This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
Kitesurfing equipment – an overview of the essential components
Kitesurfing equipment consists of several elements, including the board,the kite, the bar with lines, the harness and the safety leash.
Tube kites also require a pump to inflate the kite.
The biggest differences between the equipment components lie in their design and size, especially the board, bar and kite.
These can be adjusted to the body weight and ability of the athlete as well as to different weather conditions, especially wind strength.
The board is a crucial piece of equipment. Directional boards, similar to windsurfing boards, used to dominate. However, in recent years, twin tips, which are more similar to wakeboards, have become more popular. There are also different types of boards such as twin tips, directional boards and foil boards, each with different riding characteristics and applications.
The Twin Tip
also known as Bidirectional, allows riding in both directions and is primarily used for freestyle and freeride. It is characterized by its flatter design and symmetry and does not require changing feet while driving.
The directional board
also known as a surfboard or waveboard, comes from wave riding and offers a special driving experience. Due to its design, it can only be moved in one direction and requires a change of foot when changing direction.
There are also hybrid boards such as Mutant boards
which combine features of twin tips and directional boards, as well as specialized boards such as race boards for fast riding on smooth water and foil boards, which are lifted out of the water by wings and offer particularly low weight .
Race board
Raceboards are characterized by both their larger volume and longer fins. Because of their design, they are more suitable for driving very quickly on smooth water.
Foil board
A foilboard (also hydrofoil) is a board with a sword-like extension attached to the underside. This is usually referred to as a mast. Wings are attached to this, similar to a hydrofoil. At a certain speed, the wings lift the board out of the water using dynamic buoyancy.
For spectators, a foilboard gives the impression that the surfer is wingfoiling over the water.
Foilboards are particularly suitable for light winds or racing because of their low water resistance in this riding mode.
Overall, the diversity of kite equipment provides a wide range of options for kitesurfers of varying experience levels and preferences, and continued development and innovation promises to continue to bring exciting advances in this fascinating water sport.
Pictures: kiteboard Pixabay – hs-gestaltung – Kitesurfing Equipment older man Pixabay – bonjooschy – timur-garifov-gshoucsUiYQ-unsplash