Having been given the green light after missing the previous demo’s held by Liquid Force due to being rather busy in running our own at Hill Head. I jumped in the van with nothing but my wetsuit, harness, sleeping bag, my LFK boots and a pillow to make it through the night. I then headed on down to Hayling in the middle of the night to get an early start on the events the next morning.
Liquid Force Kiteboarding have been having a busy week on the up run to the annual Virgin Kitesurfing Armada that is landing on our doorstep this weekend. Spread across two locations and four days, the LFK guys including american pro rider and 3x Triple S champion Brandon Scheid, set up a demo day in Poole and Hayling Island to give everyone the opportunity to try out some new kit and get involved with various clinics/ talks on foiling, wakestyle riding, kickers and boosting.
It seems as though the LFK guys had gotten together, done the sun and wind dance around the fire and struck what can only be described as some of the best conditions I had seen in some time. Considering the most recent wind drought, everybody had been waiting for this day to arrive…
Maintained by CBK, Hayling Island is its own sanctuary for kitesurfing with a sand bar revealed at low tide forming a stunning flat water lagoon for all your freestyling/ freeride needs. Towards the end of this sand bar we had tiny kickers forming making a small amount of white water which glistened in the sun. With a good amount of heat, a low tide shortly after midday and a solid 20 Knots; it was without a doubt a perfect day for Liquid Force to throw a demo.
On the beach and on the water we saw a variety of kites and boards to play with, each to suit different needs, wants and disciplines of any rider; in the red corner we have LF’s flagship kite, their pride and joy; the Envy which is designed for anywhere between freeride to freestyle riding and sits as some of our teams favourite kite for 2016! In the blue corner we have the mighty Solo V2 with its lightweight design and outstanding performance in various wind conditions, this sits as your go-to freeride kite of choice!
Next up to make an appearance the Wow; LF’s wave kite. Unfortunately there where no waves to be seen and this awesome kite is outside of its natural habitat, however it is called the Wow for a reason and that is due to its incredible freeride capabilities that will make any man Wow! Pardon the pun…
For the boards we saw everything from the Echo for you freestyle/ wakestyle lovers, the Elememt and Focus for freestyle/ freeride, the Drive for free ride and a Kitefish foil board for all your foiling needs.
All this kit, all this incredible weather combined with the longer summer days and a mild sun burn we are left with what we can call a successful demo day! A big thanks to the guys at Liquid Force Kiteboarding!
Next stop Virgin Kitesurf Armada!! See you there.
Photographed and written by: Harry Calvert
