Team riders Michael Zenaty, Ran Rave, and Jelle Hak show off the Blade 2011 Forces of Nature - 3 kites and 2 twintips which are specifically designed to meet the performance needs of specific rider types.

Product design at Blade is founded on the understanding that no single kite design is ideal for all riders. More than that, every kite design is ideal for a specific group of riders. The principle is that every rider has a different physical and mental approach to kiteboarding, and these rider-specific characteristics are the basis for Blade's kite development.

The natural alignment between rider and kite does more to promote progression then any other aspect of kite performance. This is more accurate than designing for predefined "styles", such as New School, Freeride, Wave, All-around, etc. These categories alone are too broad and do not adequately account for the rider's mindset and physical approach to kite performance characteristics.

Blade's development process is similar to boutique brands in other industries which design for specificity. The process starts by defining a specific rider profile, compiled from working with groups of riders with similar preferences then analyzing their performance needs. With a clear rider type in mind, performance characteristics are aligned to the specific demands of that rider type, and all key decisions during design development answer to these demands. The result is a finely tuned kite that delivers the best possible performance specific to a rider profile. The right kite for the right rider, this is Blade's Natural Selection Process.

We boiled it down to 3 key words for each type we design for:
Type 1: aggressive, precise, technical [kite - Prime, board - Deuce]
Type 2: powerful, controlled, intuitive [kite - Vertigo]
Type 3: powerful, dynamic, playful [kite - Trigger, board - Scalper]

for detailed information about each rider type and the kite gear developed for them, visit www.bladekites.com