What is the future of the sport?

[SLiiCK]

Doesn't matter how you ride strapless or not just as long as you enjoy what you do, kitesurfing to me is to get out get a buzz and enjoy the freedom whatever style or ability

[longwhitecloud]

Takoon... not Cabrinha.

I would like to c a footstrap freesyle comp no unhooking, no boardoffs, judged by speed, aggression originality. i got boots but they cost $600, expensive footstraps! twintips are more affordable - boot prices take the piss.

[Starsky]

Well personally the future is bright.

Im down to less kites and more boards than ever.

[Thor SFBay]

Because of peak oil and peak everything else, kiteboarding will die out in 10-20 years. So it's really a moot point what particular fad is popular in the next couple of years. Enjoy it while you can.

[eree]

well, you can manufacture polyester even from dog excrements. you don't need oil per say...
another thing, you don't need necessarily only polyester to make kite wing cloth...
i think it will be something like the bow sports. some like it traditional with wooden bow and the sinew strings, and some like it modern, composite bow with the synthetic strings.

as for the less kites and more boards, i think the maximum of the quantity of the boards is already achieved.
i have already 6 boards (2 tt's, 3 waves, 1 freerace) and i think of selling 2 of them in the near future.

frankly i don't understand why there are so many boards per brand and so many kites per brand. i mean i understand they can produce them, but still i can not understand why so much?
i think 2 tt-boards plus 1 freerace per brand is OK, for brand that manufacture wave boards 2 is fine.

imo three kites per brand is optimum. bigger brands with the bigger (racing and wave) ambitions should have four kites. more is just the waste of money...

[TomW]

Back in 2002 i took a week of lessons in France. We learned on 2 line kites and 6' directionals. There was a local kiting around strapless on a longboard....

Im an old dude. Lots of guys, and some gals, learning still around here, I call it the new golf....

Funny thing is that I usually take a kite vacation 1-2 times a year. If I go out on a strapless surfboard, the kiters are usually impressed about a guy my age doing it. Very few are strapless kiting where I have been. Others have said it hear, its not that hard to do. The non kiters barely take notice.

If I go out on a twintip and do some hooked in jumps, some lame oldboy kiteloops and a backroll, then the non kiters are taking photos, standing on the beach watching, and new kiters are " wow, you the guy jumping out there?" Experienced kiters dont take notice.

At the end of the day, it doesn't really matter. Industry might get smaller, or bigger. People will still buy some gear and kite. Growth will be slow or not at all.
Im still having fun, get out on the water, getting some exercise.

Personally, id like to see airstyle, big air, and especially boardercross comps. Keep the racing at the yacht clubs, the wakestyle on the water for those that have fun doing it.

[dracop]

Jumping helps attract alot of people to kitesurfing. All of the other begginers I know drool at the freedom that airpower gives in addition to alot of the speed and wave tricks you can do with windsurfing. Its not tit for tat, I know there are things you can do with windsurfing, but enjoying raw speed or mixing sail power with waves - kitesurfing rules at these things in addition to offering easy access to air time. I can barely edge upwind but I can jump and I've landed a 360 (noob thrills man!)

Once I get my water skills better, I am DYING to bring my kite with me skiing. I am far better at skiing than boarding and LOVE the idea of snow kiting ragnarok style. Such a game changer when thinking of steeper drops and the amount of airtime you can get hehe. So the branch off into non-water sports is another important element that I think will set kitesurfing apart from other sports as people using their kites on land or the snow will probably keep doing it on the water over a sail or passive wave power. I used to surf and in a staight offshore wind with high waves I will still go standard surfing - but anything else, give me my kites. Pure powder with no wind holds or lines at the lifts, ok Ill crush it. Once the off piste is skied off though (happens fast at some places with lots of locals), adding in kite power becomes attractive.

So I think kitesurfing has alot of hooks into other sports that will keep this going over windsurfing or traditional surfing.
My $0.02

[Westozzy]

The new 19m edge will cost in our country retail....$3399 !!!!!

Kiting won't decrease industry wise, but some brands might....

[JDMsquirrel]

Graphene kites

[SaulOhio]

The future of the sport is large drone quad copters as tow vehicles, designed and programmed to respond to control inputs from your control bar just like a kite would. No wind day? Pull out the quadcopter!