You might have missed the crazy forum thread about some guy on Maui who made a strutless kite. Some said it would never work, others appreciated the concept and were keen to see how it panned out. 

A few months later and look what's come out of the woodwork! Naish have announced the Trip as a mid season release and it could prove to be a huge development in the sport of kiteboarding. With no struts, and only available in a 10m size, they say it's perfect for travellers, snow kiters (who need to hike around in the snow) and surfers. Will it catch on? 

Rewind a few years, everyone was complaining about all the companies making 3 strut kites. They said they flopped around and had no stability and wouldn't last very long. Blah blah... Well now look what's happened, every company out there goes to 3 struts for a freeride kite, 5 struts for a freestyler (or racer) and that's considered perfectly normal. It may have taken a couple of years to iron out the kinks associated with the lack of support, but now if you take the Ozone Catalyst as an example, it doesn't flutter, make a fuss or do anything silly at all! 

But what about relaunch? One of the main reasons that kites have struts in the first place is to keep the canopy in shape during a big crash and under the stress of relaunching. Without the strut, a big crash will fold the canopy behind itself, causing it to stick and making relaunch very difficult. Already we see this problem with underinflated 3 strut kites. Will it be a problem with the Naish Trip? 

We'll have to wait and find out, because so far there's been no word on when these things will get to Australia. Keep an eye out for one at your local beach though, because the idea could catch on!  

#News #Kitesurfing #Naish #Kiteboarding #Ozone