Quarter in Review: Twenty Brands, Twelve Disciplines and What Follows

We have worked through the catalogue entirely: every brand, every discipline, every contested detail. Here is the summary — and a map to navigate by.

What we covered

Kite brands: Ozone, North, Cabrinha, F-One, Duotone, Naish, Core, CrazyFly, Flysurfer, GONG, Ocean Rodeo, Harlem, Slingshot, Eleveight.

Foil brands: AXIS Foils, Armstrong, Takoon.

SUP, surf and water: Starboard, Red Paddle Co, Aztron, Aquatone, Catch Surf, Softech, Prolimit, Ensis, Manera.

Disciplines: kitesurfing, wing foiling, kite foiling, windsurfing, windfoiling, prone foiling, downwind, pump foiling, tow foiling, SUP, surfing, surfskating.

Five conclusions that surprised us

1. A size ladder is more honest than a description

We started using this method in the Ozone review and ended up applying it in every article. The absence of sizes reveals a model's purpose better than any marketing text.

A model with nothing below twelve metres is a light-wind kite, whatever the copy says. A model with three sizes is specialised rather than universal.

2. The price spread inside a model exceeds the gap between models

The Naish Pivot runs 1 225 € to 2 451 € — twofold. Meanwhile the gap between a Pivot and a Psycho is 351 €.

The conclusion: choose the model by job first and the construction by hours second. Not the reverse.

3. Direct sales break the usual price grid

GONG sells a kite at 469 € where the market starts above a thousand. And that is not about material quality but about two margins in the chain.

What that means for a buyer: cheaper does not mean worse and dearer does not mean better. It means a different distribution model and a different set of services around the product.

4. Foiling turned out to be the biggest subject

We did not plan to devote so much space to foiling. But it emerged that it is not one discipline but six — kite, wing, wind, prone, downwind, pumping — with different equipment and different barriers.

And that foiling is the only answer to most spots' main problem: light wind.

5. Care matters more than choice

A conclusion we reached in every materials discussion: an aramid canopy treated badly outlives nothing — it dies sooner than a Dacron one treated well.

And in foiling we found an entire separate destruction mechanism — galvanic corrosion, which seizes bolts solid within a season.

Where to start reading

If you are still choosing a discipline: the discipline map with barriers and budgets.

If you are choosing equipment: the nine rules.

If you are budgeting: kiting, foiling, SUP.

If you are assembling a setup: checklists for five disciplines.

If you are travelling: choosing a spot and what to do without wind.

If you are with family: kitting out a family.

What we deliberately did not do

Honesty requires saying this too.

We did not score brands. "Kite of the year" is a meaningless category: best for whom, in what wind, at what weight.

We did not hide gaps. Where a brand's range is narrow or pricing unconfirmed, we said so plainly — including where that was inconvenient for the shop.

We did not recommend top-tier where it is not needed. In most reviews the conclusion ran the other way: buy the base construction and put the difference into a second size or into lessons.

What comes next

The catalogue is alive: new items appear, prices change, new seasons arrive. We add reviews as they do.

If something is missing, write to us. We check specifications, compatibility and availability with suppliers before payment, and that is a normal part of the job.

And the main thing to take from all these articles: the right size for your weight and conditions decides more on the water than the logo on the canopy. That is the one conclusion that recurred in all twenty reviews.

Common questions

Which brand is best?

The category does not exist: best for whom, in what wind, at what weight. The right size decides more than the brand.

What should I read first?

The discipline map if you are choosing what to do, and the nine rules if you are choosing equipment.

Why so much about foiling?

It is not one discipline but six, and it is the only answer to light wind — most spots' main problem.

Is cheap equipment worse?

Not necessarily. Direct sales remove two margins from the chain: cheaper often means a different distribution model rather than different quality.

What affects service life most?

Care. An aramid canopy handled badly dies sooner than a Dacron one handled well.

Where to go next

The whole blog, the catalogue, and lessons in Mui Ne.