Latest News, Blog & Videos

Kitesurfing fins come in a variety of sizes, from 10mm to 50mm or so. Fins are an often-overlooked part of gear, but they can make a huge difference in how your kiteboard responds and how it feels on the water. Small fins: 10 to 15mm These are less common now, but are arguably the most fun fins available. They loosen up the board and make for a skate feel on the water. Imagine your kiteboard feeling more like a snowboard. You can really add some style to your riding, especially on …

A question we get daily from new kitesurfers is if you can mix kiteboarding footstrap brands with different boards. The quick answer is most of the time, yes. However, it might not always be a perfect fit. For example the standard spacing is six inch inline inserts. Some brands like Duotone kiteboarding and North kiteboarding do offset inserts. Duotone also opts to use a track system that will hinder the range on some straps.  Kitesurfing footstraps are flexible In gener …

The carve has a different design than your average wave kite. For perspective, regular waves kites share a few traits. On & off Depower, down the line drift, they also fly a bit smaller as far as power. The Carve is unique. Like the Duotone Neo, they have taken a different approach.You can expect the on and off depower but the real surprise is the low end power of the carve. With this in mind, the on and off depower becomes more important because you can sheet out and still have good control of …

Here's a little write up on my e-foil experience.I was recently fortunate enough to have the guys at Mackite let me try the Takuma Cruising 1600 E-foil. Here's a short take on my initial reactions. I've been kicking around an e-foil for a long time. While the price-point is dropping, we all know that this isn't just another board purchase that you can slide by the wife. Because of that, I've been a little hesitant to jump in. However, after getting on one and feeling the glide and seeing the pos …

The shop asked me to try to compare Duotone's SLS kites and the Aluula kites from Ocean Rodeo. I've decided to do a couple videos on this to share my experience and that of friends who tried it. I was able to get some time on the Neo SLS, and now I've got a Roam Aluula and a Flite Aluula. So far I've tried the Flite and the Neo SLS. Two very different kites, so I'll compare how the lighter materials used impacted the kites in their own respective ways. I do have a Roam that I'll test and …

Today we're going to review the Eleveight FS. Who is this kite good for? Whats it good at and what's it lacking? This is a kite I have gravitated towards for a couple of years. It's known as Eleveight's freestyle / big air kite. It's an open C design, so you can expect more direct input into the kite. This gives you an aggressive pull up on the jumps and aggressive kite loops. Don't expect a ton of loft from the FS. This freestyle-oriented design is made for pop and slack so you will …

This is a project that has been in development for years and has a lot of R&D into it. I have my hands on the 633 version the larger free rider or even wing foil wing. Fist up, the kit comes in a high end travel case that keeps everything organized well inducing reenforced wing covers that won’t wear out like previous iterations. This all comes included with Hardware, a tool and some lubricant. Heads up this doesn’t use the standard m8x25 board mounting hardware. You’ll need the lon …

The Roam has been a favorite in the Ocean Rodeo lineup for several years. This great surf/freeride kite comes in an all-new construction called Aluula. This new material takes this solid kite to the next level by making the kite lighter and stiffer. What this does for the kite's performance is to make it more reactive to bar input and to perform better in lighter winds. Improved Performance What this means for improved surf and foil performance is that the kite stays in the air; …

Choosing a suit can be as complicated or as simple as you want to make it. There are a ton of options, including high end suits that are soft, warm, seal out water, drain any excess or even block the wind. Ultimately it comes down to your budget and your threshold of cold. If you get cold easily, it's worth it to invest in a high end suit. I've used budget suits in the cold and it's never worth it in my opinion. It's fine in warmer water but I've always regretted it in the winter. The firs …

This is the most basic trick and is derived from skateboarding. It's also the easiest because you can basically ollie or ride up in the same direction you were traveling. Eventually you can take this to a nose press or try to spin into it or out for more technicality and style. This is the first move you should try and it's going to open a whole new world of kiteboarding for you. Let's get to it! Prerequisites  You should be able to do all the basic unhooked tricks comfortably. …

High Aspect vs. Low Aspect FoilsAre you having trouble finding a proper foil? Maybe you're looking for a setup with a different feel? Well, you've come to the right place; there are some many different things to consider when searching for the perfect foil. Things like aspect ratio, surface area, fuselage length, and wing constructions are all parts worth heavy consideration for building your foil.In this blog, we'll focus on aspect ratio.What is Aspect Ratio?It's the difference between the wing …

Your stance while foiling any craft is a key for the highest performance and ease of use. In this blog we will go over the basics of your stance as it relates to your front and back foot offset from the centerline. If you’re on a smaller wing keeping your feet closer to the center line. About an inch or two. If you’re riding a larger wing in lighter wind conditions you’ll want to have your feet offset by two to four inches. Your leading food will be near the heelside edge while your rear …

In this video, we break down the five fundamental steps to jumping. Whether it's your first time jumping or you already know what you're doing, these steps will help you jump the right way without having too many falls. I remember learning to jump for the first couple of years and rarely having a consistent landing. Now that I know how to land most of my jumps, here's the easiest way I could think to break it down! Step one: Send the kite with the bar sheeted out. Sending the kite …

The Neo SLS performs a lot like the old Neo, but it does have some advantages. The real question is whether these changes are worth trading in your old Neo. I had the chance to try this kite in some light wind and some stronger wind with onshore and cross-shore onshore conditions. I've had loads of time on the original Neo, and after trying the SLS I do have an opinion on whether the trade up is worth it. Let's break down what you can expect and then we'll get into whether i …

After years of riding, I've made a lot of mistakes along the way. The funny thing about kitesurfing is no one wants to show themselves riding bad or crashing. It occurred to me I can think of hundreds of mistakes I've made along the way. I'll be dropping these mistake videos along the way and I may even start intentional filming the right way vs the wrong way in future videos. This is going to be a fun one so lets dive right into it.  Mistake One - Riding Overpowered Kitesurfers ofte …