We’ve been talking about it for weeks, in fact we’ve been so excited about Kite Fest this weekend you’re probably sick of hearing about it, but it’s THIS WEEKEND!!!!!!!
Better still, our ever reliable Seabreeze.com.au is forecasting for decent kite flying winds with blue skies all weekend, we couldn’t ask for better really. So! We’ve interrupted your day with more Kite Fest news for one very important reason, we’re having a sale to celebrate.
You know the drill, 20% off EVERYTHING in the shop, including kites, boards, family kites and stunt kites. As well as all the other stuff like clothing, DVD’s and travel bags. This is an in store promotion only however, because the kitesurfing companies don’t like us giving their gear away! So drop by the shop any time this weekend and pick up a bargain to celebrate the biggest kite flying day of the year.
Oh yeah – KITE FEST IS ON THIS WEEKEND!!!!!!!! YAAAAAAAY!!!!!!
What: 20% Off Everything in store When: This Weekend ONLY Where: In store only Why: It’s KITE FEST!!!!!!!!
Speaking of weekends, by popular demand we’re re-opening on Sundays again!
All we wanted was a day off, but the endless phone calls and upset faces outside the shop windows made us sad. So we’re taking one for team Australia and once again resuming our impeccable 7 day a week schedule.
You can’t take away our Sunday sleep- in’s though, we’re still opening at 10am and closing at 3pm like we always have. Our full opening hours are below.
Come and say hi next Sunday, and say thanks for providing such an awesome shop that’s open every day of the week. Lets be honest, it’s a pretty cruisy job anyway!
After spending 4 years sending wetsuit bound customers to our friends at Primitive Surf. We’ve decided to get in on the action this year by stocking the West wetsuits in a range of styles and colours.
West have been in the wetty game for as long as we can remember, and this year their suits are pretty techy with things like Chest zips, flex zones and super stretchy rubbery stuff. Chest zips are all the rage for kiting right now because the Zip doesn’t rub on your harness and they keep water from leaking down your back.
All the staff have been so impressed by the new West wetsuits they’ve all bought one for themselves (except Rhys, he’s cheap). Jon’s wearing the Lotus, a 3/2 suit that’s light as a feather with heaps of stretch all round. He’s gone for short arms and long legs. Jacob and Hayden both went for the Nitro suit, which although cheap as chips ($299) has stacks of awesome features like the chest zips, locked seams and stretchy bits. Hayden went long arms, long legs because he’s a lanky dude. Jacob went with the short arms for more flexibility while he’s riding.
Initial reports from the boys are very good, just don’t pee in them, these things fit so well you’ll spend the day sloshing around in it.
Check out the new West wetsuits in the QLD store, starting from $299 in a range of sizes, colours and styles.
As you may have noticed, we’re now offering SUP hire and lessons from the QLD store! Outside the shop is one of the most perfect locations for SUP we’ve ever seen, so we just had to offer you guys the chance to experience it from the water, but we had a little problem.
SUP’s are heavy… No matter which way you look at it, the massive whoppers of a board are awkward, and even if you buy a 100% carbon super light machine, after walking a few hundred meters, they’re still heavy. Never fear! We’ve found a solution that means you can work out IN the water, not getting to it!
The SUP Wheels have just arrived in the country, and they’re pretty neat bits of gear. They look deceptively simply, in fact they look like a couple of pieces of drainpipe stuck together with some wheels on the end. But their ingenuity becomes apparent when you go to store these little things away, two split pins and BAM! They’re flat. You can even chuck ‘em on the nose of your board while you paddle to prevent kids from stealing them making a billy cart.
What they actually do, is clip onto the back of your SUP board. You slide the tail in through a hole, strap a bungee around the fin, grab the nose and off you go. You then only hold half the weight of the board, and maneuvering almost as simple as a shopping trolley. A very long shopping trolley. They fit any SUP too, from 8 foot to 14 foot. We’ve tried it!
Drop by the store or click here to visit the online store and check them out, or hire a board from the QLD store and you can test them out for yourself!
Our favorite kitesurfing company (and our favorite kitesurfing girl) has given us a timely insight into what goes on in their mega factory. It’s timely because as we speak, Jon is packing his bags for a trip to China, where he’s going to be visiting the very same factory you see here, which will contain the 2013 Cabrinha equipment. He’ll get to see the entire 2013 production lineup including the brand new 2013 Switchblade with improved relaunch, the mystery Cabrinha C kite that nobody knows the name of yet, and all the new kiteboards and surfboards.
Unfortunately for Jon he won’t get to test them, as the wind in China is notoriously light this time of year. Unlucky!!!!! Don’t stress though, because we’re sending the KPQ resident kite tester (ME!) to Port Douglas in a couple of weeks to ride all the shiny new 2013 Cabrinha equipment, in the blue waters and calm winds of north QLD.
Back to the factory though, so here’s Susi Mai giving you a guided tour of the biggest kite factory in the world – the Neil Pryde Ltd Factory in China.
Has this week of windless conditions made you think twice about coming on our Fiji Kite Clinic in late July? If you’re even slightly interested, Virgin Australia has just offered a near unbeatable deal on return airfares to Nadi. Funnily enough – that’s where you’ve got to get yourself if you want to come on the clinic!
Fiji is the best place to learn new skills anywhere in the world as far as we’re concerned, the steady winds and warm water make it the perfect winter kitesurfing destination for everyone. Don’t stress if you’re struggling with waterstarts or riding upwind, tuition for the 7 days is all included and you can be sure that by the end of the week, you’ll be miles ahead of all your mates back home in the windless doldrums of Australia.
For the next week or so, Virgin will get you to Fiji and back for around $500. That’s as cheap as we’ve found it so far! So jump on the deal while it’s still there, and look forward to winter for a change!
It’s not every day that something new and exciting gets released in the single line and stunt kite market, but this week we’ve had not one, but two awesome new additions to the range courtesy of the kite masters, Prism.
We’ve known about these little beauties for a while, and the names alone sparked a bit of excitement. The Switch and the Zero G are the names in question, and shortly after hearing of the names we had new Prism catalogues with vague descriptions and small photo’s of these two new kites. That was enough for us, we quickly placed pre-orders and waited patiently until they arrived.
They finally showed up yesterday, and to be completely honest – they’ve exceeded our expectations, and here why…
The Prism Switch, is a two line kite suitable for anyone from the ages 2 and up. How does that work? Well it can also be flown as a single line, in fact the bridle system uses an ingenious little network that keeps both systems on the kite at all times. Want to fly single line? Pull on the single line bridle and throw it in the sky. Want to stunt for a while? Pull on the dual line bridle and the same applies. It comes with both a single halo line (the same one as the Prism Stowaway range) and the usual Prism 2 line strap handles so you don’t have to compromise, plus it included a decent sized tail to help stabilize it in single line more. Or to provide a bit of entertainment in two line mode.
How does it fly? Great! Single line mode does as single lines should – it flies. It’s stable enough to leave alone for a while and can easily be launched from your hand. Two line mode feels a little slow compared to a true stunt kite but not sluggish, it’s pretty rugged looking too, so you won’t have to stress when you hand it to the kids. Best of all, they’re only $45 with everything. Three lines, the kite and a little carry bag that fits it all easily.
The Prism Zero G, has to be seen to be believed. This glider kite can be flown either as a standalone glider, or with a line attached for a truly unique experience. Most kites won’t glide for more than a few feet before they flip over and crash. The Zero G will fly for around 10-15m if thrown properly, which makes for an extremely entertaining game of Frisbee with a friend, or great launches when you hook a line to it.
By attaching the single line, much higher heights can be achieved and with that of course comes longer glides. It’s aimed at 0-1 knot winds (which we get most mornings in winter), but here’s what you do. Start with about 5m of line, and gently walk backwards to fly the kite overhead. Once it goes overhead, start spooling line out as it glides back to earth. Now you’ve got around 10m of line out, walk back in the other direction and the kite will soar up overhead once again. Spool more line out as it glides… 20m of line out… Now we’re talking about controlled glides of 100m or so if you walk along underneath it and it just looks so elegant as it hovers along at walking pace way overhead.
For those tuning nuts out there – there’s stacks of adjustments you can make to change its flight characteristics. You can trim it for steep fast dives, gentle soaring or even a dolphin like stall, dive, stall, dive pattern. Some guy in the US even modified his so it turns in a shallow circle when the line is let free.
As a kite, it’s got to be one of the most amazing things we’ve ever seen. And the fact that it’s only a single line kite makes it even cooler.
We’ve got plenty of stock of both kites right now, so drop by any of the stores to see them for yourself. We can almost guarantee you’ll walk out with at least of one them.
We’ve got a confession to make… You know when we asked for all those trade-ins? Well we hoarded a little too much of it, and the used gear pile is now getting big enough for Jon to take a lunchtime snooze on.
So, could you help a kite shop out? Last thing we need is Jon napping on the job through winter! Here’s some of the bargains we’ve got in the cool corner.
12m Naish Cult – $500 – Believe it or not, this is a BRAND NEW kite with bar and lines. It’s an 08 model that’s spent much of its life in a shed. But it would be perfect for someone getting into the sport on a budget. Yes, Brand new, never used.
13m Slingshot Octane – $500 – Big boys, take note – this is a serious all round weapon. Known for their snappy feel and crazy jumping ability, the Octane was a highlight in the Slingshot range back in 2010, and it’s in great condition.
11m Crazyfly MooWii – $999 – This 2012 model got used as a demo for a couple of months, and then Jackson lost the bar for it, so it sat in the shed for another couple of months, and now there’s no wind. So it’s been used about 10 times all up.
142 Underground FLX – $300 – This old thing is a genuine collectible now, with a foam core it’s incredibly light compared to todays boards, and despite a few dings, it’s looking fine for its age.
138cm Crazyfly Rounder – $549 – NEW board that had the wrong graphics printed on it by Crazyfly. This is crazy cheap for a 2012 model board.
132cm Slingshot Darko – $400 – Back in 2011 (SO long ago), these were known as the best freestyle board you could buy. This one’s in perfect condition and would be awesome for someone getting into freestyle.
146cm Cardboards Glide – $600 – Big ol’ Kitepower. We had this printed up to blatantly advertise the shop while we did demo days. So if you love Kitepower, this is the perfect board for you.
If you’re interested in any of the above gear, give us a call in the shop to arrange an inspection. Or we can also post them out anywhere in Australia. Remember, all orders over $200 are shipped FREE.
It’s May already and that means it’s Kite Fest time! The busy folk from the Redcliffe Kite Club have been working tirelessly yet again to bring us a weekend not to miss.
Kite Fest time is always a beautiful time of year. The sky is blue, the air is crisp and the sun isn’t too harsh. Plus there’s always something to look at, whether it’s the giant single line kites, market stalls, stunt kite displays from international guests or the kite making workshops.
As usual, Kitepower QLD is having a market stall in the park with all the other carnies, (we fit right in!) but this year is the first time we’ve had a shop right across the road. As a result, we’re in a celebratory mood and we’ve decided to take 20% off everything in stock for the duration of Kite Fest.
Yep, everything means everything including kids kites, kitesurfing gear, stand up paddle boards, skateboards and even the trusty little GoPro Cameras that are so hot right now. You don’t even have to say a special catch phrase! This offer applies to current stock only, in the QLD store only. So if there’s something in particular you want, give us a call and make sure we’ve got it.
We’ll see you at Kite Fest!
What: Kite Fest and 20% off SALE When: 19-20th May 2012 Where: Pelican Park, Clontarf
Why: Because it’s KITE FEST!!!!!!!!
Keeping in line with the recent ‘real world’ reviews we’ve been doing on our range of family orientated kites, this week we’re telling you about our most popular stunt kite, the Prism Nexus.
The most common story we hear (when it comes to stunt kites), is that a few mates are headed to the beach on a camping trip, and want a fun all rounder to pass around the group for the afternoon. We also get a lot of ‘I want a kite that flies in most winds, is fun, fast and durable’… In every case, our fingers get pointed to the roof, somewhere in the general vicinity of the little green and yellow kite called the Nexus.
Here’s why they’re so popular, first of all they do fly in almost any wind from light to strong. A heap of the kitesurfers have these stashed in the back of their cars for those days where it’s too light to go kitesurfing (See the photo of our team rider Henry with one!). And then when it’s absolutely nuking outside, there’s nothing louder than a Nexus on short lines in the park. IIt’s this versatility that makes them so appealing.
Kites get handed around between mates, especially when there’s beer or kids involved. So Prism have made the Nexus pretty strong. By using a fiberglass frame, the spars tend to bend and not snap, but if they do break it’s easy to find spares, and cheap to buy them. Same story with the lines too, despite their ultra thin appearance, the Spectra lines can handle a heap of pressure and will only break upon contact with objects such as sign posts and sharp trees.
Lastly, the Prism Nexus is cheap. $79 gets you the kite, spectra lines (worth $30 on their own!) and a really sturdy little bag to pack it in. That kind of money is in birthday present territory, so they’re also great for when you’re stuck for ideas, remember that a kite will always bring a smile to anyone’s face. They last forever too, so don’t be surprised if it’s still kicking in 10 years time.
Buy a Nexus online here, or drop by the store to check them out. Remember we’ll match any price on these little beauties!
