The Big Winds Weblog

We had an unusually warm stretch of weather beginning Sunday, April 19th. The high for the day was 80F and for most of the day there was little wind. Around 4PM the wind woke up and gusted up to about 20, enough to bring hopeful windsurfers and kiters down to the water. The windsurfers that [...]

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 [...]

Kiteboards Compared: 2008 Naish Sol 128, 2007 North Jaime Pro 128
Kites Used: 2008 Cabrinha Switchblade 3 6m, 8m and 10m, 2007 Cabrinha Omega 7m and 9m
Dates: Spring 2008, Summer 2007
Location: Columbia River Gorge
Conditions: Everything from flatwater to swell-riding, underpowered to insanely overpowered
Rider: Dane
Gender: Male
Height: 5′5″
Weight: 135 lbs
Skill Level: Advanced Kiteboarder
Howdy! My name is Dane, [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

Big Winds has teamed up with O’Neill to bring back the FLX smoothskin wetsuit! The FLX is the most popular wetsuit we’ve seen in the last decade, and it’s built from super-stretchy wind-blocking neoprene.
O’Neill stopped official production of the FLX wetsuit a few years ago, but for 2008 we partnered with them to build [...]

Big Winds is now stocked with the hottest 2008 gear from Dakine! We carry their full lineup of windsurfing products, from harnesses to travel bags to accessories, and this year it all looks as beautiful as ever. Not only that, we’re offering free shipping on all Dakine orders over $100. Some restrictions [...]

Thanksgiving may be more than a month away for most of us, but fortunately Canadian Thanksgiving happened just yesterday! In celebrating with our kind neighbors to the north, we’d like to share some of our holiday revelries with all of you. We just couldn’t wait!
Right now, our entire selection of 2007 windsurf boards, [...]

The 2007 Cabrinha Omega handles completely differently when rigged in the 1:1 configuration. While it lacks the forgiveness and range of depower found in the 2:1 setup, it offers greatly reduced bar pressure, incredibly responsive handling, improved downwind and carving power, and better jumping performance.
Reduced Bar Pressure
Bar pressure from the Omega is greatly reduced [...]

Kite Tested: 2007 Cabrinha Omega HD?Board Used: 2007 North Jaime Pro, North Pacific Directional?Dates: May - August, 2007?Location: The Columbia River Gorge (numerous locations)?Conditions: Anywhere from 12-35 mph, waves, swell riding, bump and jump, small chop
Rider: Dane?Gender: Male?Height: 5?5??Weight: 135 lbs?Skill: Intermediate - Advanced
I’ve been riding the 2007 Cabrinha Omega HD non-stop for the entire [...]

Kite Tested: 2008 North Rebel 08 9m
Board Used: 2007 North Jaime Pro 125cm
Date: August 22, 2007
Location: The Sandbar - Hood River, Oregon
Conditions: 18 mph (14-24 mph) wind with chop and some swell
Rider: Dane
Gender: Male
Height: 5′5″
Weight: 135 lbs
Skill: Advanced
I managed to squeak out a quick session on the 2008 North Rebel the other night before the [...]

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 [...]

We figured we’d better let ya’ll know that we just put our team riders’ full line-up of 2007 Naish Torch kites up for sale! Actually, we might be obligated to tell our team riders about this as well, but they’ll know soon enough. We like to avoid confrontation whenever possible, so we just [...]

For a limited time only, we’re offering some amazing prices on the 2007 North Vegas. This is a great kite for intermediate and advanced riders who love being powered up while riding. The North Vegas is a high-performance C-shaped kite, but its swept wingtips give it the wide wind range and huge depower [...]

The world must be experiencing an epidemic of lost board syndrome, as there’s been a run on kiteboarding leashes for the last few weeks. We’re the first shop in Hood River to get these guys back in stock, which makes us pretty darn spankin’ proud. We’re now outfitted with the standard NSI Reel [...]

Everyone here had a great time hanging out with Robby Naish last Sunday, chatting it up and getting the man’s distinct signature on everything from posters to hats, boards to sails. Visit our photo gallery at Flickr for more pictures of the event.
We talked to Robby afterwards, and he was super stoked by how [...]

That’s right! Robby Naish, the legendary windsurfer and kiteboarder, is going to be at Big Winds this Sunday from 5-8 PM. This is your chance to get Robby’s autograph, shoot the breeze, and shake hands with quite possibly the most talented and iconic person involved in windsports.
Posters will be available, and Robby will [...]