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Welcome back to MACkite. This is Jake, and today I have the 2023 Duotone Entity straps. These have been a favorite of mine, so let's crack them open and see what is new.What's in the BoxLike most straps, they come disassembled, so we have the straps, the footpads, a couple extra heel pad stiffness options, a board handle, a little manual, and individually bagged hardware.Right off the bat, you'll notice a couple different screws. These are the handle screws and they go with your Duoton …

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 …

Dreamstick V2 The Reedin Dreamstick V2 is simplicity supercharged. Everyone here at MACkite gravitates towards this bar for a plethora of reasons. Auto untwist technology for the super loopers, so you never have to spend half of your tack untwisting those pesky center lines. Coming in at 21mm in diameter, the skinny bar feels like you’re cupping a butterfly. Every once in a while you need to untwist the flag line in the auto swivel. The ease of use with this bar is incredible, all the way …

We're super excited to kick off the spring season with a brand new product from Mystic, and one that in our opinion comes not a moment too soon. In response to the recent inflationary challenges that many consumers are experiencing, the new Mystic Travel Bag +1 is the perfect solution to still take that epic spring break trip with your mates while minimizing the impact on your wallet.  Designed to fit all of your favorite kite and foil gear plus one person, this new bag allows you to s …

Foiling is here, and it is awesome. The feeling, almost indescribable. If one were to try, maybe the feeling of flying over Agrabah on a magic carpet would come close to capturing the magic. And, like anything worth doing, it comes with some risks.  Riding several feet above the water, balancing on a board attached to what might as well be a katana… what could go wrong? The good news is with the proper safety gear the chance of bodily harm goes way down, meaning the chances of you l …

It’s a question we get quite often: what’s new for this model year? Well, color, obviously. Maybe some new canopy material, and there’s probably a bridle tweak somewhere in there. What else? Well, you see… errr…We look forward to 2022 to the trends we expect to see in the kiteboarding industry. 1) Lighter Canopy Materials for Kites and WingsThe biggest innovations in recent years have come in lighter materials – first with the Ocean Rodeo Aluula and then the Duotone SLS. We expect this to conti …

When I first came across kite compression bags, I didn't immediately see the value in them. After several years of using them as my daily driver, I have a whole new respect for how they improve my kiteboarding and wing foiling experience. Compression bags offer upwards of a 50% savings in your gear space, deter would-be thieves, and keep the "Accounting Department" at bay. I'll explain. Kite and wing compression bags are typically made of lightweight nylon with a draw-cord closure and …

  So you’ve purchased your harness and are ready to hit the water, right? Before you do, here are 3 important accessories to make sure you have with you. Kiteboarding Hook Knife Every kiteboarder should have a hook knife with them when riding. For when you get jumped in the parking lot by jealous surfers? No, rather for that one-in-a-million situation that you get tangled in your lines. Most harnesses come with a hook knife provided - verify yours does. If not, make sure to pick one …

Hey guys, welcome back. This is Jake with At a Glance. Today we're going to be talking about the Ride Engine HF impact vest. This is the Defender vest from Ride Engine and it's meant for foil use. You're going to notice right away this isn't cut away like a lot of other impact vests, so it's not going to accommodate a harness quite as nicely. What's the point of this vest? Really, it's to protect you from the foil from the board in those higher impact situations. When it comes to fitment, …

Hey guys, welcome back. This is Jake with MACkite. Today's At a Glance video is going to be some vest fitment. So when you're buying an impact flotation vest, every manufacturer varies slightly and they tend to fit pretty tightly, so I'm going to go through and show you how some different vests fit on me. We're going to start with the Mystic Block vest. This is a very basic vest but also super functional. Just to overview real quickly, a reason you'd go with some of these vests is threefol …

Hey guys, Jake here from MACkite. Today I'm here to talk to you guys about packages. Next: wetsuit, booty, gloves, beanie, hood, etc. When you're kiting in cooler environments, these are really, really important. Even when you're in a warm environment it can be nice to have a wetsuit. The big reason for that is when you're learning, you're spending the most amount of time that you're going to in the water. So you're learning how to body drag, you're learning how to boardstart... that's a l …

Hey guys, Jake here from MACkite. Today I'm here to talk to you guys about packages. We got the kite covered, now let's go on to the board. Most boards are going to come with the board and the fins. From there you have to add a set of straps, and most straps are compatible with most boards. For example, we have the PKG board right here and I have Cabrinha H1 straps that will mount just perfectly to this thing. An easy way to figure out where your stance is, is to set the board in front of yo …

A ride and review of the 2021 Duotone Dice by Jake Mitchell. The team is keen on getting more reviews out with different perspectives. We'd like to make these videos as informative and useful as possible, so please let us know what you would like to know in the YouTube comments section of the video! To kick off the review, I have to comment on the colors and graphics. I know this has nothing to do with performance but I've been a big fan of the Dice since 2015 and the new colors remin …

Jake M's 2018 North Rebel Review We get it, you're busy, so let's start with the TL;DR. The 2018 Rebel is everything you've loved about the past iterations, but better and now 4 line compatible. Having finally gotten the chance to ride the 2018 Rebel, I can absolutely attest that North knocked it out of the park with this year's kite. I mean, for those of us who could stomach the 5th line we always knew North had something special with the Rebel. It was truly a premium freeride kite that of …

2018 Ride Engine Hex-Core Is it worth the upgrade? With the 2018 Ride Engine release, the Hex-Core is on its third iteration since production moved from Coleman Buckley’s garage. And without a doubt, this year’s Hex-Core is the most refined yet. Is it worth a purchase if you don’t already own one? Absolutely? Is it worth the upgrade from a gen 1 or 2 Ride Engine? Let’s start by discussing what’s new. The first notable improvement on the 2018 Hex Core is the ad …