Land Boarding
Landboarding are the newest radical way to get pulled by a kite! Kite landboarding involves the use of a mountain board or landboard, which is essentially an over sized skateboard with large pneumatic wheels and foot-straps. They can be used on any open flat terrain such as a park, soccer field, or open parking lot! You can landboard in lighter winds and with a much smaller kite than kiteboarding on the water. It is a great alternative when the water is too cold or the winds aren't strong enough for kiteboarding on the water!
Ideally, landboarding is done in large empty areas where the wind is constant and without obstructions such as trees or people. For landboarding, it is best to use a large open field. Your local park, sports athletic facility, or even the local middle school is perfect. You can also use large open parking lots, dry lake beds. or packed sand beaches! You can also use a longboard skateboard and a smaller kite and cruise across parking lots. The rider starts off by getting the kite into the neutral position overhead. Once he is strapped onto the board, he can get the kite to pull him across the ground by moving the kite in either direction, generating a pull.As in Kitesurfing, competent riders are able to "get some air" which is essentially maneuvering the kite to pull the rider into the air, normally several feet up.
More advanced riders can do a number of tricks that are mainly based on those found in Kitesurfing and Wakeboarding. These include tricks while the rider in the air which could involve rotations, flips, grabs, or combinations of these tricks. "Board-off" moves are tricks where the rider removes the board from his feet in the air and he can spin or flip it before putting it back on his feet and landing. On the ground, tricks include sliding the board, wheelies and riding toeside (riding with your back to the kite). Various tricks have found the transition from kitesurfing a little hard due to the harder surface of land rather than sea. One such trick is the "kiteloop" which involves looping the kite through the power zone while the kiter is in the air, giving a strong horizontal (and sometimes downwards) pull. In addition to these kitesurfing based tricks there are also a number of skateboarding style accessories that have become popular such as ramps and grinders. In recent years specific Kite landboarding parks have opened with large areas and ramps and other obstacles available.
Ideally, landboarding is done in large empty areas where the wind is constant and without obstructions such as trees or people. For landboarding, it is best to use a large open field. Your local park, sports athletic facility, or even the local middle school is perfect. You can also use large open parking lots, dry lake beds. or packed sand beaches! You can also use a longboard skateboard and a smaller kite and cruise across parking lots. The rider starts off by getting the kite into the neutral position overhead. Once he is strapped onto the board, he can get the kite to pull him across the ground by moving the kite in either direction, generating a pull.As in Kitesurfing, competent riders are able to "get some air" which is essentially maneuvering the kite to pull the rider into the air, normally several feet up.
More advanced riders can do a number of tricks that are mainly based on those found in Kitesurfing and Wakeboarding. These include tricks while the rider in the air which could involve rotations, flips, grabs, or combinations of these tricks. "Board-off" moves are tricks where the rider removes the board from his feet in the air and he can spin or flip it before putting it back on his feet and landing. On the ground, tricks include sliding the board, wheelies and riding toeside (riding with your back to the kite). Various tricks have found the transition from kitesurfing a little hard due to the harder surface of land rather than sea. One such trick is the "kiteloop" which involves looping the kite through the power zone while the kiter is in the air, giving a strong horizontal (and sometimes downwards) pull. In addition to these kitesurfing based tricks there are also a number of skateboarding style accessories that have become popular such as ramps and grinders. In recent years specific Kite landboarding parks have opened with large areas and ramps and other obstacles available.