We are obsessed with searching for the best product, because why not? From smart watches to hardwares like screwdrivers, double-sided tapes, we tested (or researched) a wide range of products, so you don’t have to. We hope this article help you. If we miss any products or if there are any accessory you would like us to review, do let us know by contacting us.
This is a non-sponsored article written in 2022. It expresses the author’s opinion only. We do not sell the products directly nor do we receive a commission from any of the brands mentioned in this article.
Smart Watch
Look no further than Garmin Fenix 7X Sapphire Solar. It can track a free-ride session without your WOO sensor (use Garmin’s app Kite GPS) or a big-air session with WOO (use Garmin’s app Kite WOO+GPS). It features solar charging, which goes great with kitesurfing. The GPS functions accurately, and the battery life simply blows my mind. We have been kiting a few sessions a day, 10-15 days a month, and watch can go without charing for easily 1-1.5 months.
A more economic model would be Garmin Forerunner 245. It does everything a Garmin Fenix 7x can do (as far as kitesurfing is concerned) but comes with a much shorter battery life. With GPS on, your recording session might last for just a few hours.
Podcast
It’s technically not a ‘gadget’ nor accessary but we thought we might put here any way…What’s better than listening to some awesome kitesurfing contents while driving or stuck in your daily commute? We recommend Kitesurf365, featuring interviews with the top riders (big names like Janek Grzegorzewski, Kevin Langeree) and the hosts chatting about the latest happenings in the kiting world. You can listen to this on their website or any of your favorite podcast app.
Sun-glasses
When it comes to kiteboarding sun-glasses, it has to be polarized (so it reduces the glare from water surface and alleviate eye strain, and gives you a clearer vision), has a good anti-fog coating (i.e. good ventilation), floats, and has to be stylish.
We recommend these two brands, with LiP Sunglasses being a more premium and pricier pick that features polarized lenses by ZEISS and SeaSpecs being the more economic choice. Both brands support Rx (prescribed) options that require to order on-line. They also do a great job in customer service and respond quickly to emails.
Click the link here to get your coupon and save 10% from LiP Sunglasses for first-time purchase above $78. For kiters based in Hong Kong please support your local dealer Hoitin Kite.
Mineral-based Sunscreen
We refer to this article: 5 Best Sunscreens for Water Sports Athletes.
The active ingredients in mineral-based sunscreens are Zinc oxide and Titanium dioxid. On the other hand, ingredients like Avobenzone, Oxybenzone and Octocrylene are commonly found in chemical-based sunscreens. There are simply too many options with brands becoming more environmental friendly (the good old Banana Boat now has a mineral-based lotion too!). We recommend looking for key words like “broad spectrum protection” and a higher SPF (e.g. 40 or 50+). With these in mind we found the best to be Thinksport Safe Sunscreen SPF 50+ and Bedger Adventure Sport Mineral Sunscreen Tin – SPF 50
Hardwares
Electric Screwdriver
If you are an active foiler like me and you tent to disassemble your foil quite regularly, an electric screwdriver might come in handy.
The most important criteria when it comes to a electronic screwdriver is that won’t break your foil by overdriving. Therefore it is best to have a clutch system that disengages when a certain torque is reached. If you don’t know the ideal/max torque of your screws you might find it in the manual. For example, we use a Ketos Foil and its recommended torque is 5 N⋅m (max 8) for M6 and 4 N⋅m (max 5.5) for M5.
Our top choice is this Bosch Go 2 Electric Screwdriver. It is USB chargeable, small enough to fit in your pocket, and it has several clutch settings from 0.2 to 5 N.m. The only downside is that the driver bits that come with the box doesn’t include a T30 so you might need to get one from your local hardware store seperately.
We referred to our favorite hardware YouTube channel Project Farm for this:
After the clutch disengages the screwdriver, we recommend finishing tighening with a mini reversible ratchet like this below. Usually when you buy a foil, it comes with a T-handle Hex (or Torx) but if you use the common US-track system the mast would sometimes block the hex(torx). That’s why we like the simplicitiy of a ratchet driver.
In case you don’t trust your arms, get a mini torque wrench from your local bike shop. A nice insurance against expensive mistakes of over-tightening… We recommand this Topeak Nano Torqbar DX that is slim, compact and comes with preset torque drivers of 4/5/6 N⋅m.
Anti-Seize
If you owns a foil that is constructed in different materials like alloy / carbon / stainless steel / copper, you might want to use a marine grade anti-seize to prevent the so-called galvanic corrosion that might eventually prevents you from taking your foil apart.
We found the best brand to be Loctite, there a few anti-seize products that it makes and the most appropriate would be not introducing new metals so we choose the LB 8009 Heavy Duty Anti-Seize that’s metal-free or the LB 8023 Marine Grade Anti-Seize that’s also metal-free.
Again we referred to the video from our favorite hardware YouTube channel Project Farm:
There are other marine-grade grease / lubricants like lanoline oil or telfron tape / Tef Gel that do a similar job. Check out your local hardware shop or marine supplies shop to see what’s available.
Double-Sided Mounting Tape
For kiteboarding the use case might be mounting your camera / WOO case etc. to your kite board. We look for a tape that’s heavy-duty, weather proof, or simply put – strong.
While 3M is a famous brand (go for its VHB family (VHB stands for very high bond) and is widely available, we referred (again) to Project Farm and found that Gorilla seems to be the winner for its vertical/lateral adheisiveness and tensile strengh.
Megaloop Kiting 