KITEWORLD WINTER EDITION 2020 / 21 IS OUT NOW
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Kiting’s natural sensory nourishment has never been as obvious as this year when so many aspects of life have been dumbed down. We are human and we’ll do what we need to to survive. Right now that’s doing whatever it takes to suppress a virus, but when I looked around the beaches this year, it was obvious just how effective kiting is at feeding our natural need to explore, play and feel success.
Some kite brands and shops have recorded their best ever summer seasons of sales after an immense scare in April when they looked at how much gear they were sat on. Kiting has been our saviour and we really need these companies to survive.
Covid shocked the industry into realising it’s as frail as its supply chain, but also as strong as its passionate participants.
The bottom line is we all just need more water time, whatever we choose to ride. We’ve all been forced to reset our expectations and understanding of the world this year, and I can’t see the need and popularity of kiting going anywhere but up.
This issue we’ve focussed on people, moments and journeys.
On page 56 I profile Dave Kay, a Kiwi who’s led one of the most instinctively curious journeys in kiteboarding design that started randomly on the snowy slopes of Canada, back in ’99
Female product managers are a rare thing in kiteboarding. On page 70 Duotone’s Elsa Berger reveals more positivity in the industry pipeline other than just her own presence in what has, up to now, been very much a man’s design world.
Four years from now we’ll know which relay team won kitesurfing’s first full Olympic Gold medal. The race is on. We go behind the scenes with reporter Ian MacKinnon, on and off the track, from page 40.
After 23 years in the sport, North brand director Mike Raper, shares ‘These Things I Know’.
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TESTS:
We’ve laid our hands on some of the year’s most hotly anticipated new kites, suitable for all the weather can throw at you, plus a brace of hot Shinn twins and a majestic duo of hydrofoils
KITES: Airush Lift / Core GTS 6 / Eleveight RS / F-One Bandit ’21 / North Orbit V2
TWIN-TIPS: Shinn Monk Glitch / Shinn ADHD Distortion
HYDROFOILS: Duotone Pace with Spirit Carve 700 and Spirit Freeride 700 / F-One Pocket Carbon 130 with Mirage 1000
GIFT & ACCESSORY GUIDE:
Plus in our annual Gift & Accessory Guide, find little essential items to stoke any kiteboarder’s life, as well products to keep you warm, ideas to nourish your van life and products to keep you amped while off the water.
Plus lots more, including galleries, technical advice and regular columns!
Stay safe, rubber up, and try not to let winter stop you…
See you on the water,
Jim – Kiteworld Magazine, Editor
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