Latest News, Blog & Videos

Surf Hydrofoils: Carbon vs. Aluminum. Whats best for you? In the  foil board game, there are two basic construction techniques: Full carbon and Aluminum Hybrid. Carbon is the lighter, less durable, and generally more expensive technique while Aluminum tends to be heavier, more durable, and less expensive. Which construction method is best for you comes down to a few considerations. The first consideration for most newcomers is often the price. Getting into a new type of riding can give …

How to Learn Hydrofoil Surfing So you want to learn to hydrofoil surf? Congratulations! We too have caught the foil bug for all of our board sports. Surf foiling is truly a one of a kind experience that makes even the most marginal days into magical sessions. Aside from the silent, smooth, and effortless glide, surf hydrofoils tap into the most powerful part of the wave just beneath the surface. This allows you to keep momentum and connect sections on the smallest wave.Step 1 – Learn to Surf T …

Foilboarding at City BeachWhen I think of really great starts to any day, one of the things on the short list would be foiling in boardshorts at Grand Haven City Beach, just down the street from my house. I scored today. The cherry on top was a few new pieces of gear to try - my new 2018 Cabrinha Drifter 13, and the new Lift 150 foil. I grabbed a Liquid Force Happy Board, mounted the beautifully crafted carbon foil that I've been staring at all week, and headed toward the beach.Grand Haven City …

Gary Siskar Talks about Liquid Force Foiling Hey Gary, thanks for taking the time to talk with us today! When did Liquid Force get into the foil game? We got into the foil game because we fell in love with foiling...it is that simple. Short story for you: Brandon headed to Maui in 2013 to shoot and test future kites with Julien. Before the trip he bought, yes bought a hydrofoil, mounted it to a wake skate and set off on the trip. All of us sort of chuckled and wrote it off. Couple weeks later …

An Interview with Nils Rosenblad from Naish Kiteboarding So Naish has been in the game for a long time. When did Naish start making gear? When did you join their design team? Robby has been making his own boards since forever - thinking late 80s - under the Naish name, but Naish as a standalone brand really started in the mid 90s with their windsurfing sails. I've been with them since 2005. And when did you guys start to develop your hydrofoil program? We started experimenting with them when …

Ryan H on FoilboardingI’ll admit it, when foils first came out I was one of the first people to badmouth them wondering why anyone would want to foil, saying it looks super boring and that very few people would get into it. Fast forward 4 years later and most my summer sessions are being had on a foil.So what changed? Well, like most kiters out there, I want to ride anything once or twice. Even though I was talking down the latest board to ride I still was planning on trying it once or twice. It …

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 …

The “New Foil Guy”3rd Session / June 20th, 2017It’s been a month since I’ve gone foiling—my bad.We’ve had an unseasonably windy spring, with much more time in the surf than usual. I make no apologies—riding in the surf will always win over everything else for me. With that said, I did have a great session on the 30” mast this last time out. Part of me wonders if that will be the longest mast I’ll need as I only plan on kite foiling in lighter conditions anyway. We’ll see…Now obviously, the 30” m …

Conquering the First Foil Session1st Session / May 16th, 2017I’m not an early adopter for many new things, except for kiteboarding. When kite foilboarding first hit the market, I was pretty neutral about it. Didn’t hate the idea—didn’t like the idea. It just was. This morning, I had my first session on a foilboard, and wow—I had no idea how much fun I was missing.Winds were around 15 mph, which was plenty for a North Neo 12m to haul my 190 lbs around on a foil. At one of our local bea …

Slingshot Foil Academy: "Taxi Stage"Like with many of you, the kite foilboarding bug has bitten me as well. And as you may already know, the Slingshot “Foil Academy” is a great place to get started. Thanks to Alex Fox, and his team, the online tutorials are well thought and easy to follow. The Slingshot Hover Glide foil system is easy to assemble and disassemble. I was able to switch from the full-size mast to the 15” mast in just a few minutes. After assembling the foil and mount …

With so many friends coming to visit recently, I haven't been working nearly as much as I should. The last week I've mostly logged a lot of hours at work. That said, I thought I would talk about a really fun event that takes place in Key West. The Havana Classic, a Hobie cat race from Key West to Havana Cuba. Last year a few close friends and myself followed the racers quite a ways out. We didn't make all the way to Cuba but it was an incredible experience non the less. One of my long term goa …

How to do a transition on your foilboard! It's Friday so you know what that means. Another episode of Ride with Blake. The last week was incurably fun as some old friends from MACkite came to visit. Ryan (Rygo) Goloversic, Steve Lee and Chris Bobryk. There is nothing like kiteboarding with friends and having some adventures. Like when we helped some F-16 pilots get a session and they were quick to reciprocate by letting us fly in their in single engine plane. It's amazing what life will bring …

Aaron's Journey Being the "New Foil-Guy"April 20th, 2017Sitting on the sidelines watching everybody else having all the fun is NOT fun. No matter what it’s about. Those goofy guys with their kite foiling boards. Who do they think they are, out there having all of the fun? I’m over it—can’t watch one second longer. I’m diving in now!Committing to learning something new can be challenging. Plus, no relatively experienced kiteboarder or kitesurfer wants to revisit the days when they were first lear …

Blake Olsen will be covering a variety of topics including trick tips and the basics behind foilboarding for the first time. Foil boarding is beyond fun Many claim it's akin to snowboarding in endless powder. That said it can be intimidating for first timers looking to get on the water. I have a few tips to make the process easy and reduce those pesky crashes.Tip One Keep your weight centered over your front knee. This is as simple as keeping your shoulders lined up with your front kn …

Richard Branson vs. Barack Obama: A Kitesurfing Story I know, it sounds crazy, right? Perhaps it sounds like something you would read in one of the tabloids you casually glance at while in line at the grocery store. Believe it or not, the former first couple, Barack and Michelle Obama, were enjoying a well-deserved vacation, and Barack Obama took the leap of faith to learn how to kiteboard. Image by Jack Brockway // Source: Virgin It's not every day you catch a former POTUS learning an ad …