Kites Used For Kiteboarding

The kite or aerofoil is the center of your kiteboarding kit. It is what lifts you out of the water
and what moves you forward. It is also what helps you to steer and what you need to be
able to control to be able to stop. Manufacturers are going in two main directions with kite
designs. The first direction is more specialist designs that focus on a particular area such as
lift for jumpers or size versus power for high speed. The second direction is producing all in
one type kites that can do almost anything good enough for many people.

Leading Edge Inflatables

These kites are inflated and have section across the front leading edge and other sections
front to back. They do take some time to inflate before they can be used but have the
advantage of floating when they are in the water and keeping their shape without the use of
the wind.
One of the problems with this type of design is that the bladders can be damaged if the kite
hits a solid object. It is popular because it is the easiest type to re-launch from the water and
will float making them ideal for beginners.

Foil Kites

These foil kites do not have bladders and use the wind to keep them inflated. They use a system
of lines to give the kite its shape. The open cell design can deflate very quickly and cannot
be re-launched from water. A newer closed cell design uses a valve system to slow down
deflation and to enable in water re-launches.