Buyers Guides | Kite Surf | Bindings | Using Wake Board Bindings on a Kite Board

An introduction...

Core wake style kite boarding aims to emulate wake boarding, with freestyle moves initiated powered with the kite kept low. Think of it as a synergistic combination of speed and power, creating an incredibly stylish low powered move with a hard fast landing!

Rather than sending the kite to obtain lift, wake style riding relies solely on board pop to allow the rider to become airborne. The kite is kept at 45 degrees throughout the move with the rider edging aggressively against the kite power to generate pop. It’s all about using the kite to generate horizontal rather than vertical pull, much the same as a boat would tow a wake boarder.

If you are adamant that core wake style riding is for you, then ditch your standard kite board and get a Liquid Force kite board combined with a set of bindings.

Ditch the goose straps...

With your feet firmly locked in place, wake style bindings offer significantly enhanced board control and increased pop over a standard kite board with foot straps. A lot of wake style moves involve landing at high speed riding the board flat, so a set up that affords additional board control is essential.

It is also highly beneficial to set your board with the widest stance possible. A wide stance favours powered conditions since you can apply your weight along a greater edge length. This allows increased leverage for improved pop and provides increased stability during hard, fast landings. Liquid Force kite boards are fitted with an additional bolt insert specifically to facilitate a wide stance setting with bindings.

Choosing a set of bindings...

Liquid Force is the only manufacture to produce full wrap bindings specifically designed for kite boarding use. You can use standard wake board bindings, but the base plates will require modification and boot entry/exit can be significantly harder.

Choose from 2 different models...

Liquid Force Union Kite Binding	Liquid Force Escalade Kite Binding

Featuring a lace free, adjustable suction wrap closure, with a clean hassle free entry, the Liquid Force Union Bindings are a good choice for riders wishing to try a wake style kite binding for the first time.

The Liquid Force Escalade Binding offers a whole different level of support compared to the more flexible Liquid Force Union Binding. For riders requiring a stiffer boot with full foot lock down, the Escalades are a better choice, offering a much tighter hold for a more powerful and direct response.

Buy a Liquid Force board...

Bolting a set of wake style bindings on a standard production board makes no sense, whilst most standard wake boards have too much rocker (so require additional kite power to plane) and are generally much heavier.

Standard production boards do not successfully facilitate the use of wake board bindings because the binding plates create 2 very large stiff footprints which will mess up any kite board designed with a continuous flex pattern. The additional forces that bindings exert on a kite board require a board specifically designed for the purpose.

Consequently, wake style kite boards designed for a wider stance and binding use need to be much stiffer in the middle between the binding plates with any flex concentrated at the tips.

I'd also recommend getting a much larger board if you want to ride with bindings - 136cm as a minimum to support the extra size and weight of bindings. Since pop is proportional to board length, imagine how much more pop you are going to get with 136+ cm of rail in the water! It is common for most riders using a wake style board to ride 136 – 144cm. And of course the extra board size makes those blind landings we all do much easier...

Further information...

Contact us for help or advice regarding the use of kite bindings.