Contact   Imprint   Advertising   Guidelines

Poll: King of the Air 2018: Straps vs Boots?

Forum for kitesurfers

Straps vs Boots: who is going to win the King of the Air 2018?

Straps
43
75%
Boots
7
12%
Combination of both
7
12%
 
Total votes: 57

a99
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 1055
Joined: Tue Jul 18, 2017 11:10 am
Kiting since: 2013
Gear: North, SabMoses, Flysurfer, Liquid Force, Blade, Xenon.
Brand Affiliation: None
Has thanked: 562 times
Been thanked: 128 times

Re: Poll: King of the Air 2018: Straps vs Boots?

Postby a99 » Wed Jan 10, 2018 1:20 pm

In NL always is windy, plus lot of population, rich country, all country near sea, not cold winter, lot of spots, all condtions for casual training, therefore we have lot of NL guyis in RB king of Air.

User avatar
Toby
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 50346
Joined: Mon Sep 24, 2001 1:00 am
Kiting since: 2000
Weight: 95 kg
Local Beach: Cumbuco, Brazil
Barra do Cauipe, Brazil
Favorite Beaches: same
Style: Airstyle
Gear: Rebel 2015 18
Brand Affiliation: None.
Location: World (KF Admin)
Has thanked: 832 times
Been thanked: 2365 times
Contact:

Re: Poll: King of the Air 2018: Straps vs Boots?

Postby Toby » Wed Jan 10, 2018 1:39 pm

Not cold in winter?

Pretty cold I would say 😉

a99
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 1055
Joined: Tue Jul 18, 2017 11:10 am
Kiting since: 2013
Gear: North, SabMoses, Flysurfer, Liquid Force, Blade, Xenon.
Brand Affiliation: None
Has thanked: 562 times
Been thanked: 128 times

Re: Poll: King of the Air 2018: Straps vs Boots?

Postby a99 » Wed Jan 10, 2018 2:02 pm

But what is cold ? -3-10 as in Baltic sea region or +3+6 as in NL ? +5 is still pretty normal for casual training, or keep holding kiting form at least. Of course for difficult tricks you need at least +10 water for body to be flexible in all tricks or learn new, still NL most suitable place in middle Europe no doubt.

LorenzoS
Rare Poster
Posts: 38
Joined: Tue Oct 04, 2016 9:58 am
Style: Big Air/Wakestyle
Gear: 12-10-8 Naish Torch 2016
Brand Affiliation: None
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Re: Poll: King of the Air 2018: Straps vs Boots?

Postby LorenzoS » Wed Jan 10, 2018 6:38 pm

KOTA 2018 will likely be different from previous KOTAs. The event will be held at Kitebeach for the 1st time and the wind is usually stronger there by a significant margin and also more consistent. On the downside there's more chop which should very much help boot's riders as landing and board control will be more challenging. I'm pretty sure that if the wind had been stronger Nick would've hardly made it on the podium last year (see megaloop challenge results). I'm using Nick as an example as he has always been riding w/ straps.

Again If KOTA 2018 lunches under serious big air conditions ( >40 kts) I think boot's riders have an edge altought straps riders are more versatile and also outstanding (Joshua) . If the conditions are like last year (averaging <30kts) I'm confident a strap rider will win especially that strap riders tend to ride flatter kites with more grunt such as Nick and perhaps even Kevin this year.

User avatar
edt
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 7316
Joined: Fri Jul 16, 2010 6:27 am
Kiting since: 2010
Local Beach: Michigan
Gear: ride hard, no regrets
Has thanked: 530 times
Been thanked: 664 times

Re: Poll: King of the Air 2018: Straps vs Boots?

Postby edt » Wed Jan 10, 2018 7:52 pm

I want to believe that whoever does the first in competition board off megaloop will win, but I"m thinking whoever goes highest and deepest on a megaloop front roll (or megaloop kgb) in boots will probably win because you can land hotter and harder in boots, a lot easier not to butt check on landing. You look at the "criteria" it says "risk" and there is no single more risky move in kiteboarding right now than a megaloop board off. Not sure why it's so dangerous, as an ordinary board off is one of the safest moves in kiteboarding I just know the results when the pros try to do that move. Scary!

Eckhardt
Medium Poster
Posts: 88
Joined: Thu May 11, 2017 8:18 am
Local Beach: Ijmuiden, wijk aan zee
Style: Big air and rookie waverider
Gear: Ozone edge 11 and 8
Bandit S 9m
Has thanked: 4 times
Been thanked: 10 times

Re: Poll: King of the Air 2018: Straps vs Boots?

Postby Eckhardt » Wed Jan 10, 2018 11:05 pm

It is because the dutch are awesome


On a more serious note without disputing the first statement; we have a lot of wind and can kite the whole year. That combined with being a economic healthy country makes we have the luxury to invest in the needs for kiting, even for the young ones. We actually are quit ok in a lot of water/wind sports

User avatar
dracop
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 885
Joined: Thu Nov 21, 2013 4:37 am
Local Beach: Naska Beach - Kanaha - Maui, HI USA
Waipuliani Park - Kihei - Maui, HI USA
South Point - Hawaii, HI USA
A-Bay - Hawaii, HI USA
Favorite Beaches: _
Kanaha - Maui, HI
Kihei - Maui, HI
South Point - Hawaii Island
Kite Beach - Cabarete, Dominican Republic
Tableview - Cape Town, South Africa
Style: Big Air :D
Gear: 2022 Dice 10m/12m SLS, 2022 Rebel SLS 12m, 2022 15m Aluula Juice
2017 Core Choice 2 142, 2020 Duotone Jaime Textreme, 2014 Best Breeze 145,
Brand Affiliation: The Maui Kitesurf Company
www.mauikitesurf.com
Location: Maui, HI
Has thanked: 28 times
Been thanked: 77 times
Contact:

Re: Poll: King of the Air 2018: Straps vs Boots?

Postby dracop » Thu Jan 11, 2018 8:29 am

You can put boots on any board but will crack it over the insert if its not reinforced for boots. Most reinforced boards are target at wakestyle. Not all are banana boards though - my Core Choice 2 is moderate on the rocker and it has held up nice to alot of pressure.In contrast, I cracked a Naish Antic and a Best Breeze.

Josh Emanuel uses it altho he is using straps.

In prior years the judges have discriminated against straps riders and have tended to look down on boardoffs. See what they do this year though.

With regards kites, newer Switchblades post 2016 loop really nicely as do newer Rebels. Both will catch you in time. I would not trust a Pivot to catch me - everytime I have tried a Pivot Ive eaten it at least once as a result of it not catching me.

In super strong wind, I do think the boots/C kite combos will get an edge as you can hold down more power and activate it when ready vs just constantly holdong the power down.

With re: the dutchies, they get alot of strong wind and have the money for the sport. The Safricans get great wind but few of the locals can afford the sport. In my time in Tableview I mostly jusy encountered tons of Europeans enjoying CPT’s wind. Locals were few and far between. I lived and taught there for a little under six months.

User avatar
Toby
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 50346
Joined: Mon Sep 24, 2001 1:00 am
Kiting since: 2000
Weight: 95 kg
Local Beach: Cumbuco, Brazil
Barra do Cauipe, Brazil
Favorite Beaches: same
Style: Airstyle
Gear: Rebel 2015 18
Brand Affiliation: None.
Location: World (KF Admin)
Has thanked: 832 times
Been thanked: 2365 times
Contact:

Re: Poll: King of the Air 2018: Straps vs Boots?

Postby Toby » Thu Jan 11, 2018 9:10 am

did we see yet super strong winds at former Kotas?

If so, Kevin was always one of the highest...with straps.

Gonna be interesting now if the spot makes a difference!

Sun
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 541
Joined: Thu Mar 08, 2007 12:03 am
Local Beach: Tybee Island
Favorite Beaches: Cape Town, Cumbuco
Gear: 12m, 10m, 8m Dice SLS
6m Dice (2017)
Reedin Dreamstick X
Reedin Kev Pro 136 board w/ North Straps
Nobile XTR LW board
12m Hyperlink for LW
Mystic MajesticX Hardshell
Brand Affiliation: None
Has thanked: 185 times
Been thanked: 146 times

Re: Poll: King of the Air 2018: Straps vs Boots?

Postby Sun » Sun Jan 14, 2018 3:27 pm

Well, Jacobsen is out. Broke his leg:
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bd7G-1dhTkR ... k_jacobsen

Hope he heals well. Any ideas who the reserve rider is?

User avatar
Toby
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 50346
Joined: Mon Sep 24, 2001 1:00 am
Kiting since: 2000
Weight: 95 kg
Local Beach: Cumbuco, Brazil
Barra do Cauipe, Brazil
Favorite Beaches: same
Style: Airstyle
Gear: Rebel 2015 18
Brand Affiliation: None.
Location: World (KF Admin)
Has thanked: 832 times
Been thanked: 2365 times
Contact:

Re: Poll: King of the Air 2018: Straps vs Boots?

Postby Toby » Sun Jan 14, 2018 3:42 pm

Oh no!
That’s bad news!
Does anyone know how it happened??

I am sure they will announce a reserve rider soon.
Post it if you know first


Return to “Kitesurfing”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Aleza, Baidu [Spider], blu, Brent NKB, Cheoz0r86, chet, DanielorDani, Enclume, Gonzavala, max, Vivo3d, voodoospirit, Xtream, Yahoo [Bot] and 382 guests