We at air understand how the wind can be an addiction. We are no different than you we’re passionate about kiteboarding and, Like you we’re out there every chance we get. That’s why our gear research is purely about discovering what will give us more great sessions.
Our experience teaches us that kiteboarding gear can be rated on very specific variables and these variables define what you want. Evaluating these critical traits (32 for kites & 19 for boards) directly leads us to choosing what we personally ride and what we in the shop recommend for you.
We have tried to use several gears over the years. During the trials, we have had a lot of great sessions and discovered many great things. They’ve also provided us with more kitemares than we’d like to admit. And with all the good and bad moments we remembered and have tried to distill what exactly made us stoked…or downright frustrated.
Here’s how we get the Airscore
We used an index scoring method to evaluate how strong or weak a trait is; everyday riders are asked to stress test gear and then rate each trait. Individual trait scores are calculated based on which weighed more for as a key factor group they fall into.
For example, the trait “craftsmanship” falls into the safety category. We feel that safety traits are 3 times more important than comfort traits we multiply craftsmanship score by three.
We take all results of riders, line up scores for each trait and throw out the highest and lowest scores. Individual trait scores are then averaged across all test participants. This way, we have a solid average test score for each trait, which has compensated for anomalies
How do we get the raw score of the gear well its easy we take the average of the traits across every key factor. Then, we break it down to a simple 5 point scale.
To top it all off, we added a value bonus! This little equation takes the gear cost and and calculates a bonus. Basically, the less expensive the kite, the bigger the bonus!
We then add the valued bonus to the 5-point number! We have the air score. With that in mind here’s what you can expect:
5 Stars, air’s top rating, gives you a gear ranking very high in all four key factors. While some things may still need you attention to suit it to your needs you will be impressed with the ride this gear will give you right out of the box and will give you the opportunity to increase your skills.
A 4 star rating means that the gear scores at least moderately high on all key factors. There may be a few individual traits that didn’t score in the high levels and may need some minor attention but you’ll be on the water without needing to do any tuning.
3 stars mean one or more key factors is scoring only moderately. This gear is still good and you will have fun riding but there are limitations in riding styles and wind ranges. The gear is safe, but may take more effort to use.
2 stars indicate the gear is scoring low on at least one key factor. The gear must be tuned out of the box before using and is very limiting in riding. Quality, comfort and convenience are usually sacrificed for price.
1 star means the gear is scoring low on two or more traits. This gear has significant flaws and Simply, the gear should be recalled and re-designed.
Almost perfect
We have spent a lot of time in the complexity of developing this system however it is not perfect. Every rider has their own views and a lot of them are strongly biased on brand loyalty we strive to use onle non-sponsored kiters in our testing (with an educated objective mindset). That’s why we throw out the highest and lowest scores.
There’s always one person that is skeptical, but we’ve done our best to include every possible thing into one of the listed traits. However, a kite or board may have something unique which falls outside of this system.That is why we are always on the lookout for new trends and are open to evolving the air scoring method. Should you have any ideas, give us a shout!
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