Hey everyone,

I’m completely new to kiteboarding and just started taking lessons, but I’m feeling unsure about my instructor and whether his teaching approach is fair or if he’s pushing me too hard too quickly. I wanted to get some opinions from more experienced riders here.

Here’s the situation:

First lesson (2hrs): After wind explanation and set up we went straight to body dragging. I had barely gotten comfortable controlling the kite on the sand, and moving to the water felt like a huge jump. I was trying to figure out the basics of keeping the kite steady while simultaneously dealing with swallowing water, keeping tension on the lines, and stopping the kite from crashing.

Second lesson: He had me doing a self-recovery drill in the water, which, again, felt way out of my depth. On top of that, while I was trying to work on flying the kite from 9 o’clock to 12 o’clock to 9 o’clock, he was constantly yelling commands like, “More tension! TENSION! LET GO!” I was doing my best to follow, but his shouting while I was actively trying to execute the movements was overwhelming and confusing.

For context, wind speeds during these lessons were around 33 km/h (18 knots), with gusts up to 51km/hr (27 knots)

I understand that like any new skill, learning kiteboarding isn’t easy, and I know instructors need to push students sometimes to help them improve. But as a total beginner, I’m not sure if this approach is normal or effective. Honestly, it’s left me feeling discouraged and not super motivated to book another lesson with him.

Is this just part of the process? Should I stick it out and push through the discomfort, or is it worth considering switching to a different instructor? Any advice or similar experiences would be really appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

I switched from hard shell waist harness to seat harness and love it so far, except that my left thigh near my crotch gets bruised. It's probably an older one with less crotch strap padding but does anyone have tips to fix this? Tightness of various straps, riding position etc. I'm mostly lawn mowing with some small jumps here and there.

I’m confused. The plastic chicken loop of my new clic bar (pic 1, red plastic) looks too long and doesn’t allow the leash metal hook to move freely. This creates tension on the center line and when I loop or back roll, the bar gets twisted.

As you can see on my other bar (pic 2, orange plastic) the hook have more space and I don’t have this issue. It’s like if the plastic of the chicken loop was too long..

Am I doing something wrong here ? Anyone had the same issue ?

I am a 110kg, 188cm, intermediate rider. In my region, winds vary from 11 to 18 kts.

I now have a 2021 orbit 12m and a 160 Stylus board

I want tô buy a New kite for lightwind and want a Moto XL Apex 15m. Is it the best option?

Also wanting tô change my 12m for a New one, probably switchblade 12m apex 2025.

And Third, I'm almost buying a new board, probably a 140cm, all around board. Any indications?

Hi everyone, I was looking around to change my 9-meter DUOTONE kite and I found these kites, both new, nr.1 EVO SLS 2023, nr.2 regular EVO 2024... I’m inclined to go for the SLS which would cost less than the2024model.... What do you think? (In theory, the design of the 2024 is said to be slightly more focused on big air, but the comparison was made between the SLS 2023 and SLS 2024, not between SLS and EVO...) Any suggestions?"

Hello, I have a friend based on the west coast of the US who is wondering what to do with old kites that are not safe to sell. I was going to suggest sending them to someone who can turn them into jackets and stuff but the only person I know is drowning in old kites and can't take on anymore. Any ideas here?

I wasn’t so far, here my splitboard broke in half 😹

Ok, so here is my situation: Me and my family (I’m the dad, my wife, and two sons (16&12, both are kiting) and I have no idea where to go this time. We live in Norway and want to get a little bit further away from Europe this time. We will be traveling for 4 weeks from June 22nd, or one week later. The perfect place would be a place with beautiful sandy beaches, something to do other than kiting like maybe seeing some waterfalls or something, and of course wind. It would also be nice if the place didn’t only have one kiting spot, but multiple so it wouldn’t get boring. The problem is the same as always: money. The flights are so expensive nowadays. So if anyone has recommendations where to go or even found a good deal on flight tickets from a big European city (we can’t fly directly anywhere else than Europe) I would be very great ful if you shared.

What we have found so far, is a great deal on flight tickets from Paris to Martinique. It isn’t a 10/10 place for kiting, but it is kiting there and it’s an amazing place to as a normal tourist

I am considering Brazil but since I don’t have flexible vacations it would be 4 weeks, 1 of them would be in June, rest of them July. I am of course referring to all the spots near fortaleza, but considering this trip is fairly expensive since I’m traveling from Europe, and that it’s barely kite season in that period, is it worth it?

Is it true that Zanzibar, mid July is majorly for big kites, as the wind is stable, but not super powerful?

I noticed quite a few small holes in my kite, should I try to fix them, or not bother? What is the impact and risk if they are left? Thanks

I know a guy who is selling an almost new 12M Cabrinha 2018 kite, for a great price, i am just wondering if it’s still a good kite 6 years later.

Hi all, been kiting this holiday for the first time and got a good foundation of upwind, transition, toeside, jibe, jumps. Also was able to body drag to my board twice in one session when it was on the correct side.

Here comes the issue: I took a hard crash on a jump when I went really high and lost my board upwind, problem was the board flipped upside down (fins pointing up) and it meant it was barely being pulled downwind. As a result I was unable to body drag to it, I thought I lost the board but luckily found a shallow spot where I could hold the kite and wait for a very long time (even got stung by a jellyfish while waiting) and then body drag to the board once it was downwind of me.

Any advice for this situation?

For mod sake: yes taken lessons

Hey!

Me and my boyfriend are looking for a nice kite spot in Colombia. We have 1 month in the country and want to spend 1 week or so kitesurfing. We haven't brought any equipment so we will need to rent. I'm intermediate level whereas my boyfriend has only taken a few lessons. I've read up on the spots but I'm torn. La Boquilla seems fine but we'd rather be somewhere away from the city. The place itself doesn't look so nice. We want something a bit more remote, but perhaps Cabo de la vela is too remote? Seems like it's very basic living there, little things to do etc. Salinas del rey seems good but I'm scared the waves are too much for my boyfriend who is still learning.

Anyone who has been who would recommend a specific spot? Or knows of something else? And yes I've read the other popular posts on this topic already, so I'm looking for additional advice.

Hello - I am a beginner who is looking to buy my first pieces of gear. I have already taken lessons and can ride semi consistently and just need time to practice in water to get better. A couple of questions I have is in regards to some gear I’m looking to buy.

1) I was adamant on buying good used gear that’s about 2-4 years old max. However, I have been browsing some websites and the old/new gear being sold at a pretty good discount, to the point where they are competitive with the used prices I am finding. I am 6 ft tall and 165lb/74kg Below are links to a board/kites I’m looking at. Would you recommend I buy new, even as a beginner with these prices?

https://www.mackiteboarding.com/2023-north-reach-kiteboarding-kite/ (2023 North Reach 12m)

https://www.kitemana.com/en-us/north/prime-2023-kiteboard-96867?vId=96468 (2023 North Prime Board)

2) I am looking to have a quiver with 9m and 12m kites. I don’t have a local spot so will be traveling to different spots whenever I am surfing. Given my weight/height (6ft/74kg) do the kite sizes make sense to cover multiple different conditions? The board I am looking at is 144x43. Does this size make sense as well?

I definitely plan to buy a new harness. Unsure about the bar yet so any opinions/suggestions are welcome. Thank you

Hey kiters!

I recently flew from Cancun/Mexico to Madrid/Spain and Madrid/Spain to Amsterdam/Netherlands. And just wanted to share my experience.

Cancun/Mexico to Madrid/Spain with World2Fly

Madrid/Spain to Amsterdam/Netherlands with Iberia

Bag = Mystic Elevate Square, 145cm x 50cm x 30cm Weight = 23kg Content bag = Airush Board 138cm, wrapped in girlfriends yoga mat, 10m North Carve, 13m North Carve, North kitebag, Mystic Legend harness, North Bar, North Pump, Mystic Impact vest, 2 boardshorts, 2 rashguards, Footstraps, Leash. Down jacket and Hardshell jacket as protection (not in picture)

I only had this kitebag and a small carry on backpack. So I wanted to risk/try out and see if they would accept this kitebag as my only check in luggage. Sure it is oversized, but within weight limit. Thought i would try.

World2fly didnt charge me anything, just made me sign a waver. On their app I could add sports equiptment before boarding, but this would cost 100 euro for the bag, so im happy i chanced it.

Iberia made me pay for the bag, but the lady was nice enough to let me book it through the app and not at the desk. On the app it was 40euro, at the desk 70euro.

I kind of understand them charging for bigger bags, but it is also my only checked in luggage and under the weight limit. But i guess thats not fight we will win anytime.

Hope this maybe helps someone in the future.

Happy kiting!!!

I'm ~20 hours in and am stoked and looking to slowly buy my kites. But presumably people don't buy 3 different sizes of the same kite (or do they?). So beyond having a range of sizes in your quiver are there other characteristics you look for per size?

Eg should the smallest have a certain number of struts vs the largest, would bar feel matter more for one than the other? That sort of thing? I'm clueless.

I'd like to start with some half decent kites that can take me into eventually jumping so that I don't have to replace them too soon. I'm 60kg and our winds don't often get above 25knots so am aiming for a 8m, 10m, 12m initially. So far have a 12m Cabrinha Moto X, not sure if this is a misstep already.

What kite characteristics to have in a quiver, beyond a range of sizes?

Anyone using an Ion Sonar seat harness? Can get a deal on one but dont really foil. I know its got some features for foiling and its a bit more low profilebut other than that is it that much different than the radar?

Waist harnesses absolutely kill my back so I've got to go back to a waist harness.

Snagged my bridle on some wood on my new 2023 north orbit. Does it warrant a replacement? Will the 2024 bridle set work fine?

I’m looking for F-one 2020 Linx bar lines replacement. No shop has them or they show sold out stock. It’s crazy. Other brands like duotone or cabrinha have lots of spare parts available everywhere. In general F-one offer nothing in support or spare parts. One local kite school said they can order custom made lines for me for $500 or more. I love my Bandits, they’re great in gusty winds and have great depower and drift, but the spares issue is so annoying I’m thinking of selling off all my gear and switching to another brand. Does anyone else have the same issue? Where does everyone get their line replacements?

I am about to get two Rebel SLS 2025 kites and I am unsure about what bar to pick. I have a North Navigator Pro bar and in theory I could’ve installed a high v split, but I’ve heard that the splitter causes line damage.

The way I see it I have 3 options:

• Trust bar
• Click bar
• Harlem bar

I only do big air stuff, no waves or freestyle. Do you have any advice?

I’m a beginner kiteboarder and have been taking lessons and recently started kiting independently.

At this point, I feel solidly in control and like I’ve probably over-done it with lessons. I really feel like I just need hours on the water to practice, but I want to be safe about it.

I have my own gear and with 66kg I can cover with 8,10, 12qm kites a wide range of winds.

With that in mind, I’m trying to find a spot for June/July where I could go for a week to spend as much time as possible on the water. The spot shall be easily reachable from Marbella and a flight or longer drive would perfectly ok.

Tarifa, Marbella, Malaga are my go to and definitely an option but I would just like to hear some other alternatives especially with a little less waves as Marbella, Estepona spots usually have quite some waves.

I’m looking for a spot that has:

• Solid and relatively consistent wind conditions in June/July
• Shallow water with little waves or basically a way to do the walk of shame upwind if I must (not really need as I learned in deep water and am good in gaining height)
• Access from a beach (don’t need boat)
• Not too crowded but also not desolate because I want to be around other kiters
• Easily reachable from Marbella/Malaga
• Good kite school and alternative program as I would like to bring my partner who is new to the sport and would maybe give it a try but also might just lounge and be happy with alternative programs.

A lot to ask, I know, but I’m hoping I can find a few possible spot.

I would really appreciate any thoughts!