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ISSUE #47
2011 HEAVEN
Can you believe we're looking down the barrel of 2011 already?
Aside from all the hoopla associated with  Christmas, it's all looking good, judging from next year's gear that we've already got our hands on! Tested in this issue are the following items that are already available for you to throw some cash at your local shop in exchange for:
F-One's SUP kite – The Source, Airush's One strut kite - The One, Flexifoil Ion, Globe Kites Sonic, Best Taboo, MRK Zoom, Starkites S-Bow, Spleene SPX, RRD Obsession kite, plus Flyboard's Flyradical twin-tip and Liquid Force Kite Fish and Shinn Waterbird skimboard.
Plus, if you've ever wondered what the point is for you to get bindings, we try a pair out for a month in all sorts of everyday conditions.
In other features we take a look at the history of Best Kiteboarding. They careered into the kitesurfing market in 2004 with their brash, aggressive online tactics that saw them drastically undercut their competitors and rapidly acquire customers. In 2010 they are striving to shed the cheap / 'beginner' brand stigma. Jim Gaunt met Best's R&D and marketing teams in Guincho, Portugal during the launch of their brand new Taboo kite to find out what really lies behind the hype and how the brand grew, from being the most unaccepted within the industry, to one of the biggest shifters of kites in the market.
We also take a trip to two popular resorts in Egypt – El Gouna and Soma Bay - to check out just why this area of the Red Sea continues to be one of the most popular kitesurfing holiday destinations on the planet.
Plus: Tacking tips, secrets to insane one-footers, kitesurfing beach etiquette dos and don'ts, Mark Shinn's 20th column and much, much more.
Join the action at: www.kiteworldmag.com/subscribe/ |
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Last Updated on Monday, 06 September 2010 16:42 |
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 THE WORLD IS OURS
Everyone has a favourite spot. If you're lucky, it's your home spot, but more than likely it's the perfect conditions you found on your holidays that you keep dreaming about. Pro riders get the luxury of spending half their life travelling to new spots as well as old favourites. Jeremie Tronet and Linn Svendsen have made a career as travelling kiteboarders, taking beautiful pictures and keeping notes of all that they find. This issue they present their top five spots close to Europe, and continue next issue with their top five closer to the USA. If you can't decide where to go next, these two have all the answers for your freestyle, wave and freeride questions.
William Milne has been Aaron's personal videographer for the last few months and Red Bull have just taken him on under contract to film On The Loose, a docu-soap following the lives of Aaron Hadlow and Ruben Lenten. Trailing them everywhere, the show will be aired on national TV in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Webisodes will be available in English. Will used to be our assistant editor as well as an editor over at Fatsand, so he's been around a bit in a short time. We catch up with the sharp shooter to see what it's like Shooting Hadlow.
As well as the usual technique know-hows, our global trottings take us on the wave mission of our lives in Indo, charity working and slider hitting in Kenya, sun soaking in Florida and our popular Sessions feature continues to uncover adventurous sessions from around the world via minimal words and stunning photography. Plus Shannon Best tells us his These Things I Know. Judging by his Tweets, we may have to expand that feature!
In terms of gear reviews, we have a little something for everyone, whether you're a sophisticated freesrider, hardcore freestyler, part time wave rider or light wind desperado, plus we've reviewed our first Girls board from Crazy Fly. Here's the list:
KITES: Blade Trigger, Gin Zulu 2, Ozone Catalyst, Best Waroo, Epic Screamer, North Evo
TWIN: Xenom Rayo, RRD Poison, F-One TX3, Crazy Fly Girls, Shinn Luigi, Best Armada
LIGHT WIND: Ozone Zephyr 17m kite, Flydoor XL twin, Shinn King George XL twin and Airush choptop 5'3 surfboard.
Issue #46 was released in early July.
http://www.kiteworldmag.com/
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Last Updated on Tuesday, 13 July 2010 10:26 |
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Country Tracks and Jodie kidd |
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Jodie Kidd the Model and former leader of the Top Gear "Star in the Reasonable Priced Car" race board, came to  exmouth for a 2 day film shoot for BBC ‘Country Tracks’.
The team at Edge Watersports embarked on teaching Jodie to kitesurf in a few hours ! Fortunately Jodie not only had great kite skills, she also had the right mind set & given another hour with another 10 knots she would have been riding.
It was the full on shooting match with the main tabloids - showing their huge lenses & Steph & Eric trying hard to get the team to understand that they needed to get on with things before the wind dropped!
Lunch was one of the highlights with the camara men being stood in wasit deep water as we then tucked into sandwiches at the Pole sands teaching area.
I do not think we have seen the last of Jodie & we look forward to really getting her ripping!!!
The program will be aired in the next couple of months - news on dates coming shortly.  |
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Last Updated on Friday, 11 June 2010 10:07 |
ISSUE #45 
FEATURING: 2010 Beginners' Guide, Lou Wainman, Adam Koch, Mozambique, BVIs, PKRA assessments and much more.
Lou Wainman has been the first name on the lips of top pros when it comes to inspiration for many years. Hadlow to Vari have expressed their praise for him. Images of Lou have been rare though, only adding to his mystique, but when they did come and when he popped up in the videos of Chris Tronolone, it was always with stunning class and unimaginable style. He was already doing powered handle-passes in 2001. Imagine that! At the same time, many people that have been linked with helping the sport's progression were still getting dragged up and down their local spots, trying to figure things out. We have an exclusive interview with Lou in issue #45 in which he talks frankly about progression, why he went off the radar, how he nearly threw it all away and how he's enjoying his kiteboarding now more than ever.
Adam Koch clinched the IKA world kite course racing championships in Corpus Christi, Texas this week. Ever popular and enthusiastic, he recently won the North American course racing championships after only entering two regattas before that. Could a history in skiff sailing be what made the difference for him? We talked to him just before he headed to Texas to race the world's quickest and to find out what he's been up to since competing on the PKRA world tour, back in the days of Shinn, Vari, Meyer, Solbach and co.
The PKRA season is off and running and with Aaron Hadlow having pulled out of the competition this year, it looks set to be one of the most open seasons ever. We asked some people in the know to assess the form and chances of some of the tour's top riders. Complete with assessments and predictions, will our panel get it right come the final reckoning?
Mozambique and the British Virgin Islands are the focus of our travel story quota. John Bilderback stays on a Moorings yacht during Richard Brandson's Kite Jam in the Caribbean while Jeremie Eloy headed to Mozambique, the country he calls Africa's brightest hope for a positive, stable future. Phenomenal images accompany intriguing and alluring stories from each location.
In the rest of the mag we feature three more transitions in the Motor Drive Project, the latest in Hawaiian wave technique is blown up, Marc Ramseier takes you into surgery with him during his ACL reconstructive surgery and you'll also find the first of our 2010 Beginners' Guide series, which breaks down the basics of kitesurfing, the jargon and the hype into manageable chunks, helping first timers find their way into the sport.
On test are the Airush Vapor X, RRD Religion and Best Kahoona kites, and Crazy Fly Raptor, Best Spark, Maelstorm Kamikaze and Nobile NHP twin-tips.
All that, crammed into another 172 page monster issue, matching our biggest ever.
Find it now at: www.kiteworldmag.com |
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Last Updated on Monday, 10 May 2010 15:16 |
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IKSURFMAG Issue #20 Out Now |
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 The 20th Issue of the free online magazine IKSURF is out now.
This issue has a monster tech section from Christian and Karine, Some stunning travel guides to Boa Vista, WA and Dahkla plus there is possibly the greatest kitesurfing photo the world has ever seen in our readers gallery (think batman and kites...)!
There are loads of tests in there too and you can win a 50Fifty board from Nobile and a Kahoona V2 from Best! We also reveal the winners of our readers awards and chat to Youri Zoon.
Be sure to check it out!
http://www.iksurfmag.com/issue20/ |
Kiteworld Issue #44 - Out Now!
First up to whet your whistle for issue #44 is the lure of some epic images and front line reports of all-time sessions with unusual twists. A winter swell in the summer in Cape Town provided a few lucky riders with some huge walls to charge at Whitsands. Two riders hit up a lake session amongst the alpine backdrop near the popular snowkiting area in Switzerland, the Bernina Pass and Grant Twiggy Baker kitesurfs the hallowed surfing territory, J-Bay.
All pretty unusual. What's not unusual is our regular quality of contributions from our favourite and new providers of kiting content. Mark Shinn reveals why we should all be using our shoulders more, Kristin Boese explains the intricate details of tacking a directional board, Sebastian Garat breaks down the pop transition into manageable chunks in the Motor Drive Project, Johann Civel breaks the kiting altitude record in South America, Gavin McGlurg nearly kills a team of pro riders in the middle of the night during a tricky passage onboard Discovery and we visit Ireland, Boa Vista and Lizard Island in Australia. Under interrogation is one of the sport's original pros - Simone Vannucci, the man behind Royal Kiteboarding, Jozef Bukovcak, Crazy Fly board designer explains why carbon fibre is so good for making twin-tips and John Amundson shows us the machine that has revolutionised his business.
That's just for starters, plus there are reviews of the Ozone C4, North Rebel, F-One Bandit 3 and Naish Helix kites. We also ride twin-tips from Liquid Force and Nobile plus wrap up a couple of bonus surfboard reports on the Airush Converse and North Kontact.
This stack of inspiration to get you psyched up for the new season will be available from early March.
www.kiteworldmag.com |
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BBC film Weston Kitesurfers wanted |
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The BBC are making a documentary about weather in the Somerset/Gloucestershire region and are looking for stories and characters to help illustrate the programme.
Do you kitesurf at Weston-super-mare?
Do you have stories to tell about your experience or footage of your mates getting Big Air?
Would you like to be part of our film and explain your passion?
If the answer is 'yes' to any of the above, please contact Rachael Kiddey:
email:
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
or phone 07515 263 722 |
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Last Updated on Wednesday, 07 April 2010 00:32 |
IKSURFMAG Launches Issue 18!
http://www.iksurfmag.com/issue18
We are really pleased to let you know that issue 18 of IKSURFMAG has gone live! It is an absolute monster too, 169 pages makes it our biggest issue yet, and of course totally free to read!
It is literally packed with great articles, photography and videos. Highlights include our winter training article, the best job in the world, and a huge interview with Raphael Salles the man behind F-One. Of course the Technique and Test section are huge too and there is literally loads more!
We hope you enjoy it as much as we enjoyed putting it together!
http://www.iksurfmag.com/issue18
Good winds...
The IKSURFMAG Team |
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Last Updated on Friday, 12 February 2010 16:29 |
ISSUE #42 – NEED FOR SPEED
Ever wondered what separates the best from the rest? The men from the boys... and the women from the boys, more to the point! This issue we tell you. Alex Caizergues broke the infamous 50 knot barrier last year and held the world sailing speed record until September this year when a huge tri-maran monster called Hydroptere added a few tenths of a second to his record. The Luderitz Speed Challenge starts in November and we talk to Alex about his experiences last year, how he feels about this year and the fact that he's already recorded a 58 knot maximum speed. Surely things are looking good!
We also talk to the first lady of speed, the UK's Steph Bridge. Steph has won the PKRA world course racing title for the last two years and regularly places well within the top ten in the men's fleets. In the next issue she explains in detail her tactics, theories and tells you what you should be practising.
A future of freeride is here. Jim Gaunt went to Fuerteventura in September to see Airush's new creation, the Sector 60, the ultimate cruising machine – a piece of kit that Airush see as crucial in the continued growth and success of kiteboarding. If comfortably planing in more spots in just seven knots of wind is the future, then bring it on!
On top of all that we've got some stunning gallery features, showing the best photographers in their sport, innovating in the way they shoot alongside the best riders in the world. You'd better get your good lenses in to be able to cope with the high razzle-dazzle of it all.
Plus, all the latest gear tested, technique explained and news hounded - including a full year round up of BKSA comps!
Get issue #42 from early November.
www.kiteworldmag.com |
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Last Updated on Friday, 12 February 2010 16:34 |
IKSURFMAG Issue 16 is LIVE!
http://www.iksurfmag.com/issue16
Issue 16 of IKSURFMAG the worlds number one online kitesurfing magazine was launched this week. Packed with loads of content it includes some of the very first tests of the new 2010 kites and boards. There is also a huge travel section with tips and advice on how to get to Mauritius for less than you think, as well as a guide to some of the more “off the beaten track” spots in South Africa. We also catch up with Mallory de La Villemarqué who has been off the scene with a knee injury, he is back and ripping! Add to that the fantastic Christian and Karine technique article and you have a monster issue. Did we mention the photography? It is simply stunning!
http://www.iksurfmag.com/issue16
Enjoy the latest issue!
The IKSURFMAG Team
http://www.iksurfmag.com
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Last Updated on Friday, 12 February 2010 17:04 |
ISSUE #40
RHYTHM AND HEALTH
If you thought Tarifa was dying, you'd be wrong. It's still one of the most important venues in world kiteboarding - with many brands basing their R&D centres there - and is, without doubt, the nerve centre of European riding culture, providing a strong beating heart that keeps the travelling throngs pumping in
Lying just a 30 minute ferry ride from Africa (Tangiers, Morocco), Tarifa is so close to the world's second largest continent that you can almost feel that tribal, earthly beat. Only Hood River and Cabarete come close in terms of evoking such a kiteboarding spirituality. It seems like everyone here rides: the high street is lined with equipment shops and schools; every car and van has some sort of kite-related stickers in the window and beach car parks overflow as soon as the flags start to flutter. In July and August you can get up to a thousand kiters out. Avoid those months and you'll always find yourself a good stretch of water to enjoy the varied conditions.
Don't let your first impressions fool you; there's more to this place than just kiteboarding, though. There's a large, traditional Spanish population that aren't as passionate about the wind! Venture away from the beach and you'll find beautiful valleys and picturesque roads leading to white-washed villages, incredible mountain biking routes and stunning sights, such as the Straits of Gibraltar. This isn't a tourist town on its knees in an economic crisis. It's affluent in ways most of us will never know. Passion runs deep and the energy bounces off the city walls. Anywhere that provides the resting place for so many adventurous travellers has something special.
The reason people come to Tarifa has never changed, from the time it developed as a windsurfing town, morphed into a trendy clothing and party town and now rests as a multi-sport / kiteboarding venue for travellers from all over the world. Tourists still come here to enjoy the surroundings, the wind, the beaches and the parties because that revitalising, surf-city feeling has never died.
Days are just numbers, weeks float by and, of course, there's always tomorrow.
We chose to meet and profile women's multiple world champion - Gisela Pulido, the long-time servant to kiteboarding and North – Jaime Herraiz, and Alvaro Onieva - a young wake-style master who has just quit the PKRA tour after never missing an event in seven years. Their attitudes and lifestyles typify the kind of people that are drawn here. The fact that they are three of the most accomplished and influential riders in the sport today and spend most of their time in Tarifa, highlights the nature of the riding, lifestyle and development opportunities that Tarifa still presents.
Onto other matters:
DESIGNER INTERVIEW: ALL OR NOTHING:
An interview with Roberto Ricci.
ON TEST:
KITES:
Airush Flow, Best Kahoona, Core GT, Flexifol Neutron, JN Prima Donna 2, Liquid Force HiFi, Naish Torch, North Evo and Ozone Instinct Edge RX
TWIN TIPS:
F-One Trax, C-Tec Pro Carbon Custom, Liquid Force Recoil and Skywalker Comp.
LIGHTWIND GEAR:
North Rhino 16m kite, Skywalker Cruise twin-tip and North Race Ltd race board.
TECHNIQUE:
Learn three toe-side tricks, crack the secret to upwind riding and catch a big, gaping barrel.
TRIPLE-S
A gallery of images and the low-down from the event in Cape Hatteras.
All that, plus much, much more!
Grab your copy now at all good kite shops, newsagents, or subscribe at www.kiteworldmag.com and get it sent to your letterbox! |
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Last Updated on Friday, 12 February 2010 17:08 |
A 250+ PAGE COMBO STUNNER!
“THE WORLD IS A BOOK, AND THOSE WHO DON'T TRAVEL READ ONLY A PAGE”
St. Augustine
While everyone else was chowing down on the Turkey giblets and mince pies over the Christmas holidays, the boys and girls in the back room editorial bake house were cooking up something very special to keep you out of trouble for the next couple of months. Issue #37 comes with our free annual Travel Guide supplement...from the idyllic to the rough and ready, we've got spot and resort guides from four continents to cater for all your varied tastes. Holidays and travel is important - it keeps us sane, grounded, refreshed and provides for a healthy reality check. Fill your boots and book that dream trip. It's always worth it.
Moving onto our bread and butter: churning out the highest level in top shelf kite smutter, and where better to start than the cover of the new issue. Marc Ramseier has made Indo his second home, which is pretty obvious when you check out the angle he hits the mangle on the front page. Full vertical style right in the critical section bagged him his first KW cover. The poor Swiss ripper is currently out of action after knee surgery, but was chuffed with his belated Chrimbo pressie of featuring on thousands of coffee tables, shop counters and newsagents all over the world.
Kiteworld 2009 Travel GuideInside there's a surfboard buyer's guide. Surfing dates back to 1500BC when the Polynesians used planks of wood to ride waves and now a surfer can take their dream board design in their pocket on a USB stick to a shaper. Surfboard evolution has come a long way. We take a look at the history of surfboard design over the centuries, talk for three kitesurfboard shapers who tell us what it all means to us as kiters and feature a glimpse at the new season's kite-surfboards on offer.
ON TEST:
The Liquid Force Havoc 12m, Best Waroo 9m, Royal Era 10m, North Vegas 9m, Eclipse Thruster 12m and Naish Helix 10m kites get the rough handling while the Ocean Rodeo Mako 150, Aboards X-Series 134, Nobile Shinn 134, Brunotti Youri Pro 132 and Airush FS 132 twin-tips take us for a ride.
ALSO:
Can you imagine covering 400+ kilometres in 24 hours on a kite in a seat harness? Eric Grammond bears all as he recounts his epic downwinder in Brazil last October.
Mark Shinn explains why manufacturers' costs have gone up recently and questions the mentality of C kite riders – sure to spark some debate.
The Motor Drive Project focuses on grabs, pulling in at the hooked-in technique stations of the back loop tail grab transition and the roast beef before releasing its main carriage to uncover the secrets to the unhooked nose grab.
Alex Caizergues (current world speed record holder) gives you the confidence to kite at 50 knots in These Things I Know.
More at: www.kiteworldmag.com |
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Last Updated on Friday, 12 February 2010 17:43 |
IKSURFMAG Issue 11 Online Now!
http://www.iksurfmag.com/issue_11_oct_nov_2008/issue_11.php
This issue it is all about quality content! We have spent some time with some of the most influential kitesurfers on the planet to bring you our Pro Files.
Guys who have shaped our sport to what it is today, Robby Naish talks business, Andre Phillip talks  style, Ruben Lenten talks about going your own way and lastly Tom Court talks about being in the shadow of the worlds greatest kiter Aaron Hadlow! Talking of whom we also look at arguably Aaron’s most successful year to date in an editorial special.
50 Knots Broken… It has been 20 years since a French windsurfer called Eric Beale broke the speed barrier of 40knots. Know it is the turn of a French kitesurfer to do the unthinkable…
High Quality Videos…
Technically it isn’t HD, but it’s about as close as you can get on the web! This issue we have gone all out to hugely improve the quality of our videos. Not only with the contributors who provide them but also the ones we create. There are loads in the magazine to enjoy so feast your eyes on the richness of the footage!
The Usual Suspects…
Of course we have more gear on test, Christian and Karine are on hand to talk about body dragging upwind, The heel to toeside carve and the basics of waveriding. Plus the stepping-stone to a KGB, a back roll to blind with an airpass. That should be more than enough to keep you busy for the next few weeks! Plus all the news from around the globe with the PKRA and a young lad called Forest Bakker.
Check it out now!
http://www.iksurfmag.com/issue_11_oct_nov_2008/issue_11.php |
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Last Updated on Friday, 12 February 2010 18:10 |
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ISSUE #36
Summer may be over in the northern hemisphere, but the fun is really only just starting. The autumn  winds (and rain) are here. We'll be wrapping you up with our wetsuit guide and drysuit test. Yep, they're not only the chosen regalia of dinghy sailors - drysuits have been to the clinic and had a make-over! We'll be lifting the skins on three of the latest slick rubber looks.
The snow is starting to think about make an appearance in the many vast snowkite-friendly mountain ranges around Europe and we'll be arming you with essential information in the first of our three part snowkite guide.
Our aim is to build your knowledge of this smaller faction but massively addictive area of kiting with technique articles, weather info, details of the best spots, equipment and generally dishing out an appreciation for all riders making a plight in the white.
The November issue is traditionally the home of our annual gear guide and '09 is looking pretty special. We have techno babble and pretty pictures from all the major players and more, in this the first of a two part series.
You screamed for more technique; you got it. You chased us down an alley and roughed us up for a surfboard test; you got it and you tortured us with images of your sunken eyes, grown tired from a lack of hardcore images from all other sources with which to give them the workout they need...well, like Vision Express we leap to the rescue with a veritable surgery full of corrective procedures for your lens balls.
All this and more (including a cunning Christmas gift guide that you can cunningly leave lying around the house) will be shoe-horned into issue #36, out now. |
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Last Updated on Friday, 12 February 2010 18:12 |
Issue 9 of IKSURFMAG Out Now!
Issue 9 of IKSURFMAG the worlds number one online kitesurfing magazine is out now! This issue is absolutely huge and has more video content than ever before, we have over 50 movies for you to check out! It also has loads of interesting articles to keep you entertained, we have an exclusive interview with Aaron Hadlow arguably one of the greatest kitesurfers on the planet, plus a really interesting feature on aerial photography and how you can go about doing it yourself. We also have a huge technique section from Christian and Karine and our biggest ever test, featuring 10 boards and 7 kites all with action videos! There is plenty more to keep you entertained too, just check out http://www.iksurfmag.com to see what everyone is getting so excited about...
http://www.iksurfmag.com
We also have a subscriber competition to win some Spy sunglasses this issue, if you aren’t a subscriber already then make sure you sign up to be included in our prize draw!
http://www.iksurfmag.com |
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Last Updated on Friday, 12 February 2010 18:32 |
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