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Foiling is here, and it is awesome. The feeling, almost indescribable. If one were to try, maybe the feeling of flying over Agrabah on a magic carpet would come close to capturing the magic. And, like anything worth doing, it comes with some risks. Riding several feet above the water, balancing on a board attached to what might as well be a katana… what could go wrong? The good news is with the proper safety gear the chance of bodily harm goes way down, meaning the chances of you living a …

After working in the warehouse for a while, I’ve received a lot of emails and phone calls about people forgetting a piece of gear with their brand new wing or kite package. That can be a huge bummer if you were planning to get on the water and now you can’t just because of one small piece of equipment that you forgot. Today I’ll be going through the most commonly forgotten items when purchasing gear with us to make sure you can get on the water as fast as possible and to avoid any frustration. …

After filming this video, I realized how biased I was towards surf kites. I want to put it out there that I do have a 10m Airush Ultra I use specifically for foiling & I love it. I have wave kites for waves and so on. I'm a believer in using the right tool for the job. That said, many videos I make are from the perspective of working on a budget and trying to decide on kites. Not everyone can have more than there standard quiver and its important to think about what you want from your gea …

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 in s …

The Roam is Ocean Rodeos Surf kite and if you kite foil, you know up until brands started developing foil specific kites like the UFO, Surf kites were a popular choice among foil enthusiasts. You might be surprised to hear that Surf kites are still the most popular choice at the shop among the team. Mostly because they give you options from surf performance to high-end kite foil performance. For reference, currently, I weigh 185 I was using the Slingshot Infinity 76 and I tested the Roam Al …

Is it an airplane, jet, or weather balloon? To many conspiracists’ delight, what we are looking at is a real UFO. Rather than an “Unidentified Flying Object” that you would see at Area 51, we are looking at Slingshots strutless kite known as the “Unlimited Foiling Object.” This is Slingshot’s only strutless kite in their lineup, and one of the few strutless kites in the market today. Due to the fact that it is so light and completely dedicated to foiling, it has already become a favorite here a …

Strut-less kites require some special techniques and finesse to re-launch.  This quick walk through experience will help you explore some options for re-launch if you are struggling.  As we have said before, we recommend playing with these kites in shallow water before embarking on any offshore routes so you can get comfortable and experienced with their re-launch.Malcolm Crennell,  an experienced foiler passed his thoughts along to us and we thought it was well written and true e …

The Moses 873 wing isn't considered a kite wing by many (ok, by all), but that still didn't deter me from using if for kiting since I'd already purchased it. I've done lots of different combo tests to try to make this wing work.And, I think I finally got it.I rode this wing strapless on a 2018 dwarf craft micro, positioned all the way forward (rear plate of Moses 91cm or any Moses mast plate 6-1/2" from the tail) on a standard surf fuselage w/the 325 stabiliser. What a trip! (if I ever learn how …

The foot drag is an entry level hydrofoil trick that feels amazing and doesn't take too long to learn. If you know how to sit on your foil, you're already halfway there.  We recommend you download the attached PDF on your phone. Check it before your next session! Step 1 – Practice getting low Just like our sit on a hydrofoil video, you'll want to work your way into it progressively. You can start by building muscle memory and squatting while riding. In fact, this is the exact same fi …

The Self Rescue is your ace in the hole when it comes to kiteboarding.When in doubt, if you’re in trouble you can count on this method to systematically get yourself and your gear back in safely. When it comes to foilboarding, the process is mostly the same but there are some subtle differences. I originally intended this video for riders who already know how to do a self rescue but it occurred to me that a full recap is always a good idea. I’ll break down all the steps below and the differ …

Foilboarding is the newest and fastest growing aspect of kiteboarding, without question. The rapid advance of riding styles and equipment is a hard thing to keep pace with. As a result, we get a lot of questions. Since most of the people getting into kiteboard foiling are already kiteboarders, a popular question is, “How will my kite(s) work for foiling?”;  A legitimate question!  The kite you have/choose will have certain advantages and disadvantages for your riding and styles …

5 Best Kites for FoilingHydrofoil kiteboarding has been on fire lately at the shop. I cannot remember the last time where every employee was so excited about one aspect of kiteboarding. Every employee from our young guns to shop legends caught the foil bug. As a result, we have seen a dramatic shift in the kite quivers chosen by our staff. Our quivers were dominated by large freestyle kites like the Cabrinha FX; now, we are switching to kites that compliment the unique challenges of foi …

Tucker Interviews MHL's Co-Founder & Head Engineer Nick Leason Hey Nick, Thanks for taking the time to talk with us today! No worries. Let's jump right into this. When did MHL start? We started in 2010. And when did you get on the Hydrofoil train? How did we get on the train…. The first composite foil out there for a commercial market was the Carafino. I met Carafino in 2008 and fell in love with hydrofoiling. I started learning and working on my own gear right away. It turned i …

Tucker Talks Foils with Slingshot's Tony LogoszWhen was Slingshot founded?Slingshot was originally founded in 1999. Started in ‘95 and officially launched in ’99.So going on 18 years-ish. Wow, that is basically the entire lifespan of kiteboarding. When did you start to see Hydrofoil's becoming part of the sports Slingshot represents? When did you start designing your own products for that purpose?We were influenced by the original kite-skiing that started here in the Columbia Gorge area. Hydrofo …

What do you grab? Kites for Hydrofoiling Edition.4-9 knots: HQ Matrixx Foil KiteWe choose the HQ Matrixx for extreme light wind conditions for one reason...Weight. In sub-10 knot conditions most inflatable kites will not stay in the sky without major babysitting from the rider, The Matrixx weighs only a fraction of a similar sized inflatable kite and has been specifically designed for flying in a whisper of wind. The Matrixx is an efficient kite that delivers great power and speed. Howeve …