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After years of riding, I've made a lot of mistakes along the way. The funny thing about kitesurfing is no one wants to show themselves riding bad or crashing. It occurred to me I can think of hundreds of mistakes I've made along the way. I'll be dropping these mistake videos along the way and I may even start intentional filming the right way vs the wrong way in future videos. This is going to be a fun one so lets dive right into it.  Mistake One - Riding Overpowered Kitesurfers often rid …

The Ride Engine Momentum is a unique soft-shell harness. It comes with the classic ride engine fit and lumbar lock yet its soft and flexible and allows for completely unrestricted movement for the rider.  This year Ride Engine has 3 flex patterns in their line up and it's a smart call. Not everyone enjoys the feel of a true hardshell myself included. I prefer something with some torsional give and support like the Saber. Some want the absolute stiffest harness like the carbon Elite.  …

This video has been on my mind forever. I know it's going to drive some of you crazy but it must be said. Different Rules of Navigation should be observed in flat water spots. Like a slick behind a sandbar, an island or a jetty. A buddy of mine Leo Chen put it best. It's not about possession of the spot. It's about thoughtful use of a rare resource. Flat water is hard to come by and sought after for riders who are pushing their progression on the water. Love or hate this idea, I think we can al …

Today we are going over toeside to heelside transitions. Before trying this, you should know how to ride toeside and make a transition. Always remember to visualize a trick before trying it. Get these 5 easy steps in your head and see yourself doing it before going out and giving it a try! Step One: Send Kite Send the kite slowly across the wind window with the bar sheeted out, keep your hands in the middle of the bar. Step Two: Follow the Kite Twist with your shoulder and hips following the …

This week I’m going to do a review on the Ride Engine Saber harness. To help you understand what this harness is like, I’ll be making a comparison to the Mystic Stealth Harness. This is more a review of the Saber than a full comparison but doing a small comparison will help the review be more in depth and hopefully help you decide if this is the harness for you. So if it sounds like I’m leaning too much towards the Saber in the review, don’t be mistaken. I used Mystic fo …

Step One - Park your Kite Park the kite around a 45 degree angle. This applies whether you are going to your right or left. Keep the kite stable partially sheeted out. Park it high but not too high. If the kite is near noon, It will pull you off your edge. Step Two - Edge and Twist Twist into the wind so that your chest is facing upwind. While doing this, engage your heel edge and shift your feet so that your toeside edge is now digging in. As you twist you should naturally feel the need to e …

The new Sentry bar is a welcomed upgrade for Slingshot. I’ve been using their bars since 2013 and while they were making welcomed changes, like above the bar depower and a functional swivel the core design of the bar hasn’t changed all that much. So What's New? Softer Bar The new bar is soft. This really stood out to me. We now have soft molded ends, a soft grip, coated center lines. The older bar was cool because it was so simple but there was a lot of hard plastic. I found …

The Frontroll Kiteloop is one of the most exciting and scary tricks in kiteboarding. The key to learning this move is to start doing kiteloops… a lot of them! Thing is, those are kind of intimidating too! The trick to learning this is to start in extremely light winds. I'm talking about the kind of conditions where you're riding and the wind gets so light you can kind of stay upwind, you can kind of jump and you're ready to put up a bigger kite or get off the water. When this happens, 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 …

Choosing the right gear when you are a new kiteboarder is easy. Go for an all around kite and you will be set for years to come. Choosing your second quiver of kites can take a bit more work depending on what you want out of the sport. You have to ask your self some questions. What kind of kiteboarding do you like to do? Do you prefer once discipline over the others? Do you want to focus on hangtime, kiteloops, unhooked performance or wave? Different kites even in the all around category usua …

Kiteboarders are obsessed with getting more air, more height and more power into their tricks. At the end of the day, there are no shortcuts to improving skill on the water, only practice. That said, there are some things you can do that over time are going to have a huge impact on your riding and your pop. Tip One - Ride Finless Take the next 2 - 4 months and commit to riding without fins on your twintip. At first, everything is going to be more difficult. You'll find that you can't stay upwin …

The Raley to Blind is a critical step in your unhooked freestyle journey. It's typically the first fundamental move to be paired with a rotation. In our “Unhooked Fundamentals” playlist, I hammered home the point that all advanced moves are combinations of the fundamentals. This lower intermediate move is the first progression towards the Blind Judge, the Blind Judge 3, 5 and beyond. Once you get comfortable landing this to blind, you can pair the rotation with the Backroll and the …

2021 North Kites Overview This is a good look at the 2021 North kites compared to the 2020 North kites. We'll be taking a look at what the changes are and how it will impact you as a rider in this blog.  The Orbit  The ORBIT changed the game when it came to big air kiteboarding. It's one of the most successful kites at KOTA. With swept wingtips and a flatter canopy you get a very unique kite. It has the turning possibilities of a freestyle kite, but the flat canopy allows you to …

Once in a while, I come across some gear that its difficult to deliver a neutral review on. I've been using these boots for the past year and I'm hooked. In this video I will explain why these are my favorite boot but I will make a point to give a detailed review of what you are getting and the considerations. Form and function  Right out of the gate, Vadatek is a smaller family owned company. These boots are made by a kiteboarder / wakeboarder who is passionate about making the best boot …

Quick Reference Guide Pro Voke - Best for Strapless Freestyle Pro Fish - Best for Progression & lightwind Pro Whip - Best all Around Pro Wam - Best Surf Feel and Wave Variety Pro Session - Big Wave Performance The Voke is as good as it gets with strapless freestyle Pro Voke The Voke is unique in the sense that it rides more like a high volume twintip. It has a wakestyle board outline and is made to pop hard, stay on your feet and not boot you during hard landings. The board stays locke …