Features

Strap In

Wave riding without straps on your surfboard has long been seen as the coolest way to show off your Slater-esque GOAT skills. But RRD founder Roberto Ricci and team rider Carl Ferreira have come back round to the idea that riding with straps has its benefits and could lead to further evolution in wave riding. Team rider Ralf Bachschuster (pictured here by Jurgen Tapp) no doubt agrees.

I’m on it: CORE Era

CORE recently added a brand-new twintip to their range, the Era. Designed for the joy of freeriding and riders of all levels, it marks a breakthrough in sustainable board design. Zara tells us why she’s loving it for fun, relaxed sessions.

Going Nowhere

Combine three of the world’s most established and extreme kiteboarders with three of the world’s latest innovators on the foiling scene, pair this unlikely alliance with a select crew of media specialists, and send them all to the remote latitudes of Patagonia in search of wind and unridden water bodies… This whole trip with the North crew was one big experiment. Photographer Kyle Cabano talked us through the results.

I’m on It: Naish Triad

Ewan Jaspan is no stranger to the podium at park and freestyle events, but is now getting into wave riding more, and as Kite Designer for Naish he has been fully involved in updating the latest Triad with this in mind…

The Mission: Lost Luggage

In the realm of kiting, the anticipation of an idyllic trip can be abruptly reshaped by the unexpected challenges that every kiter knows all too well. Often it’s the airport struggles with boardbags that can transform the dream trip into an unforeseen nightmare, as Pablo Amores was to find out on his visit to Dakhla…

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The Mission: Harness Party

Arthur Guillebert, winner of the recent GKA Freestyle World Cup in Brazil, headed somewhere decidedly colder earlier this year when he joined the Pallas Kiteweek, a snowkite event in Finland’s northern wilderness. Arthur, photographer Tomi Tähti, and event organizers Harri Rautava and Petri Sandström told us how the week went down.

Behind the clip: Head Up Again

Kiting is everything to GKA competitor Rita Arnaus, but when she suffered a bad knee injury earlier this year, it meant months off the water, and the rest of the year’s competition schedule missed out on. Rita has made a video, Head Up Again, about her recovery process, as part of ION’s “Write Your Own Chapter” Series. We heard more from Rita, and about the series from David Mariot, ION’s Marketing Manager.

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The Creators: Hugh Pinfold

Time to give back

Liam Whaley, like many pro kiters, has spent a lot of time honing his skills in Cumbuco, Brazil. Not content with going there year after year just to train, this time he headed over with the intention of giving something back to the community by helping out the local children who are not always able to access the sport they grow up seeing every day.