How to Megaloop

A true megaloop is when you boost as high as possible and throw a kiteloop before you hit the peak of your jump. The kiteloop will shoot you forward, which is why it is important to be on a small kite and have enough height for the kite to come around. This is a trick that requires commitment and confidence.

 

Kite Setup

What size kite you choose and what type of kite you choose matters. A C shaped kite or hybrid C shaped kite responds quickest. Take the Cabrinha FX as an example, it is a hybrid C kite with no pulleys in its bridle so when you loop this kite it travels around the arc with smooth and consistent power. The ideal size for kiteloops would be on a 10m or smaller.

The length of your lines will also make a difference with how quick your kite responds. The shorter your lines, the quicker the kite will travel. The tradeoff with shorter lines is that you won’t jump as high. A well balanced line length for getting height and quick loops are 20m or 22m lines.

Conditions

If you’re first starting out, you’ll want 15 – 20kts of wind and be on a 10m kite. It’s okay to be underpowered because in the beginning stages, you want to control your environment. As you become more comfortable with kiteloops, then you can go out in windier conditions. The ideal conditions for a megaloop are to have at least 30kts of wind. 30kts of wind or more allows you to jump high enough to throw a loop and have the kite catch you when it reaches the zenith.

Progression

Start off in a controlled environment, 15 – 20kts and practice throwing a kiteloop with smaller jumps. The loop should be initiated by pulling on the top part of the bar. If you are riding to the left, then you will pull the right side of the bar and if you are riding to the right you will pull the left side of the bar. If you wait until you hit the top of your jump to initiate the loop, the kite will loop more to one edge of the wind window versus a loop that travels straight downwind. You will still get pulled forward, but it will not be as aggressive as if you initiate the loop before you hit the peak of your jump. Practice a controlled kiteloop until it becomes easy.

The next phase would be to go out in windier conditions and practice boosting as high as possible, but still wait until you reach the peak of your jump to initiate the kiteloop. You want to focus on having a quick vertical boost, and the way to do that is to ride hard, edge hard, and maintain your edge as you send the kite up. Waiting until you hit the top of your jump before throwing the loop keeps the loop controlled and less powerful.

Megaloop

The final phase and a true megaloop is to boost as high as possible and initiate a kiteloop before you hit the top of your jump. You will get shot forward but as long as you commit, when the kite reaches 12 o’clock it will catch you and you will have a smooth landing. On the bigger megaloops, you want to steer the kite in front of you by doing a downloop when the kite reaches 12 o’clock.