Category: equipment

What is a neoprene wetsuit and what is it for?

The neoprene suit is a suit made of elastic and waterproof material that protects the body from the cold preventing our body heat from escaping, it also provides us with extra flotation and protection against bumps and scratches.

Without a neoprene suit it would be impossible to navigate in certain areas or seasons of the year where the water is very cold.

Types of wetsuits:

There are several combinations of sleeves and legs, the most common are with long arms and legs and short arms and legs, but can also be found with long arms and short legs, short arms and long legs, long arms and shorts and short arms and shorts (These last two are usually used by women)

Neoprene thickness

The main thing to choose a wetsuit is its thickness, usually usually ranging between 1 and 6 millimeters and usually have different thickness in chest, back and legs and another thickness in shoulders and arms to facilitate movement and keep body areas warm. they need it most

What thickness of neoprene suit to choose?

Depending on where we are going to navigate and the water temperature we will need a thickness or another, the following relationship can serve as a guide to choose according to the water temperature:

• 21ºC or more: Swimsuit and lycra shirt
• 17ºC to 21ºC: Short suit of 2mm
• 14ºC to 17ºC: Long suit of 3 / 2mm
• 12ºC to 14ªC: 3 / 2mm or 4 / 3mm long suit with booties
• 10ºC to 12ºC: 4 / 3mm long suit with booties and neoprene gloves
• 8ºC to 10ºC: Long 5/4 / 3mm suit with booties, gloves and neoprene cap.
• 8ºC or less: 6/5 / 4mm long suit with boots, gloves and neoprene cap.

What is a kitesurf helmet for and what types are there?

The main function of a kitesurf helmet as you can imagine is to protect our head, both from blows and cold and provide flotation.

There are two types of helmets:

Soft helmets

These provide us with extra buoyancy in our head so it will make it easier to keep it out of the water, it also provides protection against bumps.

Rigid helmets

These are mainly designed to provide protection against blows especially by practicing tricks, since the blows can be much more violent.

What’s the use of a kitesurf vest and what types are there?

There are two types of vests, buoyancy or life jackets and impact ones:

Buoyancy vest or life jacket:

The buoyancy vests or life jackets only give us an extra float ideal for when we are learning, as we spend a lot of time doing body drag and tired standing in the water, in addition to keeping afloat in case of accident.

Impact vest:

The other type of vest are those of impact, these also give us an extra buoyancy but not as much as those of flotation since its main function is to protect us from the blows that we can take especially when we are practicing tricks.

What is it, what is it for and what types of kitesurf harness are there?

A kitesurf harness is an essential part of our kite-surfing gear as it is the part that unites our body with the kite through the bar and its lines, this transmits the power of the kite to our body so that we can derive it towards the table.

It is provided with a front hook where we hook the chicken loop of our bar.

Types of kitesurf harness:

There are 2 types of kitesurf harness, the seat or legs and the waist or dorsal, the first we tie to our waist and our legs, avoiding that it rises to our ribs so it is the most suitable for beginners.

The waist or dorsal harness is only attached to our waist and allows more movement so it is the right one to perform tricks..

 

 

Parts of a kitesurf harness

1. Connection hook to the chicken loop
2. Hook closure
3. Adjustment straps
4. Ring for leash
5. Velcro to fasten
6. Rear handle, usually have a ring where to hook the board leash, is used mostly to grab another kiter on the ground to help you in case you are overpotended.

What is a kitesurf bar?

The bar is an essential element for the practice of kitesurfing since it is the element that through the lines joins our kite with our harness and would be the “handlebar” with which we handle our kite.

These bars are of 4 or 5 lines, the two outer lines are those of direction, which are what make the kite go to one side or the other and the two central ones are those of power, which when pulling the bar towards us It causes the kite to close and capture more wind, therefore it generates more power.

The fifth line is an extra safety system that is used in some type C freestyle kites that allows the kite to be de-energized beforehand, facilitate its re-launch and give them better performance in flight.

The bars usually have two colors to differentiate the part connected to the direction line on the left of the kite (usually red) and the part connected to the direction line to the right of the kite (usually black), to avoid having the bar backwards and we will turn the kite to the opposite side of the one we want to move it.

Parts of a kitesurf bar

1. Control bar, is the structure that allows us to manage our kite, is where we place our hands.
2. Chicken loop, It is the part that is hooked in the harness.
3. Chicken stick, It is an element that prevents the chicken loop from leaving our harness by accident.
4. Safety ring, is where we will hook our leash through which it will be joined with our harness in case of having to use the quick release.
5. Quick release, is a safety system by which push the chicken loop will be released and leave the kite together only by one of the power lines or the fifth line if you have it with the leash that will be hooked to the safety ring.
6. Floaters, These make our bar float.
7. Auto swivel, It allows us to rotate the central lines to unroll them especially if we do kiteloops or backloops.
8. Rubbers, It allows us to have the subject lines when we have collected the bar.
9. Power stop, is a stop that we can move to adjust as much as we can depower the bar.
10. Brake, these two shooters allow us to adjust the power of the kite.
    is a thicker line that allows us to raise and lower the bar to enhance and depower the kite, this will be the one that will support our weight.
11. de-power lines,  is a thicker line that allows us to raise and lower the bar to enhance and depower the kite, this will be the one that will support our weight.
12. pre-lines, they are the connection of the bar with the lines that go towards the kite.
13. Pigtails, are the terminals with which we join the lines to the bridles of the kite, normally they are usually the interior males or power and females the directional or exterior, the left direction is usually red like the left line of direction and the left part of the bar, although this may vary with each manufacturer.

The kite leash

The leash is an important element of our team as it is what keeps our kite attached to our harness in case we are forced to use the quick release of our bar.

 

 

 

Board leash

The table leash is a very useful element when we are learning as it joins the board with our harness, so when we fall we will not have to do body drag to recover it. It is an element of mandatory use with a helmet because when falling the board can come towards us with great force.

There is a variation of the former called dog leash or reel, which keeps the line collected and stretched when we fall, this is a bit safer than the previous one but it can also be dangerous.

What is a kitesurf kite?

A kitesurf kite is an essential element for the practice of kitesurfing, it is a kite specially designed to generate traction and facilitate its re-launch from the water.

For each model there are several sizes that usually range from 3 square meters to 18 square meters.

Parts of a kitesurf kite

1. Leading edge, it is the front part through which the wind would enter when we are sailing, which is usually inflatable to prevent it from sinking, providing buoyancy when it falls into the water. This inflatable part is called a bladder or air chamber.
2. Trailing edge, it’s the back part where the wind would come when we’re sailing
3. Struts, they are smaller tubes connected perpendicular to the leading edge that reach to the trailing edge to shape the kite.
4. Valves of inflate/deflate, are connections to inflate and empty the leading edge and ribs, you can have a single filling valve called this one-pump system or have separate valves for each.
5. Pump leash, is a connection by which we can hook the pump with the kite to prevent it from moving while filling its leading edge and ribs.
6. Sabers, Some kites have fiber rods for the kite to maintain its shape. These are not visible to the naked eye as they go inside the fabric of the kite and some pockets.
7. Brides, pulleys and pigtails conectors, All kites have a system of brides, pulleys and pigtail connectors that allow their connection with the lines of the bar.
8. Intrados, inside face of a kite.
9. Extrados, outside face of a kite.
10. Canopy, It is the fabric with which the kite is made.
11. Reinforcements, They are thicker patches in critical areas of the kite that protect it from chafing and breakage.
12. Grips, are bands located inside the leading edge where we can grab to perform a self-rescue.

What types of kites are there to practice kitesurfing?

Depending on the navigation mode you want to make, there are several types of specialized kites for each case

1. Delta type, the leading edge usually has an ovoid and elongated shape, while the leading edge has a smaller curvature. They are kites that have a lot of wind range and are specially designed for beginners to provide less speed.
2. Bow type, They have the same curvature at the leading and trailing edges. They have characteristics similar to the delta type and are also designed for beginners.
3. C-type, Specially designed to practice freestyle, they are symmetrical kites that offer great power and speed for smaller winds.
4. Hybrid, They have a curved leading edge and a straight vanishing edge, trying to combine the qualities of power and versatility of the previous ones.
5. Foil, They are similar to paragliders, with a great network of flanges and composed of cells that acquire their shape inflating with the wind. Not having an inflatable leading edge are not recommended for use in the water.

The pump

An element also necessary to fill our kite will be the inflator, this allows us to fill the leading edge and the ribs of our kite with enough pressure to maintain their shape.

What is a kitesurfing board?

A kitesurf board is an essential element for the practice of this sport, it is a board specially designed to allow us to slide through the water by means of the traction generated by a kitesurfing kite.

For each table model there are several measurements that usually range from 134cm to 142cm for bidirectional twin and between 147cm to 183cm for directional.

The size of each board depends on the weight, height, abilities and way of navigation of the kiter.

According to the way of navigation of each rider can use restraints for the feet called straps, boots or not use anything (strapless).

What types of kitesurf boards are there?

We can mainly differentiate the kiteboarding tables into 2 groups:

Bidirectional tables or twin tip:

They are tables with a symmetrical shape with which we can navigate to both sides, they are specially designed for freeride and / or freestyle.

According to the type of navigation of each rider, the board can carry either footstraps, which are some foot restraints similar to flip-flops like those we can use on the beach or boots similar to those used in wakeboarding.

Directional boards, surfkite or race board

They are boards with an asymmetrical shape similar to those of surf in which we can navigate only in one direction, so the kitesurfer must change sides (jibe) to change direction, these tables are specially designed for waves (wave) or race (speed, slalom or races)

With these types of tables we can navigate with less wind than with the twin tip to have more buoyancy.

Depending on the type of navigation of each rider these tables can be provided with straps or restraints for the feet or use pads (non-slip part) for strapless lovers.

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What is a hydrofoil or foil?

It is a modality of kitesurfing in which a fin or keel is added to a directional board with which, when reaching speed, the board rises from the water allowing us to glide over the water.

What do we need to know to buy a kitesurfing board?

Flexibility

What is the influence of the flexibility of a kite board?

A more flexible board is better to start in kitesurfing since they absorb the energy of the water and in the falls when they fall they will suffer less from our knees and will not be able to sail the waves better.

On the contrary, a more rigid board is more indicated for the more advanced riders since it allows us to jump higher although the falls will be more aggressive and the surfing of the waves will be more difficult.

Weight and size

The weight of the board is directly linked to the flexibility, since to make a more rigid board more material with a more complex composition is necessary.

The size of the board to choose depends on the height, weight and level of the kiter, because the higher we are or the lower we will need a larger board that will make it easier to stand on it, however a smaller board It will make it easier to perform tricks and surf the waves.

Rocker or curvature

The more curvature a board has, the easier it will be to use and allows us a greater margin of error in landings, however a flatter board gives us more speed and glides faster.

Waterways

Kitesurf boards have lower channels that allow water to flow in one direction, giving us more grip, use smaller fins and giving us more margin of error when landing. They also provide more rigidity to the board without increasing its weight.

Fins

The kite boards have several fins that the bigger they are the easier it will be to go against the wind (tight) and the smaller they are, they allow us to gain speed when turning and trimming before making a jump.