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Welcome back! This is Jake from MACkiteboarding, and today we are going to talk about whether you should go with a 15 or a 17m for your light wind kite. Don't get too hung up on the numbers; essentially think of it as whether you should go with something smaller in the 14/15m range, or something 17/18m plus, but we're going to say 15 or 17m for the sake of this discussion.Advantages of a 17m KiteThis is a tough one, and honestly, my thoughts on it have changed over time. Early on, I was alw …

Is Winging Too Hard? Top 5 Wing Foil Misconceptions This is Tucker and Jeff from MACkiteboarding.com, and it's Wing Wednesday. Today we're going to look at our top five misconceptions about wing foiling. We're going to try to clear up any misconceptions and find out when there's a shred of truth to some of it, depending on your perspective. Some of these are a bit subjective, but we're speaking from the perspective of people who have been into all different kinds of adventure sports, whether i …

This is Pat with MACkiteboarding.com, and I'm checking out the new Moto X kite from Cabrinha.Launching at the BeachIt's 24 degrees air temp at the beach, blowing about mid-20s, so it feels like it's 10 degrees, and we are on the new Moto X 9 meter. My initial impression on the launch of the kite is that it doesn't feel like a Cabrinha kite. It's a lot lighter in the bar than I'm used to with Cabrinha, which I think is a big plus. It feels a lot more akin to the Eleveight RS, the North Re …

Pat: This is Pat with MACkiteboarding.com here this morning with Brendan Healy from Cabrinha. Brendan: Good to be here. Thanks for having me, man. Pat: No problem, Brendan. So you came from a background of sailing, right? Is that how you got into wind sports? Brendan: Yeah, exactly. I grew up in Annapolis, Maryland. The Chesapeake Bay is almost like an inland body of water, more or less, so there are no real waves of any kind, and the breeze is pretty frontal. I grew up sailing; it's a …

Tucker and Jeff Buy a Wing On Walmart Marketplace - Part 1Hey everybody, welcome back to MACkiteboarding Wing Wednesdays. Today we have a real fun one for you. We found what is probably one of the cheapest wings, not considering closeout prices. It's a wing that we bought from a Walmart.com Marketplace seller. I think they actually get it from Alibaba or something like that. It's some random Chinese knockoff sort of thing, but we figured we'd buy it, test it, review it, and give you guys t …

Tucker and Jeff Buy a Wing On Walmart Marketplace - Part 2 All right, here we are at the beach. This is Jeff at MACkite. It's not the nicest day in the world as it's raining, but it's January 17th, if you can believe that. So we'll take it here in Michigan. We've got a little breeze. It's a little light, but I'm going to try out the Walmart wing. This is Part 2.  Surprisingly, it looks like the wing does have a little coating on it because the rain is beading up on it. It's blowi …

It’s finally here! We are excited to announce the newest Cabrinha Kiteboarding lineup for 2023. This latest offering includes the ever-popular Moto X, Switchblade, Drifter, Contra, Contra Aether, FX2, and Nitro. Each of these kites has been crafted with precision and special attention to performance, offering an unmatched experience on the water.  2023 Cabrinha Moto X The  Cabrinha Moto X is designed for power lovers who lik …

Cabrinha 03 Wing Highlights with TuckerWelcome back to MACkiteboarding. This is Tucker, and today I'm going to talk to you briefly about some of the exciting new products in the 2023 Cabrinha launch. I'm going to talk to you about three things I'm excited about as a winger and a foiler.We're really amped for the 03 release because this is the first gear release since their new ownership with U.S.-based R&D. Testing is happening globally, of course, though a lot of it is happening here in th …

FireFins - The Quick Swap Fins for Kiteboarding and WakeboardingThis is Pat with MACkiteboarding.com here to talk today about the FireFins. I've been riding these all summer long, and I'm going to give you my impressions: what I liked and what I didn't like about them, and why they might be right for you.What Are the FireFins?They're basically a third-party fin replacement. They work with just about any board on the market, it seems like. They've replaced the stock fins that the board come …

This blog post provides an in-depth look at the five key steps necessary to learn how to water start when kiteboarding or kitesurfing. The first step is to get comfortable with the kite, learning how to launch and land it, as well as understanding its wind window. The second step involves compressing your body into a smaller package, which involves using the power of the kite to pull you through the water and upwind. Step three is getting onto the board, where you will need to carefully balan …

Credit to Damo, Gwen, and Evan for stoking everyone on the Cabrinha Logic! The  Cabrinha Logic is an amazing kite foilboard that offers riders great performance. It features a Dakine pad and a long track in the back, making it easy to adjust the placement of your foil. The board has various strap configurations, such as two straps in front or one centered strap for regular or goofy riding. It also comes in three different sizes: 3’7", which is great for beginners, 4'2", and 4' …

This is Aaron from MACkite with Ben from Duotone. I was asking Ben about some of the overlap within the Duotone kite product line. Aaron: I've been a fan of both the Neo and the Dice because of their surf characteristics, and I started thinking how, within the entire line of kites, there is some functional overlap between the different models. What are your thoughts on the design process behind that and how those design concepts come into play? Ben: We do have quite the lineup of kite …

  Fred Hope is among the most talented kite foilers we've ever seen. He's also a Product Test Administrator for Slingshot Sports, in Hood River, Oregon.  This offseason, he'll be traveling between Barbuda, in the Caribbean and the Baja Peninsula in Mexico. Along with kite foiling, Fred is an amazing freeride kiteboarder, kitesurfer, and wing foiler. The Fred Hope Interview - Kite Foiling, Wing Foiling and Traveling Pat: This is Pat with MACkiteboarding.com, here with Fred Hope. What …

"And so I'm here at the Ocean Rodeo headquarters where Aluula is being tested, and I am going to be doing some load-testing on some Aluula that I have here, and I'm going to compare it to some standard Dacron that is normally used on the leading edge of kites. Alright, so the Aluula weighed in at 78 GSM, and the Dimension Polyne Dacron weighed in at 157 GSM. And so when we go into this tear test, which is going to happen next, keep in mind that the Aluula is basically half the weigh …

Shop Slingshot Kiteboarding Kites. Hello guys. This is Pat and Dustin from MACkite. Today we will review the Slingshot Machine V2 and the Machine V2 Light Wind. We recently had a session with the V2s. They are super stellar, lofty, big boosty kites. They have a perfect low-power end, are grunty, and have decent bar pressure. If you're looking for a lighter bar feel, the V2 might not be the kite for you. But if you like a direct feel and nice power in the bar, then the V2 is perfect …