History of Kite Surfing

The use of kites for propulsion dates back to the 13th Century (kites dates back to as early as 478 BC), attempts at combining kites with other platforms such as canoes, skis and roller skates continued through the 19th and 20th Century. It was not until the development of multiple control lines by George Pocock in 1826 that kites could be piloted, instead of merely being used for propulsion. A landmark arrived in 1903 when Samuel Cody crossed the English Channel using a kite powered canvas boat. This was the beginning of the traction kite…

Kites had been used to propel craft across land, ice and water for some time. They required an initial thrust of air to take off, but once in the air could stay up under their own power. Early kites that had been designed for use on the water had to take off initially from the land. Once in the air, kites can generate their own wind. The effect of a kite flying across the sky produces ‘apparent wind’. Apparent wind is faster than actual wind, multiplying the natural available wind force by up to four times! This effect has caused some beginners to traction kite flying to underestimate the pull of the kite, sometimes causing injury.

Further developments continued through the ’70s and ’80s with the improvement of the flying lines and kites which saw the efficiency of the kite designs rise. The most important of these were water launchable kites, the first of being the Wipika, first developed in 1987. The Wipika consisted of a floating kite which could be launched even after having crashed into the water. As you can imagine, it was using these kites in the 1990s that caused kitesurfing to take off. Further refinements to these foil kites gave birth to the sport of kitesurfing in its current form in the late ’90s.

Kitesurfing is a relatively new sport that has only reached mainstream popularity in recent years. From the handful of pioneers developing the sport in the late ’90s, it has exploded in popularity to well over 200,000 kitesurfers from all around the world. The sport first took off on the coast of Maui, Hawaii pioneered in 1996 by Laird Hamilton and Manu Bertin. Maui was also the first place to hold the first-ever kitesurfing world championships, despite some of the competitors having only just started kitesurfing some months before!

The apparent simplicity of kitesurfing has helped the sport to take-off quickly. Maintaining control over the kite and kiteboard simultaneously proves a great challenge to most! Newcomers to the sport are recommended to take kitesurfing lessons from a qualified instructor.

Today, a plethora of equipment is available from popular manufacturers including Cabrinha, Airush, Naish and North. Beginners can purchase kitesurfing packages containing everything they need to get started. For information and advice on kite surfing visit S2AS, we even have kite surfing schools, based in Poole, Dorset

Snowboarding Impact Protection from Protec & Dakine

It’s a fact snowboarding comes with a certain level of danger; then again it probably wouldn’t be called an extreme sport if I didn’t. However if we’re honest, there are very few sports of any kind out there that don’t some element of risk or injury (bowling maybe?) and as snowboarding includes a high velocity aspect the risks do increase.

So once you except you might be in for a few bumps or bruises, and unless you’re the luckiest person it the world, you’re going to need some protection.

Making sure you are kitted out right is one of the first things you should be thinking of for a novice snowboarder (and should be up there for any boarder from amateur to pro). There are and abundance of snowboard safety clothing and equipment on the market and if you make sure you buy reputable stuff, you should be on the right track.

First up. A helmet. Now many snowboarders don’t bother with these and just stick a beanie, cap or some other headgear on, however at the speeds you can reach protecting your noggin is probably a good idea. Shaun White has been an advocator of snowboarding helmets, and he’s had enough knocks over the years to know what he’s talking about. A few good examples are the Protec Classic Snow Helmet and the Protec Ace Freecarve Helmet both solid dependable ways to keep your grey matter intact. Want something flashy as well as protective? Why not go for a helmet with built in earphones so you can snowboard and listen to your favourite tunes at the same time? Well there’s the Protec Classic Snow with Audio Force Ear Pads and the Scotty Arnold Signature Helmet with Plantronic Audio.

As snowboarders often land on their hands or knees, having adequate protection here is vital. Some good quality products here are Dakine Wrist Guards and Protec IPS Knee Pads. Good snowboarding gloves will always benefit the hands as well, with Dakine being one of the market leaders for snowboarding gloves.

Other sensible protective clothing includes snowboarding pants (trousers), jackets, boots and goggles and some sturdy hip protectors underneath such as Protec’s IPS Hip Pads, which come in styles for both men and women.

Finally you have back protection and once again Protec come through with the IPS back protector. This back protector offers spine protection for those who want focused back security. Soft shoulder straps keep the pad in place for all day comfort and the anatomical design just adds to this more.

So there you go, a run down of some snowboarding protection to keep you safe and hopefully free of broken bones and bruises. It may seem a lot of kit, but to coin the old cliché, better safe than sorry.

For a great range of snowboarding impact protection and protective clothing, as well as snowboards, accessories and more visit S2AS.com, we are all avid boarders ourselves and will advise you on the best protection to buy for your needs and level of skill.