Innehållsförteckning för #49 från TheKiteMag

When I began kiting, Flash Austin was THE MAN, although you wouldn’t find him on social media as there wasn’t social media (or even very much of ‘the internet’), and the BIG innovation was a re-markable device called a Quick Release. In 2000 this was a loop of rope pushed through another loop of rope and secured with a 50mm stainless steel pin with a red tag on the end. It was simple. And only partially effective. (And there were plenty of naysayers who felt that Quick Releases weren’t for REAL MEN and if you couldn’t hang onto your 15.5m Wipika Free Air when a 35-knot squall came in, then you should probably take up knitting.) Times have changed. Nowadays Quick Releases are buried under three meters of sand, inside…

The Outer Banks are a series of islands off the coast of North Carolina. They stretch for roughly 200 miles and form a giant, bent elbow, with a huge bay on the inside and the Atlantic Ocean on the other side. In many areas the islands are very narrow and you can walk from the bay to the ocean in 30 minutes or less. At their farthest point from the mainland, the islands jut 30 miles out to sea. Since this point is so far from North Carolina, when you’re looking west you can’t see the mainland and you get spectacular sunsets that appear to be setting over the water when they really aren’t. The Outer Banks (also called the OBX or Cape Hatteras) is one of the most popular…

The first ever Para Kite Development Programme (PDP) took place this summer at Lake Garda, Italy, with 11 coaches and athletes from seven countries put through their paces. The PDP was organized by World Sailing, whose vision is to increase the growth of Para Sailing globally and develop an international competition and growth framework for Para Kiting. The International Kite-boarding Association lent their support and hope to see events being run alongside the Formula Kite Class. World Sailing has submitted an application to the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) for sailing to be reinstated at the Paralympic Games in Los Angeles in 2028, and we eagerly await their decision to see what it could mean for Para Kiting. Initiatives like the PDP provide the frame-work to introduce more people to the…

Keahi It was great to get over to the UK. I got close a few years ago, before Covid, but it fell through, so it was awesome to finally make it out. It was cool to see the scene in the UK. For me, growing up in Australia, there are some similarities. There’s a really good group of people who are into kiting, winging and foiling, and it was great to see people into the same stuff and having fun on the water, and it’s always fun to see different cultures. Before the UK tour I spent a few weeks in Europe, traveling in the Cabrinha Airstream with Tour Manager, Nico le Bris. He is French, so he translated for me in France, then it was nice to be back…

I have been kiting for about eight years or so, and in that time kiting has evolved from a hobby to a passion to a profession. Many people talk about a turning point in their career where they realized, “right, this is sick” and decided to dedicate a lot of their time and effort to perfecting that thing. For me this became blindingly clear when I pulled a loop on short lines for the first time. As I took off everything felt quite weird, and as I pulled the loop the kite went straight below the horizon and before I knew it I was being sent into a late backroll shortly before eating it! In that moment I swear my heart stopped, but a moment later when I was back…

WHO IS YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE FOR THIS BOARD, AND HOW HAS IT EVOLVED OVER THE YEARS? Like its predecessors, the CHOICE 5 has an extremely wide range of use. Exciting agility and pop performance is crucial for ambitious freestylers in both straps and boots. Besides that, it still delivers a very smooth ride with sporty characteristics that even beginners and intermediates are guaranteed to make great progress with. We have tried to maintain that throughout the last years’ models, but have now improved the overall performance thanks to the persistent work of our R&D team and the technical evolutions in terms of new construction possibilities. YOU’VE EVOLVED THE BOARD BY BORROWING SOME EXCIT-ING TECHNOLOGY FROM THE SKI INDUSTRY. PLEASE ELAB-ORATE… The top and bottom CARTAN Carbon layer was previously joined…

PM: This session was at a spot we don’t get to ride too often – there are usually too many surfers… It was the biggest swell we’ve had here in 17 years. It was too big and windy for the surfers so I got lucky. I got to kite alone for an hour before a few windsurfers came out. SH: This photo was taken by none other than Giel Vlugt. We decided to travel to Oman for a three week training trip to get ready for the upcoming comps. We unfortunately missed the season a little bit and the conditions didn’t turn out to be as good as we’d hoped. If you know Giel you’ll know he is like a little kid when it comes to training and spending time…

Running from 20th June to 6th July, Tarifa, Spain, played host to the Qatar Airways GKA Big Air World Championships: the first standalone Big Air World Championships in kiting that would host the twintip, strapless and emerging hydrofoil disciplines at the same event. At the southernmost point in Spain, Tarifa holds an extraordinary place in wind sports history and is among the world’s best kiting locations when it comes to planning for a one-off world championship in which the desire is to go big. This event was the first since the GKA Kite World Tour partnered with their new headline sponsor, Qatar Airways, on a three-year deal to help push kite sports to new heights and new locations. Thanks to the extra support, the GKA hosted its first Kite Expo,…

In the very south of Europe, with a view of Africa, there is a city ruled by the wind. On windless days, people cavort on the beach, stroll through the small alleys, and sit down with a drink in one of the countless cafes or bars. As soon as the wind comes up, the atmosphere in this small Spanish town changes – you see people (and dogs) with rain jackets and ski goggles making their way to the beach despite the insane winds. Kiters sit in the countless vans that stream into town, desperately searching for a free parking space in the narrow streets. You can feel the energy pulsing through their veins as they pump up their kites to hit up one of the best freestyle and Big Air…

WHICH ‘NEW’ MATERIALS CAN WE FIND WITHIN YOUR KITE RANGE? DUOTONE: For the last few years, we’ve been progressing with different kite materials. Everything has really started with lighter materials like Penta TX, and today we have a range of three segments: Originals, SLS and D/LAB. The Original features standard materials, SLS uses Penta TX, and D/LAB uses ALUULA material. The journey is all about creating products with better flying ability, especially in reducing the overall weight of the kite, which of course helps to increase the lightwind abilities. A big step in this direction were the SLS models with Penta TX, and ultimately progressing to the D/LAB models with ALUULA, currently the lightest inflatable material on the market. The Juice D/LAB, which is built with ALUU-LA, is the benchmark…

IT LOOKS LIKE YOU’VE BEEN WORKING HARD TO RELEASE THE NEW SAVVY! TALK US THROUGH THE CHANGES COM-PARED TO YOUR PREVIOUS SICK BAR. The Savvy bar is a completely different system to the Sick bar. With the Savvy, we had clear design goals: safety, ease of use, simplicity, functionality, durability, and renewability. And we listened to our customers who were asking for automatic frontline untwist, bar width adjustment, click-in safety and two chickenloop options. These features were all incorporated in the new bar. Compared to the old bar, the new Savvy is a four-line system without a fifth safety line, so one less line to worry about. Also, there is no bungee on any of the lines which makes the Savvy lines more durable and eliminates potential safety hazards. As…

EXCITING UNDERTAKING! TELL US, WHO IS SP80 AND WHAT IS GIN’S ROLE IN THE ENDEAVOR? SP80 is a team of highly skilled engineers and students who are combining sailing, kiting and engineering with the bold purpose of out-performing the current world sailing speed record. They are currently building a trimaran boat, able to reach 80 knots (150 km/h) with the wind as its sole source of power. After seeing an advertisement about SP80’s record ambition, an idea started to grow. I absolutely knew that with our experience in the market of high-performance kites, we could bring that sail to the very top, so joining the SP80 team on their quest was a no-brainer for us. It is in Gin Kiteboarding’s DNA to constantly be on the lookout for new challenges…

What do you do when you need to get some top-drawer photos but Covid restrictions have scuppered your usual photoshoots? Hawaiian wave slayers Moona Whyte and Keahi de Aboitiz took matters into their own hands and got behind the camera as well as in front of it. We were probably in the best place in the world to live through the wavering time that was Covid. I say “live” because I’m pretty sure the best place to be was getting barreled in Indonesia with no other surfers around. But the best place to live in a somewhat normal way was Hawaii. Our lockdowns were not strict. We were never confined to a predetermined distance from our home – unless you count the edges of our 45-mile-wide island. No one dared…

Lasse Walker has been at the forefront of extreme Big Air for quite a few years now, appearing on the podium at such events as the Red Bull Megaloop Challenge and Cold Hawaii. He recently released Skywalker, a documentary about overcoming the physical and mental setbacks of his crash at Red Bull King of the Air in 2016. He discovered for instance how freediving can help him stay calm and fight fear - worth checking out if you haven’t already. CRAIG CUNNINGHAM Staying at the forefront of extreme Big Air is not easy and you were one of the first doing the big moves last winter in South Africa. How was the feeling last year when everyone started tossing double loops and S-loops? I think we all were amazed by…

THANKS FOR TALKING TO US NOÈ! GIVE US SOME BACKGROUND TO THE KITE PARK LEAGUE. The KPL first started in 2016 when a bunch of riders decided to combine the results of the already existing park events around the world into a “world title” ranking. The Triple S was the main event with the most prize money and media coverage, backed with two or even three other events like the Palawan Open in the Philippines, Hood Jam (USA), Rhosneigr Park Jam (UK) and Kite Mansion Open (Brazil)… A solid international league with top level riders who also happen to be some of the most creative and media savvy riders in the industry. DO YOU THINK THERE’S BEEN A SHIFT IN FOCUS AWAY FROM PARK STYLE RECENTLY? There is no doubt…

Since the dawn of surfing, the west coast of the United States has been considered a cultural root that helped establish and propel surfing into the public limelight, embedding a distinct lifestyle and mentality into the communities that occupy its beautiful coastline. Although California practically needs no introduction, proving itself day-in and day-out of its caliber of surfing dominance and prestige, in 2018 California declared surfing its official state sport, heightening its social recognition and cultural distinction. While California does receive most of the credit and stardom as the surfing hub of the west coast, Oregon and Washington are arguably more emblematic of a true surfer’s paradise. As with most exploits that are more difficult or less attainable, they are often more rewarding. Oregon and Washington are faultless examples of…

SO AN EXCITING NEW ADDITION TO YOUR RANGE! HOW DOES THE CODE FIT INTO YOUR LINE-UP? Yes! The Code is our new three-strut all-around kite that can take you from learning your first power strokes to sending your first kite loop. The Code was designed in partnership with our pro rider Jeremy Burlando. The design goal of the Code was to help kiters crack their progression and take their riding to the next level. The Code is intuitive, reactive and provides smooth and controlled power delivery, allowing the kiter to fully focus on riding and their progression. WOULD A NOVICE GET ON OKAY WITH IT? That’s the best part. The Code was designed for user progression at any level—not just for the Jeremy Burlandos of the kite world. This is…

TALK US THROUGH THE DIFFERENT RIDING STYLES THE CYPHER, AMP AND COMP SURFBOARDS ARE DESIGNED FOR? Essentially the Airush Surf Series is a three-board range, taking you from flatwater/strapless with the Cypher, into smaller or onshore surf, through to down-the-line surf with the Comp. Each product is still as versatile as possible of course. The Cypher is designed as a high-speed strapless blasting and boosting machine, featuring a parallel outline for stability. Great in onshore conditions or on flatwater, it’s the go-to board for Kiko Roig Torres in strapless freestyle shred sessions. For a good mix of waveriding and all-around surf shape, the AMP has fast rocker with a maneuver-oriented outline. Setting the standard in smaller wave and strapless riding performance in a single package, this board was developed with…