2010 GK Sonics and Trix kites on sale up to 30% off.  Call the shop for more information281-508-6485 or email us at houston@xlkites.com.   Get a complete kite and board for as little as $1059

2010 Slingshot Key kites on sale

7m, 10m, and 13m Slingshot keys with a board complete for great prices….Call or email the shop for details.  281-508-6485 or email Houston@xlkites.com.

Local Kiteboarding event at the XLKITES shop and at the Levee Wednesday 23Jun10

106.9 The Point will be broadcasting from XLKITES (Houston’s kiteboarding destination) from 2-7pm in Kemah Wednesday 23jun10.  Come by the shop or meet us at the Levee for activities and information on kiteboarding in this great city.  For more info call 281-508-6485 or email houston@xlkites.com.

At the Shop — Meet us at the shop to get information on how to get into kiteboarding and how the sport works.   The shop is located at 1207 Marina Bay Drive Kemah, TX 77565.  Here is a map and directions:
View Larger Map

At the Levee — Trainer kite clinic, come out and meet us to fly some trainer kites as well as see the bigger kites in action for free!  The activities will be from 4-7pm at the Texas City Levee.  To get there using GPS the intersection of Dike Rd. and Skyline Dr. in Texas City is the closest point…from there just drive on skyline drive for 1.6 mi until you see the black XLKITES truck with the flags.  Call the shop for directions on the road: 281-508-6485 or email us and we can send you a complete copy: houston@xlkites.com

To browse equipment see our full listing at www.xlkites.com

Kiteboarding Specials: www.xlkites.com/specials.php

Phil Midler breaks world record by riding 200 nautical miles in over 17 hours.

The Whole Story:
Click here for the Podcast
Check out local news coverage: http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/video?id=7479519
Over 200 Nautical miles rode using only kite power along the texas coast for over 17.75hrs using a Slingshot Celeritas 5′4″ Surf Board, Slingshot RPM 10m kite, Mystic Razor life vest, GoPro HD head cam, etc

Monday started out at 4am getting our gear ready and making sure the chase crew had everything they needed.  Our chase crew consisted of Mitch’s girlfriend Pepper for the southern portion of the ride and my wife Alesha for the finish area.  First off, Pepper is the coolest chick ever and flew down from Houston to chase us using Mitch’s car.  She left SPI for Corpus at around 5am, which would be the first area she would see us.  Mitch and I geared up and had a sending off by a few brave souls: Dave Horn, Chris Summers, and Norberto Ponce (local deputy sheriff).  Dave Horn is an ordained minister so he gave us a quick prayer and we hit the water working our way down wind.  The breeze was averaging around 20mi/hr out of the south-south/east, so it was almost directly side shore so the going was tough.  Mitch was on a 12m and I was on a 10m because the wind was going to get much stronger as the day went on. 

 
            The first 70mi was very hard due to the wind strength and direction so we were constantly jibing back and forth in the surf averaging around 10-14mi/hr.  It was slow going, Mitch felt that I had a better chance to make the record alone so he stopped south of Corpus at the first point we met Pepper.  From that point forward it was a solo mission.  Once I got near Corpus around the 100mi point the coast line started to curve so that south-south/east wind was more side shore allowing me to make better time (still constantly pumping the kite but making a better angle down the beach).  In this area the wind was averaging high twenties and gusting well over 30mph so I was glad for the 10m size decision.  After 100 miles my legs already felt like Jell-O and I knew it would be a hard second half to finish that day.  Neil Hutchinson (previous record holder for his ride from Key West to Cuba 94mi) had given me some pointers on the ride and told me a lot of it would be mental.  The next 5-6 hours of riding would be a brutal test of my mental toughness.        

The next point I would see the chase crew was in Port Aransas before the jetties.  After that point I would enter a very remote section of the Texas Coast called Matagorda island, these are a set of barrier islands about 65-70 miles long with no access, no people, and nothing resembling civilization.  I met Mitch and Pepper at Port Aransas after about 9hrs of riding and made the decision to go for the record riding solo across the Matagorda island section.  From Corpus to Port Aransas was the fastest section of the ride with a great side shore wind.  I averaged 22mi/hr and had a max speed of 38.4mi/hr!  This was the best section for me flying past people swimming in the surf and blowing by all the kiteboarders at Bob Hall pier.  I even managed a high-speed high five from one of the boogie boarders as I rode by. 
           
           After meeting Mitch and Pepper at Port Aransas I left and started the process of cutting up wind to get around the .5mi long Port A jetties.  This is no small feat on a surf board set up for down wind riding and in 15ft breaking surf.  After 30 minutes of struggling I finally made it around the jetties and stepped into the most remote section of the ride, the Matagorda barrier islands.  For the next 65-70mi I would see no other vehicles, people, or buildings.  By this time the coast line had shifted enough so that I was now edging on my board, cutting slightly up-wind to stay with the coast line.  I was still making great time, but made getting around the inlet jetties and debris in the surf very difficult.  The toughest jetties to make it around were just past the Port O’Conner inlet to the east.  I was cutting hard upwind riding parallel to huge breaking surf when I was actually thrown onto the granite jetty because I was too close.  I was very tired and the heel-side tack was so much easier that I kept getting closer and closer to the jetty on my heel side before switching to toe-side to get around it.  I landed board first and managed to escape to the other side of the jetty with only scraping the skin off the front of my right shin.  I stopped on the other side after clearing the jetties to inspect the injury and was surprised to see that despite all of the blood it was only a flesh wound.   

By now I was approaching 12-13 hrs of riding and it was starting to get dark.  I knew that I had one more set of jetties to get around and I was worried about doing it at night.  I rode for about an hour after dark and finally stopped.  The wind was blowing about 25-30mph and was directly onshore if not slightly onshore the wrong direction, I had been riding upwind hard for the last 2 hours.  I committed to spending the night on this remote spit of land until it was light enough to finish the ride.  This was 180 nautical miles (via GPS) from our start point in South Padre Island.  I wasn’t worried about my night on the island and knew I’d be fine.  I’ve been in much worse situations climbing remote mountains around the world.  I set up camp digging a hole in the sand and putting my kite over it to protect me from the wind.  I took a space blanket with on the trip incase of something like this so I used it to keep my upper body warm until it was light again.  I knew the chase crew was worried about me and didn’t want them to scrabble the authorities so after a short reprieve I left my makeshift shelter, got my cell from the dry bag and tried to climb around on the dunes to find a signal to get them a message.  I was finally able to get a 1x signal and get a short text to Mitch and Alesha telling them I was fine. 
          
           Daylight came slowly as it was a cold windy night.  At around 5am I started gearing up for the final push to safety.  After lying down for so long my whole body ached from the previous day’s accomplishments.  I remembered a talk I had with Neil Hutchinson about his trip from Key West to Cuba (94mi) in the open ocean and was just thankful that I was able to make it to shore for a safe night sleep.  I had run out of food and water over the night so was pretty anxious about getting to the finish.  The last 20 nautical miles were upwind riding in a crazy shore break and took me a long time.  I finally got to the last set of jetties and after a battle made it to the inside of the inlet and the end of my trek.  The beach that I finished on had woman (Dorthy) who was on duty with a construction crew keeping people out of the construction zone.  They were refurbishing the jetty system with large machinery.  Well I came riding right into the construction zone onto a narrow beach that Dorthy happened to be standing on.  She said “you’re not supposed to be here” and I said “I’ll only be a second, I just broke a world record”.  She replied “where did you come from” and I said “South Padre Island”.  Dorthy decided to let me stay I the end and even signed an affidavit to the fact.  It was 8:15am and I had finished a total of 200 nautical miles over 17.75 hours of almost continuous riding.  

XLKITES SPI Round Up event will be held in South Padre Island May 1-9th 2010.  For more information on the event visit the event webpage at: http://www.spikiteroundup.com/ 

The Houston Store will be closed May 3rd-7th due to the XLKITES event in South Padre Island (SPI Round Up).  We will be receiving and replying to emails as well as phone calls that week, but the store will be closed.  Gear can still be purchased and shipped via the same phone number at 281-508-6485.  Any questions feel free to contact us at the below information

houston@xlkites.com
281-508-6485
1207 Marina Bay Dr
League City, TX 77565

Normal hours of operation will resume Saturday 8May10

 XLKITES TEXAS CITY LEVEE RIDING AREA AND TEACHING CENTER

Texas City is one of the best places on the planet to learn kitesurfing and kiteboarding. XLKITES has been helping to preserve and develop this dedicated Riding area along with others like Texas City Park and Recreation, Army Corp of Engineers, and the City of Texas City. Hurricane Ike actually made the Levee kiteboarding area a better place for beginners with a great sandy beach, grassy launch, and super shallow waters that extend from the beach up to a 1-2 miles offshore!!

To book beginner, advanced or intermediate lessons give the shop a call 281-508-6485 or email houston@xlkites.com

We carry over 24 brands including Best, Cabrinha, Slingshot, North, Naish, GK, Airush, Peter Lynn, HQ, Crazy Fly, Liquid Force, RRD, Ocean Rodeo, Litewave, Mystic, Dakine, Kitefix, Sea Specs, Surf Shades, Wet Products, Neil Pryde, NPX, etc. 

If we don’ t have it in stock we can order it and match any online price.

Another great day of demos with Litewave Dave, GK, and seaspecs at the Levee. We had light winds in the morning and then they picked up to 15-17mph later in the day. The new 2010 Trix and GK sonic are super sweet kites, the Trix is better for kiteloops and freestyle and the Sonic is grunty for light air and cruising..it is also great at boosting huge airs!

We’ll be at it again today (sunday 28Mar10) Demoing all equipment at St Luis Pass. All the demo gear is for sale and will be discounted for the demo. It is going fast so get in on the action today!! See you at the Pass! Will will be 17-19mph from the NW so great riding conditions for the demo out there.

Our normal shop hours will be cut on Wednesday Feb 17th to 4:30-6pm and Thursday Feb 18th to 3pm-6pm. 
Leave us a mail message at houston@xlkites.com or a phone message at 281-50806485 and we’ll get back with you when were back in the shop.  Normal hours will resume Friday Feb 19th. 
Thanks, Phil

La Ventana Classic kite race and expo went off without a hitch.  There was $18,400 raised for the local school in La Ventana.  The 12mi open water  race was a Phenominal!  With over 100 racers, great wind, and fairly large swell the Houston crew held their own, we also met a few competitiors from the Dallas area.  The other events were paddle board races, short course kiteboarding races, and finally the old school big air contest.  Amazing!  We have travel info if anyone wants to head down there next year, we will definitely be going.

The expo was a total success with most of the vendor in our industry there with lots of kites and boards to demo.  If anyone has any questions about any 2010 gear from any vendor give us a call at 281-508-6485 or email houston@xlkites.com.  We talked to Neil Hutchinson about the new slingshot gear including the 2010 Key (awesome kite).  I have one of these in Houston for demo if anyone is interested.  La Ventana was also to showcase for the new Darko board with the sliding footpads, I had a great session on this board if you have questions.  We also rode the new 2010 RPM and Fuel.  Mitch and I met with Peter, Paul, and Jeff from Caution kites my new favorite guys in kiteboarding about the new Caution line up and had the chance to try thier stuff.  In fact, I won the sportsmans class for the 12mi race on one of their surf boards.  We also talked with Evan from RRD and Mystic about the 2010 boards including the new Toxic Wave and Posion boards!  Damien LeRoy was at the event so we got to demo the new Switchblade, Crossbow and 2010 boards.  He did an amazing job in the races as well as big air event.  Litewave Dave was at the event and jammed with him about the new changes on the 2010 Vision board as well as the trix and Here are some of the other vendors we demoed and talked with:

Epic kites
Globe Kites
Underground boards
Wainman Hawaii
F-One
Liquid Force
North

We just updated the used gear selection on the site check it out here

This will be a one hour introduction to kiteboarding held in our shop in Kemah, Texas. Attendees will be lead by kiteboarding instructor Phil Midler.

We will be going over some of your basic kiteboarding knowledge, including types of kites, sizes appropriate for local conditions, as well as where we ride locally. Bring any questions you have about the sport and we will be happy to answer them. This event is open, so feel free to bring any friends or relatives you think may be interested in the sport. Also, for attendees at this even who decide to pursue lessons, we will be offering 15% off of our normal rate if you schedule a lesson tomorrow.(lesson may be taken at a later time)

The introduction will be held at our shop in Kemah from approximately 12pm-1pm

Address:
1207 Marina Bay Drive (FM 2094) Ste B
Kemah, TX 77565

Our shop can be noted by the big green XL Kites breadtruck in the driveway, it’s hard to miss!
If you have any questions about this event, feel free to call us at 281-508-6485 or email us at houston@xlkites.com

For those looking for fun options and variation in lightwind kiteboarding or behind the boat, Slinghot brings you the all NEW 2010 SCUD skim style board as the latest addition to the LIGHTWIND KITEBOARD COLLECTION  and WAKE SURF SERIES.

XL Kites has the 2010 SCUD’s available, so feel free to order one today. Just give us a call at 281-508-6485 or shoot us an email at houston@xlkites.com

The SCUD skim style board is a great addition to any quiver for an intermediate to advanced rider looking to maximize their time in marginal conditions.

Features such as the custom shape, removable fin, skim style front and rear pads and Slingshot proprietary FRT core construction make the SCUD an effortless decision for lightwind riding or surfing behind the boat. So if staying upwind and making the most of your time on the water with a fun strapless skate like feel is important to you, one word…SCUD.

The SCUD is offered in two sizes, a 52” and 55”

FEATURES AND ADVANTAGES

• FRT*: Future Response Technology = Even flex that is smooth, controlled and lively. Also makes the core light weight and strong

• Sidewalls to come = Unmatched shock absorption and dampening

• Rocker to come = Effortless upwind-ability and maximum glide

• Skim shape = Effortless glide on top of the water

• Dura Base = The most durable base available

• Removable 2.75” fin = Provides versatile grip when you want it

• Skim style traction pads only = True skim style riding, no inserts for foot straps

• Made in the Gorge, USA = Superior quality and value

• Slingshot legendary construction = Bomber quality

• Lifetime Rider Hotline Membership = Unsurpassed customer service

RIDER PROFILE:

• Intermediate to expert

• Soul sessions

• Light wind enthusiast

• Maximizes time on the water in any

condition

• Looking for the strapless experience

TECH SPECS

• SCUD deck. 52″ x20.5″ or  55″ x 20.875″

• Qty 1 x 2.5” G10 removable symmetrical fin

• NEW SCUD skim style pad set

• Lifetime Rider Service Membership

Again, these boards are out and available through XL Kites, so feel free to drop by and inquire. We also have regular fiberglass skimboards in stock for $45 if you are looking for a cheaper alternative or to just try it out.

looking for fun options and variation in lightwind kiteboarding or behind the boat, Slinghot brings you the all NEW 2010 SCUD skim style board as the latest addition to the LIGHTWIND KITEBOARD COLLECTION  and WAKE SURF SERIES.
The SCUD skim style board is a great addition to any quiver for an intermediate to advanced rider looking to maximize their time in marginal conditions.
Features such as the custom shape, removable fin, skim style front and rear pads and Slingshot proprietary FRT core construction make the SCUD an effortless decision for lightwind riding or surfing behind the boat. So if staying upwind and making the most of your time on the water with a fun strapless skate like feel is important to you, one word…SCUD.
The

The new 2010 RPM
WE GOT THEM…Give us a call and get yours…281-508-6485 or email us at houston@xlkites.com

Slingshot is proud to announce its
second generation RPM. The RPM is changing
kiteboarding with its innovative 3 strut “Open
C” Canopy design. It delivers limitless high end
performance options for all conditions. Excel
your riding regardless of your style. Discover
what the pros already know. The RPM is the
one kite that allows for top performance while
executing un-hooked freestyle, wakestyle and
surf style.
“The kite has a great low and high end range.
For me it is perfect. It has explosive pop for
unhooked tricks. It has massive boost so I have
time for double handle passes or powered kite
loops. The new refinements shine where I can
feel even pull, increased stability, and
forgiveness. Relaunching is also fast and
effortless. The RPM has accelerated me up the PKRA podium.* – *The RPM is the first and only non “C” kite to take a PKRA championship podium finish ever.

New for 2010:

• Our full suspension bridle has been refined to perform in two critical
modes of flight.
A. When the bar is sheeted out, and increased depower and passive stability become desired, performance requirements of the bridle react automatically. This auto adjustment of the bridle allows the kite to take on a latent role by transferring flying loads to the LE.
B. When the bar is sheeted in, the bridle kicks in to what Slingshot kite
designer Amery Bernard calls “Full Suspension Mode”. In this configuration
the bridle is in overdrive. The kite now becomes more, powerful, fast and
responsive giving it an overall feeling that is very intuitive. The bridle can
read and predict your every move.

1. Refined Sizing (New 4.5, 6, 8, 10,12 ,14 meter)
• Allows riders to precisely build quivers to their specific riding conditions.
2. NEW Compstick Control Bar\Compatibility
• The NEW Compstick Control Bar offers the highest level of safety,
performance and convenience in a single system. It is the most versatile control bar you will ever own. NEW features such as the Surefire Spinner, Auto Indexing Chicken Loop, Active Stopper Ball and Push Up Center Safety System makes it the first choice for freestyle riders who demand more.
3. Progressive Power Steering (industry first)
• Progressive custom line lengths synchronizes rider and kite to match
wind conditions. Benefits include optimum tracking ,precision feedback,
custom power and range.

Check out this video detailing the all new Slingshot Comp Stick bar control system

While you guys are down in Houston living up the warm winter winds during the holiday break, I’m up in Minnesota with my family.  Here are some pics from snowshoeing the last few days on the St Croix river.  The wind has been light the last couple of days or I’d be out on the frozen lakes doing some snow kiting.  We’re supposed to get a snow storm with 10-24 inches of snow tomorrow so we should have great conditions for some epic snow kiting.  Enjoy the strong warm winter winds down there, can’t wait to get back. 

RPM’s on closeout for $1189 complete or $1499 (10m and 12m sizes), with a new 146 Misfit or 147cm SX board complete. 
The RPM is by far my favorite kite for the gulf coast area.  The new RPM kites will be out in 3months or so.  Don’t wait for the 2010 kites get the 2009s today.  Give us a call at 281-508-6485 or email us at houston@xlkites.com.  I also have a used 12m RPM with the new 2010 bar system for $900 complete, first one to jump on it gets it. 

Great for light winds, great for relaunch, great for depower.