2022 Duotone Click Bar - Session Impression with Mr. Jeff

Hey, Aaron and Jeff here at MACkite. We just got off the water and we had a good session this morning. Jeff experienced his first go with the Duotone Click bar, and I just wanted to get his unscripted feedback on that bar. What are your thoughts?

I'm not a fan, but I've never ridden it until this morning. I thought the Click was just a gadget, and I'm used to above-the-bar tuning.

Yeah, you know, way back during the development on the Click bar when we were first getting the concept ideas here, the pepper grinder jokes were flying high, and I'm a fan of the Duotone product line.

Yeah, but then you gave me the quick lowdown on how to use it, and instantly, as soon as you make the click, it wasn't like it was so pronounced, but it made the adjustment it needed to. When I was powering it up, because you had it depowered, I did one click to power up and was like, "Hmm, that seemed like it was just the right amount." So that's what I noticed right away, and then I clicked it a couple more times and I feel like it has nice increments of increasing.

I believe it's about a half of an inch or so per click as you're depowering it, which is nice. I used to talk about that being like shifting gears on your bike, it was so precise.

That's what I felt. It seemed like one click would do just about the amount of powering up that you need, whereas on above-the-bar that I'm used to, sometimes you have to adjust it to right where you want it, but that was pretty smooth. I'm still a fan of above-the-bar, but I'm not as down on the Click after riding it. I did power it all the way up and then practiced depowering, and it seemed very smooth. I like the analogy of shifting a bike; it's just shifting into lower gear and higher gear. It had that measured increment of change.

I love your input on this because I'm a fan, so I appreciate your honest opinion, coming into it hesitant, being unsure and having your pre-formed opinions, and it's good to see that you can take it out and try it. I gave you the small one, the 22 meter bar, so it was shorter than the bar that you were just coming off the water with. But I like the fact that we could switch and have you take a go on it and see what you thought. I didn't tell you before I gave you my kite that, with the Click bar, the rear lines are the lines that are actually de-powering; they're lengthening and shortening the rear lines, not the center lines as is standard, so it was cool to get your impression on that a moment ago when I told you that since I didn't tell you that at the beach. I didn't want any pre-formed opinion from that before you rode it.

I didn't notice any difference.

Cool, and that's what I was hoping because I don't think about it at all, and when I jump on your bar with a standard front line trim, I don't notice any difference, so it was kind of cool to get your impression going, "What?!"

The only thought I had is, if you were way overpowered and you had a bad gust, if you had to keep clicking, click-click-click-click, to depower, I don't know, and taking your hands off the bar...

Sure. But I think the one thing that I personally love about the Click bar is using it in the surf. For us here on the Great Lakes, our wind and swell are always going the same direction, so there are many times where I would drop in on a wave, whether you drop in on it from behind, or you've come out and turned and burned on it, or whatever, and you're trying to stay in the pocket are getting pulled a little bit in front of it, with the Click bar you just reach over. You don't even have to reach or do anything that's going to throw you off balance; you literally just click and then you're back in the pocket. If you're going backside down the line on a wave, you're able to stay right in the sweet spot, and for that reason alone, that's really what I dig about it. For general freeriding, I don't notice it being an overly beneficial thing. I do like the center lines though, with the coated center line and that rectangular sheath going through the rectangular cut in the bar. It automatically unspins.

I need to give it another try; I'd like to get on it a few more times in different conditions.

Cool. So, final takeaways. Anything that you think you'd tell somebody right now?

I was a total non-Click guy, but I'm warming up to it. I just need a little more time on it.

Awesome, I love the feedback. I wish I would have recorded you when I was telling you that the rear lines were trimming because your mind kind of snapped there for a second. Thanks Jeff, I appreciate it.

Guys, if you have any questions about the Duotone Click bar or any of the Duotone product line, or kiteboarding in general, give us a shout. We are always happy to help. See you guys!