Kiteloose the brand
Who, like me, has been in the world of kitesurfing for many years has certainly heard of Max Galta and its brand Kite Loose. For those who do not know him yet, I invite you to read our interview here: kiteloose, Max Galta tells us about his brand .
And it is precisely after having known him better on the occasion of that interview, that I decided to let me do a high performance board to take to the Barbados kite trip.
How a kiteloose table is born
Max explained to us that the first step is for him to know the person to whom his table will be destined and if possible make us some board together.
In my case we didn't have the opportunity to go out together, but Max asked me for videos to see what my style was, after which we had a long chat on the phone to find out what I was looking for in the table (and by the way it was a board for waves of medium size that was fun and turned fast)
The choice therefore fell on the ONDA model in 5'8''x18 '' x2 ''.
Kiteloose ONDA characteristics
The ONDA is Kiteloose's performance model for the kitesurfing wave, preferably strapless, to which Max has made changes to make the shape more modern and in line with new trends. Thus most of the volume is located right under the front foot while it has decreased on the stern, to gain speed and maneuverability in the bottom turn and top turn.
The rocker is not beautiful and this also makes it a board table. The ONDA has a single not so deep concave and three fins (Thruster) with Futures system.
The painting is non-slip on the entire table cover.
To have an even lighter board we avoided having to insert the plugs for the straps.
For convenience and under Max's advice we have decided to put the pad in front and behind so as to increase comfort and avoid the use of paraffin. The pads deserve a little in-depth analysis: designed by an Italian for windsurfing and also optimized for use in kitesurfing. Very beautiful to look at, soft enough but not excessively resistant and with excellent grip.
In the first releases, remember to put a little paraffin on the pads because new results are a bit slippery, but a few exits are enough to lose this defect.
In water
The first thing that strikes you about the table is its lightness: even with pads and fins it is very far from the weights I was used to, but despite this it is very resistant and also seems durable (certainly this aspect will have to be re-evaluated in a few more months!) .
In about 2 months of use I had the chance to try the table with a wide range of conditions: from our libeccio that means strong wind and sea messed up under the conditions of our last kitetrip in Barbados that gave us beautiful left over head with side wind off.
My impressions are those of an extremely comfortable, stable and very fluid board that conquers you from the first edge, for its ease of management and for how it manages to absorb even the most annoying chop. Maybe it's also thanks to the pads, but my knees really thank you!
But we come to its main use: the waves.
The ONDA is a table that loves clean and precise trajectories. The waves of soft and very long Barbados, with side off wind that smoothes the wall, have been an ideal playground for this table that in these conditions is really expressed at its best.
When it tends to be a bit overpowered or when the speed increases because the waves push more the ONDA becomes more technical. It is important to be extremely precise in preparing the maneuver to be able to close the trajectory well.
The ONDA despite the comfortable and relaxing table premises, has a radically beautiful soul when it comes to getting serious and it is not a table that loves to forgive mistakes, but on the other hand gives incredible sensations and a surf style run.
With strong winds and over-sized waves if you want to be radical and make a nice slash on the lip we have to be very precise in preparing the maneuver to be able to close properly or avoid a wipe out.
The table is fluid and works perfectly in wind that is not too strong or in any case in conditions of not too much over-drawing. Clean and smooth curves, the Wave is always ready to prepare a new maneuver.
I'm not a Freestyler strapless expert but I like to try some tricks every now and then.
Jumping with this board turned out to be much easier than with the other boards I was used to. It will be for the lightness, the table remains easily stuck to the feet and often I managed to close some good leaps well. I would be very curious at this point to try the compact version (NIRVANA) to see the differences.
To whom I recommend it
I believe the WAVE is a board that fits very well with most intermediate and expert riders looking for a multipurpose surf. In particular I would recommend the ONDA has those looking for a table that allows them to improve their style at the cost of a few more drops.
Pubblicato il 27 gennaio 2019 | Blog > Reviews: KITESURF