula V1 kiteboard is so snappy and poppy you just want to jump as soon as it hits the water. I hate …

The Slingshot Asylum is the board I was using when I first started progressing in kiteboarding. If you watch older reviews, you know I used to rave on Slingshot kiteboards. In recent years I've branched out and covered many other brands, but I always seem to come back to Slingshot. They have been making kiteboards and wakeboards for over 20 years! Needless to say, they know how to build them properly. The Asylum is a freestyle board in the range, but that shouldn't scare big air rid …

The Contra One Strut is a new kite for 2021. I find it funny that Cabrinha chose the name Contra as this kite feels quite different from the original 3-strut light wind specific Contra kite. The Contra One Strut feels and performs like most one strut kites with the typical Cabrinha bar feel. It's fast, pivotal, and simple. The one area where I found the Contra One Strut stands out is its stability and high wind performance. I had heard the kite was actually fun and performance-minded i …

Five mantras you can use to optimize your time where it matters most. I woke up this morning and made a hot cup of coffee. While sipping it slowly in the warm glow of my sunroom, I began to reflect on question I get regularly from my good friends, ““How do you continue to balance your time between family and work, and still ride as much as you do?” The idea of balancing my work passions with my life passions is something I work hard to achieve. To give you a little context, I am a ADHD Gen. X …

We're kicking off a new series about why we love wing foiling. We'll get a conversation going and talk about wing foiling and share unique stories as to what sets the sport apart. For this first video, I wanted to talk about accessibility. You can set up a wing and ride on any body of water with almost any type of conditions, from terrible, gusty wind to light wind, or rising wind and big waves. This has opened up a new world of exploring for me and expanded my water time exponenti …

The  Flysurfer Mojo Wing is FlySurfer’s first wing, and man—they knocked it out of the park. I used a 5.2m wing in conditions varying from 10 knots to 35. Flatwater and surf. The first thing to talk about is the colors. I am personally a big fan of the blue with the orange accents. It is a sexy look, and identifiable from a long distance. Flysurfer has always done well with the colors. Your friends and family will instantly know which wing is you. The next wou …

The North Fix boots are kite specific and a good option for kiteboarder looking to add some power to their riding,  They have a clean simple look that can be seen throughout the entire North Kiteboarding lineup. I had the chance to demo a pair for most of the winter and I was able to log loads of sessions in with these on the kite and in the cable park.  Here are my thoughts.  Flex The Flexibility on these are perfect for kite. The are stiff and supportive on the ankle with …

The Crail Grab is the least common grab seen on the beach, mostly because it's not one you would think to do often. Taking your back hand and reaching for the nose takes some flexibility and core, but it looks epic paired with rolls and rotations. For this video I'll cover the most simple variation. If you want to see the more advanced version, check out this video by Rygo and Blake. They accidentally called it a Nuke Grab, but this video breaks down more variations of this grab. …

Welcome to the amazing world of wing foiling. In this article, we’ll try to address some of the basic questions that you may have as you’re getting started. Will it actually make you a better person? That part is up to you, my friend—but we certainly think so.Is Wing Foiling Right For Me?Wingfoiling is much more accessible than some other wind sports like kiteboarding, kitesurfing, and kitefoiling. Because of that, we’re finding a wide range of outdoor enthusiasts getting into the sport. While p …