Houston Kiteboarding » Uncategorized

Dakine Days at XL Kites, Summer Sale!

admin — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 14:29:00 +0000

Dakine Days at XL Kites

For a limited time only, receive 20% off of in stock dakine. Savings of up to $40!!

Dakine Pyro                                             Dakine Fusion                                       Dakine Storm

ALL 20% OFF!

Call 281-508-6485

Dakine Renegade

    Spreader Bar Complete          Dakine SX Bag              Compression Bag             Dakine Tempest



Check out these instructional DVD’s to fine tune your kiteboarding skills.

Check out our entire DVD collection



   THE ALL NEW METHOD TRAINER IS IN!

We are the only shop with this new training innovation in kiteboarding!

Call 281-508-648 or email houston@xlkites.com for more info  ">Learn more here.



Learn to kiteboard in HALF the time and save hundreds of dollars! The unique convertable bridle system allows either 2-line or 4-line mode so you can practice and learn using a REAL 4-line bow kite bar. This means you can depower, land, launch, emergency release. Also a great tool for advanced riders to learn tricks before tying them with a larger kite fully powered. Save time and painful injuries by practicing tricks on land with the Method Trainer Kite System attached to the 4-line bar system off your kite.



Kite only- $189.99      Kite w/ 2 line bar- $209.99

  call 281-508-6485 to order.





XL Kites is you Kiteboarding Video Headquarters!

As usual, hit up your local shop for new deals and hook-ups, but also check out our store. We are constantly adding new items and listing used gear, so look occasionally for great deals. http://stores.ebay.com/xlkites

XLKITES.com on

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Stay tuned for more events

Ride hard and support your local shop. Let us know if you need any gear or lessons via email houston@xlkites.com or phone 281-508-6485.

Dallas, TEXAS: 817.676.7842 dallas@xlkites.com

Houston, TEXAS: 281.508.6485 houston@xlkites.com

South Padre Island, TEXAS: 956.761.9577 spi@xlkites.com

Fort Walton Beach, FLORIDA: 850.243.5483 info@xlkites.com

xlkites.com

XLKITES | 1207 Marina Bay Dr. | Kemah | TX | 77565

GK and Slingshot kite sale

admin — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 18:34:34 +0000

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

GK Sonic and Trix kites

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.

Slingshot Key Package

106.9 The Point Event

admin — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 17:44:07 +0000

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.

Light wind Riding on the 164cm Litewave Wing

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

Kiteboarding Long Distance World Record Broken (full story)

admin — Thu, 27 May 2010 14:34:26 +0000

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

admin — Sat, 01 May 2010 13:28:45 +0000

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