Strappless On Shore Wave Kiting…

Kiteboarding Peru…

Peru…

KSurf Magazine has a nice article about kiting in Peru on page 111 of issue 36. This e-zine is free if you want to check it out.

Naish TV – Hood River…

Naish TV – French Touch…

Slingshot making their kiteboards in US…

Slingshot Dialer – made in the USA…

I’m not a made in Canada/USA fanatic. I buy products made in Asia. In some cases there are no domestic choices and in others the Asian products are just too good a value to skip. Having said that I do like supporting companies that are able to build an excellent product in North America.

So I wanted to give Singshot Kiteboarding a shout out for building their boards in Hood River OR from locally sourced materials. I own two of their surfboards and they are great. Not only do they perform well, but they are priced well compared to the other kite specific surfboards in the industry.

Slingshot Misfit…

I’ve been getting my Slingshot gear at Kite Paddle Surf in Bellingham WA. They’ve got great prices on SS kites and boards as well as excellent customer service.

My North kiteboarding 2013 dream quiver…

North kiteboarding action…

If money was no object here is what I would ride from the 2013 North line up…

North Neo kite – 4 line w/ 3 struts…

Kites

• North Neo kite 5m, 7m & 10m w/bars
• North Dyno kite 15m w/bar

The Neo is a fun surf/freeride oriented kite that would be great as the core of my kite quiver. The 5m can handle epic winds with the 7m & 10m covering my bases for most days. The Dyno has my back as a dedicated lightwind weapon to prevent any wasted days at beach.

North Select…

Boards

• Select 137cm
• Whip 54′”
• Nugget 5’0″

The Select is a killer freeride twin tip for strapped riding. The Whip is a rocket for strapless high wind conditions and the Nugget is great to lightwind days.

I would add a Beachdog skim board to the mix as well.

La Ventana Baja…

Local Dealer

• Elevation Kiteboarding [Vancouver Island BC & La Ventana Baja Mexico]

Naish TV – South Africa…

Strapless Footwork…

Working on my strapless footwork and ability to ride strapless in switch stance is my goal for this winter in Baja. Last winter I nailed my strapless regular stance riding. This summer got started on riding switch. By next summer I want to be able to kite surf regular or goofy with ease and gybe fluidly.

Wake Skating Maui

How to back tack…

another video not quite as good, but every little bit helps…

Naish TV – Wet Until The End…

Ride until you die!

Wave Riding…

My 2013 Ocean Rodeo dream quiver…

OR kites on the beach…

If money was no object here’s what I would ride from Ocean Rodeo in 2013:

2013 Ocean Rodeo Razor…

Kites

• 5m OR Storm kite
• 7m & 10m OR Razor kites
• 9m Cypher kite [optional]
• 15m Flite kite

The Razor is a solid core kite for my quiver with a good balance of fast pivotal turning and reasonable stability. The Storm covers the really nuking days where robust construction and the ability to deal with gusts/lulls is important. The Flite is a dedicated lightwind weapon to make sure I am not sitting on the beach while other folks are riding. The Cyper isn’t absolutely needed, but it’s nice to have a second option in the core part of the quiver for a different feel and so I can really tune my kite to the conditions.

Ocean Rodeo Freeride bar…

Bars

• Freeride x 2 [1 small & 1 lrg]
• Fusion x 1 [small]

The Freeride bar would get used the most with the Fusion bar pulled out for higher wind days where the mini-fifth line safety is appreciated most. I like having 3 bars so I can have a failure or a line tangle without messing up my session or the trip.

Mako in action…

Boards

• Mako 140cm
• JT Pro Freestyle 138cm
• Quad 5’7″ strapless
• Thruster 5’11” strapped

The Mako 140 is my go to twin tip, but it’s nice to have a real twin tip to ride when I want to load the board up for big air. The Mako’s concave means it will not flex – at all! The Quad is a fun strapless board and the bigger Thruster gives me a strapped option for jumping and epic days.

Add in a Beachdog skim board and I would be totally happy to ride all conditions from nuking to ultra light.

Kite n’ Quad…

My Liquid Force Kiteboarding 2013 dream quiver…

Pink with Envy!

If money was no object here is what I would ride from the Liquid Force Kiteboarding 2013 product line up…

Liquid Force kite action…

Kites

• Envy 6m, 8m & 10.5m kites w/ bars
• NRG 16m kite w/ bar

We love the Envy and Sharon’s got 3 of them so it’s no shock I’d pick it as the core of my kite quiver. Bombproof construction, lots of stability and light construction make it perfect for nuking winds right down to the lighter end of spectrum. The 16m NRG is a dedicated lightwind design to prevent any sitting on the beach when winds drop.

Liquid Force Kitefish direction skim board…

Boards

• DLX 138cm twin tip
• Little Phatty 4’10”
• FCD 5’7″
• Kitefish Skim

Liquid Force has a great board range with the DLX handling twin tip freeride duties and 4’10” and 5’7″ quad surfboards taking you from lightwind to fully powered strapless territory. The Kitefish is an inexpensive and fun skim board option that’s worth a spot in your quiver.

Kite Paddle Surf – Bellingham WA

Local Dealer

• Kite Paddle Surf – Bellingham WA

This is Kiteracing…

Meet the Boss…

Fixing a kite with Tuck Tape…

This poor kite got shredded…

So we pulled out the Tuck Tape…

Throw a roll in with your kite gear…

All this tape got the kite flying again the next day…

Time to ride…

North WAM 5’10” Surfboard Demo…

North Wam surfboard…

I got to demo a North Kites WAM 5’10” surfboard setup strapless with thruster fins. It was a ton of fun! Rode great strapless. Turned nicely and handled the chop with aplomb. Seemed like a great board to shred wind swell and then tackle some real waves. The 5 fin box design lets you tweak the ride between thruster and quad fin options.

If I had one criticism it would be that I’d like a concave deck for better control riding strapless.

I can say without hesitation I this is a board I may well buy when I have some spare gear $$$.

Here is what North says about the WAM:

• ALL ROUNDER
• PERFECT TRAVEL BOARD FOR ALL CONDITIONS
• TRI / QUAD FIN CONVERTIBLE

• BALANCED FEEL
• ROUNDED-SQUARE TAIL

A subtle blend of medium rails, fast rocker and well-balanced outline make the Wam the all-round workhorse of the NKB surf range. The Wam delivers dependable performance in the widest range of conditions, strapped or strapless, from small to well overhead surf. Building on previous year’s models, the 2013 Wam now features thinner, refined rails, a rounded-square tail and a slight reduction in nose width to pull through those critical turns. The tri/quad fin configuration allows the Wam to be customized to your desired feel; Tri-fin mode offers more hold and drive, while quad-fin mode offers a more skatey and loose feel ideal for smaller surf.

Thanks to North Kites and Mark Bavis at Elevation Kiteboarding for organizing the demo down here in La Ventana, Baja – not to mention the delicious free micro brew beer! 🙂

Naish Surf…

Inov-8 Evoskin…

Silicone rubber footwear…

My friend Scott turned me onto these silicone rubber slippers from Inov-8 Footwear called Evoskin. They seem like a promising option for watersports that need a bit of protection, but also value excellent board feel through the slipper. The open top wouldn’t work for sandy beaches or beaches with small rocks since the slippers would fill up, but I’m hoping we’ll see other silicone footwear options that are sealed up a bit on top in the future.

You can read a review here.

Mark Bavis from Elevation Kiteboarding…

Baja skim action from KSurf Magazine – click to jump to e-mag…

Tofino Kitesurfing Guide…

Photo: Kyle Touhey

I found a nice guide to kitesurfing over at the BC Kiteboarding Forums.

Naish TV – Maui…

Liquid Force 12m Envy Kite Porn…

Sharon and her new 12m Liquid Force Envy kite…

Uber long pump shaft for less back strain…

So easy to pump up this kite!

Max-flow nozzle means 50% less pumping…

On a big kite less pumping is appreciated…

Stock gauge to make sure you get the pressure right…

12m size to fill out her 7m & 9m Envy quiver…

Be the Envy – indeed!

The bag is sweet looking and made to last…

My Blade Kites 2013 dream quiver…

Blade kites in action..

If money was no object here is my Blade dream quiver…

Blade Trigger 12m…

Kites:

• Trigger 7m, 9m & 12m w/ bars
• Fat Lady 17m

The Triggers are great core kites that can handle surf and freeride duties. The 7m is burly enough for nuking days and the Fat Lady is a dedicated lightwind weapon to keep me riding if there is even a puff of wind.

Blade Sanchez and Fat Lady…

Boards:

• Sanchez 138cm
• Deuce 135cm

The Sanchez is a great freeride board and the Deuce offers massive pop for jumps and tricks. It’s nice to have two different twin tips so I can dial in my riding perfectly to the conditions and my mood.

Plus some non-Blade gear to round out the quiver:

• Beachdog skim board
• Liquid Force Little Fatty 4’10”
• Liquid Force FCD 5’7″

Blade doesn’t make any surfboards so I had to shop elsewhere for my strapless fix.

Kite Paddle Surf…

Local Dealer

• Kite Paddle Surf – Bellingham WA

Light wind is no problem with the Blade Fat Lady…

Note there are no other kites on the water…

We’ve had some light wind days here in La Ventana, Baja. That’s left a lot of people sitting on the beach looking glum. Happily that means I can pump up my 17m Blade Fat Lady kite and enjoy the whole ocean near my camp without any other kiters to avoid.

Big can be beautiful…

Of course I didn’t hog all the fun. I let my friends take turns on the Fat Lady so they could feed their kiteboarding addiction as well. 😉

Naish TV – Antigua….

Blade Trigger Strapless at Oahu…

Vibram Five Fingers KSO – Redux!

Five Fingers KSO old & new…

After many repairs and a tube of Shoe Goo it was time to say goodbye to my Vibram Five Fingers KSO slippers. The tears between the toes were no longer practically repairable. I got a new pair on sale at MEC.ca. Although they have some serious flaws for watersport use they are still the best option for kiteboarding footwear.

Sadly the soles are brand new even though the uppers are thrashed…

I also bought a new bobbin of black thread and a fresh tube of Shoe Goo. Let the games begin! 😉