Latest News, Blog & Videos
Down Loop Front Roll Transition - Ride with Blake
Today Rygo and I are going to be covering a very important topic, one that will change the way you transition forever. The reason downloops are so cool is because they're basically a shortcut to more powered transitions, used for riding waves, carving turns and riding in light winds. Make sure to do this while slightly under-powered to minimize risk of injury.
This is one of our more advanced videos. The good news is that we have three tutorials you should master before attemp
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2nd May 2019
Filming our Kiteloop playlist - Sessions w/Rygo EP 09
Get to know the crew
Last week on Sessions, we made our way to Orlando, Florida where we caught up with one of MACkite's original team riders and of my closest friends, Steve Lee. Every winter I find myself spending more and more time in Florida. As much as I like snowkiting and snowboarding, spending a couple weeks in the sun and in the water is good for the soul. Steve isn’t our only team rider who migrated to Florida. Blake Olsen has also been living down there for years now, o
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1st May 2019
How to do an unhooked raley
The Raley
Level: Basics
Difficulty: 2 of 10
Today we’re going to break down the raley. This is usually the first trick aspiring freestyle or wakestyle riders learn. It’s a must if you hope to progress into any other air tricks as they all stem from this basic maneuver. Best of all, it’s a lot easier than you think. While not overly difficult, the raley is at the heart of most freestyle tricks. Loads of tricks start with the raley and incorporate rolls or spins.
For example, a Blind Ju
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17th Apr 2019
Kiteboarding - How to pop unhooked
This blog will eventually be made into a complete beginners' unhooked playlist. Stand by while we film this spring.
This week we're going to break down the most fundamental move in kiteboarding: the pop. In freestyle kiteboarding, all advanced kiteboarding tricks can be broken down into smaller tricks. That means you have to master the basics, and it doesn’t get any more basic than a good pop. Think of this as your foundation whether you want to progress into air tricks, the park or just ge
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10th Apr 2019
Neil Pryde Glide Surf Foil Extended Review
UPDATE... Nine months of testing later. Jump down 10 paragraphs to the red heading
We have a new foil offering here at the shop that is getting everyone pretty excited. The Neil Pryde Glide Surf foil brings a lot to the plate for riders looking for a foil on a budget with excellent performance and room to grow. Thoughtfully designed, the Glide foil also provides some unique benefits that enhance the user experience, durability, and rigidity of the system.
The Glide has an aluminum
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3rd Apr 2019
Hydrofoiling: Lift Hydrofoil Product Overview
Lift Hydrofoils have been in the foil game for a long time. Their commitment to building quality carbon foils has made them a favorite of many foilers, and their latest designs are next level. Let's take a quick look at how their foils differ from others.Wings and Fuselages
Lift is the only brand I am aware of using a one-piece wing, fuselage, stabilizer type design. The primary benefits are efficiency, rigidity, simplicity, and weight. This all results in a more efficient foil that
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21st Mar 2019
Comparing Versions 8 and 9 of the 2019 Liquid Force NV
A complete review of the 2018 and 2019 Liquid Force NV
In 2010 the Liquid Force Envy led the charge with a bold new three-strut hybrid design. It was faster than the standard bow kites of the time. It bridged the gap between the heavy freeride kites and the fast performance kites. It was something special as it was user-friendly and performance oriented, something hard to find in one kite back then.
In 2019 we have two versions available, the V8 and the V9. The NV led the ch
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27th Feb 2019
2019 Slingshot RPM VS 2018 - Complete review
A review of the 2019 Slingshot RPM
Slingshot is hyping up the new RPM hard and their videos are hilarious. However, they do leave some questions at hand. Namely, what can you expect from the new RPM, and how does it differ from the original? More importantly, are they fixing something that's not broken to get it back on your radar? We'll cover all of that and more in this complete review. If I had to sum up the new RPM in three words it would be, "smooth, consistent and gru
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18th Feb 2019
Cross-Training to Improve Your Freestyle Kiting - Sessions w/Rygo
Last week on Sessions, we made our way to Brazil. In that special two-part episode we spent a week in the Village of Taiba. We caught up with Cabrinha's newest international rider
Lucas Arsenault and talked kiteboarding gear with him. The following week, we visited the kite park league down in Icapuí. While there we filmed with two of the industry's hardest-working riders, Colleen Carroll and Sensi Graves.
While filming, it occurred to me that these riders
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12th Feb 2019
Wakestyle Kiteboarding Vs Freestyle
All wakestyle is freestyle but not all freestyle is wakestyle.
This is a video I’ve been meaning to do for a long while now, but I’ve put Versus on hold the last few months. It’s a common question I hear and there are a few opinions floating around on the topic. Kiteboarding borrows from a lot of sports! There are plenty of crossovers, from surfing and wakeboarding to snowboarding. And of course there is the unique big air aspect of our sport. It’s one of the most versatile spor
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29th Jan 2019
Kiteboarding: Back Roll Tail Grab - Ride with Blake s3 ep6
The kiteboarding back roll with style
The Back Roll is often the first trick new kiteboarders learn. The thing is, as exciting as they are, at the end of the day, they don't look that great on their own. Now, add a grab. The Tail Grab is the easiest grab to pair with your Back Roll. It's also one of the better-looking grabs. For this playlist, our aim is to help you add a bunch of safe, good-feeling, easy tricks. These will improve your riding and style fast. These are non-inv
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24th Jan 2019
Kiteboarding w/Colleen Carroll and Sensi Graves - Sessions w/Rygo
Last time on Sessions, we were exploring Taiba, a small fishing village in the northeast of Brazil.
We caught up with a couple riders to chat about gear. First we linked up with Lucas Arsenault from Cabrinha to chat about his transition from the
Chaos to the FX. We also did a bit of filming with Machu Lopes of Duotone. You can read up on their gear and catch their rider segments in part one.
After spending a week riding and filming at the local lagoon, it was time to head
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15th Jan 2019
Kiteboarding: Back Roll Roast Beef Grab - Ride with Blake: s3 ep5
The roast beef is arguably the best looking grab you can pair with a back roll, especially if you follow the tenets of style from our first video in this playlist. It might look like a difficult grab, but it’s actually really easy if you learn the muscle memory of the grab first. This is a trick you can master hooked in and cross over to your unhooked riding if you really want to up your game. The secret to making this trick look good is keeping the kite low and letting it pull you through
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7th Jan 2019
Foilboarding Basics: Pumping Your Foil - Ticket to Glide Ep 07
Learn how to Pump Your Foil
There are a lot of new skills to learn with foiling but the most frequently asked about is, “pumping”. Videos online show talented athletes pumping back out to the lineup, off docks, and around boats; pumping certainly draws some attention to the sport as well as lots of questions.
Everybody wants to pump it up, but how is it done? The short answer is, “technique, practice, and/or immense talent”. Let's take a look at some ways to “pump up” your pump skill
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4th Jan 2019
Kiteboarding Brazil With Lucas Arsenault - Sessions w/Rygo S1 Ep6
The Cabrinha Chaos vs. the FX
The Cabrinha Chaos vs. the FX
The northeast of Brazil has long been a destination for freestyle kiteboarders chasing perfect wind, flat water and warmer temperatures. It's just one of those locations where conditions always deliver. While it's not the easiest place to visit, it's well worth the effort. I've always had fond memories of Taiba as it's where I got my start with video and kiteboarding.
Back in 2012 I left my career to help my good friend C
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2nd Jan 2019