Kitesurfing Equipment: What You Really Need! (part 1 of 2)

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Kitesurfing is one of the newest additions in extreme sports. It is a sport where the kitesurfer uses the power of the wind to manipulate the kitesurfing system on or above the water, snow or land. However, the most popular type is kitesurfing on water.

There are 4 types of kitesurfing equipment. They are as follows:

KITE

It is any type of traction kite that is large enough to hold the weight of an average person. There are three major components that should be considered when choosing a kite. High performance which is defined by its capacity to facilitate up winding sailing and jumping above land, relaunchability which is the capacity of the kite to relaunch from water after it falls. And power control which is the capacity of the kite to provide the surfer with considerable degree manipulation.

There are several types of kites that have varying degrees of controllability, relaunchability and performance.

a) The inflatable kites are crescent-shaped and could relaunch on almost all conditions except when the wind is just about 6 or 7 knots per hour. There are two types of inflatable kites: the 2 line which has the main advantage of stability and convenience of use and the 4 line which has efficient power control and better performance. Most manufacturers of kites these days distribute 4 line inflatable instead of the 2 line ones.

b) Bow kites or flat inflatable kite is the more dominant choice of among kitesurfers starting from 2006 due to its advantages over other kites. For example, it could be fully de-powered. It could also provide larger wind range plus it offers fast relaunchability.

c) Framed Single Skin Kite is more like the one used for windsurfing and like windsurfing it takes awhile for the kitesurfer to learn how to efficiently control the skin kite. It has reliable relaunchability and could surpass all types of kites in terms of performance when the kitesurfers masters the controls.

d) Ram Air Foil Kites, unlike all other kites, has no definite shape since it has no rigid structures. It only takes its shape once it flies.