Latest News, Blog & Videos
Kiteboarding: How to Trim Your Kite "Ride with Blake"
While not incredibly exciting, trimming your kite is important. It is imperative if you unhook, and it does help you jump better when your kite is set up correctly. Let's be honest, no one likes it when their kite isn't flying right!
Most importantly, a properly trimmed kite will prevent back stalling. Step One: Find Some Space
Find somewhere safe to park your kite, ideally over water or a large beach. You don't want any obstacles downwind of you or solid objects that you m
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7th Aug 2018
2019 Slingshot Wake Foil Comparison Sessions w/ Rygo Ep03
Last week, Nathan Brad and myself decided to take some of the 2019 slingshot foils out to film and test. We promised to start doing some versus videos on our Foil Fridays series a while back and now it's time to really dive in.
We'll be doing kite reviews, surf reviews and wake reviews on many of our foils. This week, we wanted to test the wake applications of these three foils. Part of doing through reviews here is taking notes on our sessions
Here are our first impre
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1st Aug 2018
Kitefoiling: Best 2019 Hydrofoils for You
Best 2019 Hydrofoils For You With the explosion of hydrofoil sports and new designs for 2019, even experienced riders are left with some questions. In this blog, we’ll go in-depth covering the differences between foil options, and discuss how to choose the best foil for you. I’ve done my best to title each section appropriately so you can skip to the point if you are in a hurry. There is a lot of info here so you may want to bookmark it for later reference.Weight and PriceWeight and price
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27th Jul 2018
kiteboarding: How to Butterslide "Ride with Blake"
The Butter Slide is hands down the easiest trick I’ll ever teach you. Just remember to come into this with good seed and power. The rest will sort its self out.
Once you learn the butter slide, try to incorporate into tricks you already know like transition or even front rolls!Step OneStart Small
Come in with good speed on your heel side edge, kite at 45. Ride slightly downwind lean back your your tail and put most of your weight on the back foot. At the same time, pull up wit
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24th Jul 2018
Kiteboarding Jumping Transition - Ride with Blake
If you can do a transition and jump, then you are ready for this trick!
4 Printable Steps for the BeachStep One: Start Small
The smaller you go at first, the easier this trick is. It should feel similar to a regular transition except your doing it a few inches or feet off the water. This is going to help you build a good foundation to progress this trick into bigger variations that require more height and time. Step Two: Pop Hard & Early
You will want to stomp yo
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10th Jul 2018
Kiteboarding: Rules of Navigation | "Ride With Blake"
Yes, These are the rules...but you should know that not every kiter follows them or knows what they are!
If you see someone who doesn’t seem to know what they are doing, just kindly inform them of what you have learned from this video.
Safety is Key!
Don’t expect other kiters to get out of your way. You can tell by watching their kite movement as they approach you, if they are going to give you respect or not.
If you have any questions, give us a
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19th Jun 2018
How to Waterstart | "Ride With Blake"
This is Blake Olson here at Smathers Beach in Key West, Florida. I'm about to teach you how to do your first starts on a kiteboard. Ben, the person behind the camera, is going to be demonstrating as he's learning. Here are five simple steps for a successful waterstart. 5 Steps to a Waterstart
1) Fly the Kite with One Hand
The first thing you need to do is to practice flying the kite with one hand while holding the board in your other hand. Be sure to grab the bar in th
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19th Jun 2018
Learning to Foilboard Behind the Boat: Foil Fridays
Learning to Foil Behind the Boat
What's the easiest way to learn how to hydrofoil? Starting behind a boat! Learning behind the boat allows you to fully focus on the foiling itself, rather than worrying about the kite. It's essentially the trainer kite for foiling. This controlled environment allows you to understand how foils operate based on small adjustments.
Before You Hit the Water
You can foil behind a multitude of different watercraft, from a wakeboard boat to a jetski t
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15th Jun 2018
Slingshot's How to Pack Your Kite
Keep Your Kite Crisp and Clean
Have you ever wondered how some kiters manage to master the perfect kite fold? Courtesy of Slingshot, we've got the easy 5-step process to keep your kite looking brand new regardless of it's age. 5-Step Process:
1. After deflating your kite, fold from the wing tip to the first strut loosely.
2. From there, fold to the middle strut.
3. Roll the remainders of the kite in.
4. Repeat on the other side.5. Fold the rolled kite in 3.
You've got no ai
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1st Jun 2018
Ride with Blake | How to Toe-Side Transition
Hey Guys, Blake here!
This week, were going to cover one of the first tricks you can learn in kiteboarding and one that you can use to add style to your transitions. The Toeside Transition with a pop to toeside, a smooth carve and a downloop.
The aim of this progression is to add some serious style and energy to your transitions so pay attention, print of the written steps found at the bottom of this blog and practice!
When to Start Riding Toeside
Once you're r
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1st Jun 2018
Ride with Blake | How to Kiteloop
Today we are going to be learning a really fun, scary and feel good trick. This trick takes it to the next level in kiteboarding, and whether you are a beginner, intermediate or advanced rider this is a trick you should learn someday. The feeling of going up and then flying horizontally through the air is something you can’t do in any other board sport. It gives you a pure and ultimate adrenaline rush and it’s what pushes the limits in our sport of kiteboarding.
I’m sure you’ve all seen o
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28th May 2018
Kiteboarding: Becoming Part of the Local Crew
I used to profess this simple concept back when I was a kiteboarding instructor and I know it to be true today. Kiteboarders are simple creatures. We like windy days, good people to share the stoke with, and a good feast afterward. Easy enough. Hey, new guy—just show up with some pizza, introduce your self, and be humble—it'll be all good!"Seriously though—here's how you break into your local kiteboarding scene and be welcomed into the fold.Decide which beach/area you
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23rd Apr 2018
Foil Friday: 5 Best Kites for Hydrofoiling
5 Best Kites for FoilingHydrofoil 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
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30th Mar 2018
Yes, You Should Be Getting Your Kite Wet
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 pro
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27th Mar 2018
General Hydrofoil Categories Explained
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,
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16th Mar 2018