A new category needs to be added...

Kitewinging!

http://www.kitewing.com/wavewarrior/

Have I just had my head in the sand or have I just found the next hottest thing on water?!

The awesomeness is too much - I need to go lie down.

looks like windsurfing without the mast!

Shame if you have chicken arms...

Hey guys, hey bro. yeah thats me i sell the kitewings in W.A. as an independant distributor and I believe there should be a new forum created just for us kitewing nuts too :). unfortunately I have been told im not alowd to talk about kitewing sales on here so if you want more info or a promo dvd or a demo email me at southwestwa@hotmail.com

Bring it on big ears,its nothing new, but if the boyz can boost it 70ft of da wave and land it consistantly,it might turn some heads..Good luck eyez wiv ya man

GalahOnTheBay said...

Hey green / wing I must admit the video on the site makes them look a bit kooky

How do they stack up versus kiting / wind surfing?

What sort of sizes / wind ranges do you get on them?

And most importantly, would it be wrong to take one out on a SUP?

<flame suit on>

Hello Galah.
I was just looking at the vid on the site *hawaii 38 knots* I didnt think they looked that kooky for the first day on a kitewing :) I looked worse on a windsurf on my first day lol but watching the vid made me realise something.
They looked unstable at times on water because of the unfixed wing. I think it's because there is no mast. The persons body becomes the mast, and it looks like theres so much more movement from this factor in all directions and off axis.

Thanks man. I never really picked up on this before. It also makes me think that by being so free from a mast you could tweak the kitewing into some awesome angles to get more out of the wind.

I also don't think that you can compare kitewing against windsurfing or kitesurfing. Not that it is better or worse or anything just because that it is not the same. It comes into its own league. It flys different in the air and has it own set of rules. Everyone experiences different feelings and things doing moves on the different types of wind sports out there. Honestly I love how when kitesurfing you can boost huge air so easily but on a kitewing or windsurfer i notice it doesn't work like that.
Comparing speeds against the other windsports I would have to say theres no doubt that all can go as fast or slow as each other. I doubt there will ever be a time when one particular sport can boast it is faster than the other due to the fact it all comes down to the wind speed, the weight of the rider and there skill level and the conditions of the surface.

Sizes so far I know of are 3.8m 4.8m 5.5m 7.5m. (7.5m is the wave warrior and comes with floats but Ive used the smaller ones on water when its blowing hard) I believe the 3.8m is no longer and now a 4.0m takes its place.

With the wind ranges It comes down to your weight. I'm a fat old bastard lol with 100kgs of keg haha. so when I take out my 5.5m on land I dont mind if it gets to 30knots or up that way it scares the hell out of me. but 20knots doesnt really do it for me I want more speed. Then in the same conditions I seen my friend who is 70kg in 20knots go as fast as I was in 30knots and it scared the hell out of him. 30knots would probally have hurt him bad. So the wind speed, your weight and the surface your on are all important factors to pick what size wing you need.

And most importantly YES i'd love to see you SUP WING. greenroom can use it next time he tries to paddle from rottnest to scarborough on a SUP! how long did it take you Big O?

for what they are and the wind they require... too expensive

if you live in or near the snow... sooooo much better than snow kiting

but the wave warrior, sorry, its gayer than aids

sharkbiscuit said...

Cool :). I'll certainly give it a crack (still to try kiting... one day, one day..). It will be interesting to see how this method progresses. Yes, it's early days. It will have it's progression jumps like windsurfing and kiting.

Has anybody thought of a nick name yet ? wingdings, wingnuts ?

hahaha i like the nick name ideas. my brother sometimes calls me a kitefag but he can get away with it cause he is my bro lol

A 25 year old idea,but back then they had far more control and the wing was attached to the board.
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It was called a wind weapon and it was possible to jump and fly in control.

With the all new wave warrior,it looks like you jump then dangle like a kiteboarder and the passenger is now the strings.Like in kiteboarding,which way you are facing when you float down is a lottery,but at least the kiteboarder can pretend to deliberately be doing some 360s

You are far better off windsurfing when windy and hanggliding when its not.
They compliment each other nicely and its far more fun being a rider/driver/pilot than being a dangling passenger

Looks too cumbersome too expensive
A 3.5m ram air kite would give you more lift hang speed etc and cost less than half the price.

How would your arms be feeling after 3 or four hours on the water. Looks as restricting and gay as windsurfing.