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Sessions Blog - Testing the 2018 North Evo For the  2018 North Evo, I really had to put in the work to get my review right. In most of my previous videos, I'd already had years of experience testing the gear. Demand was high for this review and I was struggling to get any real information on the kite. I decided to get as much time in on the kite as possible and take notes on my sessions. The problem was I only had a 12 meter and the conditions never seemed to line up. I had tested the k …

Working at MACkite has some unique benefits. Working with friends in an industry that we are passionate about makes most days feel less like “work”. The huge amount of demo gear available is also well appreciated by our staff. However, it is hard to monetize the value of our “Board Meetings”. Our "Board Meetings" are not the typical drudgery that is associated in most workplaces. Rather, it is a meeting of employees where we can go play and test gear during work hours. Last week, we had …

There are a lot of different travel bags out there for kiteboarding and kitesurfing. North offers the "Combi Bag" and "Team Bag Surf", while ION has the "Gearbag TEC". Here's the breakdown from Ben Skaggs, our North and ION Kiteboarding rep from Hood River, Oregon.North Combi BagColors: Black and BlueAvailable sizes: 140cm155cmSurfboards up to 5'6"Surfboards up to 6'2""This is a lightweight travel bag that uses the method of “use your gear and clothing as padding to save weight” for protecting y …

So if you’ve watched the last few videos, you might have caught Freeride Kites vs Freestyle Kites where we talked about how most kites that undergo years of development slowly get so well rounded that they cross over into all-around territory. The Cabrinha Drifter is one of those kites. While it is a surf specific kite, it is a great contender as an all-around freeride kite. It’s even decent at unhooking. So the first thing to consider would be the most obvious, and that is where these kit …

So you’re looking to go big! One of the most fun aspects of kiteboarding is going all out at full speed and just sending it. On those days where the wind is so strong that the beach is empty except for a hand full of wind junkies. Your heart is pounding, all you hear is the constant hum of the wind in your ears and the shouting of your friends as you set up. Cars line up to watch the show, people venture out to the pier to see what's going on. It’s one of the most exciting and eye-catching …

Kiteboarding has come a long way since the early days. What was once an extreme sport is now only as intense as you’d like it to be. Whether you want to experience the freedom of sailing and exploring, you want to wakeboard without a boat. Maybe you want surf in any conditions or you want to get 40 feet of air and push the limits. Best of all it’s an all season, all terrain sport. Basically, kiteboarding is freedom. It’s gravity, it’s your lift pass for life. All the hype aside, with the e …

The two leading performance kites that bridge the gap from freeride to freestyle. Both appeal to intermediate to advanced riders looking to push big air, kite loops or unhooked freestyle. Often, when I review kites there are a lot of trade offs and the differences are very clear. Between these two kites, the water can get a little muddy. All that said, I hope to clear this up for you. These kites are designed to fill the gap between C-kites and user friendly Freeride kites. What’s awesom …