From Paros with Love

Watch these beautiful and talented Best team riders Paula Rosales and Victoria Soloveykina while training this summer in Paros, Greece. Victoria is riding the new 2014 Best KB4Girls board with the fresh new design.

S-Series II

Video of Sean Mertens testing the second generation of the S-Series from Mutiny Kites.

Magdalen Islands, Quebec

Discover the beautiful Magdalen Islands, a small archipelago near Quebec, Canada with riders such as Arthur De La Mauvinière, Alex Arseneault, Romain Barachko, Felix Gourdeau and young rider Jason Blanchard.

Wainmain Hawaii Releases Limited Edition Kites

This week Wainman Hawaii announced it’s Rabbit Gang Limited Edition kites, a series released to celebrate the 5th year anniversary of Wainman Hawaii’s brand. LTD Edition kites are based on the Rabbit Gang 2.0 kites (with technical features and improvements from 2013), but exclusive, limited edition graphics.

Sth Africa Road Trip (Part One)

Part One of a Road Trip from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth via any road that hugged the coast, gravel, sand and normal roads. Stopping at remote lakes and beaches to kite. Big thanks to Luke Whiteside, Simon Wichtermann, Fabienne Bosiger and Tom Schouten for extra footage and just being cool people to be on an adventure with. Big ups to Luke who came even thou he had a serious neck injury.

Kiteboarding in Portugal

Marco Moreira kiteboarding in Portugal. Some beautiful views, great winds and night kiteboarding. No doubt that Portugal is a water sports paradise.

UPWIND LAUNCH OF A SPORT

Let go back to 1998 and watch this documentary about the roots of kitesurfing and the first Red Bull King of the Air.

Jacobs and Winkowska Win the Beetle Kitesurf World Cup

Marc Jacobs and Karolina Winkowska win the Freestyle Beetle Kitesurf World Cup, in Saint Peter Ording, Germany. With almost all the single elimination and the full double elimination being run in one day, this was one of the most intense PKRA freestyle days ever. Heats started at 8:30 and finished at 20:20 with two champions and many amazing performances. The conditions were very good, with a 20 knot side-on breeze and small waves. Unfortunately Youri Zoon dislocated his shoulder and Bruna Kajiya hurt her knee. Christophe Tack and Paula Novotna made an amazing run in the doubles, coming all the way from the last place to both finish in the top 4.

In total 58 heats of men and women were run throughout the day. The action was intense from 8:30 in the morning until the two winners were declared. Some ups and downs throughout the day starting with Youri dislocating his shoulder in the loser’s final in the single elimination. Shortly after Marc Jacobs and Karolina Winkowska won the single elimination. In a double elimination DaSilva had an amazing heat against Aaron Hadlow to upset the five-time world champion. Christophe Tack won seven heats to make it all the way to the podium. We then saw Bruna Kajiya hurt herself on a massive kite loop, yet finishing on the podium. Ultimately Marc Jacobs won his first PKRA event after Pastor rallied hard in the double to force one last heat. Karolina Winkowska also regains the Tour points lead with her victory.

The single elimination started in round two where the freestyle had stopped on Sunday. Da Silva and Hutter set the tempo in the first heat with some big grab front blinds and blind judge 5’s. The first big matchup of the round was Zoon vs Hadlow. Both riders were very technical but Zoon showed more power and advanced. Alberto Rondina was riding really well landing some big toe mobes to advance over Tack. In round three all, the favorites advanced to the next round. The Zoon vs Jacobs’s semi was a battle of powered moves, but we could see that Youri was bothered by his shoulder and Jacobs advanced. The Pastor vs Rondina heat was an extremely technical heat, with Alex winning with more power and some nice doubles. In the battle for 3rd place Youri was ahead but dislocated his shoulder and lost to Rondina. The final was very close with Jacobs edging out Pastor in a close heat with perfect front blind mobes and KGB’s from both Riders.

The women’s single elimination started with the quarterfinals with the top four women in the world advancing to the semifinals. The first semifinal between Winkowska and Kajiya was very close with Karolina being more consistent and having a cleaner execution of her tricks. The second semifinal Pulido was too technical for the newcomer Van Westerop and advanced to the final. In a great final, Karolina defeated Gisela by putting a little more power in her tricks and a smoother execution.

The double elimination started with the men. Liam Whaley, local favorite Mario Rodwald and Eudazio DaSilva were the three riders that embraced the double elimination and all moved up into the top seven of the Beetle kitesurf World Cup. 317’s, BJ5’s, KGB’s, Front blind mobes are all some of the most technical moves that we saw being landed throughout the day by the top riders. Christophe Tack came all the way back from last to 3rd after winning 7 heats and finally losing to a well-rested Alex Pastor. DaSilva and Rodwald also had brilliant performances with DaSilva defeating two past world champions and having the highest heat total of the day with a 37.37. Alex Pastor won the first heat against Marc Jacobs by .36 and a super final had to be run. This time Marc rode flawlessly, while Pastor could not land his BJ5 in the dying minutes of the heat. Marc upped his score to 37.01 to make sure to close the door on Pastor and win his first PKRA.

The women’s double elimination was marked by the success of Paula Novotna who competed in five heats and won four of them to move from last to 4th. Bruna Kajiya injured herself in the last 30 seconds of her heat against Gisela Pulido; however Bruna had done enough to defeat Gisela and finished 2nd. Karolina regained the points lead on tour after her victory; unfortunately no final was run due to Bruna’s injury. All the girls were charging hard. Sabrina Lutz the German champion landed one of the biggest blind judges of the day, Taabbel and Lammerts also landed some big moves.

Mens Results:

Marc Jacobs
Alex Pastor
Christophe Tack
Alberto Rondina

Womens Result:

Karolina Winkowska
Bruna Kajiya
Gisela Pulido
Paula Novotna

Chilly Colours

This is the last video clip from the series Chilly Colours, a trip that Maurício Pedreira took with his family to explore the Chilean Coast during Eastern time. Great conditions and beautiful scenarios .

Last dream in Dumaguete

This is the 10th and last episode of the series “The Far East Tales”. It takes place in Dumaguete, a city in Philippines. Watch it and enjoy a great travel and kitesurfing movie.

Cabrinha 2014 Teaser

Filmed and produced in the Hawaiian Islands, Cabrinha bring us little taste of their 2014 gear.

2014 Cabrinha kites

Here’s a little taste of how the 2014 Cabrinha kite range will look like

Cabrinha Swtichblade 2014

PERFORMANCE FREERIDE

There is only one kite which has embodied the true spirit of kiteboarding for the last (8) years for its spot-on performance in such a wide range of conditions. The Switchblade humbly takes the title of the highest performance kite with the easiest handling. In 2014 the Switchblade gets an upgrade in handling with an all new bridling that provides an even more direct and precise steering. Changes in outline and profile ensure that the 2014 Switchblade delivers power on the low end and precise handling and control on the top end.

Cabrinha Drifter 2014

SURF KITE

Drift stability. Lightning fast steering. Instant power and de-power. Durability. Easy relaunch. These are the necessary elements to make the worlds best surf kite. These are the elements that make up the Drifter. Amongst the many features the Drifter is known for, none is more important than drift stability also known as slack line drift. While surfing, it’s sometimes important to depower the kite to the point where you can surf on your own wave generated power without the pull of the kite. Its here that the Drifter is able to stay aloft and drift downwind with you. When the time calls for it, you can immediately power up the kite and clear the next section. The Drifter has a light weight, yet durable build using our Skeletal frame technology and our all new 2DR double rip stop material.

Cabrinha Chaos 2014

FRESTYLE / WAKESTYLE

In the high stakes world of competition freestyle only one thing matters. Getting onto the podium. In order to do so you need a kite capable of performing at its best when riding unhooked. You need a kite which generates power through its turns. You need a kite that delivers bursts of speed and pop. The Chaos delivers on all fronts. While not made for your average rider, the Chaos kite will give you the fighting advantage in competition. Just ask Alby Rondina, one of the PKRA freestyle superstars and the technical advisor behind the Chaos development. The Chaos is perfectly tuned to perform when unhooked which also makes it the kite of choice for hitting rails or throwing wakestyle tricks on the flats. The Chaos has a light weight, yet durable build using our Skeletal frame technology and our all new 2DR double rip stop material.

Cabrinha Vector 2014

PERFORMANCE FREERIDE

The 2014 Vector steps into the big leagues with a massive upgrade in performance. The direct steering of the Overdrive 1X control system combined with the elimination of pulley’s in the bridle makes the Vector a frisky 3 strut performance freeride kite. The Vector is the type of kite that will perform in just about any type of conditions, with any type of board. The chameleon characteristics does not come at the cost of performance, handling or durability. The Vector has a light weight, yet durable build using our Skeletal frame technology and our all new 2DR double rip stop material.

Cabrinha Contra 2014

Performance LIGHTWIND

BRAND NEW for 2014 – The all new Contra is a featherweight cannon that delivers light wind fun like you’ve never had before. It has the muscle to get you up and riding when the winds are barely showing signs on the water. The ultra efficient profiles optimize the low end power production while allowing excellent depower on the top end. Maximizing performance in light winds the 3 micro struts improve aerodynamic performance using light weight materials with very low drag. The Contra delivers distinctly sharp and precise turning that makes generating power and speed a snap while maintaining the agility of a smaller kite.

Cabrinha Velocity 2014

100% RACING

In the high stakes world of competition freestyle only one thing matters. Getting onto the podium. In order to do so you need a kite capable of performing at its best when riding unhooked. You need a kite which generates power through its turns. You need a kite that delivers bursts of speed and pop. The Chaos delivers on all fronts. While not made for your average rider, the Chaos kite will give you the fighting advantage in competition. Just ask Alby Rondina, one of the PKRA freestyle superstars and the technical advisor behind the Chaos development. The Chaos is perfectly tuned to perform when unhooked which also makes it the kite of choice for hitting rails or throwing wakestyle tricks on the flats. The Chaos has a light weight, yet durable build using our Skeletal frame technology and our all new 2DR double rip stop material.

Wet Dreams

Best kiteboarding team riders head out to the Turks and Caicos Islands to throw down on the new 2014 gear. Watch of what you can expect from Best for the upcoming season.

Kai Lenny’s Kite Board vs. ORACLE TEAM USA’s AC72

Kai Lenny challanged the America Cup winners to race against him. Who do you think that won it: The Oracle Team USA or Kai? Find out.

THE HISTORY OF KITESURFING

When a few days ago I started writing down “the history of kiteboarding”, to put it in the new portal, my mind started a trip through the time to reach those pioneering days when a new amazing way of living the sea was starting to arise. In that period I was so lucky that I had the chance to live the true origin of this sport, since I was in the Maui island, Hawaii. Still today there are many doubts on who was the first real kiter, and answering this question is not an easy task.
Whoever was the first kiter, one thing is sure, the brothers Bruno and Dominique Leigagnoux gave a decisive impulse to the birth of our sport. Let’s see who were these brothers and how they invented the first LEI (inflatable leading edge) kite. The two brothers soon started to love sailing (Optimist, Vaurien, Laser etc.)so much that they became , at around 10 years old, the French junior champions in 1979.
Later on they started sailing driven only by their passion, leaving the official challenges, and in the breton seas they practiced windsurfing, but their true dream was to sail all over the word with a sailboat.That is why after years of adventures with their sailboat, in 1983 in Senegal they started to think about developing sails with a flat profile. But they kept on having windsurf as a source of inspiration, in particular one sail invented by another Breton(Roland Le Bai) which resemble a mix between a windsurfing sail and a kite (Birdsail). When they were in Dakar they stared at one guy using this innovative sail, and they understood that the concept of the Birdsail itself was limited by its dimension. At this point the Leigagnoux brothers started to project something really innovative, a kite for a nautical use. 
In the first test they used a stack from 7 to 12 kites reinforced using rigid laths, all connected by the same lines, but soon they realized a single wing. In 1984 they developed the first LEI, patented in the same year.

It sounds strange that the brothers used for their test most of the times water skis, finding it difficult to use a common board to contrast the pull of the kite.
After hundreds of prototypes and skis of every shape in the 1989 their wing reached such an effectiveness, stability and capabilities of water-relaunch that it could be considered a product usable by kiters. In the meanwhile (February 1987) in the Usa, another pioneer (Corey Roeseler) studied with his father (aeronautical engineer at the Boeing) a marine system of traction using a big Delta kite with rigid laths.
Also Roeseler used for the first tests waterskis. After the development of this sport took place in the Hawaii islands, Maui, where the pioneers used not only the Wipika kites with inflatable bladders (Legagnoux Brothers patent) but also foil kites not relaunchable from the water, like the Flexifoil Blade.

The”kite crew” couldn’t be more eterogeneous, with windsurfer and non-windsurfer:
Manu Bertin, Flash Austin, Eliot Leboe (ex windsurfer and tester for a renowned American magazine), Lou Wainman, Rush Rande, Robby Naish, Pete Cabrinha, Fadi Issa, Dylan Gramfyre, Francesco Moretti, Mauricio Abreau and many more. At the beginning it seemed that kitesurfing had a big limitation: it was impossible to go upwind. Soon appeared a group of rider called “the downriders” arriving upwind from the Hookipa beach right to the beautiful beach of Kanaha, a few kilometers downwind. This limitation soon appeared to be fictitious, being it possible to go upwind with more aggressive rocker and bigger kites. Combining the shape of the board and the size of the kite going upwind was possible! We can say that kiteboarding became an “autonomous” marine sport at around 1997/98.Soon the storic brand of Wipica had to face new challengers, like Naish kiteboarding and otherbrands, some still existing, other not (like da Vinci kites..).
We are at the beginning of the new millennium, and you could find as products in the market 2 lines LEI kites and 4 lines depowerable LEI kites. Some kiters (like the American Peter Trow) kept on using foil kites, for their performances, but still they were impossible to relaunch from the water. Looking at the boards, the mono-directionals are used by most of the riders, being surfboards adapted adding the straps and changing the rockers. Flash Austin started to use the first RRD directional, changing them for the Mutant Boards producted by Naish (half-way between a twin-tip and a directional). Flash was the first actual champion of this sport. Another group of kiter, having the great Lou Wainman as a leader, started to use twin-tip boards coming directly from the wakeboard discipline (like the Liquid Force), tracing the way of the modern kiteboarding. In france the F-One brand, owned by Raphael Salles, started to develop and sell very innovative products. The twin-tips boards reached an high level of differentiation, with long and short boards, boards with 3 or 6 fins in the upwind side, asymmetrical boards etc. The directional boards survived, as well as the mutants, becoming the classic low-wind boards. Soon after, two “big fishes” joined the challenge of producing kiteboarding equipment, Neil Pryde with the brand Cabrinha, and North Sails. Now we can say that the choice that any kiter could make buying the equipment is interesting since there are many different products. The rest of the story is recent story. Another big innovation was represented by the bow-kites with their huge wind-range, making it possible to use the kite with strong gusty wind. In the challenges world the old-style (big-jumps,board-offs,rotation etc..) is replaced by the new-style also called power-style. In that context and at bigger heights the rider do what Lou Wainman did at the beginning: railey, handle pass etc…
But one of the newest and more destructive trick..for the bones of the expert kiters are the kiteloops, especially unhooked. Making a mistake during this maneuver must be avoided, otherwise the injury is sure!
In these last years also the wave-riding became an autonomous discipline, so that many ex-freestyle champions are enthusiastically exploring this world.
What is going to happen in the future? No one knows it exactly. Talking about the design of boards and kites, many things had been done, but still there is some room of improvement using new materials.
We’ll see. This short introductory story of kiteboarding was not meant to be exhaustive, but only to show how this sport is more alive and kicking than ever, ready to give us even greater satisfaction.

How To Do: Strapless "Roll" Air Transition

Caution Team rider Josh Nehf shows you how to do an air transition he likes to call the "Air Dingus." According to Josh it's a duck tack, just in the air, and it offers a stylistically challenging variation to the common transition.

Slingshot 2014 Fuel

The 2014 Slingshot Fuel is almost hitting the beaches.
Apparently it’s not so different from the previous model.. however we are looking forward to put our hands on that looping machine.

ONEMORE

After several months of filming Airush finally released the trailer of their upcoming movie to be released on July 15th, 2013. This highly anticipated film features riders from around the world with highlighted sections from Alex Pastor, Bruna Kajiya, Bear Karry, Bas Koole and Oswald Smith. Stay tuned for the full length video coming soon!

Brandon Cordina strapless

Brandon Cordina having some serious kitesurfing strapless fun.

Kai Lenny in a suit

This new serie features Kai Lenny kitesurfing, windsurfing and standup paddling in a suit in Maui, Hawaii. Watch this first episode. New episode every Monday till August 26th.

Manuela Jungo in SA

A short video of the beautiful Manuela Jungo kiteboarding in South Africa.

FreeRide Project 2 – “Kiting Across the Pond”

The UKcrew (Hadlow, Court, Light and Boulding) hit Hatteras. Following the success of the ‘FreeRide Project’ the crew have decided to start work on the FreeRide Project 2. They kicked off 2013 in Cape Town, South Africa and this time they move on to the Triple-S Kiteboarding contest in Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. An epic contest and great spot to hit some obstacles behind a kite…

Sean Buell: Ride With Us

Sean Buell riding in the Outer Banks this summer. Sean says it’s definitely one of the best places to progress your riding and enjoy life. 
Footage shot by Chris Bobryk, Heather Dale, Drew Christianson, Des, Bret Sullivan, and Ryan Buell.

Let’s Spray Guincho by Paulino Pereira

Paulino Pereira, a very talented rider from Portugal is showing some skills at Guincho beach. Strapless surfing movie made by Paulino Pereira and filmed by Joseph Leitmann and Vasco Santos.

The Longest Journey

The Longest Journey is a recap video from a fundraiser which consisted of a challenge to kitesurf 68 miles to raise $50,000 to build an orphanage. It turned out to be a huge success and some of the top kiteboarders were present. The participants took to the water on Memorial Day Weekend 2013 and kitesurfed from Crandon Park on Key Biscayne. All funds raised will go directly to Orphan’s Heart, organization that feeds, clothes, and shelters children worldwide.

Stefan Spiessberger in Tarifa

Austrian rider, Stefan Spiessberger stylin it out in Tarifa and shaping up for the upcoming PKRA events.

How To Do: Aerial Transition

Top tips for Aerial Transitions from Progression.

Switchkites – Element2 & Felix Pivec

Marc Jacob and Felix Pivec filmed by Chuck Harlan on Oahu and new Zealand shredding all terrains with the Switchkites Element V2

Designed to attack any terrain with rock solid and predictable behaviour, the Element2 gives the weekend warrior or pro the opportunity to blast around on the same canopy without jeopardizing performance. If you are looking to jam up wind with ease, bust some air, demolish waves with power, carve your lines in powder or grind the local park bench with your land board the new Element2 provides a fill for every rider's need without any question.

BWS Noise Pro

BWS (Ben Wilson Surf) gives birth to a new kite that is going to make some noise (pun intented) : the 2014 Noise Pro. Just like its big sisters, the 2014 Noise Pro is a weapon of choice for wave riding, with qualities that allow the rider to fully focus on the wave slaying and not on the maneuvering of the kite.

Playing With The Rabbit

The flying bunnies at Wainman went to have a blast in Cabarete and propose to bring us along... Twist our arm!