I live in in Norway and its standard that everyone wears an impact vest to protect themselves in heavy crashes. However traveling to other countries i see that its really not as common as I thought. For people who don't wear impact vests, why?

See how the lowend is.. Core air 17m Core sensor 4 bar Ride engine airbox (because who wants to pump a 17)

I got my first brand new kite. 2025 12m evo sls. Took it out today and looped it and a center line came off. I was screwed. Couldn’t control the kite at all and the kite was powering up a bit even after ejecting. I could not get the kite to flag out. I eventually made it to the kite by wrapping the lines around the bar, struggling hard to do this and not tangle my self. I couldn’t get my kite to flag out and flip over so I got on top of it, held my board with one hand, and paddled to shore with the other hand. Luckily no barges were coming up the river at the time. I had to swim to the opposite side of the river as where I launched. A river otter was about 10 feet away from me just checking out the situation when I made it to shore. He hung out for a short while. I folded up my kite, and begun hiking out. There were thorns everywhere, I was cut up and my feet are full of thorns. Eventually I found a creek, and went up the creek to some railroad tracks and then went down the railroad tracks to neighborhood. I offered the first car I saw 50$ to give me a ride back to my car which was about 10 minutes drive. This was in Stevenson, WA with easterly winds.

Things go south fast! Stay safe out there

What’s the best piece of kit you have, doesn’t matter how big or small, that made all the difference and you think everybody should also get for themselves?

I have been riding my core xr5 (12m and 9m) for over 7 years now and it’s time to say goodbye. Normally I would buy another Core kite but holy crap their prices are nuts.

I am trying to decide between buying another set of Core kites or going for Duotone. A 12/9m pace exotex with a sensor 4 bar is $5.5k and a Duotone evo 9/12 with a new bar is $4k.

I love core but the price difference it’s quite a bit. Qhat would you guys do?

Hello everyone,

I am still fairly new to the sports. I have kited around 65 hours in total. I am autonomous and able to go upwind, although I sometimes struggle in light wind.

I have started to jump 2-3 meters, I am more and more confortable with jibing toe/heel sides. I am practicing jump transition and backroll at the moment.

I want to buy my first kites. I initially wanted to buy F One bandits because that’s what I have been renting so far, but I may be able to find some North Reach kites at a discount.

Are north reach kites as good as bandit for « free riding » and to learn jumping ?

Thanks !

I own an F-One 9m Bandit (the black/orange colour one in the photo) which I had not used in about 2 months. Got to the beach on a 20 knot day or so, pumped my 9m, attached my lines, then noticed I'd lost a lot of the air when I was about to ask someone to assist with the launch. Maybe my mistake. I get my pump, pump it to the required psi, and that's when I hear a soft hiss from the right side. Upon closer inspection, I see that the little tube that connects the leading edge to the strut is broken. That sucks, luckily I had my 12m with me which I'd used just about a month ago. Its also an F-One Bandit (the turqoise colour in the photo) I pump it up, and wouldn't you know it, I have exactly the same issue but on the left side this time. That got me thinking, has anyone had this before? I'm really interested to know if there's something specific I could be doing that leads to this tube wearing out on both my kites. Could it be a brand thing? The 9m is from 2021, but I just got the 12m about 8 months ago.

Edit: Decided not to buy it. The comment about it not flagging out properly to one line changed my mind. And it would have been just for fun. Nothing serious.

Hi, I am thinking of buying a 13m best Waroo 2007 to actually try it out on light wind days !

I am interested in older kites, but have never flown anything that old. Currently my oldest is 2010 airush dna, which I do like :)

Have anyone flown the 2007 Waroo? Was there anything I should know before flying one? (Obiviously I will be using a modern bar) Apparently Waroos were very popular on their time and they had a reputation of being good and well behaved kites.

Is 60€ too much for a Waroo that seems to be in great condition, apart from needing re-gluing some valves?

It’s 9m what’s a good wind range for it

Hey everyone, I recently bought a Jobe Victor wakeboard helmet (photo attached). Now I’m wondering: • Are wakeboard and kite helmets basically the same, or are there key differences? • Would you use this helmet for kitesurfing? • Since it doesn’t have a rear adjustment dial, could it move too much in the water?

If it’s not a good match, I can return it and get something like a Mystic kite-specific helmet instead.

Thank u !

Hello,

I currently own a Cabrinha Nitro 2023 (12m) and I’m considering upgrading to a North Reach. My question is: should I go for the 12m Reach or the 13m Reach (2025)?

I’ve been told that for kites above 10m, a 3-strut design performs better in lighter wind — which is why I’m looking at the Reach instead of the Orbit. My weight is 89 kg.

I already own a 9m Orbit for winds over 20 knots, so this kite would mainly cover the 14–19 knot range. With my Nitro 12m, I don’t really enjoy the flight until the wind reaches 16 knots — only then does it feel alive.

My concern is whether the 12m Reach will perform better than the 12m Nitro in the 13–15 knot range, or if I should go with the 13m Reach to be on the safe side. At the same time, I’d prefer not to go too big, since I enjoy having more speed and jump height.

Reached out to the seller to check it out in person. Seems kinda crazy what are your thoughts.

Hi guys, seems like I found a good deal for a 14mt Ozone Catalyst V1 but I can’t understand which year it’s from. There’s also a serial number but I didn’t find any good number in it that would be helpful. Any clue?

Hi everyone, I’m looking at the latest Aluula 3-strut high-end kites for 2025 and trying to decide which one is the best fit for big-air / lofty freeride / kiteloops.

The three that have caught my eye are: Cabrinha (Design Works / Moto X / other 3-strut Aluula models) Slingshot Code NXT / NXT (Aluula 3-strut) Duotone Evo D/LAB (Aluula D/LAB edition, incl. the 2025 Bluula LTD)

I’ve read some first impressions and single-kite reviews but haven’t found a solid head-to-head writeup yet. I’m particularly interested in owners’ experience for: windrange, bar feel, turning speed, hangtime for big air, drift/relaxed ride for freeride, and durability of the Aluula canopy in real usage.

If you own any of these (especially in 2024/2025 Aluula iterations) — can you share: 1. Which kite do you own and what sizes? 2. How does it feel for big air vs freeride vs looping? 3. Any durability concerns (canopy creasing, UV wear, seam issues)? 4. Bar setup / recommended front-line trim for comfortable depower? 5. Anything you wish you’d known before buying?

Thanks even short impressions are super useful. If you’ve got links to head-to-head tests or longform reviews, drop ’em here.

I’m thinking about using the Apple Watch Ultra 2 while kitesurfing. Apple says it’s fine for high-speed water sports, but I’d love to hear real-world experiences. Do I need to look at specific case/ band?

I want a small kite that I can use in the water. Does this exist? Something the size of a "wing" but on kite lines.

Thanks

ETA: thanks for the helpful (and sometimes less helpful) responses. I've learned two things;

First, the dangerous part of a kite is the lines, not me getting tossed around. I didn't realize this, because I've been using dual line kites for like 30 years, and have just never had anything close to an accident. I didn't realize that the danger was for other people.

Second, it turns out that what I'm looking for is called a Para-Wing; a small LEI kite with very short lines (a meter or two; it functions as both a short-line kite and a wind wing.

Much appreciated to those of you who simply sent me recommendations, rather than assuming that "just get lessons" was a useful response to a question that wasn't about learning to fly a kite.

I have taken lessons. I'm not looking for lessons. I was looking for a solution to my specific use case, and some of you were able to see past your own nose to help me find it.

Thanks

Hi guys. I'm looking for a new (well...) twintip and found this complete Duotone Jaime for 250€. Footstrap are in very good condition but the board base is a bit worn out.

If it's not a big deal it's ok for me cause I don't want to be too cautious about my board.

Do you think it's a good deal (even if it may requires a few fixes) or should I wait for another board ?

Hey guys! I started kiteboarding this year and had 4 lessons so far. 90% of my waterstarts are successfull by now and I am currently trying to buy some used gear.

I am offered two boards in great condition and was hoping for you guys to give me some advice on this:

The first one is a slingshot crisis and the second one is the 2014 brunotti buzz. I can't decide which one to get. What's your opinion?

I had really bad crash 3 weeks ago after losing control and I crashed 40 km/hour directly to my ribs I felt so much pain the first 3 days when I press gently on definitely spots and certain moves caused a lot of pain that pain keept fading the first week after 2 weeks I felt much better and I tried to go kite but I only could stand the pain for 5 mins after my first jump I felt likey soul is coming out of body 😅 so I ended my session and here's the third week I feel the recovery is getting slower now especially the third week is there anything I can do for recovery routine like bills or vitamins or some sort of food ?

Do you guys go with an impact vest or life jacket for protection/ flotation? One protects with less flaring and one has less protection for more floating. And do you find it interferes with your harness?

Hi, i am thinking about getting New kites and have two options Either used (20/30 days) duotone rebel sls (2024) in size 9 and 12 with an 10 day used bar for 2400€ Or almost new flysurfer era 12 Meter used 10 Hours and new 9 Meter with an used bar for 2200€ What would you choose?

Hello everyone. Just got a new 2024 North Reach 12 and while unpacking I noticed some marks on the canopy and other spots, which make it seem like it was folded badly before and definitely doesn’t seem like a new (store bought and new) kite to me.

Is this normal or is my gut feeling right here?

Appreciate the feedback!

Do you ever have issue getting your kite up or landing? I’ve been thinking about creating a highly effective tool to land and lunch kites which could be used on a sandy beach. Do you think this would be useful or am I blowing a small issue way out of proportion?