wakekite

hey, just saw this in GoBoating magazine. Haven't seen anyone say anything about it on here, so figured I'd share. The website doesnt have much to say about it, www.wakekite.com. It did say in the mag though that Gerry Nunn was a part of it. I'm pretty skeptical, but not going to bash it till I try it, what does everyone else think?

I ran into the general manager at Kinko's a few weeks ago. As you probably know they've been working on this for 3 years and have a patent. I guess it's near impossible to crash the kite and everything will come in a bag to make it less cumbersome. Everyone who has been on it says it's really fun!! 20-30% higher, but 3 times further than wakeboarding and a softer landing. Like you, and everyone, we all want to give it a try.

What happens if the kite touches down, scoops water and thus stops like a parachute, meanwhile boat driver is still on the throttle? Would suck to be the rider stuck in the middle of that mess, especially if the kite cord managed to get wrapped around you like on a failed trick attempt.

I wanted to weigh in a bit on what the WakeKite is all about; and thanks for keeping an open mind on this new toy.

A few items for consideration:

First, Safety is king to us; I just want to say that up-front. Please read-on to see more about what we're doing:

Basically, safety, ease of use, and durability are the prime 3 concerns with the WakeKite. And indeed, what we have created is not a kite baodring kite at all, but rather a much beefier, much more durable towable item (more similar to a standard boat towable in material thickness and strength). More details in what we've accomplished in nearly 3 years of engineering and (100% injury free) testing is as follows:

There is no harness; rather, the rider just holds on like a standard wakeboarder

The handle feel is like standard wakeboarding until the kite is flicked, then it lifts; but not 'man-lifting lift' occurs without a good flick

The current kites we are using (not shown on the site pics) is much smaller, faster, and requires the flick to lift.

The kite taxis easily on the water up to about 8 mph and then lifts off.

The kite is totally auto-stabilizing, and is harder than heck to crash

If the kite does crash, it can be dragged upside down without issue

If the kite hooks onto a bridge (god forbid) there is an auto-decoupler set into the main tow line that releases automatically under adverse load conditions.

There is also a safety release inside the boat for the observer (pull the lanyard; although the decoupler will most likely beat you to it if the line is pulled too hard).

The kite is steerable, and it doesn't need to be in view to be steered; instead, you just turn the handle (which is about 2.75 feet wide) and the kite follows and then accelerates ahead.

The air you get is about 10' max, and only then when a good flick by a good rider is done; average riders are lucky to get 6' of air; however, the length of the jump is greatly extended. The flick is where the rider steers the kite one way, and then abruptly steers it right back the other way (causing it to go into an upward angle power arc (lifting the rider off the water)).

The WakeKite works under slower boat speed than regular wakeboarding (especially if you have a head wind); so, if you do bail, the crash isn't that bad. For the jumps where you don't bail, the landings are super-soft. The slower boat speed also makes for some interesting wake shapes.

The jump itself: you get a punch of lift, and then as the kite tops out in its climb you get that zeroG moment needed for grabs, etc. After this passes, you begin to come back down, faster than the kite, and the load reduces your impact.

All standard wake-style jumps are not achievable, but most are, and of course this is the case with any sport that is different. There are many tricks still doable, and a bunch to be invented. But in the end, riding with a wakekite is just something new (and it's funner than H*ll!).

Anyways, the WakeKite is not meant to challenge wake boarding, or challenge kite boarding, or anything of the sort; rather, it's just meant to provide a new, fun and safe way to enjoy things behind the boat.

And most seriously, safety is our top priority. We don't want anybody hurt, we just want to offer up a chance for people to have some fun with a new way to ride and catch air.

Interesting concept, I like how you admit that it is only a supplement to the current sport with some room for innovation, but you don't claim it as the be all end all. Good luck, looks like fun, and looks like you have really put some thought into it.

Probably best to market this to the average weekend warrior looking for some different fun. On these forums and the kite forums, you will be dealing with the purests. The thing that draws wakeboarders to sport is the freedom of motion and simplicity. The kiteboarder is drawn to the boatless ride and freedom of direction and control. The purests are looking to push limits and progression, while your device seems more "recreational".

Possibly the same market as the flying tubes and rolling tubes, etc. Sold in your sporting goods stores rather than your wake shops and kite shops.

I respect your effort and the technology behind it, just think it will be a hard sell among purest on wakeboard sites and kiteboard sites. Get it out in the middle of a busy lake and give pull to some of the weekend warriors in their runabouts. They will see the novelty and eat it up!

Thanks Stephen, you are right on in that we are just trying to bring something new as a supplement for people to try. It'll never challenge wakeboarding; we wouldn't even dream of such a thing. Rather, it's just another thing to have a blast at when you have all day to spend on the water.

Arent the controls backwards facing that direction?

On the controls, you just tilt the handle left, and the kite goes left, pulling you along (and allowing you to edge and create more speed). Then, just before hitting the wake, you turn the kite back at yourself (flick) and the kite heads skyward, providing the lift. So, the steering is really intuitive: left is left, right is right. It's a lot different than kiteboarding where the kite is in view, etc. With the WakeKite you don't need to see the kite at all to make it work for you. Just steer and flick when ready to fly. Even people that have never flown a kite before can get out and rip with this on the first try. However, getting the flick down to climb from 6' into the 10' range of air is tough - a good challenge.

how much pull and force is this going to put on our trowers??im sure its more then the average wakeboard pull so i ask will this cause problems with gel coat cracking and towers being loosened and tore off in worse case scenarios??

Im sure that will void a lot of warrantys if this was found to be source of damage??

I like the idea alot. looks like something to try after a great day of boarding and just want to mess around. it seems it could be a great training tool for those laid out raley based tricks? Hmmm.. So where are some local dealers and what kind of pricing are we looking at?

Responding first to Bill: The load on the tower is not severe and does not cause the issues you bring up (so far). There is also an automatic de-coupler (weak link basically) that releases under load conditions that exceed normal riding. So, the tower can never get torn off.

Kevin: you hit the nail on the head with this being a great trainer for raley based tricks. Handle passes are also possible with our newer, smaller kite design that allows for a nice ZeroG moment at the top of the jump.

As for local dealers, this is still in the works. We are still commercializing the handle and lines at the moment, which is an insanely long process. We won't be on the shelf until just before Surf Expo in Sept. But heck, we've worked 3 years on this, gone through over 30 prototypes, etc., and we are almost there. Glad you're excited to try it, it will be here soon.

Jason G... You do have a point with the weekend warriors and the runabouts, Mom and Dad now have an option if they don't want to put a tower on their boat and the kids want to catch air.

The wakekite has yet to be pushed to the limits and progressed. It's innovative and I want one. Guess I'm not a purest. Better sell the ski boat and buy a bayliner.

I want one!!

I wanna pull the safety release while someone is doing a hoochie.

Looks very interesting and I would love to give it a try, as well as one of the flying towables.

hahaha mattato that just wrong.....

never thought about the training it could be used for on raley based tricked or any tricks for that matter..i guess if you figure out the kite you could throw the trick up big and then use the kite to float you back down softly ,maybe??

well i guess it will be awinter toy if someone gets one in october after the expo..

whats the msrp going to be and how long to get one once they are released??

Bill: We should have good inventory rolling by mid-September, or early October. We will be building a list of sorts around mid-summer (maybe earlier). Details to come later on that.

MSRP is still being determined and may change based on some different skin materials we're considering. So...holding for now on the price. But for a ballpark, it is constructed like a kite boarding kite, but with a lot thicker and more durable materials. Kite boarding kites run from $800 to $2000 or so. Ours is on the mid to lower end of this. Plus, besides the wakekite itself, the package comes with a handle, steering system and full set of lines to the kite and to the boat. Also included is a safety release at the boat, and the decoupler device on the main tow line.

So, you get a pretty full system (with pump and gear bag), not just a WakeKite. I suppose I'm stating all this to justify our likely price. But trust me, it's a an item that packs down small (and lightweight 12#'s?), but pumps up to a full-on system for catching lunar-like air.

If you figure what you pay for a tower, or for a new wake board set-up, or a set of speakers for your tower, etc... it all ads up. However, we believe the WakeKite will bring a very huge experience for its price.

I hope your company has really good insurance, that thing looks pretty fun but I can see the lawsuits already.

Fun! Fun!

A lot has been learned over the past years regarding safety in design and the display of proper product warnings and correct usage language. This stuff will be all over the WakeKite, and in its supporting materials. We will also feature a safety section on how to properly use the WakeKite on our website.

To release a product that is (and appears to be) as fun and wild as ours, we have designed in several layers of safety to reduce a person's (or a property's) chances of sustaining injury. For example, we will warn against operating a WakeKite within 500 ft. of any overhead or on-the water obstruction (bridge, power lines, large tree, shore (if there are trees), etc.).

As we are undergoing the commercialization process of taking our prototype to a form that is ready for public use, it is our close evaluation of making the WakeKite a durable and safe product to use that is the biggest part of our focus. So...keep the posts coming and get stoked for a fun and safe ride.

Ahh heck folks, if they can sell those flying tubes, which acutally have you riding on them and then lifting high off the ground, then they can sell the wakekite. Insurance wise anyways, those tubes are much sketchier. First, I got a Manta ray tube, and you have to drive WAY faster than the instructions say to catch air. So...it's misleading, unless you break the rules. Now that sounds like an issue.

With the wakekite though, it sounds like you can drive actually slower. Plus, you are not riding on the kite, but rather it is hooked to your handle. And you just hold on, with no harness, yes??? Pretty sure from the description above.

I just don't see the issues, at least compared to the sketchy flying tubes. The WakeKite seems much safer. And the tubes are already selling (like I said I bought one). Another thing with the wakekite is it looks like they have both an automatic decupler and a safety release; those will help a lot if a bad driving incident were to occur. I'm starting to save my pennies now....MTC.

Hey first time on this post but I am so diggin' this. Finally a truly new riding style to explore. I've been wake skatin' a bunch lately but I can see myself dusting off my byerly and firing up a WakeKite. Have to wait a bit though; and where the heck are they selling? It always seems that way; the man is always makin' us wait for the goods. Shiat.

Can you loop it?

just because they sell them doesn't make it legal, in ohio you are not allowed any device behind a boat that makes you go airborn, like a kite

Hey Jo, I'm pretty sure this thing (the wakekit) doesn't actually make you go airborne like the flying tubes, which people actually lie on top of to get air. The wakekite only lightens your gravity?? So..I am thinking that this will not violate that issue in Ohio. I can see the flying tubes being an issue (sorry for whoever makes them) but the kite is different as it only acts like a super tower would (with the added benefit of landing soft?).


Heck, towers would be illegal in OHio as they "help you get airborne". The kite "helps you get airborne" but doesn't "make you go airborne" like the tubes. The tube is fun though, I rode a friends; but it gets old after a while, especially after being thrown on your face.

I think the kite will be o.k.; or at least it better cause I'm already a believer.

that thing is for cheaters.

Yup, that's what they said about towers in the beginning... But I think this is just a different sport..so it's not cheatin' anything. Just a new, fun thing to try. And dang it, my knees are getting whacked; I'd like the lesser-gravity landing...

cant wait for it to come out. It sounds like a lot of fun