Blade News:
Blade Introduces the Skinny Boy
Making specific kites for specific disciplines is what we do best, which means it was only a matter of time before we came out with a wave dedicated kite. The new Skinny Boy is for surfers who like to ride with power and super-quick steering abilities. Whether you go out strapless or with straps, you’ll find the Skinny Boy helps you charge any wave.
• Highly Reactive and Fast Turning
• Insta-Depower Feature
• Efficient Low End Performance
• High-Performance Drift
• Quality Craftsmanship
Sizes: 6 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 12
DESIGNER'S Q&A
When you sat down to design the Skinny Boy, what were the important characteristics you felt had to be in a wave kite?
Apart from the typical features you expect like drift and depower, it was important for us to design a wave kite that would perform well in various wind conditions and not limited to ideal side-off kite spots. This was achieved by designing an efficiently powered and more importantly, a fast-turning kite. A fast-turning kite lets you be dynamic and flexible, able to make the most out of the wave.
What was the biggest challenge you faced coming out with the Skinny Boy and how did you over come it?
To design a powerful kite that also has great depower was something that was very tricky. We kept the profile of the kite strong, as we have done on our other kites, and developed a new 3-point bridle system with two pulleys to give maximum depower. The longer the distance the pulleys travel, the bigger the depower range. With our bridle configuration we were able to increase this distance and provide more depower.
What is the one advantage you feel the Skinny Boy has over other wave kites?
Since the SB has exceptional low-end, the kiter has the privilege of using a relatively small kite that delivers powerful and quick turning performance. This takes the wave riding experience to a new level.
More info here: http://www.bladekites.com/products/skinny-boy