The kite industry is experiencing change at a rapid pace. From new materials to new shapes to new faces, it can be hard to keep up with the trends! In September, we took a trip inside the industry at the AWSI Expo in Hood River, Oregon. Find out what insights Editor Crystal Veness took home in this exclusive article!

The kite industry is constantly changing. We don't always see what's happening behind the scenes, but whether it's obvious or not, the train never stops trundling along the tracks. The development of kiteboarding equipment is not always about new technology, though. Sometimes, kite designs simply change with industry trends, like fashion, where bell bottom jeans, popular in the '70s, faded out in favour of skinny legs before making a proud return in recent years. Not all of us feel ready to rock these vintage styles, but it doesn't mean they're not happening… again. 

On the kite side, old school big air reached its peak popularity in the '90s before freestyle and "extreme" big air (think megaloops) took centre stage. Now? Big air is back, and it's cool again. Or, maybe it always was, depending on who you ask! The mere mortals among us are trying to join the 10, 15, or 20-metre jump club, dialling in the classic board off, and sprinkling in some rotations and grabs in an effort to achieve that floaty, effortless old school style. On the extreme side, the pro rider community is innovating like crazy. They're chasing double loops and S loops and already adding variations and rotations. Short line loops are also gaining popularity, where the kite nearly touches the water mid-loop with the rider flying through the air well above it. At this stage, the simple old-fashioned megaloop seems like a thing of the past! 

This blazingly fast progression has pushed the industry into developing kites capable of achieving these inventive new manoeuvres while still satisfying the general population's needs. If the latest edition of Cold Hawaii was any indication, kites like the North Orbit and Duotone Dice and Evo were leading the pack. A relatively new name to the big air game, Timo Boersema had a stand out performance, making a statement on his new Naish Pivot. On the new Slingshot Code V1, Jeremy Burlando wowed the crowd, hot off the heels of his big air win in Tatajuba. This new "all-around" kite seems to have considerable big air potential, and we go behind the design in this issue’s Tech Focus section.  

A world away from the nuclear wind in the North Sea, a gentle breeze settled over Hood River, Oregon, home to the flowing Columbia River and what many see as America's heart of the kitesurfing industry. With brands like Slingshot, Ride Engine, and the US headquarters for Boards & More (parent company to Duotone and Ion) calling this windy river region home, it's the ideal location for one of the biggest industry events in North America, the AWSI Expo. This event by the AWSI (Association of Wind and Watersports Industries) welcomes kite, wing, foil, and SUP brands to showcase their current and up-and-coming product lines to distributors, retailers, media, and other industry insiders.

Before planting (more like cementing!) my feet in South Africa a few years ago, and when travel was easy, Hood River was an annual pit stop on my wind-chasing circuit. It's a place where the wind blows pretty consistently throughout summer, the water is often warm enough to go wetsuit-free, and the community runs on adventure and action sports. The only rival to the action sports community is, possibly, the craft brewing and distilling community, whose production space and tasting rooms claim most of the waterfront real estate around the all-new Slingshot and Ride Engine offices!

With so many delightful liquid-based indulgences on the menu, I was excited to pack my bags and brave 33 hours of travel to the Pacific Northwest to represent IKSURFMAG at AWSI. I was travelling light this time, and after checking into The Adventure Lodge, I realised I forgot to pack some of that pumping Cape Town Southeaster, and the wind sadly didn't pull in as hoped for the event. 

Luckily, adventures were plenty, including a side trip to the nearby Multnomah waterfalls, a visit to the Bonneville Lock and Dam and fish ladders, and a lunchtime wine tasting at the Stave & Stone vineyard. I squeezed in a pretty solid tourist experience and still managed to score a bit of wind a couple of days before the event began to try out the new FLYSURFER Stoke and Cabrinha FX2. After that, light wind reigned supreme! I'm not a card-carrying hydrofoiler, so the light breeze and foil-friendly conditions meant I had a bit more time on the grass at the Hood River Event Site to check in on what's trending in the industry. 

Thanks to COVID, it's been a few years since the last AWSI event, attended by both US market members and international exhibitors and attendees. This event was reminiscent of a high school reunion, where old friends and local riders came together with international brand founders and representatives, all with the common goal of seeing and sharing what's new in the world of wind.

First and foremost, it can no longer be denied that winging is a THING! The wingfoilers dominated the scene throughout the event, with often 5-10 times as many wings on the water as kites. The explosion of wingfoiling popularity has not gone unnoticed by the kite brands, and there wasn't a single kite brand that didn't have wings as part of their expo display. Even CORE Watersports has finally joined the party, releasing its brand new XC Wing.

Wingfoiling has brought a colourful injection of energy to many inland and light wind spots globally. Spots where kiteboarding is not permitted and areas with little to no beach access or safe launch areas are open season to the fast-growing wingfoiling community. It's been easy to miss the wing-frenzy down in South Africa, where we're still in a big air and wave kiting bubble, possibly because the punishing Atlantic Ocean does not serve as a fertile breeding ground for freshly bloomed wingers. 

That said, we shouldn't have been surprised by the rise of the wing, as the popularity of our wing and foil-focused sister publication, Tonic Mag, has been skyrocketing over the past year. If the scene in Hood River is anything to go by, we should probably chuck this publication in the bin and put all of our eggs into the Tonic basket! 

Moving on, the development happening in the industry has become less and less about the shape of kites and more and more about materials. Lighter and stronger materials continue to drive innovation across wind sports. North has jumped into the materials game, announcing their exclusive new N-Weave Technology, a high tensile woven fibre material currently used on the new North Mode wing. Eleveight also dropped the upgraded model of the RS, the RS+, featuring Dynea Tex material.

ALUULA Composites have introduced a new material called Graflyte, purported to be even lighter than ALUULA Gold. Duotone and Ocean Rodeo are not the only brands that have tested ALUULA kites, but they are the only two with products on the market. Brands like F-ONE and Naish have tested ALUULA but have chosen not to incorporate it into their product lines at this stage. F-ONE founder Raphael Salles doesn't think the material offers twice the performance and doesn't justify twice the price. While he's almost certainly correct, it's apparent that consumers are still excited by these premium priced lightweight materials.

As consumers, making purchasing decisions is harder than ever. Simply reading the marketing buzzwords on product pages is no longer enough. If you want to keep up with the game, you've got to dive into the dirty details, like canopy material type and GSM (grams per square metre), net kite weight, tensile strength, line type, and so so much more. 

Duotone continues to dominate in selection by offering three different construction models, standard, SLS, and the D/LAB, which feature ALUULA materials, ensuring the consumer has a plethora of choices. This seems to be a winning approach because Duotone claimed Best Brand as voted by industry members in each division: Kite, Wing, and Windsurf.

Representatives from brands like CORE and FLYSURFER pointed out that their carefully-crafted wave kite products, weighed against competing kites marketed as super-light and super-strong, are almost the same weight, and in some cases lighter, while ringing in at a much lower price point. They explained that having only one base construction model does not mean it's a basic model. Comparing different kite model weights online post-AWSI validated these statements. Reading marketing materials is a great first step in getting to know a product, but as kiting consumers, touching, feeling, and flying is truly the best way to make an informed decision.

Ozone has linked up with Patagonia to push for a different kind of development in the materials game. They've parked the lighter and stronger conversation at the door, instead forging a new path into more sustainable materials and methods. Together, they have spent the last couple of years developing a recycled kite canopy material, also aiming for a non-toxic manufacturing process. While they have not yet achieved their ultimate goal, they had an Ozone kite in Hood River made with primarily recycled canopy material, and it looked no different in appearance or performance than standard virgin dacron. Once they have achieved their goals of creating a high-performing, long-lasting kite using primarily recycled canopy material, they intend to make it available to the entire kiteboarding industry. As always, Patagonia shows again that its priority is the environment, not profit. I, for one, cannot wait to see where this project leads, and I am encouraged by these respected members of our kiting community working so hard to protect our precious planet.

There's action happening in the accessories range as well, some of which got quite a lot of attention from AWSI attendees. The long-awaited and happily received click-in quick-release system was just announced by Duotone, and their 2023 Trust and Click Bars and chicken loops will be receiving this snazzy upgrade. If you've wondered when to upgrade your Duotone control bar, 2023 might be your year! 

Lieuwe Boards had a brand new prototype on display, and this one looks like a game-changer for their brand. While it's not ready for release, their new construction promises to bring something shiny and new to the Lieuwe lineup. In other board news, the demand for split boards must be growing because Duotone has added the new Voyager board to their lineup to contend with travel-friendly split boards from Shinn, Kitelement, FLYSURFER, and Nobile.

Harness development continues to turn heads, and I finally got to pick up and play with the new MANERA Halo and see their 3D-modelled wetsuits in person. After hearing Julien Salles explain the design process behind MANERA wetsuits, I'm convinced. It's possible that I'm a sucker for good marketing, or that I'm a tech nerd. Either way, one of these suits is already on my Christmas wish list! The 3D approach seems popular, and Julian Lange, the Product Developer at ION, gave us a sneak peek at their 2023 harness products, which incorporate their new 3D Fit Technology, aimed at helping consumers find the true perfect fit. 

AK Durable Supply Co's minimalist Ether range is growing, and dealers had the chance to interact with these consciously crafted products in person and check out the new white version of the AK Ether harness, a personal favourite of mine. Over at Ride Engine, I got the low down on an unreleased product, and this one will excite approximately 21% of our readers, which is the only hint I can give at this stage! Mystic's Stealth range is getting another update for 2023, and this one looks to take Stealth to the next level. From top to bottom and back to front, there is change coming across the entire industry

It's not only the designs that are big news but the designers behind them. North's new designer, Pepijn Smit, who led the recently released Code Zero project, is a fresh face from The Netherlands. Check out our in-depth interview with him in the Tech Focus section of this issue. With so many kites in their lineup, Duotone has expanded their design team, adding Marian Hund and increasing Sky Solbach's role to include the development of the Neo, Neo D/LAB, and Neo SLS which has seen some significant steps between the 2022 and 2023 models. 

Over at Airush, Su Kay claimed the title of the world's first female kite designer! Her experience and qualifications speak for themselves, and we couldn't be more proud of her for breaking into this male-dominated part of the industry. There was a top-secret new kite on display at AWSI that she has been hard at work developing, and it looks like it will claim its well-deserved spot as THE big air kite in the Airush lineup. Stay tuned for that release in early 2023! We can't wait to see what else Su brings to the table over at Airush.

With a growing contingent of kiters in their twenties now able to claim a solid 10-15 years of kiting and industry experience, it's no surprise that design teams are beginning to feature some younger faces. At F-ONE, Kite Designer Robert Graham is in his 60s and is training up 23-year-old Charles Brodel to take the reins somewhere down the line, but he's already had some influence on their new model, the TRIGGER. FLYSURFER's Maximilian Kühnhauser has moved over to focus on wing development, making way for 27-year-old Luke McGillewie to step into the role of inflatable Kite Designer. Over at Cabrinha, Brodie Sutherland, 27 years old, is in charge of wing and foil design, and John Lewis, at only 22 years old, is the new wing designer at Freewing. They keep getting younger!

We don't always take the time to differentiate between inflatable and foil kites because, for the most part, our magazine content is fairly focused on the traditional tube/leading edge inflatable kites and less on the foil/ram air kites. However, in Hood River, these soft kites made a strong impression. FLYSURFER designer Benni Boelli sent the first production models of their soon-to-be-released mystery kite to Hood River, and there seemed to be someone flying one non-stop during the event… I'm talking about you, Mike Jablonski! Gin Kites, who recently absorbed the Flymaax brand and range, had their latest foil kites on the water, offering twin-tip action when few tube kites could stay in the sky. On team Ozone, Axel Mazella was showing off the speed of the Ozone R1, ripping up and down the Columbia River at unmatchable speeds.

There still, and likely always will be, polarity regarding graphics and colour choices. North and Ozone continue to keep their designs simple and clean for 2023, while Boards & More has put the tone in Duotone with vibrant kite and board graphics that stand out. CORE, allowing just a slight departure from their signature black and white, has added a small pop of colour into the latest kite range, and Airush has dropped a bright yellow colour choice into their typically subdued lineup. It's always exciting to see the different approaches to graphic design and colour trends that each brand adopts, and I can't get enough of the variety. After all, if everything looked the same, how would I be able to pick out my friends on the water at a distance?!

With wing foils, hydrofoils, and foil kites dominating the scene at AWSI, it sure looks like the industry has become more loyal to the foil than ever, and Fred Hope's seemingly impossible manoeuvres on the Slingshot UFO V2 indeed drove that point home. Even the park riders, typically throwing it down in the Hood River Slider Project, are getting in on the wing thing. I saw more than a few park riders coming off the water after "down-WING-ders" while enjoying an afternoon craft beer at the wing launch with the Hood River locals!

All in all, after attending my first AWSI Expo in three years and seeing how the industry has been growing and changing in that time, I found myself feeling just a little bit basic. While I've stayed in touch with the different subcategories of kite sports, I've kept it pretty vanilla with my inflatable kites, twin tip, and wave board. There are many paths to pursue in kite and wind sports, and it's easy to get lost and feel like you're falling behind!

Being first in line to try that next new thing, attaining proficiency in every aspect of the sport, and having the storage space and bank account to have "one of everything on the menu" offers wind sports addicts the opportunity to session no matter the wind. For the rest of us with our small and simple quivers, I suppose we can't be faulted for only kiting when it suits what we've got and doing other stuff when it doesn't! 

If you're in Hood River, though, you might be sessioning in any and all wind AND still find time for a downhill mountain bike run in the morning! I don't know how they do it, but it may have something to do with the uber-strong locally roasted coffees that had me buzzing in the mornings, which were a must after the hoppy, high alcohol content craft beers that had me buzzed in the evenings!!

 

Videos

Lieuwe Boards Sneak Peek! - IKSURF at AWSI Expo
Patagonia X Ozone Recycled Kite Materials Project - IKSURF at AWSI Expo
By Crystal Veness
Editor at IKSURFMAG, Crystal Veness hails from Canada but is based in South Africa. When she isn't busy kitesurfing or reporting on the latest industry news for the mag, she is kicking back somewhere at a windy kite beach or working on creative media projects.

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