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Excellent flatwater trick to start expanding out of your comfort zone all while incorporating other more basic trick skills   We're going to keep these short and sweet. Use these steps to visualize the trick in your mind. If you can see it, you can do it!  Printable Steps for the Beach Step 1 Ride Powered. Have a sufficient amount of power to ride while not being overpowered (which will end up pulling you off of your edge if you are). This also works best in flat/slick water, a …

Living in Key West Florida has it’s perks. You know, perks like kiteboarding off  of a friends boat in shallow blue water. In Episode four Blake gives you five simple tips for learning how to pop to blind. Believe it or not, riding blind is a simple progression you can learn once you are adept at riding toe side in both directions. It’s a cornerstone to spice up the landing in literally any trick you can imagine. Best of all you can learn to do it hooked in or unhooked! We're …

Kiteboarding Spot Guide Is there anything quite like the feeling of cresting a hill and catching a glimpse of kites in the air as you approach a kite spot for the first time? That first thought, “It’s windy!” and the building excitement as you get closer and closer to the kite beach? This is a kite spot most of us have heard of and one many of us dream of one-day riding…it’s the kiteboarding mecca of Europe: Tarifa, Spain. For those of us who have only experience …

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 …

Keep Your Kite Crisp and Clean Have you ever wondered how some kiters manage to master the perfect kite fold? Courtesy of Slingshot, we've got the easy 5-step process to keep your kite looking brand new regardless of it's age.  5-Step Process: 1. After deflating your kite, fold from the wing tip to the first strut loosely. 2. From there, fold to the middle strut. 3. Roll the remainders of the kite in. 4. Repeat on the other side. 5. Fold the rolled kite in 3. You've got no air stuck in t …

Hey Guys, Blake here!  This week, were going to cover one of the first tricks you can learn in kiteboarding and one that you can use to add style to your transitions. The Toeside Transition with a pop to toeside, a smooth carve and a downloop. The aim of this progression is to add some serious style and energy to your transitions so pay attention, print of the written steps found at the bottom of this blog and practice!  When to Start Riding Toeside Once you're riding up …

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 …

Today we are going to be learning a really fun, scary and feel good trick. This trick takes it to the next level in kiteboarding, and whether you are a beginner, intermediate or advanced rider this is a trick you should learn someday. The feeling of going up and then flying horizontally through the air is something you can’t do in any other board sport. It gives you a pure and ultimate adrenaline rush and it’s what pushes the limits in our sport of kiteboarding. I’m sure you& …

Wind by Season The best time to ride in Squamish is during their official kite season - from May 15 to September 15. Outside of this season, the air and water temperature can be quite cold and not kiter friendly. The wind is very steady throughout the summer, and most summer days mean wind of 18-35mph. Wind in Squamish is typically not gusty. As long as the skies are clear, you can expect good conditions for kiteboarding nearly every day of summer. Be sure to check the current weather cond …

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 …

Wind by Season While Hood River is windy much of the year, the most consistent and comfortable times to ride are spring and summer. The season starts to kick off in May and ends in September. Before and after that, the weeather and water can be too cold to kite, and you may even get into snowkiting territory. In the summer months, you can get out for a session almost any day of the week if you have a variety of kite sizes or boards and are willing to move around to a couple of the nearby spo …

OK, I’ve officially found my favorite kite-surfboard of all time, and it only took me 18 years. Ha! Nah—seriously though, you’ve got to have a look at the NEW 2018 North Pro Whip CSC.  This little blaster will have you grinning from ear to ear the first time out. I’ve spent a bit of time on the North Nugget and the North WAM, but the Pro Whip is my jam! The first thing you’ll notice is how light the board is. North utilized bamboo and carbon in this board and …

If the calendar says you're past your "expiration date", but you're still feeling a bit spry, maybe you should try some basic unhooked tricks! What is riding unhooked?  This means that you disconnect (or unhook) your control bar from your harness. Don't freak out—it's all about technique. Yes, you will be getting out of your comfort zone. Yes, you will be crashing more. Yes, it is totally worth it! If you're a wakeboarder or a snowboarder, then riding unhooked is an obvious choice fo …

The Story Behind "Sessions" Welcome to "Sessions"! I'm just a dude from a kite shop making videos and testing all the gear, one session at a time. A year ago, I started working with two talented individuals, Blake Olsen and Crystal Veness. The goal was simple: put out the most thorough and relatable kiteboarding trick-tips online and produce the most informative and useful kiteboarding travel guide on YouTube. One year later and we're working hard and having a lot of fun creating useful content. …

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 …