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An Interview with Nils Rosenblad from Naish Kiteboarding So Naish has been in the game for a long time. When did Naish start making gear? When did you join their design team? Robby has been making his own boards since forever - thinking late 80s - under the Naish name, but Naish as a standalone brand really started in the mid 90s with their windsurfing sails. I've been with them since 2005. And when did you guys start to develop your hydrofoil program? We started experimenting with them when Kai …

What do you grab? Kites for Hydrofoiling Edition. 4-9 knots: HQ Matrixx Foil Kite We choose the HQ Matrixx for extreme light wind conditions for one reason...Weight. In sub-10 knot conditions most inflatable kites will not stay in the sky without major babysitting from the rider, The Matrixx weighs only a fraction of a similar sized inflatable kite and has been specifically designed for flying in a whisper of wind. The Matrixx is an efficient kite that delivers great power and speed. Howeve …

Ryan H on Foilboarding I’ll admit it, when foils first came out I was one of the first people to badmouth them wondering why anyone would want to foil, saying it looks super boring and that very few people would get into it. Fast forward 4 years later and most my summer sessions are being had on a foil. So what changed? Well, like most kiters out there, I want to ride anything once or twice. Even though I was talking down the latest board to ride I still was planning on trying it once or t …

The “New Foil Guy” 3rd Session / June 20th, 2017 It’s been a month since I’ve gone foiling—my bad. We’ve had an unseasonably windy spring, with much more time in the surf than usual. I make no apologies—riding in the surf will always win over everything else for me. With that said, I did have a great session on the 30” mast this last time out. Part of me wonders if that will be the longest mast I’ll need as I only plan on kite foiling in ligh …

Conquering the First Foil Session 1st Session / May 16th, 2017 I’m not an early adopter for many new things, except for kiteboarding. When kite foilboarding first hit the market, I was pretty neutral about it. Didn’t hate the idea—didn’t like the idea. It just was. This morning, I had my first session on a foilboard, and wow—I had no idea how much fun I was missing. Winds were around 15 mph, which was plenty for a North Neo 12m to haul my 190 lbs around o …

Slingshot Foil Academy: "Taxi Stage" Like with many of you, the kite foilboarding bug has bitten me as well. And as you may already know, the Slingshot “Foil Academy” is a great place to get started. Thanks to Alex Fox, and his team, the online tutorials are well thought and easy to follow. The Slingshot Hover Glide foil system is easy to assemble and disassemble. I was able to switch from the full-size mast to the 15” mast in just a few minutes. After assemblin …

With so many friends coming to visit recently, I haven't been working nearly as much as I should. The last week I've mostly logged a lot of hours at work. That said, I thought I would talk about a really fun event that takes place in Key West. The Havana Classic, a Hobie cat race from Key West to Havana Cuba. Last year a few close friends and myself followed the racers quite a ways out. We didn't make all the way to Cuba but it was an incredible experience non the less. One of my long term goal …

Aaron's Journey Being the "New Foil-Guy" April 20th, 2017 Sitting on the sidelines watching everybody else having all the fun is NOT fun. No matter what it’s about. Those goofy guys with their kite foiling boards. Who do they think they are, out there having all of the fun? I’m over it—can’t watch one second longer. I’m diving in now! Committing to learning something new can be challenging. Plus, no relatively experienced kiteboarder or kitesurfer wants to revisit t …

How to do a transition on your foilboard! It's Friday so you know what that means. Another episode of Ride with Blake. The last week was incurably fun as some old friends from MACkite came to visit. Ryan (Rygo) Goloversic, Steve Lee and Chris Bobryk. There is nothing like kiteboarding with friends and having some adventures. Like when we helped some F-16 pilots get a session and they were quick to reciprocate by letting us fly in their in single engine plane. It's amazing what life will bring …

Blake Olsen will be covering a variety of topics including trick tips and the basics behind foilboarding for the first time. Foil boarding is beyond fun Many claim it's akin to snowboarding in endless powder. That said it can be intimidating for first timers looking to get on the water. I have a few tips to make the process easy and reduce those pesky crashes. Tip One Keep your weight centered over your front knee. This is as simple as keeping your shoulders lined up with your front knee. …

Deciding Factors for Foilboarding Hydrofoils are being ridden for more than simply racing and are now accessible for most riders. For goodness sake, Kai Lenny is riding them without a tow on waves.  What was once a simple choice has now become a convoluted but potentially beneficial choice. Like eating at a cruise-ship buffet the right choice can leave you smiling and satisfied while the wrong one leads to a feeling of sickness and regret. With over 50 foil/ board combinations in our catalo …

MACkite Foil Showdown: Who Wins? If 2016 was the year of the foil (according to the ancient kiteboarder zodiac calendar), then 2017 is the year of foil refinement. Hydrofoils are being ridden for more than simply racing, and are now accessible for most riders. For goodness sake, Kai Lenny is ridding them without a tow-in on waves.  What was once a simple choice has now become far more convoluted. However, with more options comes the opportunity to get something that better fits your riding …

Cruising On A Foil - Liquid Force Style On a foil, it seems that even the lightest conditions can be super sweet. Testing out the Happy Foil, Julien Fillion puts the test to the board - and, pairing it with the Elite, it seems that the combination is a success. Julien shows us how he cruises along the beautiful beach city shoreline. See the stoke on Julien's face? We're going to call that the "Foil Smile".  Video Synopsis Come ride along with Julien Fillion as he puts the Elite and Happ …

Nathan's Fireside Chat: 2016 Slingshot Foils With foiling taking center stage lately in the kiteboarding world, a few companies have either started to include foils to their lineup or expanded their current offerings. For Slingshot in 2016, we've been introduced to a program that will take you from true beginner to advanced, and everything in between. Slingshot's "Learn to Fly" Program Slingshot's "Learn to Fly" program features the all-new Hover Glide aluminum-masted foil aimed at tho …

Learning to Foilboard Using Slingshot's "Foil Flight School" Foilboarding is an experience unlike anything else in kiteboarding. No matter your riding or your style, there is nothing like gliding silently and efficiently across the water (in fact, it's almost addicting). But learning how to foilboard can be a difficult experience, and it can take months or years to become proficient in riding. To some, it can be intimidating, painful, and frustrating. Sometimes people do not take the plunge due …