WHY WEAR AN IMPACT VEST????

IMPACT VESTS - Why wear them???

We have started to urge our customers to wear impact vests more and more – WHY?

The main reason is that they are a buoyancy aide – they are not a life jacket but will help you stay afloat. Basically they create positive buoyancy and we feel that they should be one of the main components of kiting. Impact vests should not be recommended but should actually be compulsory. Now – we can’t do that and I understand that a lot of kiters out there come from a surfing background and have the attitude that if they don’t need them for surfing then why use them in kiting. I can’t really argue against that BUT I can say that kiting is different and here is why!

Firstly you have a kite attached to you and not a surfboard. If you get into trouble surfing you can always hang onto your surfboard and float back to shore – hopefully your leash hasn’t broken! The kite has lines and if you go down in the surf then there is a possibility that your lines could get wrapped around your legs preventing you from swimming!!! You should have a hook knife in your harness and if you haven’t then I would strongly urge you to get one and if you have got one then you NEED TO KNOW where it is so you can cut the lines because lines can tie you up very quickly and are dangerous.

We had a case about 2 years back where a rider snapped his lines in a wave and all the lines that were left attached to his bar, which was still obviously attached to him wrapped around his feet and he could only use his hands to swim back to the surface. Now if you have an Impact vest then it will float you back to the surface.

Secondly, in surfing you have a natural equalizer – if I can put it like that – but what I mean us that if the surf gets big then it will naturally sort out who is able to get out back and who can’t. If you are not good enough then you won’t be able to paddle out. In kiting it is that much easier to get out – so you could find someone who normally wouldn’t be out in that situation smack in the middle of it. Now this is all good and fine UNTIL your kite goes down and you are left in the impact zone way out of your depth! Again having the impact vest here to help keep you afloat is a great help – trust me if you have ever experienced a “hold down” then you will know what I am talking about as it is not a nice experience!

Thirdly, you can travel far distances fast with a kite and you might find yourself out further than you should and if something goes wrong then – then you might find yourself in a little bit of trouble. First rule in kiting is never kitesurf out further than you are able to swim back in! I often see guys way too far out – so again having the extra floatation could help you here!!

Finally, we get so worked up that when there is wind we often kite beyond our fitness – I know I do! The thing is here is that kiting allows you to do this. In surfing if you are tired your arms give out and you physically can’t paddle any more. When flying a kite this is not the case and you can fly past your exhaustion but if something goes wrong and you need to now swim – well again this is when you need to have a floatation device.



I decided to practice what I preach and yesterday I slipped one on and I really enjoyed it. Now the reason I used it was because the surf was a solid 8 foot at Umdloti and I wanted to see how it felt. I know that one of the biggest reason why I wouldn’t wear a life jacket is because it is cumbersome and it puts a massive arrow in the air pointing at you and saying “I am a beginner” which people don’t want. If you have started a sport then you want to fit in – you don’t want to look like a beginner but then again who cares what you look like. The great thing here is that I wore one yesterday and my mate didn’t even know that I was wearing one as it was so snug that it fitted under my rashie and I just looked like I had been working out a lot!! Ha ha!!!

Seriously though, I would strong recommend that you look at it, as it is a concern and maybe you don’t wear it all the time, but if conditions dictate then wear it as it could save your life. If you are a beginner, you will spend more time in the water and it will help you more – it will also allow you to re-launch your kite easier.

So there are a lot of advantages to wear one and not that many against it – so look into it – it could be the best thing you ever do!

Interview with Raphael Selles - Boost Magazine

Boost: How did F-One start? Was it your idea?
Raphael: I was a pro windsurf rider from beginning 80s to 94, when I stop competing I was motivate to buld my own brand. I choose F1 because it was my sail number in the world cup. I start first by windsurf board and quickly look for something else.
I, stop the windsurfing world cup in 1994 and it was end of the travelling around the world on the best spots so I was stuck in Montpellier and the sea is flat and the wind quite ligth specialy in the summer. So I was thinking that I need to find a new game for those summer days. I was in a big lack of action with a new life to handle. First time I try a kite was a foil kite 5 m² on the beach with 5 knts and I get so scare by the power!

Boost: F-One has a reputation for Innovation, Quailty and Design. What is your source of inspiration?

Raphael: In my windsurf carrier I was pro rider for my result at beginning and in a second part I was fully into the r&d for all the products from fins to mast anything. So my passion for innovation is as big as the passion of riding.
For F.one we try to have a image of a innovative brand, our goal is to constantly improve our products. At beginning we didn’t have the distribution network so we needed to have innovative products to gain market shares, today we’re better but we still try to surprise our customers with new products every year.

Boost: in 2007, you developed the Bandit 1, the first delta kite in the world. Three years later, deltas are the most widely used kites! Are you proud of this, or are you angry at the number of clones?

Raphael: Since the beginning I know that F.one can jump in another dimension regarding business and recognition if we can a have major innovation in kite design. Its much easier to sell if you have the best product, its also important that our sport get much easier and simple. The delta is a excellent solution for every kiter.
If a major innovation is coming and the customers ask for it , the dealers give back the information to distributors and then its coming to the brands. And so you have more and more delta shape on the market. We have a patent on the delta so we are in negotiation with the brands that are using the delta. Some like North have anticipate the problem and have already sign a licence with us this winter. Some of the smaller brands are taking the risk and pushing the limit and try to avoid to pay a license but we are taking care of that.
The things is that more copies there are, and more we sell because it’s pushing our ideas and people are buying the original instead of copies. So we are proud to see more and more deltas it proves that its the right choice. I’m not sure that there is more deltas on the market than other design, difficult to know?

Boost: In comparison to its predecessor, the bandit 3 has been significantly optimized, offering improved performance and safety. Will it be possible to keep improving kites at this rate, or is there a limit?

Raphael: There is a lot of things to manage when you design a kite and there is only few people that can handle that job so its not that easy. But we work hard and we put a lot of energy into that. Yes I think that we still have a lot to do in the coming years.
Our gol is even more difficult because we have a single range that should fit all the different pratices and cutomers so we can still improve in most of the disciplines.

Boost: The F-One Kiteboards are among the best boards worldwide, and renowned for their performance. What is your secret?
Raphael: Thank you! Like in all our products first a lot of work and will build our next year products on the base of the previous years. Nothing is trow away we keep our bases and improve them, we don’t jump from a design to a completely different new ones. Unless its really needed because we have find a new solution. We don’t put in production a boards that is not better than the last year, for 2011 we will keep our TX model the same, we couldn’t do better in that program! In the surf range the Gun 6’9″ , 6’2″ ; 5’2″ shapes remain the same because they are perfect in their program.
We also invest a lot into the technologies, a board is not only a shape its also a construction matters. We work with strong partners like Nidecker for our twin tip and Fire Wire for the bamboo surfboards.

Boost: What is your vision for the future of F-One?
Raphael: I hope and wish that we keep going like that !
I have so many ideas that I have to slow myself down and try to be as safe as possible in driving the company. Its a balance between the fun to take extreme option like “doing a single range of kite with delta” while all others brands are doing different…
But we have some new nice ideas to show you this summer that could change our sport a little!

Boost: Your Videos are very emotional and exciting, with an emphasis on the personality and lifestyle of the riders. When will you have another “big” movie such as Addiket 2?
Raphael: Our next video Addikt3 will be shoot end of August.

Boost: Are we going to see you in Germany anytime soon?
Raphael: I been to Germany few times and I have meet our best dealers in our meeting in Egypt last November. I was surprise to see how much they are motivate to be on the water and by their kite level. This July we invite them to our international meeting in Mauritius.
But you know I’m not moving much. I never visit our factories, don’t visit our distributors, don’t go to the race events.
I spend a lot of time in the office and chasing the wind for our tests, so if I go away I take the risk to miss the only days were I could do the testing.

Boost: Thank you very much for your time! We wish you a great time on the water :)
Raphael: Thank you!

Impressions of the FONE Bandit 3

I caught up with the F-One crew on their way back home from the wind skinked Kite Expo in Long Beach when they stopped at Trancas in Malibu for a session.

If anyone had wanted to try them at the Kite Expo and could not due to lack of wind here is how it went for me....

Got to try the Bandit 3 10m and 11m. Nice kite in the waves. Took a few tacks and runs down the line to get used to the kite. Nice and stable. No problem with the gusty winds and me riding strapless and forgetting to refresh the wax on my board. Nice relaunch. Quick and easy. Either pull a line to get it to turn on the spot for a hotter relaunch or just use the bar and let it work it's way to the edge of the wind window for a gentler relaunch keeping you coser to your board. Kite collapsed once (most likely due to rider error combined with a gust/hole) but was easy to recover.
On the waves I particularly liked the behavior of the kite when riding lefts up the line (going upwind) with side to side onshore wind. Just shoved the bar out, but keeping just a tad of pressure on it and it was like making the kite dissapear. I could wiggle up the wave like I was just surfing.
Down the line it was a bit less intuative than what I'm used to, but by just keeping a bit of pressure on the bar all was good. Nice quick tight and depowered loops.
Only thing I missed was the controlled back stall ability of my Psycho 4s and Pulse 2s. I use it to delay hitting a wave face, but keeping the kite deep in the wind window for a short burst of power when the moment is right. However like the Helix the kite does not shoot too far forward if you use depower to do the same thing.... unlike other kites I've tried.
Found the bar pressure a wee bit heavier than my Psychos and felt the fact that you have to keep some bar pressure on to steer the kite or ride with speed.... but that comes with great depower and very nice feeling riding lefts up the line.

SETUP: pain in the ass, (but that's becasue I'm used to foils)... just kidding.
Funny thing I was trying to pump up the kite with a dud pump
IN THE WAVES: Great... especially up the line heading upwind.
RELAUNCH: Quick and easy. Quickest by yanking in a rear line and pivoting the kite deep in the window, but expect a hot powerd yank.
JUMPING: Didn't try it
UPWIND PREFORMANCE: Damn good and very intuative.
Self land and Self Launch: Didn't try it sorry..
Assisted launch and land: No problem. Easy stable.
SAFETY: Felt safe, didn't test the safety release... sorry... but looks pretty simple. I'm just wondering how things would be with the kite down in big surf with two lines still tensioned?


Anyway the F-One crew were super nice and took some time out of their session to get me onto both kites. Big thanks!

Getting started in the SEA?????

We have so many beginners that are adverse to starting in the sea. Yes, the sea is more difficult but we believe that if you can persevere in the sea you will reap the rewards. WHY??? Well students that get going in the lagoon invariably end up back there as they take 10 steps forward and then 20 back when they do eventually try the sea. So go for it from the beginning and you will get it.

Let's talk about it in terms of our environment. The main advantage of the sea is that you have a vast area and can spend time by yourself getting to grips with things. No I am not saying kite by yourself BUT you can kite without the congestion and the fear of another kiter taking you out. Then there is the added bonus of you not getting blown away from the land - so you will always be pushed back to shore - provided you are kiting in a cross-ONSHORE wind - so it makes it safer!! There are also the waves that also push you back towards the shore. Another advantage is that you can box clever and start dropping a car downwind and so slowly end up drifting downwind and then you don't have to waste time walking.

The main thing about the sea is that you make sure you are clever about it. Obviously, there are times that it is not suitable to try and kite - when the surf ids huge and also when the tide is high so the shore break is thumping. So try and time you kite with the lower tides as it is way more user friendly and easier for you to get going.

Another thing is to get a lesson in terms of how to deal with waves, how to deal with shorebreaks and the rest. It will give you the understanding of what you need to do so at least you are practising the right thing!!

Go on then - give it a go!!! The sea is not that bad!!

GUSTY WINDS - what to look out for!

We had one of the gustiest winds yesterday! Gusty winds are dangerous and you need to know what you are doing if you go out in them. Chances are that your kite will fall out of the sky but there are some things that you can do to try and minimize this possibility.

Firstly, try and always keep your kite moving. A gentle left and right means that your kite is moving in the wind and less likely to fall out the sky. This is important on the beach or when putting your board on your feet in the water. The less you keep your kite at neutral the better.

Secondly, try never put your kite at 12 o'clock or directly above you. This will reduce the possibility of being lofted. Pulled into the sky. Rather keep your kite at 10 or 2 so if it does fall out the sky back into the power zone - you will be pulled sideways and not up.

Third, when launching the kite keep the kite about your assistant to check the gustiness of the wind. Also he is close at hand to help you land it if you realize that it is too hectic.

Finally, be prepared to pull your safety in case your kite does fall out the sky and you want to prevent it from ripping you around when it re-engages. So hold your hand on your safety ready to pull.

Remember - rather kite safe or don't kite and live to kite another day then regret pushing the limits.

Safety First

Just a quick note on safety that you need to give some thought to. Firstly, please know your safety systems. Know how they work and test them.

When crashing a bow kite - please try and keep your lines tight. Try and prevent your kite from rolling over. I have seen it a couple of times in the past years but it is a possibilty. You can wrap one line aroud the wind tip - if this happens it can lead to trouble. it can casue the kite to start kite looping - in strong winds, this will happen vey quickly and can start dragging you backwards through the water. So a couple of points here can help.

1. Always check your lines before re-launching to make sure one line is not wrapped.
2. If it is wrapped pull that line towars you first to try and swing the whole kite around and to allow the line to come unhooked.
3. If the kite starts kite looping you quick release (on your chicken loop) might not work as the kite will continue to loop. In this case pull your last safety (the one on your harness- KNOW WHERE IT IS!)
4. Make sure that you can reach the last quick release - because if the above situation becomes a reality it might be hard to reach. We have been converting a lot of people onto the Mystic Safety System which puts the quick release on your spreader bar and is far safer.

Please make a note of this as it can become serious in strong winds and you need to know your safety systems before you need to use them.

KITE SAFE!

Please come into the shop and let me explain this further if you do not understand what I am explaining!