The Starboard Gemini, a tandem windsurfer, got put through its paces last week. Here’s the video.

Kite Demos

We’ve expanded our kiteboard demo lineup. You’re allowed unlimited exchanges all day increasing your odds of finding that perfect fit. Here’s the latest list of what’s available. Just call us and ask for the rental department. They’ll get you hooked up in no time.

• Naish Sol 134
• Naish Thorn 132
• Naish Haze 136
• Naish Fish 5’2″
• North Jaime Pro 132
• North XRide 135
• North Kontact 5’7″
• North Freestyle Fish 5’0″
• North Pacific Tuna Fish 5’4″
• North Pacific Squash Quad 5’7

There are still some high flying deals in our kite closeout section.

Only Big Winds and one other unspeakable outfit has a special limited edition of the Naish 2009 Helix kite. 2009 marks the 30th anniversary of the Naish brand. To commemorate this great achievement, Naish is releasing a Limited Edition Helix with the famous Skull logo that was hand drawn by Robby Naish himself back in the 80’s. They’re available only in 9m and 12m.

2008 Windsurf Board Prices

Over on the windsurfing front, the deals on new 2008 boards got a little sweeter yesterday. These boards got their stickers shaved $100 to $200. Crazy.

• Starboard
  • Evo XTV 70, 75, 80 Technora -$200 to $999
  • Evo XTV 62, 75, 80, 90 Wood -$200 to $1199
  • Futura 93, 101 Technora -$200 to $999
  • Futura 93, 101 Wood -$200 to $1199
  • Pure Acid 74 Technora -$200 to $999
  • Pure Acid 68 Wood -$200 to $1199
• Naish
  • Pro Wave US 1111 65, 75, 80, 85 -$100 to $1199
  • Global Wave 83, 87 -$100 to $999
  • All Terrain 95, 115 -$200 to $999
• Mistral
  • Syncro Move 104 -$100 to $799
  • Syncro Move 104 RD -$100 to $999
  • Screamer 104 RD -$100 to $999
  • Syncro Style 84 -$100 to $799
  • Syncro Style 84, 94 RD -$100 to $999
  • Wave 69, 86 RD -$200 to $999

Ladies SUPper Club

The ladies are spanking it pretty hard on Tuesday nights. We’ve posted a couple of slide shows, here and here on Flickr to prove it. Due to the overwhelming response, availability is limited so call Daryl as soon as you can to reserve a board. Or, if you have your own, roll it on down and join in the fun. It’s all free! Scope out the details.

New Virtual Shop Tours

Dr. Pete came in and shot up the store. Where we used to have three tours we now have eight. They’re bigger too. You can drop in virtually and check out all the new stuff for 2009.

Rider: Steve
Gender: Male
Height: 5′10″
Weight: 150 lbs
Skill Level: Expert surfer, expert windsurfer

“The stability on this board is awesome which was somewhat surprising due to the relatively narrow tail. The solid feeling makes it a no brainer and anyone can get on it and immediately haul.

“It tracks better than almost any other board due to the large boxy rails that are hard and sharp at the waterline. The board nosed through the chop with confidence and the flat rocker provided terrific glide — just as the name implies. The pads are super comfy too.

“Cold? Nah. I wore my O’Neill 3/2 Gooru and my O’Neill 6/5/4mm Mutant Internal Split Toe booties, the finest cold water booty, bar none.

Related Posts:
David’s Review of the Starboard Cruiser

Rider: Dane
Gender: Male
Height: 5’5″
Weight: 135 lbs
Skill Level: Advanced kiteboarder

Board Tested: 2008 North Pacific Round Squash Wave 5’3″
Kite Used: 2008 Cabrinha Switchblade 3 8m
Date: June 4, 2008
Location: White Salmon Bridge, Columbia River Gorge
Conditions: 18-28 mph, huge glassy swell

North Pacific is a local Hood River surfboard company run by Art Colyer, who has been hand-shaping custom polyester boards for over twenty years. For many years he has been working with local and international professional kiteboarders, tirelessly refining his shape for the perfect directional kiteboard.

Yesterday I got a chance to try out my new 5’3″ North Pacific Round Squash Wave, and let me tell you what a fun time that was! This board is incredibly maneuverable, and is designed to slash in the waves and swell. The 5’3″ is a small board, but I’m a small guy. We’re perfect for one another.

When I went out for my session, I soon found myself riding in some of the biggest, glassiest swell I have ever seen at the White Salmon Bridge. I would ramp up to catch a good wave, snap a tight off-the-top, and ride down the face in the complete opposite direction. I’ve never been able to slash turns like that in my life.

The thruster fin placement on the Round Squash Wave is absolutely perfect, giving this board incredible grip despite being so slashy. There were times where I would turn so aggressively that my body would be nearly parallel to the water, and I was sure the board was going to slide out from under me. Before I knew it I was out of my turn and upright again, riding along as if nothing happened.

The Round Squash Wave charges upwind with unbelievable efficiency. If you’re not comfortable jibing the board you can simply ride toeside for an entire reach, and easily keep your place by edging upwind. That’s right, you can edge upwind while riding toeside. Even so, yesterday was my first day with this board, and I’m already feeling confident enough that I’m trying to jibe it. With its huge deckpad the board is easy to ride outside the footstraps, and I’m excited to try taking the straps off completely and riding it strapless.

I was riding the swell hard that day, and even so I could feel that I was barely scratching the surface as to the full potential of the Round Squash Wave. A board like this you will never outgrow, and will own for many, many years if you take good care of it. I guarantee you, the only thing you will ever want to replace it with is another North Pacific.

Rider: Daryl
Gender: Female
Height: 5’2″
Weight: 120 lbs
Skill Level: Expert windsurfer

Board Tested: 2008 Naish Pro Wave 65L
Sails Used: 2008 Naish Session 3.4 – 4.7
Dates: Winter 2008 and Spring 2008
Location: Kanaha, Maui, Hawaii and the Columbia River Gorge
Conditions: High-wind wave and swell riding

A great board for smaller riders who love shredding waves.

Daryl sails the 2008 Naish Pro Wave 65 in 2.8 – 4.7 conditions, and she recommends it as great board for smaller riders, 125 lbs and lighter. The board is incredibly maneuverable, zips right around, and will turn on a dime. It offers numerous footstrap placements, so you can easily configure the Pro Wave with a narrower stance that works perfectly for women or other smaller sailors. The board also has plenty of footstrap options for setting a wider stance too, so larger riders can feel right at home.

Daryl tried the Pro Wave in the waves at Kanaha on Maui and finds it to be a perfect board for high-wind sailing. The board is incredibly lightweight, the footstraps and footpads are comfortable, and all the stock components are plush. Daryl loved the stock fin included with the Pro Wave, and she’s very picky when it comes to choosing a fin. The Pro Wave 65 is Daryl’s board of choice this year for swell riding in the Gorge.

An incredibly lightweight and versatile wave sail that depowers easily.

The 2008 Naish Session is a lightweight sail that is easy to handle, has a great wind range, and depowers effortlessly in gusts. Daryl describes it as a sail that’s great for everyone, from her friend George to her two school-aged boys. George is 56 years old, and is an incredibly solid sailor who loves to ride powered-up. Daryl loves the Sessions and finds them easy to ride, but as evidence to their incredible range of use, even George is riding a quiver of Sessions this season!

Related Posts:
Read Jodie’s review of the Naish Session
Read Steve’s review of the Naish Global Wave 78

Rider: Jodie
Gender: Female
Height: 5’2″
Weight: 115 lbs
Skill Level: Advanced windsurfer

Board Tested: 2008 Starboard Kombat 79 Wood
Sail Used: 2008 Naish Session 4.7
Date: May 27, 2008
Location: Event Site, Columbia River Gorge
Conditions: 15-25 mph, flatwater, medium chop, small swell

Two nights ago, Jodie had an opportunity to ride the Starboard Kombat 79 and the Naish Session 4.7 right out front here in Hood River. Here are her quick, initial thoughts:

“The Starboard Kombat planed super easily and felt floaty in the lulls, with quick pick-up in the gusts to get yourself really moving. It rides incredibly smooth in flat water, and was easily maneuverable in the little swells that day.

“The Naish Session is easy to rig and super smooth to sail, with no twitching or other quirks. I have sailed the 4.2 and 4.7 and found both of them to be an absolute treat to sail. The sails hold strong in the gusts and keep me powered up through the lulls.”

Awesome. Thanks, Jodie!

Related:
View our photo gallery of the Starboard Kombat

With the help of Mac, one of our expert kiteboarding instructors, we just finished giving the royal treatment to the 2008 North Rebel 08. As we did with the Switchblade 3, we extensively detailed and photographed the Rebel and uploaded the results of our investigation to our photo gallery at Flickr.

The Rebel is North’s ultimate freeride kite, designed for all conditions and all riders. It’s forgiving enough for beginners (the Rebel forms the backbone of our kite school) while still offering the high-performance ride that advanced and expert riders demand.

Related Posts:
Dane’s Review of the 2008 North Rebel

Related Pages:
Our Rebel Photo Gallery at Flickr
The Rebel at Big Winds
The Rebel at North’s website

Kiteboard Tested: 2008 Naish Sol 128
Kites Used: 2008 Switchblade 3 6m, 8m and 10m
Dates: Spring 2008
Location: Columbia River Gorge
Conditions: Mellow 10-18 mph, moderate 16-24 mph, and intense 22-34 mph

Rider: Dane
Gender: Male
Height: 5’5″
Weight: 135 lbs
Skill Level: Advanced Kiteboarder

Even though it’s still quite cold out there, I’ve already been riding the 2008 Naish Sol 128 kiteboard quite a bit this season. I’ve hinted at my love of the Sol before, but I haven’t had a chance yet to compile my thoughts into a single review.

Bottom Line: The 2008 Naish Sol is an extremely fun twin tip board that is designed with freeride carving in mind. It edges upwind effortlessly, and it delivers an incredible ride for intermediate to expert riders who love slashing in flatwater and swell.

Mister Slashy McSlasherton

The key to the Sol is its aggressively rounded nose and tail, which give the board its loose, almost buttery feel. The looseness comes into play when you slash back and forth from heelside to toeside, as the shape of the board makes it completely natural to execute this transition. I come from a snowboarding background and I feel right at home on the Sol, linking my turns as though I’m carving down the mountain. This board is about as close as you can get to the feel of a directional kiteboard while still riding a twin tip.

I love all this carving, but it goes without saying that every time you go toeside you’re bound to lose some ground against the wind. Fortunately, even for how loose the board can be handled, it still holds an edge like a dream, and it is one of the most upwind-mobile twin tips I have ridden. In a single reach, you can easily recover all the ground you had lost through multiple reaches of riding and slashing in the swell.

The Sol will jump with the best of them, but it is a medium flex board and isn’t specifically designed for loading up and popping. If air is your thing, and not carving, you’d do well to look at a stiffer freestyle-oriented board, like the Naish Thorn or the North Jaime Pro.

Sizing the Sol

The 2007 Sol boards were fairly narrow, and because of their unique shape they all rode a bit smaller than their lengths suggested. Naish has adjusted the shape for 2008 by reducing the length and adding more width, so now the boards ride more true-to-size. Indeed, last year’s Sol 130 rode more like my North Jaime Pro 128 (in size, not feel, because the boards ride very differently), while this year’s Sol 128 feels pretty spot-on for a board in the 128 cm size.

As far as sizing goes, the Sol 128 is a pretty good size for a rider of my weight and skill level, and I believe it would also work well for a larger rider who enjoys riding powered-up. I spent a lot of time on a 125 cm North Jaime Pro last year, which was fun but always required a lot of power to get up and going. Perhaps a 128 is a bit big for me, but for one it’s the smallest size Sol that Naish makes, and for another I don’t particularly enjoy using a big kite to compensate for a smaller board.

Related Posts:
Unpacking the Naish Sol
Dane’s Comparison: Sol vs. Jaime Pro

Related Sites:
Naish Sol Product Page at Naish’s Website

Board Tested: 2008 Naish Global Wave 78
Sails Used: 2008 Naish Force 4.2 – 4.7
Dates: Fall 2007, Spring 2008
Location: Columbia River Gorge
Conditions: “Fully powered-up to light and funky.”

Rider: Steve
Gender: Male
Height: 5’10″
Weight: 150 lbs
Skill Level: Expert windsurfer

Steve is a lighter guy than Joe, and he wants to take a moment to share his own experience riding the Naish Global Wave 78. Since he’s a smaller guy he doesn’t quite have the weight to yard a board around, so he requires a board that responds to a light touch. Steve found the Global Wave to be effortless and ultra-smooth when initiating turns, and says it executes any type of turn with ease, from long-radius to short-radius.

The board planes up easy, and is super smooth running in a straight line. It totally comes into its own when playing in the swell or going for a jibe. Consistent with Joe’s “slashy” impressions, Steve says that the Global Wave feels like it was designed for turning at all levels.

The Global Wave would make a great board for mid-weight intermediate to expert sailors, who are looking for a highly maneuverable board for riding in the swell.

Related Posts:
Read Joe’s review of the Naish Global Wave 78

Board Tested: 2008 Naish Global Wave 78
Sail Used: 2008 Naish All Terrain 4.0
Date: May 6, 2008
Location: Rowena, Columbia River Gorge
Conditions: 26-39 mph winds, swell riding

Rider: Joe
Gender: Male
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 185 lbs
Skill Level: Expert windsurfer

Joe tested the 2008 Naish Global Wave 78 the other day, and I was able to corner him and learn what he thought about the experience. Here’s Joe’s review!

Bottom Line: Naish hit the mark with the Global Wave, designing an incredibly versatile wave and bump-and-jump board. It is well-balanced, quick to plane, and incredibly slashy. This board will be a pleasure to ride for experienced windsurfers, and is best suited for aggressive advanced and expert riders.

If you look up “slashy” in the dictionary, don’t be surprised if the definition is a picture of this board. The Global Wave redirects so well that even the smallest bit of swell is easy to catch for a ride. When jibing, the Global Wave has excellent performance in short to medium radius turns, and it will rip through turns as hard as you want.

Joe found that the Global Wave was respectably fast, especially for a wave-oriented board, and that it planes up with minimal effort. Joe discovered a trick that works particularly well with this board, where he would give the sail one or two pumps and then move back into the footstraps earlier than usual.

The Global Wave is smooth and controllable when jumping. It feels extremely light on the feet, which makes it effortless to execute “tweaked” maneuvers. Joe tested the Global Wave on an extremely rough day, and it flowed right over the chop like a Cadillac.

The board comes with excellent straps and pads, which contribute to its plush ride, and a great fin. If you’re not an expert sailor, you might want to consider moving up a size on the fin.

Related Posts:
Read Steve’s review of the Naish Global Wave 78
Read Joe’s review of the Naish All Terrain 95 board

Board Tested: 2008 Naish All Terrain 95
Sail Used: 2008 Naish All Terrain 5.0
Fin Used: Stock Naish All Terrain 28 cm fin
Date: May 5, 2008
Location: Rowena, Columbia River Gorge
Conditions: 8-21 mph winds, swell riding (marginal conditions)

Rider: Joe
Gender: Male
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 185 lbs
Skill Level: Expert windsurfer

Joe is our shipping manager here at Big Winds, and he is one of the most experienced windsurfing experts in our shop. He started windsurfing in Spain 24 years ago, and he moved to Hood River solely to pursue his passion for windsurfing. He just told me about his session with the 2008 Naish All Terrain 95 last night at Rowena, and while the conditions were marginal the board still left an impression.

Joe found the Naish All Terrain 95 to be an extremely versatile and comfortable board that is very easy to sail. It has a similar feel to the equivalent freestyle wave boards offered by JP Australia, Starboard and Mistral, and Joe will be using the All Terrain 95 as his light-air Gorge board this season.

The All Terrain board is quick to plane, glides through the lulls well, and is easy to keep on a plane. It isn’t a rocket ship, nor was it designed to be, but it is respectably fast for such a versatile board. When jumping, the All Terrain is smooth, predictable and controllable in the air. The pads and straps included with the board are all very comfortable, and the stock fin worked well on all points of sail.

When jibing the All Terrain rolls into the turn easily with a solid, inspiring feel. It performs best in medium- to long-radius turns, though with a more wave-oriented fin it would perform better in short-radius turns. This board should be a great confidence-builder for sailors who are working to perfect their jibes.

The board can’t really be described as “slashy” for riding waves, but it is still quite turny for a board of its size. If one were to outfit it with a more wave-oriented fin, the All Terrain could definitely deliver a slashier turn.

Rider: Daryl
Gender: Female
Height: 5’2″
Weight: 120 lbs
Skill Level: Expert windsurfer, intermediate paddler

Rider: Andy
Gender: Male
Weight: 85 lbs
Age: 12
Skill Level: Intermediate windsurfer (working on his jibes), beginner paddler

Daryl is one of our most knowledgeable experts here at Big Winds, having been windsurfing for over twenty years. Lately she’s been doing a lot of stand up paddling, and has amassed quite a range of experience with the gear we carry. The two of us had a chance to chat, and these are her thoughts on the stand up gear she’s tested so far.

The Aquaglide Amundson: Durable and User-Friendly

Daryl was so stoked on the Aquaglide Amundson that she went ahead and purchased two, both of them the 11’3″ Duratec soft deck model, to use between herself, her sons, and her (and their) friends. She describes it as a super easy-to-use board that glides and tracks well, and is very stable and extremely durable.

The Amundson is great for kids and adults alike, and it’s a great board for her 12-year-old son Andy, who finds it very easy to paddle. Daryl is particularly fond of the rails of the board, which are wrapped in the same EVA material as the soft deck of the board. The wrapped rails help protect paddles, but they also protect the board when her sons use their paddles as weapons and try to attack each other.

Smaller Guys or Bigger Dudes: The Naish Stand Up Boards

Daryl also tested the shorter 10’6″ Naish Stand Up board, which she says would make good board for lightweight riders. It’s shorter and narrower than the Naish 11’6″ board and as result is easy to turn, but is also more tippy. At 85 lbs, Andy loves the 10’6″ and he does all sorts freestyle tricks on it. Daryl says the 10’6″ would be a fun board for surf, but with larger riders in flatwater conditions you’d probably want to go with a larger board.

The 11’6″ Naish Stand Up board is very nice, but Daryl found it to be more board than she needed. It tracks well in flat water and has some serious thickness that keeps you up and out of the water, and average-sized guys will likely be stoked with it.

Even with the board’s large size, Andy had no problem staying with the group when paddling on the Naish 11’6″, though he found that it was not as fun and maneuverable as he likes. He was able to hold a line and speed right along, but pivot turns and maneuvers just weren’t going to happen. That’s a lot of volume for a 12-year-old to try and throw around!

Paddles: Aluminum or Carbon?

The Naish Stand Up Paddle features an aluminum shaft and handle and a plastic blade, and it is one of the most durable paddles in our lineup. Daryl got the Naish paddle for her boys to share, and it’s held up incredibly well to their abuse. That said, the Naish is quite heavy when compared to the more expensive carbon paddles, and after Andy took a session using his mom’s paddle he told her, “Mom, I need to save up so I can get a carbon.”

Daryl bought a Werner Spanker carbon paddle for herself, and she absolutely loves it. She says it’s incredibly lightweight and comfortable, and with the ergonomically curved handle it’s easy to keep a solid grip and maintain a strong stroke. The Werner is significantly lighter than an aluminum paddle, and thus requires far less paddling effort from the rider.

Carbon paddles aren’t as durable as aluminum paddles, however, and Daryl will only let her most trusted friends and family members try her Werner. The boys have to sign a waiver promising never to use the Werner in an attack.

Related Posts:
Read David’s Review of the Aquaglide Amundson 11’3″
Read Dane’s Review of the Naish 11’6″

We just finished putting together a photo gallery of 2008 Naish Sol, so if you’re at all curious about the state of this fine kiteboard, here’s your chance! The Sol is the go anywhere, do anything, all-terrain model from Naish’s 2008 lineup. The aggressively rounded nose and tail are a result of what Naish calls their Infinite Outline shape, which gives the board its incredible maneuverability and surfy feel. The Sol is about as close as you can get to that slashy directional feel while still riding a twin tip board.

For 2008 Naish has increased the width of the boards slightly, so they ride a bit more true-to-size than they did last year. The rounded nose and tail decrease the effective length of the edge, and in 2007 the narrower widths resulted in boards that rode a size smaller than their lengths suggested. The 2007 Sol 136 rode more like a 133 cm board, the Sol 133 more like a 130, and so on and so forth. By increasing the widths for this year, the 2008 Sol 134 feels more like a 134 cm board, the Sol 131 a true 131, etc.

With a single carbon fiber strip running the length of the top of the board, the Sol is stiffer than the Haze (which has no carbon strips at all) and softer than the freestyle-oriented Thorn (which has a bottom strip, and two top strips that cross in an X shape).

• The Sol at Big Winds
• Our Sol Photo Gallery at Flickr
• The Sol at Naish

It’s no secret that baggage handlers can be rather unforgiving when it comes to the proper care and feeding of your precious windsurf board. International travel can be an especially trying endeavor, and it’s wise to do everything in your power to give your gear the upper hand in any mistreatment scenario. Sailing a remote location on your own personal gear is an incredible experience that will make all your hard work and preparation worthwhile!

To that end, one of our customers just returned to Denver after a week-long trip to the Mexican Riviera. He devised a particularly clever packing scheme that left both his windsurf board and his board bag virtually unscathed at the conclusion of his journey! Here is his experience, in his own words:

Hello Big Winds!

We just returned from our trip to the Mexican Riveria, where I was able to sail five consecutive days during our seven-day vacation. I wanted to share these pictures of my new Dakine sailboard bag along with the additional 1/2 inch padding that I added from Tharco. These pictures were taken upon our return to Denver. It looks like it was hand carried through baggage handling at Frontier Airlines – not a mark or scuff! Amazing!

I purchased the 4×8 sheet of 1/2 inch foam from Tharco, laid the sailboard onto the sheet and cut the shape with a serrated knife, for insertion into the padded bag. I then doubled the 1/2 inch foam layers with my hot glue gun for added protection on the rails. It worked so well, you can throw the board bag around without causing any damage to the board!

I thought it might be cool for you to point people to Tharco as a source for the additional padding. Their 4×8 sheets of 1/2 inch foam are the way to go.

Even wrapping my Fiberspar boom in cardboard worked nicely. I walked through the airports with this hanging on my shoulder strap… WIDE load, coming through!

Thanks for all your help and a great board bag!

Jordan

Thanks, Jordan!

We’ve just uploaded a new photo gallery that meticulously documents the 2008 Cabrinha Switchblade 3. The Switchblade is Cabrinha’s go-to kite for wakestyle riding, with a smooth powerband and a pulley-less bar system that eliminates all but the slightest trace of bar pressure. The Switchblade offers all the safety and depower you would expect from a bow kite, with the familiar feel of a classic kite.

Even if you’re not a wakestyle rider, you still might want to consider the Switchblade. We here at Big Winds feel that Cabrinha pushes the whole “handle passes and rail slides” thing a bit too hard, as there are many experienced kiters who don’t want to pull wakestyle tricks, but would probably love the Switchblade anyway. The kite has very light bar pressure, and thus you get very little tactile feedback for where your kite is at in the window. This is dangerous for beginners, but advanced kiters have already developed that sense of knowing where their kite is located, even without feedback.

Thus freed from bar pressure and any physical effort thereof, the Switchblade offers an incredibly free and open ride when you’re hooked in. At times you hardly notice the kite at all, which lets you focus your attention on other things. If you’re Cabrinha, those “other things” are wakestyle tricks. If you’re Dane, one of our shop riders, those “other things” are carving, carving and carving.

Dane comes from a snowboarding background, and when kiteboarding he loves to slash in just about any conditions, from flatwater to chop to swell. He does his fair share of jumping, but he really gets his thrills from carving back and forth, going heelside to toeside and back again, and pushing the limits of his edge control. Dane could care less about wakestyle tricks, but he’s riding the Switchblade anyway, because he loves how it opens up his riding and lets him focus on carving.

• The Switchblade at Big Winds
• Our Switchblade Photo Gallery at Flickr
• The Switchblade at Cabrinha

Yikes, that’s a lot of options! How does one even begin to go about finding the right board? At Big Winds we love chatting with our customers, either in our store or on the phone or via email, and getting a really good feel for what sort of gear they really need. In addition to our own personal experience with the gear, our expert staff make their recommendations based on all sorts of variables like rider height and weight, skill level, favorite conditions and preferred riding style.

To help you with your purchasing decision, we’ve put together a handy series of comparison charts that will let you quickly browse and sort through products that share similar traits. Whether you’re looking for a 90 liter board, a 5.2 meter sail or a 400 cm mast, these new tools will make it far easier for you to zero in on your options.

Check it out! On our usual category page, we now have a sidebar that offers some common product comparisons:

If you click on an option it takes you to a list of all the products that match those criteria. In this case, we see all windsurf boards between 90 and 100 liters, sorted by volume:

Here’s the gravy, though. If you click on any of the column headings, it will instantly resort the list based on the items in that column. If you want to reverse the order that a column is sorted by, simply click on the column heading again. In this case, we’ve resorted the list based on price, descending:

Cool, eh? Our comparison tool is currently available on the following products:

• Windsurf Boards by Volume
• Windsurf Sails by Size
• Masts by Length and by Carbon Content
• Kites by Size
• Kiteboards by Length
• Stand Up Boards by Length

We hope you like it!

Every summer in Hood River, Windfest proves to be the ultimate opportunity for visiting the Gorge and trying out the latest technology in windsurfing. With free clinics and lessons, anyone from beginner to advanced can swing by and have some fun! Last year, even Robby Naish himself couldn’t resist the pull of Windfest!

Windfest takes place at The Event Site here in Hood River, Oregon and this year runs from June 28-29, 2008. Here’s the full press release, straight from Royn himself:

THE 2008 GORGE WINDFEST: A windsurfing demo weekend at The Event Site in Hood River, Oregon—June 28-29.

Demo the latest and greatest gear all weekend! Head for Hood River in June for the annual Gorge Windfest, the ever-popular event hosted by the Columbia Gorge Windsurfing Association (CGWA). You’ll find a beach full of sails and boards to test drive on the water, along with a full schedule of free clinics for all abilities and free introductory lessons offered by a local windsurfing school. (Space is limited for lessons, so call ahead for a reservation.) Plus you never know who will stop by – last year, legendary Robby Naish was on hand to hang out, talk gear and sail with the crowd.

The event, organized by longtime Gorge sailor Royn Bartholdi, will run from 10am to 4pm Saturday and Sunday with music, prizes, and fun activities. This is a great opportunity to meet fellow sailors and share the spirit of windsurfing. Beginners are welcome! Visit www.gorgewindfest.com for details.

We hope to see you there!

Visit this event at Upcoming »

This used gear saw one season of use here in the Columbia River Gorge, and it’s all for sale at some amazing prices. Pick up a used 2007 windsurf board for $595-850, and save nearly $1,000 in the process!

We’ve got a full range of used masts from 370 to 460 available for $175-195… that’s a savings of up to $300!

The best part, however, is our sale on 2007 demo sails. Any sail, your choice, $245. That’s right, every one of our demo sails, from 3.0 to 6.0, is on sale for $245. On some models that translates to a savings of up to $375, but we guarantee you’ll save more than $200 no matter what sail you buy!

• Closeout Windsurf Boards
• Closeout Sails
• Closeout Masts

Often overlooked, the lowly harness may be the most important safety item in your setup. If you’re still using your old windsurfing harness for kiteboarding, it could be time to consider upgrading to a true kite harness. What’s more, if this has been your first season of kiteboarding, by this point you might be ready to make the move from a seat harness to a waist harness!

There are some things to look for when choosing your kite harness. You’ll want stainless steel rings for attaching your kite leash, a solid kite-specific spreader bar with a flared “nose” to prevent inadvertent unhooking, and a nice handle on the back so your sweetheart has something to hold onto. Even if you’re past the beginner’s stage (or gave up your sweetheart to take up kiteboarding), the handle makes it easy to haul your harness to your favorite launch spot.

We’ve got some heavy-duty pricing going down with our current stock of kiteboarding harnesses, so check out our selection and give us a call! We would love to help you choose the right harness for your riding style and ability level. Plus, all of our discounted prices are not reflected on our website. Call us for the best price and selection!

Geez, is it August already? In two weeks it seems our season here in the Gorge will start wrapping up, but that’s just in time for those of you in the Midwest and on the East Coast to get your autumn blast!

And hey, you might be planning a windsurfing trip this winter, or maybe you’re one of those people who is able to “plan ahead and prepare” and are already thinking about next summer… riding the wave of stoke from this season, you might be thinking about upgrading your stick to something more snappy.

No matter your disposition, boy have we got good news for you! Our complete line-up of sailboards are currently on sale at huge savings, and you can save up to $300 on a brand new 2007 windsurf board. We still have an awesome selection of JP Australia boards in stock, so if you’re scratching your head about what board to get you might consider those guys as a starting point.

JP is the de facto standard here in the Gorge, and sometimes half the boards on the water at the Hatchery have been infused by the loving spirit of Jason Polakow. Feel free to browse our selection, mull things over a bit, and give us a call for some expert board advice!