Latest News, Blog & Videos

If you've followed our chanel for a while, you know that I also do a series called Versus. For the last year, I've really put in the work testing gear and focusing on creating the most detailed object kiteboarding reviews on youtube.  This takes quite a bit of time and energy to get these right, all that said, with every review it gets easier. When testing the Moto, I realized that all the hard work was worth it. While riding the kite, my mind was racing with the applications and potentia …

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 impressions.&nb …

Let's Chat: 2019 Slingshot Hydrofoil Wings 2019 is an exciting year for hydro-foiling. The variety and abundance of choices in the current market are sure to have a product for every circumstance and budget. However, that also means that the dizzying confusion of product names, measurements, and uses makes choosing one a confounding affair. Slingshot, for instance, has two foil platforms for 2019 with a combined 10 wing choices. Hover Glide Wings The least expensive of the platforms is the Hov …

When it comes to kiteboarding Harnesses Ride Engine really shook things up when the came out with their first hard shell harness. It wasn't long before every brand had some form of hard shell or another. There really are a lot of  great options out there but currently there are two favorites among the staff here at MACkite.  The  Classic Ride Engine, and the Mystic Majestic X. We're divided pretty evenly here and rightly so as there is no right answer here. When it comes to …

The Best Kites for Learning Freestyle Hey guys! As I promised I'm going to write about my current three favorite kites for learning freestyle. Now, just because I favor these kites doesn't mean there aren't a lot of other great kites that offer similar benefits. I’m going to write about these as well. As I said, these are the best kites for learning freestyle. I know some of you are going to start shouting about C-kites and I’ve addressed this before. Check out my video on the top …

We’ve had a lot of requests for a solid review on the 2018 North Evo and how it compares to the 2017. I can’t say I’m surprised there is very little content beyond the basic brand notes on the 2018 Evo. I’ve been really curious to compare these two kites myself, but it definitely took me some time, to say the least! The reality is that this kite has become a completely different animal designed to meet the same end, yet with a new approach. It’s rare for a kite to …

Sessions Blog - Testing the 2018 North Evo For the  2018 North Evo, I really had to put in the work to get my review right. In most of my previous videos, I'd already had years of experience testing the gear. Demand was high for this review and I was struggling to get any real information on the kite. I decided to get as much time in on the kite as possible and take notes on my sessions. The problem was I only had a 12 meter and the conditions never seemed to line up. I had tested the kit …

Foilboarding is the newest and fastest growing aspect of kiteboarding, without question. The rapid advance of riding styles and equipment is a hard thing to keep pace with. As a result, we get a lot of questions. Since most of the people getting into kiteboard foiling are already kiteboarders, a popular question is, “How will my kite(s) work for foiling?”;  A legitimate question!  The kite you have/choose will have certain advantages and disadvantages for your riding and …

5 Best Kites for Foiling Hydrofoil 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 foilbo …

There are a lot of different travel bags out there for kiteboarding and kitesurfing. North offers the "Combi Bag" and "Team Bag Surf", while ION has the "Gearbag TEC". Here's the breakdown from Ben Skaggs, our North and ION Kiteboarding rep from Hood River, Oregon.North Combi BagColors: Black and BlueAvailable sizes: 140cm155cmSurfboards up to 5'6"Surfboards up to 6'2""This is a lightweight travel bag that uses the method of “use your gear and clothing as padding to save weight” for protecting y …

So if you’ve watched the last few videos, you might have caught Freeride Kites vs Freestyle Kites where we talked about how most kites that undergo years of development slowly get so well rounded that they cross over into all-around territory. The Cabrinha Drifter is one of those kites. While it is a surf specific kite, it is a great contender as an all-around freeride kite. It’s even decent at unhooking. So the first thing to consider would be the most obvious, and that is where t …

So you’re looking to go big! One of the most fun aspects of kiteboarding is going all out at full speed and just sending it. On those days where the wind is so strong that the beach is empty except for a hand full of wind junkies. Your heart is pounding, all you hear is the constant hum of the wind in your ears and the shouting of your friends as you set up. Cars line up to watch the show, people venture out to the pier to see what's going on. It’s one of the most exciting and eye- …

Kiteboarding has come a long way since the early days. What was once an extreme sport is now only as intense as you’d like it to be. Whether you want to experience the freedom of sailing and exploring, you want to wakeboard without a boat. Maybe you want surf in any conditions or you want to get 40 feet of air and push the limits. Best of all it’s an all season, all terrain sport. Basically, kiteboarding is freedom. It’s gravity, it’s your lift pass for life. All the hy …

The two leading performance kites that bridge the gap from freeride to freestyle. Both appeal to intermediate to advanced riders looking to push big air, kite loops or unhooked freestyle. Often, when I review kites there are a lot of trade offs and the differences are very clear. Between these two kites, the water can get a little muddy. All that said, I hope to clear this up for you. These kites are designed to fill the gap between C-kites and user friendly Freeride kites. What’s awe …

This week, we’re going to break down the difference between flat boards and rockered kiteboards. Last week, we got started with our first kiteboard comparison. We broke down small boards vs large boards, as well as choosing the right size. This week, we’re going to get a little more tech and break down the difference between flat boards and rockered boards. We’ll also finish up this series next week by breaking down construction materials like wood boards vs carbon boards. Le …