THEKITEMAG ISSUE #49

“We paint a pretty picture in videos – you see the final product and it doesn’t look like a big deal, but if you’ve ever tried building a little something to ride with your friends you know the drill. And if you haven’t I encourage you to do so. It may be a lot of work but when you finally get to ride your own slider it’s so rewarding.”

The Kite Park League returns to Hood River with a new format, and a new team behind the scenes. We spoke with rider and co-organiser Noé Font to hear how they pulled it all together…

“We started the trip in Camber in the southeast, then headed to Poole, Hayling and Bigbury on the south coast, then to Daymer Bay in Cornwall. I think all things considering we were pretty lucky and got some good conditions. It sounds like it was a long hot summer in the UK without too much wind or waves.”

On his first visit to the UK, as part of Cabrinha’s European Demo Tour, Keahi de Aboitiz strikes lucky with favorable conditions for much of the trip (and even some sunshine!). He’s joined by native Brit and recent Cabrinha convert, Hannah Whiteley.

“There is a huge amount of ‘tech washing’ in the industry. Very typically, brands will take an existing off-the-shelf Dacron or canopy material, or make some minor adjustment in formulation, come up with some techy name, and shroud it in jargon to unsuspecting customers. This really undermines the value that long-term innovation brings to the customer as it reduces the value of real innovation.”

As part of a wider look at the light materials arms race that is underway within the kite industry, we speak to five brands who are at the forefront of developing and working with new material technology that’ll probably shape the future of kiteboarding for many years to come…

“The thing is with pro kiters, underneath the chiseled abs and their love of attention, they’re lazy. They would rather not risk life and limb to win a kite competition. They’d much rather do the minimum required to win, and no more. Which is an excellent strategy, until everyone’s skill level rises.”

The build up to the 2022 King of the Air contest has officially begun and, somewhat unsurprisingly, Colin Colin Carroll has opinions on it. Read his crucial guide on what to watch out for at the hottest Big Air ticket of the year.

“As I lay in my van that evening, I felt infinitely happy and grateful for the time that I have been able to experience in this small Spanish town. Since my arrival, my living situation has pushed me out of my comfort zone more than once. Among other things, it has allowed me to meet many different people…”

A cramped living space was a small price to pay for the experiences enjoyed and the new friends that were made from Cohan van Dijk’s van HQ, as he departed the Netherlands for a summer in Tarifa.

“Together, California, Oregon, and Washington make up over 1500 miles of Pacific coastline… And under the right conditions, this surfer’s paradise also makes for incredible kiting. Although surfers and kiters respect the wind in a contrasting paradigm, the direction and its presence play an extensive role in the conditions that transpire and the activity that takes place.”

Noè Font and Xander Raith, along with photographer Toby Bromwich, experience The Great American Road Trip, as they head north up Route 101 and experience Redwoods, kelp forests, suspiciously sharky waters and plenty of all-time, low-crowd kiting…

“It’s special to kitesurf at 1815 meters above sea level in the Swiss Alps – from the lake you can even see people skiing in the mountains. The ice on the lake is still about one meter thick while in the middle of the lake a large blue water hole shimmers in the sun…”

Ben Beholz is tasked with bagging some coldwater shots for wetsuit brand Prolimit. A glaciel alpine lake covered (almost) in ice will do it…