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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 …

Okay, I think we all can admit that 2022 has been another weird year and the weirdness hasn’t been limited to just current events. Over the last year or so we have seen some funky products start to pop up in the kite market from new travel accessories, safety gear, and even some new foils.Let's take a dive into some of these new kiteboarding accessories and see if you might need to add any to your arsenal of accessories. Eleveight Revo Kiteboard HandleWe’ll start this out strong with an interes …

  The Cabrinha FX, in one word – fun – smooth - full of energy - just plain enjoyment! Ok, that was way more than one word, but those that know me know I never have just one word for anything. Recently rode the 12m FX in the warm waters of Jupiter, FL. (lighter winds 16-17 knots) and then again in the chilly waters of Michigan (21-23 knots) a few days later. Simply put, I love the feel of this kite. Completely responsive with a smooth forward drive at both the low-end and high- …

 Everywhere I go the question comes up, “is Aluula really worth the extra cost?” Well, cost aside, let's focus on the performance and then you make the call.I got the chance to test two of my favorite kites the other day, the 14.5m Ocean Rodeo Flight. What’s that you say, “wait, he said two of his favorite kites.” To clarify I did test two kites, both were the 14.5m Ocean Rodeo Flight, but I got to pit the A-Series (Aluula) directly against its brother from the same mother, the HL Series (H …

Downshifting With the Duotone Click Bar The Duotone Click Bar offers an easy and measured depower that's always well within your reach. If you like the thought of depowering your kite with the simple click of a button located right on the end of your bar, then the Click Bar might be for you. When the Click Bar hit the market a few years back, I thought to myself, "No way, man—that sounds overly complex and totally unnecessary." While I do agree that it may not be the right control bar f …

The all-new Duotone Juice D/Lab is an ultra-light, 3-strut freeride kite, good for light wind riding and foiling. The frame of the Juice D/Lab is made from Aluula, which reduces the overall weight of the kite by 30%. As well as offering a much higher structural stiffness and greater tear resistance. The moderate aspect shape offers tons of lift, a crazy amount of hangtime, and some pretty decent upwind ability as well. Available in sizes 13m and 15m, the all-new Duotone Juice D/Lab is cer …

The 2022 Duotone Neo SLS and Dice SLS are two very amazing kites, and they’re both a lot of fun for kitesurfing in waves. Yes, they are very different in design and have different strengths and weaknesses. Here are some of our thoughts regarding:  Overall power Turning speed Upwind ability Downwind drift Downloop transitions Relaunch The Duotone Neo SLS is More Powerful. When it comes to overall kite power, the Neo SLS is the winner. I have yet to find a wave kite th …

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 …

What's going on guys? I'm Rygo. Hey guys, and I'm Lucas. And today we're going to do another interview, kind of bro-down video about something from your quiver, the Cabrinha Ace. The new Ace, yeah. First off, man, we've got to talk about the graphics- did you see that board? The graphics- I did, actually, yeah. That board is insane; I'm super stoked on it. Patrick, our graphic designer, crushed it. It's a super good-looking board and it's kind of the first one you see and you want to gr …

Hey everyone, I'm Evan Netsch. We're here in Hatteras, North Carolina. I want to give you a quick run-through on the two Cabrinha loop options that we offer. We have our traditional Quick Loop and we have the newer modular and both of these, I think, have their specific purposes for yourself as a rider depending on your riding style and your preferences.  So real quick, let's just get into the breakdown of the differences between these two and and who might enjoy different aspects …

It's been a few months since I filmed this review and my take has not changed all that much. I admit the North Pulse has grown on me quite a bit more. I had the chance to get a few more freestyle and wave sessions in on this kite. I don't know if I will do another review on the Pulse as, sadly, any kite associated with freestyle takes a back seat to beginner-oriented kites. Much of this comes down to other beginners advising new riders on forums and in Facebook groups. Granted, not everyone …

An interview with Evan on his choice boards! The Cabrinha Xcaliber, one's carbon, one's wood. Depending on the day, depending on what I'm doing, I'd use either one of these as my go-to boards from Cabrinha.  What are the major differences when you go for a wood board or a carbon board, and why might you choose one?  The main difference is the wood board's going to be a little bit of a smoother ride. It's going to be a little bit flexier, cut through chop a little bit better, …

After filming this video, I realized how biased I was towards surf kites. I want to put it out there that I do have a 10m Airush Ultra I use specifically for foiling & I love it. I have wave kites for waves and so on. I'm a believer in using the right tool for the job. That said, many videos I make are from the perspective of working on a budget and trying to decide on kites. Not everyone can have more than there standard quiver and its important to think about what you want from your gea …

The Ride Engine Carbon Elite is the stiffest most supportive harness I'm aware of beyond the Hadlow ion harness.  I meant to do a review on this when the lineup first dropped but time got the best of me on that one. Six months later, I had the chance to swap out my Ride Engine Saber harness for the Carbon Elite, these are the differences I noticed.  Why I love the Carbon Elite The Carbon Elite has the same plush padding that drew me to Ride Engine in the first place. The backplate …