It is the end of 2011 and my New Year's resolution is to learn new and more radical tricks. It should be even easier as there are three instruction applications to iPhone/iPod Touch for you to try: Kiteboarding Vol. 1 and 2, Kitesurf Instructor (KI) and Progression Player for Kitesurfing and Kiteboarding.
Kiteboarding is a series of two releases from Evan Netsch. Kiteboarding Vol. 1 has 13 videos from sent jumps to raley and it has hooked-in backrolls, frontrolls and transitions in between. Vol. 2 is progression to the first video collection. 16 videos start from load and pop and goes through tricks from raley to un-hooked moves to wrapped and blind. All of the videos have the same formula: show a trick, show key points to focus on in the trick, explain the key points with slow video and then show the trick again. The only difference between the releases that the key points and explanation have changed order in Vol. 2.
It is clear that this set is not a complete guide to tricks but it gives the key points to focus on when training the tricks. These will work as a quick list or quide once you have some experience in basic tricks and have tried to learn them. However, you still need to figure out detailed steps to do the tricks by yourself.
Video quality is good in the Vol. 1. Unfortunately, lighting conditions in the Vol. 2 make the rider too dark and that makes it a little harder to really see what the rider does.
More information can be found from:
http://www.iphoneappsplus.com/sports/kiteboarding-vol--1/index.htm
http://www.iphoneappsplus.com/sports/kiteboarding-vol--2/index.htm
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/kiteboarding-vol.-1/id338838351?mt=8
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/kiteboarding-vol.-2/id402265471?mt=8
Kitesurf Instructor (KI) has also two releases: beginner and intermediate. Beginner insctruction starts from body drag and water starts, and runs through basic riding and jibing to sent jumps and transitions. Intermediate instruction is a collection of hooked-in tricks covering back and front rolls, grabs, hooked-in tantrum, doubles, board-offs and downloop transition.
Both of these video collections really try to quide you through the trikcs. They have written overview of the trick, detailed steps and common mistakes with solutions. Most of the tricks also have videos and some have it from two angles to give another view of the trick.
Kiteboarding vol 1 and 2 list the key points only, but Kitesurf Instructor has all the details for you to filter three to five most critical points to remember when you are on water. Key points would be a good addition but thinking those by yourself makes you mentally ready and your mind focused on the trick.
More information about Kitesurf Instructor on:
http://www.iphoneappsplus.com/sports/kitesurf-instructor--beginner/index.htm
http://www.iphoneappsplus.com/sports/kitesurf-instructor--intermediate-level/index.htm
The third application is Progression Player for Kitesurfing and Kiteboarding. It is a mobile version of Progression Kiteboarding instruction DVD series ( http://www.progression.me/ ). The videos are converted versions of Progression DVDs and cover basically all you need about any trick. There are instruction videos from body dragging at beginner level to handle pass tricks at professional level and everything in between. Videos have been split into introductions of the chapter or level of the tricks. Introductions have been made as motivational videos. The trick videos have an overview and a very detailed description of the trick. Videos show the trick from two angles for a better view of the trick.
The quality of the videos is good and in many cases you can choose high quality to play it on TV or the mobile optimized lower quality video. The only thing that may get a little boring after watching videos several times is the flat voice of the commentator.
The player itself is free and there are some introduction videos to download free but then you pay separately for every chapter. Chapters are from 2.39€ to 5.49€. Regardless of the fact that they are quality videos with a good introduction, a complete set of tricks will be a bit expensive. For sure you can select only the ones you are interested in and then save some money compared to buying the DVD version and you have the videos with you on the move.
More information on the Progression player on:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/progression-player-for-kitesurfing/id454175448?mt=8
All of these applications give you hints to learn tricks more quickly but they are all different. Kiteboarding Vols and Kitesurf Instructor are made on a smaller budget than Progression series, which unfortunately shows. Kiteboarding is the lightest version. Kitesurf Instructor gives you very detailed steps with text but does not have videos on every trick. Progression has only detailed and very long videos but the cost of some chapters are more than one volume of Kiteboarding or Kitesurf Instructor. It is up to you if you only need some support or detailed information or how much money you want to spend.
lauantai 31. joulukuuta 2011
torstai 29. joulukuuta 2011
tiistai 20. joulukuuta 2011
Lüderitz speed challenge is coming
There was constructed a new canal for the speed competition in Lüderitz. I would say it is insane to ride 100 km/h in that narrow ditch :-)
Luderitz Speed Challenge 2011 from ByAdrienFreville on Vimeo.
KSP wrap up
KSP wave tour had three events this year and after greaat wave riding it is time to wrap up the competition.
KSP wrap up from ION on Vimeo.
maanantai 12. joulukuuta 2011
torstai 1. joulukuuta 2011
PKRA New Caledonia
PKRA 2012 tour hits the beaches of New Caledonia. Check the heats from http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/18832537
sunnuntai 27. marraskuuta 2011
Mikki
Finnish Mikael "Mikki" Hyrylänen is rippin. He also did very well on Europe's kite tour.
Untitled from mikki hyry on Vimeo.
torstai 24. marraskuuta 2011
New clip from Aaron and Sam
Sam Light and Aaron Hadlow in Turkey. Personally I prefer the kiting above wakeboarding but they rip in both.
perjantai 4. marraskuuta 2011
Wipeouts
It is said that if you are not wiping out, you are not pushing hard enough. To be able to ride better or to get the best possible videos or pictures pros do wipe out also.
torstai 3. marraskuuta 2011
The Kiteboarder Magazine’s 2012 Buyer’s Guide
The Kiteboarder Magazine has released a 2012 Buyer’s Guide. It is released as an electronic magazine full of links to videos, product information pages, 2012 catalogs, and more.
Free version has a sneak peak to the offerings of the kite brands in 2012.
Full version of the 2012 Buyer's Guide is available as a .PDF file or an iPad/iPhone application that you can buy.
The Kiteboarder Magazine's 2012 Buyer’s Guide
Free version has a sneak peak to the offerings of the kite brands in 2012.
Full version of the 2012 Buyer's Guide is available as a .PDF file or an iPad/iPhone application that you can buy.
The Kiteboarder Magazine's 2012 Buyer’s Guide
torstai 27. lokakuuta 2011
keskiviikko 26. lokakuuta 2011
Kite Show Episode 4
New Kite Show episode including Mark Shinn about board design, photographer Jason Wolcot about Bali, new move of the month, legendary clip of the Lou Wainman rippin and more...
Found more on http://www.thekiteshow.tv/
Found more on http://www.thekiteshow.tv/
The Kite Show - Episode 4 from The Kite Show on Vimeo.
tiistai 25. lokakuuta 2011
Safety notice from F-one
F-one has released a safety notice about their Bandit 4 kite's bar.
Direct link to the safety notice http://en.f-onekites.com/Skins/Country/Img/disclaimer-en.pdf
F-one page http://en.f-onekites.com/
Direct link to the safety notice http://en.f-onekites.com/Skins/Country/Img/disclaimer-en.pdf
F-one page http://en.f-onekites.com/
keskiviikko 19. lokakuuta 2011
Whitekitemag
The Northern hemisphere is moving towards winter. Hopefully there are still lot's of autumn days to go out on the water but it may be good to start to change the mindset from water to snow.
Pascal Boulgakoff is releasing his pictures and stories about snowkiting as an online magazine. See the Whitekitemag here.
Pascal Boulgakoff is releasing his pictures and stories about snowkiting as an online magazine. See the Whitekitemag here.
maanantai 17. lokakuuta 2011
Roadtrip / documentary by Ben Wilson
Ben Wilson has uploaded a cool roadtrip documentary about his and his mates' roadtrip in the West Australian coastline.
See it here in Ben Wilson's Vimeo page.
See it here in Ben Wilson's Vimeo page.
sunnuntai 16. lokakuuta 2011
Safety notices from Flysurfer and Ozone
Flysurfer safety notification for the QR of the Infinity 2.0 bar http://www.flysurfer.com/news/4227-qr_sequrity_message/
Ozone safety notice about the valves leaking air in 2011 models: Catalyst, C4, Edge, Zephyr and Reo http://www.flyozone.com/kitesurf/en/news/headlines/19348?source=rssfeed
Link to pdf file: Instructions for temporary solution
Ozone safety notice about the valves leaking air in 2011 models: Catalyst, C4, Edge, Zephyr and Reo http://www.flyozone.com/kitesurf/en/news/headlines/19348?source=rssfeed
Link to pdf file: Instructions for temporary solution
Pros travelling
Jeremie Tronet - Travel Series season 2 - Puerto Rico
Jeremie Tronet - Travel Series season 2 - Puerto Rico from Jeremie Tronet on Vimeo.
perjantai 14. lokakuuta 2011
Some words about safety
It has been a pretty ok couple of weeks with some days of wind from 20 to 38 knots. At the same time the air is getting a little chilly as the air temperature is barely reaching +10 C. That does not matter too much when you have the correct gear. Unfortunately, while there has been fun times on the water, there have also been a close call of serious injury and some very sad news in the kiteboarding forums about injuries and even a fatality in France.
Safety in kiteboarding is a combination of many things like the weather, location and gear. We cannot change the weather or rearrange or remove all the hazardous objects on the beach but we can choose to go out or go home and kite another day. There are many reasonably good weather forecasts free on the web to have some idea of the predicted weather. Surely, everything cannot be predicted so we need to keep our eyes open to notice how the weather changes.
All the beaches are not wide sand with lots of space and shallow water. There may be rocks, trees, buildings or other structures that reduce the size of the safe area or cause major disruptions to the wind. Local knowledge will help a lot and also using some time to evaluate the current conditions when you are on site.
Once the weather and te spot is found suitable, it is up to the gear to meet the expectations. Wearing a warm enough wetsuit/drysuit when it gets colder, a helmet, a life jacket or an impact vest should be self evident to us. The next thing is to have a correct sized kite. The current kites have such a wide windrange that people ride easily with too big a kite even though they could be out with a size or two smaller and have even more fun. The reason they give is that jumps are bigger when the kite is overpowered. For sure a kite that has more power may go bigger but the power is nothing without control. With correct kite size people can ride faster with better control, can time the jumps and keep the edge better to load up the power to jump and that combination makes people go big. So the solution in gusty wind is to take out a kite that keeps you going nicely through the lulls and you can still handle the gusts without being overpowered.
Sometimes all the preparations just are not enough. There may be a sudden gust, much stronger than anything earlier or the kite drops into power zone in a lull and you know that when it powers up again, it will pull you downwind or loose lines may cause twisting or tangling. These situations require us to react to the changes fast. People may be dragged or lofted on the water or on the land but they are not pulling quick release to get the power to minimum. Sometimes it is hard to say if a rider is frozen and cannot think clear to make the decision to pull the release or if the rider trusts himself to regain control in a second but may never actually manage it in time.
Idealistically, the quick release is pulled just by a fraction before the kite yanks the rider. This happens very rarely as it is hard to estimate what happens next. Most of us find it hard to react quickly enough to release the kite in time. However, when the first loft is over or the kite keeps dragging the rider without control, the quick release should be pulled. The later the release is left, the bigger the risk is that you get into more trouble and you may be dragged to hit something or you are lofted even higher.
One thing about safety is that we train tricks a lot but very rarely we utilise the quick release. Whenever purchasing a new kite and bar, we should check the new version of the quick release and how it works. We should also remember to check regularly that everything works and is not stuck due to sand or salt water or snow. It is equally important to know how the kite behaves when the quick release is done as there are differences between kites. Some kites will drop nicely down with almost zero power while others will take more time and a couple of low-powered loops to drop or may have some power left to drag you slowly on the water. The only way to know how your kite behaves is to try it more than once in different conditions.
Kite manufacturers have been working to improve the safety of the gear. Kites are much more stable and have a lot bigger wind range than those we had five or six years ago and new kites are easier to handle when depowered or overpowered. Quick releases have improved and have become easier to use with less power required to release it but there is still room for improvement. Personally I prefer a quick release that is symmetric and push away type so I can release it with either hand and also when flying lines are slack.
The design of the LEI (Leading Edge Inflatable) has evolved from the old C-kites to current palet of bows, SLEs (Supported Leading Edge), hybrids, delta shapes and high depowerable C-kites. This evolution has made the kites more user friendly and safer in most conditions and occasions. However, there are some cases where the kites have not yet evolved enough. Some models still have quite a bit of power after quick release is launched and are not totally flagged like the old C-kites were. It also seems that sometimes the current kites are a little more prone to dangerous situations. These situations are the continous kiteloops aka death loops caused by the bridle line being tangled in the wingtip. It goes even worse if after several loops the lines are twisted so tightly that launching the quick release does not kill the power. This may be a rare case but it has happened to many kiters and it has been discussed in kiteboarding forums. This is something where the kite designs need to improve.
When the kite is still powered after quick release is pulled, the only option is to release the leash and get rid of the kite completely. In this case it would help a lot if the leash were not on the back of the harness in handle pass leash. It is hard to release any type of leash if the kite pulls you backwards in the water. The simple solution is to connect the leash into the front or to the side if you are not doing handle passes in every run.
To summarise, you need to know your limits and equipment and need to check out the conditions you are planning to go out. It is important to try out the emergency procedures regularly to be better prepared if something unexpected happens. Some may say that we cannot be ready for everything but for sure being able to make correct decisions or react at the right time will help in most cases.
Safety in kiteboarding is a combination of many things like the weather, location and gear. We cannot change the weather or rearrange or remove all the hazardous objects on the beach but we can choose to go out or go home and kite another day. There are many reasonably good weather forecasts free on the web to have some idea of the predicted weather. Surely, everything cannot be predicted so we need to keep our eyes open to notice how the weather changes.
All the beaches are not wide sand with lots of space and shallow water. There may be rocks, trees, buildings or other structures that reduce the size of the safe area or cause major disruptions to the wind. Local knowledge will help a lot and also using some time to evaluate the current conditions when you are on site.
Once the weather and te spot is found suitable, it is up to the gear to meet the expectations. Wearing a warm enough wetsuit/drysuit when it gets colder, a helmet, a life jacket or an impact vest should be self evident to us. The next thing is to have a correct sized kite. The current kites have such a wide windrange that people ride easily with too big a kite even though they could be out with a size or two smaller and have even more fun. The reason they give is that jumps are bigger when the kite is overpowered. For sure a kite that has more power may go bigger but the power is nothing without control. With correct kite size people can ride faster with better control, can time the jumps and keep the edge better to load up the power to jump and that combination makes people go big. So the solution in gusty wind is to take out a kite that keeps you going nicely through the lulls and you can still handle the gusts without being overpowered.
Sometimes all the preparations just are not enough. There may be a sudden gust, much stronger than anything earlier or the kite drops into power zone in a lull and you know that when it powers up again, it will pull you downwind or loose lines may cause twisting or tangling. These situations require us to react to the changes fast. People may be dragged or lofted on the water or on the land but they are not pulling quick release to get the power to minimum. Sometimes it is hard to say if a rider is frozen and cannot think clear to make the decision to pull the release or if the rider trusts himself to regain control in a second but may never actually manage it in time.
Idealistically, the quick release is pulled just by a fraction before the kite yanks the rider. This happens very rarely as it is hard to estimate what happens next. Most of us find it hard to react quickly enough to release the kite in time. However, when the first loft is over or the kite keeps dragging the rider without control, the quick release should be pulled. The later the release is left, the bigger the risk is that you get into more trouble and you may be dragged to hit something or you are lofted even higher.
One thing about safety is that we train tricks a lot but very rarely we utilise the quick release. Whenever purchasing a new kite and bar, we should check the new version of the quick release and how it works. We should also remember to check regularly that everything works and is not stuck due to sand or salt water or snow. It is equally important to know how the kite behaves when the quick release is done as there are differences between kites. Some kites will drop nicely down with almost zero power while others will take more time and a couple of low-powered loops to drop or may have some power left to drag you slowly on the water. The only way to know how your kite behaves is to try it more than once in different conditions.
Kite manufacturers have been working to improve the safety of the gear. Kites are much more stable and have a lot bigger wind range than those we had five or six years ago and new kites are easier to handle when depowered or overpowered. Quick releases have improved and have become easier to use with less power required to release it but there is still room for improvement. Personally I prefer a quick release that is symmetric and push away type so I can release it with either hand and also when flying lines are slack.
The design of the LEI (Leading Edge Inflatable) has evolved from the old C-kites to current palet of bows, SLEs (Supported Leading Edge), hybrids, delta shapes and high depowerable C-kites. This evolution has made the kites more user friendly and safer in most conditions and occasions. However, there are some cases where the kites have not yet evolved enough. Some models still have quite a bit of power after quick release is launched and are not totally flagged like the old C-kites were. It also seems that sometimes the current kites are a little more prone to dangerous situations. These situations are the continous kiteloops aka death loops caused by the bridle line being tangled in the wingtip. It goes even worse if after several loops the lines are twisted so tightly that launching the quick release does not kill the power. This may be a rare case but it has happened to many kiters and it has been discussed in kiteboarding forums. This is something where the kite designs need to improve.
When the kite is still powered after quick release is pulled, the only option is to release the leash and get rid of the kite completely. In this case it would help a lot if the leash were not on the back of the harness in handle pass leash. It is hard to release any type of leash if the kite pulls you backwards in the water. The simple solution is to connect the leash into the front or to the side if you are not doing handle passes in every run.
To summarise, you need to know your limits and equipment and need to check out the conditions you are planning to go out. It is important to try out the emergency procedures regularly to be better prepared if something unexpected happens. Some may say that we cannot be ready for everything but for sure being able to make correct decisions or react at the right time will help in most cases.
tiistai 4. lokakuuta 2011
Wave riding in Indo
Wave riding is one style of kiteboarding that is progressing quickly. Here is a one cool clip.
maanantai 19. syyskuuta 2011
New straps by North and a new fin setting system by Nobile
Every year there is brought something new to make personal tuning easier or getting to water quicker. Now North kiteboarding has released new straps with easier system to setup the straps and have more personal customization options.
North Entity combo instructional video.
Nobile has introduced a new fin setting system to their kiteboards.
North Entity combo instructional video.
Nobile has introduced a new fin setting system to their kiteboards.
sunnuntai 18. syyskuuta 2011
Short evolution of the twintip
This is not a complete history of the twintip kiteboards but some views on how the twintips have changed in the past years.
Twintip evolution has had several trends until they have been formed into the ones we use today. The first twintip boards I recall make me smile as they looked like big bananas. They were thick, long, had a big rocker and looked like two noses of the directionals were glued together. It was common that these boards were 160 to 190 cm long. There were even longer boards as some of the school twintips were way over 2 meters long. Compared to modern boards, it was hard to get upwind and jump with those boards.
There were some so-called wakestyle boards that were similar to the modern boards but they required more skill to ride and they required almost overpowered conditions to get upwind. I had one of these after the first plastic 180 cm long twintip. It was Airush Wakestyle 137 2002. It was only 35 cm wide and had pickle fork tips. It was not quick to plane but it kept the edge when overpowered.
In the next step, the majority of the boards changed from big plastic twintips to follow the way the wakestyle boards were. The big twintips were still produced as beginner boards. There was a twintip sidestep of mutant boards that could be ridden both ways like twintips if wanted. However, one direction was preferred and the one tip of the board had bigger fins like directional boards. The latest mutant-like boards are Nobile Shinn Wave and Ocean Rodeo Mako but those shape is far from the Naish Mutant in 2002/2003.
Twintips got shorter. Many boards were 130-160 cm long and usually they were 35 to 41 cm wide. Naish Stubbie 2003 had the shortest length of all production boards with only 115 cm of length. The boards did not have much flex and in chop they were harder to ride than current boards. The missing flexibility was replaced by the small size.
Many kiters made boards by themselves for lighter winds. It was easy to make a reasonable board (compared to the productin boards at that time) from plywood by taking a sidecut from some successful production board and adding some width. The simplest boards had plywood core bent to wanted rocker and boat varnish on top. Some kiters added layers of fiberglass or even carbonfiber on top of the plywood core to make it a little stiffer and to keep the wanted rocker better.
During the next few years the board shapes were tuned but no major changes were made to the length of the boards. As the change was more subtle, only some centimeters were added to the smallest boards and the lenght of the longest boards was reduced a little. The change was more in the board width. The boards were getting a little more flexible and the bottom was shaped more. This made it possible to make a little wider board that could be still ridden in high winds also by lighter kiters. Refining the board shapes and usability took some years. This evolution created boards like Nobile 666 2008 that is some kind of a legend here at the local beaches. It was mainly a flat water freestyle board but due to its unmatched ability to plane in light wind and keep the edge and pop, people ignored the fact that it was not a good board in choppy water.
The sport itself evolved and this created a need for different types of boards. People had always ridden freeride or waves but now kiteboarding companies started to release more beginner, intermediate, freeride and freestyle boards. A requirement for a lightwind board was also emerging. Kiters wanted to go out there in lighter winds when the range of kites was getting better in low winds and most of us do not live in the area where it is over 20 knots of wind daily.
New construction methods are introduced to make lighter weight boards with much more refined flex patterns in the boards. Another change is that there is more shape on the bottom of the board. One example of new construction is North Select, which has been made light and has that magic feel when you ride it. One example of the new shape is the new SuperShinn by Shinn kiteboarding.
Specific wakestyle boards are making a strong comeback. There is a requirement for these boards from the people who want to ride with bindings. Kickers and sliders are built and people are visiting cable parks. Hadlow Wakestyle board and North Gambler are answering the call in addition to the boards we have had from Liquid Force and some other companies. It is good to see this kind of a new breed emerging. May the evolution continue.
Twintip evolution has had several trends until they have been formed into the ones we use today. The first twintip boards I recall make me smile as they looked like big bananas. They were thick, long, had a big rocker and looked like two noses of the directionals were glued together. It was common that these boards were 160 to 190 cm long. There were even longer boards as some of the school twintips were way over 2 meters long. Compared to modern boards, it was hard to get upwind and jump with those boards.
There were some so-called wakestyle boards that were similar to the modern boards but they required more skill to ride and they required almost overpowered conditions to get upwind. I had one of these after the first plastic 180 cm long twintip. It was Airush Wakestyle 137 2002. It was only 35 cm wide and had pickle fork tips. It was not quick to plane but it kept the edge when overpowered.
In the next step, the majority of the boards changed from big plastic twintips to follow the way the wakestyle boards were. The big twintips were still produced as beginner boards. There was a twintip sidestep of mutant boards that could be ridden both ways like twintips if wanted. However, one direction was preferred and the one tip of the board had bigger fins like directional boards. The latest mutant-like boards are Nobile Shinn Wave and Ocean Rodeo Mako but those shape is far from the Naish Mutant in 2002/2003.
Twintips got shorter. Many boards were 130-160 cm long and usually they were 35 to 41 cm wide. Naish Stubbie 2003 had the shortest length of all production boards with only 115 cm of length. The boards did not have much flex and in chop they were harder to ride than current boards. The missing flexibility was replaced by the small size.
Many kiters made boards by themselves for lighter winds. It was easy to make a reasonable board (compared to the productin boards at that time) from plywood by taking a sidecut from some successful production board and adding some width. The simplest boards had plywood core bent to wanted rocker and boat varnish on top. Some kiters added layers of fiberglass or even carbonfiber on top of the plywood core to make it a little stiffer and to keep the wanted rocker better.
During the next few years the board shapes were tuned but no major changes were made to the length of the boards. As the change was more subtle, only some centimeters were added to the smallest boards and the lenght of the longest boards was reduced a little. The change was more in the board width. The boards were getting a little more flexible and the bottom was shaped more. This made it possible to make a little wider board that could be still ridden in high winds also by lighter kiters. Refining the board shapes and usability took some years. This evolution created boards like Nobile 666 2008 that is some kind of a legend here at the local beaches. It was mainly a flat water freestyle board but due to its unmatched ability to plane in light wind and keep the edge and pop, people ignored the fact that it was not a good board in choppy water.
The sport itself evolved and this created a need for different types of boards. People had always ridden freeride or waves but now kiteboarding companies started to release more beginner, intermediate, freeride and freestyle boards. A requirement for a lightwind board was also emerging. Kiters wanted to go out there in lighter winds when the range of kites was getting better in low winds and most of us do not live in the area where it is over 20 knots of wind daily.
New construction methods are introduced to make lighter weight boards with much more refined flex patterns in the boards. Another change is that there is more shape on the bottom of the board. One example of new construction is North Select, which has been made light and has that magic feel when you ride it. One example of the new shape is the new SuperShinn by Shinn kiteboarding.
Specific wakestyle boards are making a strong comeback. There is a requirement for these boards from the people who want to ride with bindings. Kickers and sliders are built and people are visiting cable parks. Hadlow Wakestyle board and North Gambler are answering the call in addition to the boards we have had from Liquid Force and some other companies. It is good to see this kind of a new breed emerging. May the evolution continue.
torstai 15. syyskuuta 2011
Influenced by
As any other sport, kiteboarding has its celebrities and idols. Every kiteboarder has their own view on who is the best or who has influenced the sport the most. In the past few years kiteboarders that have influenced the sport a lot are Aaron Hadlow and Ruben Lenten. They have brought their powerful style to the sport. There are also many other kiters who add to the sport and there are many more still to come. It is always nice to see how some people have possibilities and energy to renew the sport by pushing the limits. Whether it is inventing new tricks, adding technicality to the tricks or just raise the bar higher in freestyle or waves.
The one person that has had the biggest influence on me is Robby Naish. It goes back in time when I was still windsurfing and I wathced videos of US-1111 ripping waves in Hawaii or competing across the globe. I really liked Robby's style and his attitude to the sport and people. He was referred to as a legend already back then. When I started kiteboarding, Robby was becoming one of the big names of kiteboarding with Lou Wainman, Flash Austin, Pete Cabrinha and Mark Shinn. Robby was again the one who made me practise more. Reflecting this, it was very nice to see the latest Naish marketing video about Robby. Enjoy.
The one person that has had the biggest influence on me is Robby Naish. It goes back in time when I was still windsurfing and I wathced videos of US-1111 ripping waves in Hawaii or competing across the globe. I really liked Robby's style and his attitude to the sport and people. He was referred to as a legend already back then. When I started kiteboarding, Robby was becoming one of the big names of kiteboarding with Lou Wainman, Flash Austin, Pete Cabrinha and Mark Shinn. Robby was again the one who made me practise more. Reflecting this, it was very nice to see the latest Naish marketing video about Robby. Enjoy.
sunnuntai 11. syyskuuta 2011
Surf Expo 2011
The annual surf expo was last weekend in Orlando Florida. All of us that could not take the time and make the travel to visit personally can enjoy the videos made by The Kiteboarder magazine about kiteboarding companies showing what they have for 2012.
Surf expo videos by The Kiteboarder magazine
Surf expo videos by The Kiteboarder magazine
torstai 8. syyskuuta 2011
What is kiteboarding?
I guess that is the first and the most frequently asked question when people are starting a discussion with me about my hobby. I am very enthusiast to explain it to anyone and it takes a lot of words and time to explain everything. As a picture is worth of thousand words maybe couple of videos do the same and answer this question.
For most of us kiteboarding is freeriding and enjoying the wind and water or snow. This is the base for the sport.
In addition to freeride there are other styles of kiteboarding. It is up to you where do you want to go.
As seen in the last ten years kiteboarding is evolving quickly. This is what kiteboarding is today but tomorrow it may be so much more.
For most of us kiteboarding is freeriding and enjoying the wind and water or snow. This is the base for the sport.
In addition to freeride there are other styles of kiteboarding. It is up to you where do you want to go.
As seen in the last ten years kiteboarding is evolving quickly. This is what kiteboarding is today but tomorrow it may be so much more.
keskiviikko 7. syyskuuta 2011
North Vegas 2012
Just released new North Vegas 2012. Enjoy in freestyle and in freeride with new setting options.
North Vegas 2012 information here.
North Vegas 2012 video here.
North Vegas 2012 information here.
North Vegas 2012 video here.
maanantai 5. syyskuuta 2011
Action in DR 2011
Very cool short teaser cut from the Dominican Republic showing Aaron and Tom rippin. There is a rumor in a forum that Tom is riding a new not yet released North board. Waiting to get more information if that is true.
perjantai 2. syyskuuta 2011
Up north
Days are getting shorter and the air is colder. Hopefully autumn brings some stronger winds than the summer did. There is now more time in the evening to start planning the next summer and a kiteboarding trip somewhere where the warm wind blows constantly and you can check the force of the wind just from the watch and do not need any real tools to measure it. When I started to look for locations on the web, I went through the places where I have been. You might think that some place with palm trees and warm winds would be the most memorable location I have kited but actually no. One of the most exotic trips I have taken was to a distant location in northern Finland.
It was in April years back when I loaded my car and started the 1100 km drive from southern Finland to Lapland. During the drive you see the how the landscape changes from lakeland to big forests and swamps before you reach Oulu and get close to the sea. The next 650 km drive starts from the seaside and follows a river until the hills start to get bigger and finally you can see small mountains in the horizon. Finland does not have too high mountains but all of the peaks over 1000 meters are in the area where I was heading. It was cool to see how you can drive from zero snow cover to complete winter wonderland with high peaks around you.
Finally the drive was over and I could unload the car at the log cabin that was reserved for our party. When I arrived there, it was the scenery that really struck me. It was so exciting to see Lake Kilpisjärvi surrounded by all the mountains and especially the Mount Saana that stands by the lake. I immediately started to look around to see which area could be used for kiting and where to go next. The closest spot is Lake Kilpisjärvi itself. It felt that the best winds are N, NW, E and SSE-S. However, the lake is just big enough for almost every wind direction. You just need to select from which end of the lake you lauch the kite.
It was a S-SSW wind, the sun was shining and air temperature was just below zero in celcius. I launched my kite from the southern end of the lake. It was gusty and I knew that I should have gone to the other end of the lake but it was just too nice to walk 50 meters from the cabin and lauch the kite. I rode closer to the center of the lake and the wind got better and much more stable. The scenerey really opened around of me and I got a 'life is good' moment when blasting through the lake in this unbelievable scenery.
After the day of kiting we took a little snowshoe safari to the top of the closest hill. The sun was just setting down behind the horizon at eleven o'clock in the evening! One month later it would not have gone done at all as from May to August the sun does not go down.
The area is on the border of Finland, Sweden and Norway. You can go to a place where all three countries cross and step from Finland to Sweden and then to Norway on the second step. By the road from Kilpisjärvi village to Norway, there is another spot just after you cross the Norwegian border. There you can also find some elevation you can surf like big waves. That brings the real 3D experince to the sport.
If you want use some time to find new spots, you can book snowmobile rides or helicopter flights to go kite or downhill ski to a totally new area. On top of the unbelievable locations you can enjoy the beautiful nature around you more. One thing to remember is that you need to respect nature and cannot ride the snowmobile wherever you want as there are marked routes you need to follow.
To see something else you can take a ride to Norway. It is only a 50 km drive by car to Skibotn which is the village closest to the border. It is located by a fjord next to The Arctic Ocean. There are beaches where you can launch the kite and go ride on the water. Just remember to have your drysuit, hood and gloves with you, the water is freezing cold.
Kilpisjärvi is not a party central but much more a place to enjoy the scenery and leisured days. After a long day kiting, exploring the surrondings and having a nice meal you are much more likely to fall asleep in front of the fireplace than want to dance your heart out in a disco.
I can highly recommend the place due to its exotic location. There will be some days without wind so you should plan other activities and the local services can keep you busy. You can find Kilpisjärvi village location and services information from http://www.kilpijarvi.org . If you do not like to drive all the way from the south to get there, you can try to get flights to Enontekiö and hire a car or book a taxi there as it is still over 170 km to Kilpisjärvi.
It was in April years back when I loaded my car and started the 1100 km drive from southern Finland to Lapland. During the drive you see the how the landscape changes from lakeland to big forests and swamps before you reach Oulu and get close to the sea. The next 650 km drive starts from the seaside and follows a river until the hills start to get bigger and finally you can see small mountains in the horizon. Finland does not have too high mountains but all of the peaks over 1000 meters are in the area where I was heading. It was cool to see how you can drive from zero snow cover to complete winter wonderland with high peaks around you.
After the day of kiting we took a little snowshoe safari to the top of the closest hill. The sun was just setting down behind the horizon at eleven o'clock in the evening! One month later it would not have gone done at all as from May to August the sun does not go down.
The area is on the border of Finland, Sweden and Norway. You can go to a place where all three countries cross and step from Finland to Sweden and then to Norway on the second step. By the road from Kilpisjärvi village to Norway, there is another spot just after you cross the Norwegian border. There you can also find some elevation you can surf like big waves. That brings the real 3D experince to the sport.
If you want use some time to find new spots, you can book snowmobile rides or helicopter flights to go kite or downhill ski to a totally new area. On top of the unbelievable locations you can enjoy the beautiful nature around you more. One thing to remember is that you need to respect nature and cannot ride the snowmobile wherever you want as there are marked routes you need to follow.
Kilpisjärvi is not a party central but much more a place to enjoy the scenery and leisured days. After a long day kiting, exploring the surrondings and having a nice meal you are much more likely to fall asleep in front of the fireplace than want to dance your heart out in a disco.
I can highly recommend the place due to its exotic location. There will be some days without wind so you should plan other activities and the local services can keep you busy. You can find Kilpisjärvi village location and services information from http://www.kilpijarvi.org . If you do not like to drive all the way from the south to get there, you can try to get flights to Enontekiö and hire a car or book a taxi there as it is still over 170 km to Kilpisjärvi.
maanantai 29. elokuuta 2011
The spot guide
It was an unusual day in Finland yesterday. It was sunny, very warm and on top of it all, it was windy. Kiteboarders were enjoying the wind all over Finland. After a windy daytime session I took my kite to another spin at sunset. I had started the day on one spot and after the wind shifted, I had to change to another spot. After I had enjoyed the windy sunset, it resulted in one of the best days this summer.
When living in an area that does not have constant winds nor constant wind direction, it is always the game of weather forecasts and the actual weather. When weather forecast is speculated enough, the next thing is the fact which beach is most suitable for the wind direction. It is usual that wind direction changes by 20-45 degrees within hours due to the moving low pressure area that creates the wind. That kind of change may make another spot work better and others to be unsuitably gusty and may cause long kitewalks after dropping a kite in offshore wind.
Even though Finland is a land of a thousand lakes, there are still a limited number of kiteable spots where you can launch from the beach. Mostly trees are limiting the launch area. In addition, most of the waterfronts are conserved areas that people cannot freely modify or cut down the trees. Many of the bigger lakes have a lot of islands which block the wind and make the usable wind sector smaller. Personally I am not too worried though, there are about ten beaches that work in different wind directions within a 30 minute drive by car. That's not too bad even though the launch areas may be far from perfect.
At seaside we have four major places with big sandy beaches. Hanko, Yyteri at Pori, Lohtaja and Kalajoki. Especially the latter three are very nice with sand dunes and shallow waters. If we were in the constant wind area, these would be world class places.
As elsewhere in the world, there are beaches that have certain rules that need to be obeyed. Some may have launch zone restrictions or some may have restricted times. Moreover, it is up to us to give room to other beach users as our sport is still relatively new in Finland and some people may see kiteboarding for the first time. If you plan to kite at any new beach, contact the local kiteboarders and ask about spots.
To find a spot in Finland, there is a great service from a kiteboarding enthusiast. He created the tool just for us to list the known places and help others to find them. The tool is called Navakka, meaning strongish wind, and can be found from http://www.navakka.com/. The tool shows the places on a map and gives some basic information and weather forecasts on the spot. You can also leave messages to other users through the tool. It is great that kiteaboarding encourages people to do these kind of cool things and people use their free time to help other kiteboarders.
When living in an area that does not have constant winds nor constant wind direction, it is always the game of weather forecasts and the actual weather. When weather forecast is speculated enough, the next thing is the fact which beach is most suitable for the wind direction. It is usual that wind direction changes by 20-45 degrees within hours due to the moving low pressure area that creates the wind. That kind of change may make another spot work better and others to be unsuitably gusty and may cause long kitewalks after dropping a kite in offshore wind.
Even though Finland is a land of a thousand lakes, there are still a limited number of kiteable spots where you can launch from the beach. Mostly trees are limiting the launch area. In addition, most of the waterfronts are conserved areas that people cannot freely modify or cut down the trees. Many of the bigger lakes have a lot of islands which block the wind and make the usable wind sector smaller. Personally I am not too worried though, there are about ten beaches that work in different wind directions within a 30 minute drive by car. That's not too bad even though the launch areas may be far from perfect.
At seaside we have four major places with big sandy beaches. Hanko, Yyteri at Pori, Lohtaja and Kalajoki. Especially the latter three are very nice with sand dunes and shallow waters. If we were in the constant wind area, these would be world class places.
As elsewhere in the world, there are beaches that have certain rules that need to be obeyed. Some may have launch zone restrictions or some may have restricted times. Moreover, it is up to us to give room to other beach users as our sport is still relatively new in Finland and some people may see kiteboarding for the first time. If you plan to kite at any new beach, contact the local kiteboarders and ask about spots.
To find a spot in Finland, there is a great service from a kiteboarding enthusiast. He created the tool just for us to list the known places and help others to find them. The tool is called Navakka, meaning strongish wind, and can be found from http://www.navakka.com/. The tool shows the places on a map and gives some basic information and weather forecasts on the spot. You can also leave messages to other users through the tool. It is great that kiteaboarding encourages people to do these kind of cool things and people use their free time to help other kiteboarders.
perjantai 26. elokuuta 2011
The exercise
Last autumn and winter I had to stay out of the water and snow for months due to injured back. Most probably the reason was years of working in the office and sitting in a bit too comfortable and a little incorrect posture. Even though I thought I was in shape and that I do exercise just enough, it didn't seem to help too much.
Anyway, after months of not being able to do almost anything, I had to activate the supporting muscles again and start training from scratch. To activate the whole body I had to exercise regularily and keep the volume of the exercise on a certain level. This got me thinking about kiteboarding as exercise and not just as a fun thing to do. What are the benefits of the sport from an exercise point of view? To get more information I wore a heart rate monitor and headed out to water. I had some initial thoughts where the heart rate might be but I was also surprised.
I had three different kinds of sessions a couple of times. The first one was just cruising, the second was throwing some jumps and riding more actively and the third was really pushing the speed to the limit, getting harder upwind and downwind and trying to do everything at maximum effort. This also clearly separated the heart rate areas in each session as you can guess.
Just cruising. This was the easiest one. I enjoyed a nice and warm day, easy speed in medium winds, reasonable upwind and downwind angles and threw some hooked oldschool jumps and transitions every now and then. The result was that the heart rate was about 62% to 70% of the maximum heart rate, the average being a little more on the lower part of the area. It feels that you could do this all day and it is not only wearing out some specific muscles.
Active riding. I added trials of basic unhooked tricks and hooked in jumps to every second or third run in medium wind and in stronger wind I really tried to launch the hooked in jumps from good speed to get air time. This was showing in heart rate right away. The total area was from about 70% to close to 80% of maximum heart rate. The heart rate was peaking higher in the first attemps to jump and also every time I got really high air or close to crashing massively but still somehow recovered. It was also clear that this riding burns energy faster but still feels all over the body.
Speed and air demon. Finally there was a strong wind to really go speeding and boosting with my 8m2. I started to push it hard right away. I rode full speed through the chop and tried to get as quickly upwind as possible. Then I was trying to find ramps to get good airs and throw kiteloops to get them down. I rode back downwind with as much speed as I could get or let's say was able to stand since I still need to worry about my back a little and try to avoid the worst crashes. Pushing hard upwind starts to burn your leg muscles and make you breath harder quickly. Coming down from a kiteloop with speed makes you gasp for air from excitement. Heart is really pounding when you bear downwind with burning leg muscles and get close to speed where you may crash after the next wave if not fully committed. I thought the heart rate would be a little higher and it really was. It was ranging from 78% to close to 88% and peaking even higher just after the kiteloops.
There are defined values for correct exercise levels depending on what you want to gain. 50-60% is light exercise to start training for the first time or recovering after an injury and burning fat. 60-70% is medium training to get the best excercise for your heart. On this level it is still easy to work for a long time and you are still mostly burning fat but in the upper range you start to use the carbohydrates as the main energy source. 70-80% is the aerobic area that is good for your heart and lungs. This area is used to train harder and get quicker into shape. In this area you get the energy mostly from carbohydrates. 80-90% is the anaerobic area and this is used to train hard and make the body cope with lactic acids which are created when the muscles cannot get enough oxygen anymore.
In kiteboarding you can find all levels of exercise if you want. You can cruise and stay out there for hours to get basic training and burn fat. Conversely, you can change to high peak riding and try to learn new tricks actively. This will make you burn all your energy in less than an hour and have a high intensity workout. So to summarise, kiteboarding is good exercise so let's go where the wind blows.
Anyway, after months of not being able to do almost anything, I had to activate the supporting muscles again and start training from scratch. To activate the whole body I had to exercise regularily and keep the volume of the exercise on a certain level. This got me thinking about kiteboarding as exercise and not just as a fun thing to do. What are the benefits of the sport from an exercise point of view? To get more information I wore a heart rate monitor and headed out to water. I had some initial thoughts where the heart rate might be but I was also surprised.
I had three different kinds of sessions a couple of times. The first one was just cruising, the second was throwing some jumps and riding more actively and the third was really pushing the speed to the limit, getting harder upwind and downwind and trying to do everything at maximum effort. This also clearly separated the heart rate areas in each session as you can guess.
Just cruising. This was the easiest one. I enjoyed a nice and warm day, easy speed in medium winds, reasonable upwind and downwind angles and threw some hooked oldschool jumps and transitions every now and then. The result was that the heart rate was about 62% to 70% of the maximum heart rate, the average being a little more on the lower part of the area. It feels that you could do this all day and it is not only wearing out some specific muscles.
Active riding. I added trials of basic unhooked tricks and hooked in jumps to every second or third run in medium wind and in stronger wind I really tried to launch the hooked in jumps from good speed to get air time. This was showing in heart rate right away. The total area was from about 70% to close to 80% of maximum heart rate. The heart rate was peaking higher in the first attemps to jump and also every time I got really high air or close to crashing massively but still somehow recovered. It was also clear that this riding burns energy faster but still feels all over the body.
Speed and air demon. Finally there was a strong wind to really go speeding and boosting with my 8m2. I started to push it hard right away. I rode full speed through the chop and tried to get as quickly upwind as possible. Then I was trying to find ramps to get good airs and throw kiteloops to get them down. I rode back downwind with as much speed as I could get or let's say was able to stand since I still need to worry about my back a little and try to avoid the worst crashes. Pushing hard upwind starts to burn your leg muscles and make you breath harder quickly. Coming down from a kiteloop with speed makes you gasp for air from excitement. Heart is really pounding when you bear downwind with burning leg muscles and get close to speed where you may crash after the next wave if not fully committed. I thought the heart rate would be a little higher and it really was. It was ranging from 78% to close to 88% and peaking even higher just after the kiteloops.
There are defined values for correct exercise levels depending on what you want to gain. 50-60% is light exercise to start training for the first time or recovering after an injury and burning fat. 60-70% is medium training to get the best excercise for your heart. On this level it is still easy to work for a long time and you are still mostly burning fat but in the upper range you start to use the carbohydrates as the main energy source. 70-80% is the aerobic area that is good for your heart and lungs. This area is used to train harder and get quicker into shape. In this area you get the energy mostly from carbohydrates. 80-90% is the anaerobic area and this is used to train hard and make the body cope with lactic acids which are created when the muscles cannot get enough oxygen anymore.
In kiteboarding you can find all levels of exercise if you want. You can cruise and stay out there for hours to get basic training and burn fat. Conversely, you can change to high peak riding and try to learn new tricks actively. This will make you burn all your energy in less than an hour and have a high intensity workout. So to summarise, kiteboarding is good exercise so let's go where the wind blows.
The blog
It has been less than a windy summer so far in Finland and especially inland. There has been too much time to just wait for the wind and talk with other kitesurfers about the past sessions and think about what else to do. For some time now I have been planning to write things down about the experiences kiteboarding gives us everyday. Now it seems that I have the time when waiting for the wind.
I did not just want to create another diary about the windy days when I am out there but I also try to find something more about the wide world of kiteboarding. For sure everything is seen through my eyes and processed into my personal thoughts. I hope these texts will give you something to spend a couple of minutes on before you are heading out again.
Now it seems that I should have started this months ago because as soon as I started to write this, trees finally started to move, showing the wind is picking up. It is time to head out to where the wind blows. See you there.
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