Gear for the snow....

Winter snowkiting topics and locations.
Yoda
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Re: Gear for the snow....

Post by Yoda » Thu Nov 24, 2011 2:39 pm

I recommend trying snowboard bindings without highbacks. I switched over a few seasons ago and it made a BIG difference when snowkiting. I was so impressed with the difference I even ditched my highbacks on my powder-board for the resort. I only use highbacks on the firm-snow days and I set the forward lean all the way back.

Here's a great article about why highbacks are really unnecessary...
http://snowboarding.transworld.net/1000 ... true#ngtop

Warning: Once you try it, you may find it hard to go back, but some have. However kiters like Chasta have no problem with rocking highbacks.

Some of the other snowkiting gear that I recommend:

Twin-tip snowboard - One with 8m+ sidecut radius. Get the same length as your resort board or 2-5cm shorter. I also recommend going 0.5-1cm wider than what you would normally ride (Me: resort board width = 25.8cm / snowkite board width = 26.4cm). By going a little wider makes a huge difference in reducing heel drag when edging hard on the snow... especially deeper snow. Rocker-camber is nice, but it's not necessary. It's ideal for deeper snow though. My board has what they call "flat" rocker... kind of a happy medium of rocker & camber.

Good gloves - I've tried every type of glove that I think is possible and I concluded a few things. The best gloves for snowkiting IMO are gloves that are thin and BREATHABLE!!! I use the BD Persuit glove because by design & materials they're perfect IMO. They're easy to put on/take off quick which is nice for kiting and I can use them with liners to get the perfect warmth to dexterity ratio. They also breath real well and thus stay dryer than any other glove that I've used...
http://www.blackdiamondequipment.com/en ... suit-glove

Lightweight snowshoes - I use a pair of older MSR Lightning shoes (similar to the current MSR Flash). They're one of the lightest, most packable and easiest snowshoes to put on/take off. Great for when the wind dies or if you have a gear failure and you're 100+ yards away from your car. Without them you could be post-holing to your knees... which I've done and it's was a MAJOR bitch. This is when I had the "carry snowshoes" epiphany. A splitboard is another option, but there are only a few available that are twin-tipped.
http://cascadedesigns.com/msr/snowshoes ... sh/product

Good jacket - I have a WildThings snowkite specific jacket that allows me to wear my harness underneath. If you wear your harness on the outside, you may need one size larger, but don't layer up too much because snowkiting can be as aerobic as nordic skiing, so layer lightly to avoid overheating & sweat. Most likely your harness will fit on the outside just as well. Here's a local brand that offers a snowkite specific jacket...
http://www.ultranectar.com/snowkitejacket/

Snowkite spreader bar - I've been using a spreader bar from Mystic that was designed to for snowkite jackets with an extended hook to fit through the slot on the jacket. DaKine's s-bar is also similar and works equally well. This season I'll be rocking the Dynabar... it makes riding toeside WAY better and offers an unrestricted feel for better carving on the snow.
http://www.jaystore.eu/

Yoda
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Re: Gear for the snow....

Post by Yoda » Thu Nov 24, 2011 2:55 pm

sc-surfer wrote:Hi all,

Looking at kiting as a way to get back into the mountains. I have all the usual water kite gear and snowboarding gear. I'm wondering what pieces of kit I will need to add to be able to kite this winter.

What sort of harness are you all using with winter clothes? ANY WATER TYPE HARNESS WILL DO.

Any specific stuff to bring besides basic backcountry gear? SEE MY ABOVE POST W/ GEAR RECOMMENDATIONS.

Is there any reason my current all mountain snowboard and boots won't work? NO. THEY WILL WORK JUST FINE. YOU MAY NEED TO ADJUST YOUR STANCE ON YOUR BOARD TO CENTERED OR AS CLOSE AS POSSIBLE IF IT'S A DIRECTIONAL BOARD.

I know foil kites are popular but is there any reason other than wear and tear that I cant ride my SLE bow kites in the snow? I PREFER SLE KITES OVER FOILS FOR SNOW. BACKCOUNTRY EXPEDITIONS ARE THE ONLY BENEFIT TO USING A FOIL NOWADAYS IMO.

Any really important bits of info that may not be obvious coming for my background of water kiting? SEE MY ABOVE POST W/ GEAR RECOMMENDATIONS.

Thanks and hope to see ya in the snow this winter!!
SEE RESPONSES ABOVE IN CAPS. :wink:

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