More and more, I've been thinking about trying out kiteloops. Admittedly, I'm held back by the fear of painful tea-bagging. So any advice and tips from experienced riders would be much appreciated.

First, what basic skill set do I need before trying a kiteloop? Yes, I've done a few by accident and no, they didn't feel good. I'm now at the point where I can comfortably jump, am doing fine with air transitions, and have started to downloop my gybes/transitions. If there are fundamental skills that I need to develop before looping, please let me know.

What size is best for kiteloops? I assume that a smallish kite is best for faster turning. I fly Switchblades which I assume are ok for looping. Is 12m too much of a pig to loop (I'm a small guy so my 12m goes up at around 12knts)? I love this kite for jumping coz it's forgiving and floaty. It's fine for downlooping as well and it seems to turn fast enough for me.

What common mistakes will I be faced with? I want to reduce my chances of getting tea-bagged

Any other tips?

Thanks in advance.

personally i wouldn't be going out learning them as a trick till you have a complete understanding of the kite. start unhooking get some shit dialed, and from that you will get a good feel for you kites. naturally this will progress to kiteloops, or at least the understanding to do kiteloops.

if yer super keen though....

easiest to start with is unhooked loops because you have to commit 100% to doing them.

start in lighter winds, but strong enough that you're jumping. bring the kite up to 12, on the way up unhook. grab the other side of the bar with your front hand. keep pulling and let the kite take you up and off the water. spot your landing (this is KEY) and point the board downwind (also key if you don't want to get fucked up).

good luck, and start small, work up to bigger loops. i went through my "kiteloop" phase haha it was painful.


c-kites work best because they don't backstall. ever. hard to find a bow/sle that does the same

Thanks P-Daddy.

I failed to mention that I'm looking to do the hooked in version. I assume much of what you said still applies.

And ya, commitment is key. I tried to pull one off last session but bail halfway through the loop. Not pretty.

seriously budday unhooking for them first is the best way to learn them. once you understand them, then you can start being hooked in

plus, unless you know what your doing, its difficult to get the kite all the way around the loop unless you're on a 7m and then POW yer almost mega-looping.

jus be careful this stuff can seriously hurt you

most painful suite of tricks to learn for sure.
aside from sliders n massive surf.

small kites loop faster, of course, but are less forgiving on the way down.

i would say learn to BOOST first - like huge - be able to go massive and feel safe coming down - nice soft landings - maybe even a nice downloop on the way down.

you should be polished on this before you attempt to loop.

most of the time you would throw the loop around the apex of the jump - give you lots of time to get it right on the way down.

the other option is doing them right off the water - like P mentioned - unhook and do them fast off a big raley - point that board DOWNWIND or kiss your knees/ankles goodbye. Yer gonna be coming in with a tonne of speed.

i know A LOT of kiters who have broken ribs learning kiteloops - certainly one of the most unforgiving things to learn.

do yerself a favor and wear an impact vest and helmet or upgrade to an Adamantium skeleton.

ask DD about his ribs, and pretty sure stein broke his femur off a kiteloop.

Wow, had no idea it was that serious.