Kitesurfing / Kiteboarding Glossary

Here's a comprehensive glossary of kitesurfing and kiteboarding terms to help you understand the sport's unique vocabulary.

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Harness / Trapeze

• A waist or seat harness that transfers the kite's pull to your body.

Spreader Bar

• A hook-containing mechanism usually interchangeable on the harness. It allows for fine-tuning the harness fit and can be swapped for different setups, like a rope slider.

LEI Kite (Leading Edge Inflatable)

• These are inflatable kites. The kite's leading edge and struts are filled with air using a pump to give it shape and rigidity. They are the most common type of kite for water use.

Foil Kites / Ram-Air Kites

• Foil kites don't require a pump. They consist primarily of cells that fill with airflow. Often highly efficient in light wind conditions or for racing due to their aerodynamic design.

Open-Cell & Closed-Cell Foil Kite

• Open-cell foil kites are primarily suitable for snowkiting or landkiting. They have open cells that allow air in and out.

• Closed-cell foil kites prevent water from entering the cells easily, making them suitable for water use.

Single-Skin Kite

• A kite without air cells. It maintains its shape through bridles and wind pressure. They fly exceptionally well in very light wind but are generally difficult, if not impossible, to relaunch from the water.

Hybrid Single-Skin Kite

• Similar to the single-skin kite, but with added cells on the leading edge to significantly improve water relaunch capabilities.

LE (Leading Edge)

• The front edge of the kite.

TE (Trailing Edge)

• The back edge of the kite.

Struts

• The inflatable tubes that provide the kite's structure, filled with air simultaneously with the LE. Most commonly, kites have 1-5 struts.

QR / Quick Release / Safety Release

• A general term for the emergency release system on your control bar. It typically operates by pushing away from you. This is essential for safety. (Remember to test its function regularly!)

Control Bar / Bar

• The bar is used to steer and control the kite. The Quick Release is always attached to the bar. It's one of the most critical pieces of equipment.

Trim / Trimming

• The "power adjustment" mechanism found on every bar. This lengthens the back lines or shortens the front/center lines, changing the kite's angle of attack to the wind & finding that sweet spot for you. This can make the kite less reactive. (Pro Tip: In light wind, trimming can reduce stalling by slightly shortening the center lines).

Safety Line / Flag-out Line

• The line on which the kite remains and flags out (loses all power) when the Quick Release is deployed. This is usually one of the center lines.

Safety Leash

• Connects to a loop below your Quick Release, which in turn connects to the safety line. When the QR is deployed, the kite flags out on this leash. One end is attached to your harness, and in an emergency, you can fully release the kite by detaching the safety leash from your harness.

Kite-knife / Safety Knife

• A hook-shaped knife used to cut lines in an emergency. Typically stored inside the harness.

Zenith

• The highest point directly above the rider (12 o'clock position). This is often considered the "neutral zone" where the kite has minimal pull. It's still not the safest place to keep the kite for long time periods.

AR / Aspect Ratio

• The ratio of the kite's length to its width. This radically affects riding characteristics. High AR kites are generally for more experienced riders and offer greater performance but are less forgiving than low AR kites.

Hindenburg / Front-Stall

• Typically occurs in light or gusty winds, often when there isn't enough pressure on the bar. The kite flies past the wind window and falls, often unpredictably, and can even drop upwind of the rider.

Backstall / Stalling / Backing Up

• The kite falls backward, trailing edge first. This can be caused by: too much pressure on the kite's back lines, or catching up to the kite, causing apparent wind to drop. Backstalling is most common in light wind and when foiling.

Spot

• A location or area suitable for kitesurfing. "There's an amazing wave spot 400m from here" means there's a great place to ride waves 400m away.

Body Drag / Body Dragging

• Moving through the water using only your body and the kite. This is essential for retrieving your board from upwind, getting out of a sticky situation, or arriving safely at the beach. An essential skill for kitesurfing.

Directional Board / Wave Board / Kite-Surfboard

• A surfboard designed for kitesurfing, often with a reinforced construction.

Foil / Hydrofoil

• A hydrofoil wing attached to a board. It significantly reduces drag, allowing you to ride in much lighter wind conditions. Requires excellent kite control.

TT - Twin-Tip Board

• A symmetrical board that can be ridden in both directions.

Upwind Riding / Edging Upwind

• Riding against the direction of the wind to gain ground.

OP / Overpowered

• When the wind strength is at the upper limit of the kite's (or rider's) wind range, making the kite difficult to control. While it can help with jumping, it's generally best to avoid being overpowered and switch to a smaller kite or even call it for a day if you arent feeling safe & controlled.

Downwinder

• Riding downwind/sidewind by starting several kilometers upwind. A downwinder trip means you don't need to ride upwind  at all.

Power Zone

• The central part of the wind window where the kite generates the most power. The kite can be aggressively steered into the power zone or may end up there in light wind, for example, during a stall.

Neutral Zone / Edge of the Wind Window

• The edges of the wind window (roughly between 3 and 9 o'clock) where the kite's power is minimal. The kite stays in the neutral zone when steered gently and bar sheeted out.

Wind Range

• The range of wind speeds for which a kite is designed and can be flown safely. The wind range will differ for lighter and heavier riders and experienced rider can have a wider wind range than beginner kitesurfer.

Low-End

• Refers to the lower end of the kite's wind range. It determines the minimum wind speed required for the kite to fly or be ridden. Single-skin kites, for example, have excellent low-end. You can improve your low-end with a foil, a larger kite, or a lighter kite and some practice!

High-End

• Refers to the upper end of the kite's wind range. Generally, 5-strut "big air" kites have a higher high-end than many other models.

Relaunch

• The act of getting the kite back into the air after it has fallen, for example, into the water.

Hot Launch

• Launching the kite from the center of the wind window, in the power zone. This is typically done in light wind conditions. In normal conditions, the kite should be launched from the edge of the wind window.

Depower / Depowering

• Reducing the kite's power by pushing the bar away from you and/or using the trim system. This primarily changes the kite's angle relative to the wind by loosening the back lines.

Angle of Attack

• The angle at which the kite meets the wind. It determines the kite's power/lift. In light wind, if the angle is too large, the kite can stall.

Lull

• The opposite of a gust; the wind temporarily drops. This is common in light wind conditions and on smaller lakes.

Planing / Planing

• When the board glides smoothly on the surface of the water, supported by the kite's pull.

Self-Rescue

• An essential skill for kitesurfing. If you don't know how, practice or even better; ask for help. It involves packing down your kite in an emergency and using it as a floater & sail in a critical situation to get back to shore.

Brakes

• Some foil kite bars feature a line/strap running transversely through the steering lines. Pulling this line makes it easier to intentionally stall the kite to land it, for example.

Line Extensions

• Extensions that change the length of your lines, which affects the kite's steering, behavior, and power delivery. In light wind, line extensions can help you get more power from your kite.

Pigtail

• Short, strong dyneema loops (typically around 10cm long) at the end of the lines, used to connect the control bar lines to the kite.

Boost / Boosting

• A term for jumping. "Jump" means the same thing.

Pop

• A jump performed without steering the kite to 12 o'clock. It relies on tension in the lines; you spring into the air by resisting the kite's pull and then releasing that energy.

Toe-Side

• Riding with your toes on the edge of the board, as opposed to heel-side.

Riding Blind / Blind

• Riding toe-side with your back facing the direction of travel and your gaze looking in the opposite direction of travel.

Unhooked

• Riding with the chicken loop disconnected from the harness hook, holding the bar only with your hands. Suitable for freestyle and handlepass tricks. Requires significant experience.

Handlepass

• An unhooked trick where, while rotating in the air, you pass the bar behind your back from one hand to the other.

Semi-Suicide

• A safer alternative to the "suicide" leash setup, used in freestyle. When you unhook from the bar, the kite does not flag out, but it will if you use the Quick Release. Do not use this if you don't know what you're doing.

Walk of Shame

• When you drift downwind from your starting point and have to walk back. It happens to all of us, and there's nothing to be ashamed of :)

Tack / Upwind Turn

• Turning upwind, as opposed to a downwind turn (gybe).

Gybe / Jibe / Downwind Turn

• Turning downwind. These terms are most commonly used in foiling.

Kitemare

• An accident or dangerous situation where the kite is not under control.

Deathloop

• Can be an extremely dangerous situation that requires quick reaction. This can happen, for example, if a line breaks, or one steering line gets tangled around the bar. The kite then steers itself, aggressively looping, often still in the power zone.

Heliloop

• A heliloop is used when landing from a jump. The kite makes a loop (like helicopter blades) above the rider. A heliloop is performed when landing from a jump, NOT during the ascending phase. It can be done with the front or back hand, depending on the kite's position. The kite is always looped in the opposite direction it's currently at, so it passes over the rider's head.

Kiteloop / Powered Kiteloop

• A loop performed during a jump, initiated with the back hand before the highest point of the jump. It generates significant downwind pull. An extreme trick that requires experience. During the trick, you experience a free fall until the kite is above your head again. Failure or stopping the loop prematurely can result in a hard landing.

Megaloop

• An even more extreme version of a powered kiteloop. You jump higher and aim to get the kite to the same level or even lower than the rider during the loop.

We won't be translating specific kite tricks, as they generally follow English naming conventions:

• For example, "backroll kiteloop lateback with added rotation" describes a backroll followed by a powered kiteloop, then a late backroll, with an added rotation at the end of the trick.