The Ultimate Test sees the latest equipment tested 'back to back' to find the true winners when it comes to kite equipment. With a test team with many years of experience in riding, teaching, designing or repairing equipment, we find the very best products each season as well as checking out the quality of materials and construction.
This is definitely the kitesurfing test that matters. Enjoy...
Access all 105 pages of the Ultimate Test #3 including this year's results.
Let’s start by saying that the Cruz 1000’s full carbon front wing is a great thing to look at and is a tribute to CrazyFly’s own Slovakian factory. The aesthetic of the carbon layup was faultless and finished to a high polish, which gives you confidence that the wing really is as “ultra-light, robust and
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The Mirage 800 front wing has a gentle gul wing sweep and delta design, and rela-tively gentle aspect ratio of 4.8. The modular technology from the F-ONE surf foil range now transfers down to their kite foils, and the front wing is beautifully hewn into a single piece of pre-preg carbon, which includes the front
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Austrian foil specialists Levitaz developed the Shaka foil as their first hydrofoil aimed at the surf market. Originally available in the L and M sizes which were solely dedi-cated to wave and wing use, the S size comes in at 1200cm2 of surface area and can crossover into kite use. As with all things Levitaz,
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“With this configuration your Cruizer will react to the smallest input but still stays stable at high speeds.” A statement from the Levitaz website that could be used to sum up the Cruizer Pro in one sentence! It really is ‘super reactive’. As with many Levitaz products, the unboxing and setup gets you excited to
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Nobile have always had a fondness for compact travel focused products with their successful range of split boards. In a move of pure genius, this design direction has now progressed into their hydrofoil range. With some (if not most) hydrofoils being notoriously awkward to transport this is a genius move. The board and foil comes
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The BOOST is the flagship freeride kite from Flysurfer’s LEI range. The German kite brand keeps on pushing the R&D using their technical background in paragliding (Skywalk paragliders) and soft kites (they produce some of the most respected foil kites for kitefoil racing on the market) and have complemented this with a comprehensive range of
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New to the line up, the FLOW is Flysurfer’s entry freeride twintip. It is designed to cover a wide range of riding levels from total beginners to first unhooked freestyle moves. It features a low rocker, square rounded tips, parallel outline, and ultralight construction combined with a dynamic flex. It is fine-tuned and really comfortable
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Never ones to stick to the usual mold when it comes to board design (with twintips like the Mako and Duke at the heart of the collection), this philosophy has been carried over into Ocean Rodeo’s directional line up. Kind of. The Jester actually represents a board philosophy that has now been carried over into
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Ubiquitous in nearly every manufacturer’s product range, North have developed a surfboard specific to strapless freestyle that crosses over well into average wave conditions. The Comp is an interesting board from a construction perspective and there’s a decent mix of modern materials utilized. The layup is a visually impressive mixture of carbon weave and Innegra
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The Mitu board range from French ocean sports powerhouse F-ONE has been present in their range for a long while, and has seen gentle incremental evolution over that time. The 5’6 we tested sits exactly in the middle of the size range at 22.8l. The carbon construction version we tested has no inserts and a
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The Magnet Carbon is F-ONE’s extremely concise answer to the strapless freestyle discipline. It comes in two sizes of 4’11 and 5’1, with a rider weight of 80kgs as tipping point when choosing between the two. The construction is all-new, and unsurprisingly F-ONE aren’t giving away a whole lot about the finer details, other than
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The Session is Duotone’s big wave board. Sky Solbach has been hard at work developing it this year to widen its audience and application, to make it more suitable for average conditions but at the same time retain that giant slaying performance when the stars align. The construction is absolutely exquisite and more than justifies
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The Fish arrived in the Duotone line up a couple of seasons back, and broke the mold of what we expect to see from a kite surfboard. Despite its shape it wasn’t strapless freestyle focused; it had a full ‘twin fin’ style outline but had three fins, and – perhaps most importantly – it didn’t
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Duotone’s SLS products have caused quite the stir in 2021 and Duotone claim they represent “another dimension of innovation, product design and quality”. It is always interesting to see what the designers and manufacturers can produce when the financial budget is extended and they are free to utilize typically out of reach resources and top-quality
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Slingshot have a reputation that proceeds them for sturdy kiteboards. The Formula is something completely different, with the focus on weight saving and snappy response. Everything is screaming high-end manufacturing on the Formula. Build-wise we’re looking at a paulownia wood core with a high modulus carbon layup; a Textreme carbon stringer also runs the entire
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It would be hard for any kiter to begin the testing process on the 2021 Jaime without any preconception. The Jaime has been a flagship Duotone twintip model seemingly since the beginning of mainstream kiting, and for good reason. The 2021 model could have been delivered without graphic or branding but its give-away features, that
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The mutant has been a board design that has phased in and out of favor several times over the course of kiting history. For those uninitiated it usually takes the form of a slightly longer than usual twintip board with a directional bias, so it has a longer nose like a surfboard. With the Super
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The RRD Poison has been designed with Big Air at the top of its priority list. The board maintains impressive rail contact, thanks to its squarer outline with slight inwards tapering towards the tips. Its strong yet slim tapered rail bites into the water, allowing you to load up against the kite and hold down
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The Atmos Carbon is North’s premium standard intermediate twintip focusing on Big Air and freeride. Utilizing the same design as the Hybrid, but laminating it with carbon, gives the board more responsiveness and a higher performance focus. With a single mild concave running to the tips, giving you excellent rail grip, the Atmos Carbon feels
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Nobile’s premium asymmetric freeride/freestyle crossover board, the NHP Carbon, impressed us immediately with its exceptional drive and upwind reach. Utilizing its hydrodynamic rocker and hybrid concave shape which features a tip-to-tip double concave alongside an elliptical concave in the boards center, the NHP Pro is early planing with tons of speed on tap and effortless
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The Shotgun Carbonara is Lieuwe’s carbon-coated, fast and direct freeride board. The increased stiffness of this board, thanks to its triaxial carbon layup, allows the board to grip hard as you lock in your edge and load against the kite without spilling energy out of the board. The takeoff is impressive as a smooth release
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Deciding which F-ONE TRAX is for you can be determined by which aspect of your riding you wish to focus on. The TRAX HRD Carbon is the lighter version of the LT. Its construction is founded upon the same CNC-shaped wood core with Helical Rail Design, single stepped concave and flexible tips. However, its biaxial
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Could the Raptor LTD be a new definition for light boards? Quite possibly. This is CrazyFly’s ultra-light full carbon board for freeriders and freestylers. CompFlex 4T5 is part of what makes The Raptor LTD so light, requiring less epoxy to layer the carbon, meaning less weight altogether than older models. A low centered rocker and
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The CrazyFly Elite III is a high-end freeride board that radiates excellence and status. It is a masterpiece in extreme lightweight engineering, featuring the finest carbon fiber technology upon its ultra-light, double concaved, Paulownia and air core foundation. This board exudes luxury, arriving in a hard case, mounted and ready to go, allowing you to
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If the Hawk is the ‘Dimension on steroids’ then the Blackhawk has just come back from a stint in prison, covered in tattoos, with a mean look in its eye. Adding to the defined contours of the Hawk, Brunotti have tuned the Blackhawk to go one step further with a ‘Carbon Compression Core’, deeper tail
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The Atmos Hybrid continues its role as North’s intermediate freeride and Big Air board. It has a parallel outline more usually used on freestyle boards, however to keep it loose and quick carving, it tapers at the tips which also helps to reduce spray as you charge at the next kicker shaped piece of chop.
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If you’re an intermediate to advanced rider, crossing styles between freeride and freestyle, the Nobile NHP split is a board designed for you. Lovers of fast-paced riding with agile carves and a rapid exit will enjoy the unique shaping the NHP range offers. The board planes early and accelerates across the water thanks to its
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Lieuwe have crafted the Shotgun to be a sophisticated ‘jack of all trades’, performing well in freeride, Big Air and freestyle. This fast board has excellent stability and grip thanks to its single concave, 3D shaped paulownia wood core and deep channels in the tips. It also has a slim stepped rail that allows it
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Over the past few seasons Naish have made a number of great improvements to their premium crossover board, the Motion, giving a forgiving and more comfortable ride yet still allowing you to progress and develop your skills. To help create that smoother ride, you’ll notice the translucent, chevron-esque cutouts in the tips of the Motion,
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The Naish Traverse is a ‘new school’ all-rounder; crossing disciplines was the primary goal as Naish set out to design the Traverse with the help of Ewan Jaspan. It is designed to be a fun and playful ride that will allow you to mix up your riding style depending on the conditions and your preferred
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Brunotti tell us that this is the Dimension on steroids, and whilst we do not advocate the use of performance-enhancing drugs, we certainly advocate performance-enhancing boards. The Hawk is essentially a performance enhanced Dimension in every way. The bright yellow accents are striking and you certainly won’t lose it in the water. More importantly, as
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The Dimension is Brunotti’s all-round board that will work for you in all conditions. It is comfortable to ride and gets going very easily especially if you opt for the larger 141×42 (or even the 145×43) models. As soon as you get this, and indeed any of the 2021 Brunotti boards we reviewed, out of
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The F-ONE Trax HRD Lite Tech is the ultimate all-rounder – from cruising to Big Air, this board has got you covered. Not only is it easy on the eyes with its translucent TPU, it also has a unique Helical Rail Design that has plenty to offer. Unlike any other rail design available, the rail
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The Apex v7 is a longstanding board in Airush’s line up, and for 2021, at the hands of Dave Kay their twintip designer, it has had a rework. The ride has been restyled and a new outline and base shape provided, refreshing the feel of the board, and we have to say we’re impressed at
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Fresh to the 2021 collection, the Nobile Gamechanger is a board dedicated to freestylers and wakestylers. Its sintered base makes it durable enough to handle sliders, and a wakestyle rocker combined with deep channeling inset far from the rail to create large flat sections, makes the board ideal to be pressed flat for control on
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For 2021 the Monarch remains Naish’s pro performance freestyle twintip. Standing true by the hearts of its followers, it has a new top shape that strengthens the board for harder landings and provides more consistency in its flex. The FTC 2.0 CNC’d shaping of its predecessor is gone and a thicker, stronger core remains. Not
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Lieuwe have a wealth of experience building premium and custom kiteboards. After more than a decade of shaping they are truly masters of their craft and the Say No More is no exception to this. So few brands achieve the clean wood aesthetic that Lieuwe have achieved, and many opt to hide the air pockets
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The Lieuwe Oceana is a true ‘rider’ board. For the Big Air riders and freestylers, this is a board that exceeds expectations across both disciplines, without compromise – truly a master of all trades that will surely put a smile on your face. Unlike Lieuwe’s flagship board, the Shotgun, the Oceana adopts a squarer outline
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It is no secret that our test team have been fond of the WTF!? freestyle board, and this year is no different. Few performance boards are quite as forgiving, and its most redeeming aspect is that the confidence it inspires urges you to push your riding further knowing that it has your back. Despite its
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