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5 Best Kites for Foiling Hydrofoil kiteboarding has been on fire lately at the shop. I cannot remember the last time where every employee was so excited about one aspect of kiteboarding. Every employee from our young guns to shop legends caught the foil bug. As a result, we have seen a dramatic shift in the kite quivers chosen by our staff. Our quivers were dominated by large freestyle kites like the Cabrinha FX; now, we are switching to kites that compliment the unique challenges of foilbo …

Many years ago, pro rider Chris Bobryk and I were kiteboard instructors here at MACkite. Our lesson center was right on the sugar-sand beach of Pere Marquette Park, in Muskegon, Michigan. We would ride as much as we possibly could before and after our lessons and I can remember Chris just hucking himself constantly. He was sending it on every tack. He was absolutely consumed with progressing his kiteboarding ability and it paid off for him in his pro career. I, on the other hand, did not have p …

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 Bag Colors: Black and Blue Available sizes: 140cm 155cm Surfboards 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& …

If you hop onto our website and look at the listings of available foils, you might be pretty quickly overwhelmed. Just like the rest of us, you're probably wondering which foil combo would be great for your personal needs. Foilboarding is exploding; and with it, a lot of gear has been developed. We've got so much to offer with so many different uses, we thought it would be helpful to break all that down all our foils into three separate categories. Freeriding Powered freeriding (yes, we expla …

Welcome to the beginning of our knowledge center. While we're building out this new category on our webpage, we'll be pairing our Foil Friday videos with these extensive blog posts. If you have any questions, be sure to let us know in the comment section of the video.   Have you ever seen a pelican soaring inches above the water? Smoothly cruising the shorelines, unaffected by the choppy waters below, pelicans are a frequent sighting at many beaches. If you have ever seen one, you h …

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 t …

As any dedicated wind-chaser knows, it can be challenging to balance work, life and kiteboarding. Sometimes, we just can't get enough time on the water. Here are 3 simple tips to help you out! Subscribe to Wind Alerts via iKitesurf.com. Keep your gear with you at all times. Communicate with your significant other.   The Alert iKitesurf.com is one of the most important sites/apps for kiteboarders who want real-time wind data from around the world. Not only can you access wind speed, di …

Surf Hydrofoil Choices Choosing a Surf Hydrofoil Choosing a surfboard foil can be a difficult decision. Luckily, we have the gear and knowledge to help anyone choose the gear that will expedite their progression. Some of the variables that may influence your choice of foils are weight, wave height, board choice, ability, and riding style. The path to choosing the best foil can be a convoluted one; as a result, we encourage new foilers to reach out to us for a personal recommendation. If you have …

Differences in Hydrofoil Sports Foilboarding has recently exploded in popularity within the kiteboarding community. With a remarkably efficient design, hydrofoils allow riders to cross into that sub-10 knot threshold while still having a ton of fun. The same logic has been applied to surfing, SUP, windsurfing, and wakesurfing. Riding above the surface of the water, a foilboard gives you the illusion of what can only be described as floating. For kiteboarders in light wind areas, or other wave ri …

7 Steps to Becoming a Kiteboarder Have you seen someone kiteboarding while on vacation or at your local beach? Or maybe you saw a video on YouTube and were like, "what is that?" Your next thoughts were probably "how do they jump so high and land so soft", followed by "I want to do that!" For those of you that want to get started in the sport of kiteboarding but are not sure how, listed below are seven steps that will take you from watching on the beach to riding on the water. 1. Trainer kite Th …

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- …

With so many freeride kiteboards on the market, it’s hard to choose between them all, right? The 2018 Liquid Force Legacy is one of those all-around freeride kiteboards that bridges the gap for a wide range of riding styles. Freeride, freestyle and waves. Even hook up some boots and get your wakestyle on! Big jumps? Yup. Freeride Freestyle Big-Air Wakestyle Stokestyle (I just made that one up, but it fits!) Rider, Jason Slezak and shaper, Jimmy Redmon have combined their many years of k …

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 hy …

WOO 3.0 Snow Session Tracking WOO isn't just for tracking your kiteboarding sessions, you can also use it while on the slopes with your Skis or Snowboard. Check out this great edit on how you can use your WOO 3.0 have fun with friends and post to your social networks. We will post all the Woo 3.0 release Videos here when they are released. 

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 awe …