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Back to Wrapped

See it in the Trick Tree

Back to Wrapped is an unhooked back loop over-rotated frontside past toeside, so you land wrapped and take the bar behind your back on touchdown.

Also called: back to wrap

Prerequisites

Unhooked BackrollRaley to Wrapped

Unlocks

Nothing in the tree needs this one yet — it stands on its own.

Schools teach this differently

Our sources diverge on the bar-pass framing: Progression defines the wrapped landing as a frontside 360 "without passing the bar", while Kiteboarding St. Petersburg says back to wrap "requires you to pass the bar behind your back" and IKSURFMAG has you swap hands behind the back after touchdown — the shared ground is that no pass happens in the air. IKSURFMAG also names two methods (a danglier back loop turned wrapped just before touchdown, versus the single continuous movement its guide teaches).

Ideal conditions

No source gives a wind-speed range. IKSURFMAG teaches the one-movement style because "you'll be able to work on it without needing excessive amounts of power" and recommends first attempts with less power and little height; Kiteboarding St. Petersburg has the kite parked at 11 or 1 o'clock for this unhooked family of tricks.

How to do it

  1. 1. Set up and carve

    • Ride unhooked on the tack where popping to toe side feels natural, hands centred on the bar and weight over your back foot.
    • Check you have space before you commit.
    • Carve hard and long up into the wind, further upwind than you would for a normal back loop pop.
    • Stay low through the carve and drive against both heels to resist the kite, keeping even pressure on both hands so the kite stays parked.
    • Lead with your head, looking upwind over your shoulder.

  2. 2. Pop late

    • Wait for the carve to do its work: the moment pressure goes light on the bar and your legs, pop.
    • Take off later than feels normal — the late pop is what spins you fast enough to enter a second rotation.
    • Extend hard off the back leg so the explosion pushes you around the rotation rather than straight up; you want spin, and height matters less.
    • Do not stall the carve forever either: leave the pop too long and you will not get enough height to finish even a single back loop.

  3. 3. In the air

    • Tuck both elbows into your sides the instant you leave the water so the bar stays close and you keep your balance.
    • Lift both knees; the spin speeds up and your back knee comes high enough to kick through.
    • Kick your back knee through hard, like you are kneeing someone in the thigh — that knee drive fires the second rotation past the toe-side landing.
    • Keep both hands on the bar and pull it in to your hips; the wrist that keeps hold of the bar twists so the thumb points at the small of your back, letting your shoulders turn further.
    • Keep your eyes travelling over your shoulder into the next rotation; staring at the landing slows the spin and you will not get around.
    • Once the move is dialled, pull your hands in and steer the kite down as you push through, so the kite sits low for the landing.

  4. 4. Land wrapped and sort the bar

    • Land tail first with weight on the balls of your feet and over the back leg; tail contact lets the board pivot the last few degrees without the heel edge biting.
    • As your hips roll onto your hands, release the front hand and twist the wrist that still holds the bar.
    • Lean forward and reach up with the free hand to take the bar behind your back before the kite climbs too high.
    • Release the back hand, let your arm untwist and shift your weight to the middle of the board.
    • Point the board slightly off the wind to rebuild speed, then hook back in and ride away.

Common mistakes and fixes

Mistake

You land toe side and never enter the second rotation.

Fix

Stop watching your landing spot and commit to the wrapped rotation; attempt it with less power and little height so committing feels like a good idea.

Mistake

You do not rotate far enough into wrapped, and when you let go the kite pulls you off balance.

Fix

Keep elbows tucked and knees lifted so the bar stays at your hips, and hold the front hand on until your hips have rolled onto your hands.

Mistake

Not enough spin to carry you past toe side.

Fix

Carve further up into the wind than a normal back loop pop and take off late — the late take-off is what sends you into the second rotation.

Mistake

Catching the heel-side edge as you touch down.

Fix

Land tail first with weight on the balls of your feet, so the board can pivot round the extra distance without the edge catching.

If it goes wrong

  • If you come down before the rotation is finished, MACkite's unhooked blind-landing tutorial says to keep your toes pointed so the heelside edge stays up, then either ride the landing out downwind or let go of the bar and ride downwind to recover.
  • If you keep catching the heelside edge as you throw the wrapped, IKSURFMAG's hooked version of this trick points at the bar: hold it in and the kite pulls you past the board, so sheet the bar out as you throw.
  • When the landing is gone and you know you are going in, MACkite's unhooked tutorial has you scoop the board out, throw your legs up and body-flop into the water rather than let the edge catch.
  • For any hard landing, Blake Olsen's falling tutorial at MACkite has you keep the kite above your head and get small as you come down, then push out on the bar right before impact, which he says opens the kite and softens the hit.
  • For unhooked riding generally, Session Sports teaches one move for when you land and cannot get hooked back in: grab the chicken loop and let go of the bar, which they say depowers the kite so you can bring the loop back to the spreader bar.

Learn this with a coach, not from a page

This is a high-consequence move. The sources it is built from describe riders getting hurt on it, and every one of them teaches it as a step you earn rather than attempt. Get coaching, build up in stages, ride with people who can help you, and give yourself deep water and clear space downwind.

Find a certified school

Educational reference, not instruction. Kitesurfing is a risk sport: the steps here describe what named schools, instructors and technique libraries teach, and the page lists exactly which ones, but real conditions involve wind, gusts, water state, traffic and equipment behaviour that no written guide accounts for. Schools also teach justified variations — where our sources disagree, the page says so instead of picking one. Judge your own readiness, use the safety systems on your kite, and do not attempt a move because a page made it sound achievable. KitesurfingOfficial accepts no liability for the use of this information on the water.

Questions riders ask

What should I have locked in before trying a back to wrapped?+

A controlled unhooked back loop to toe side at the very least. Popping to blind helps, and even though blind is very different, a natural bar pass makes life easier.

Do you pass the bar in the air?+

No. You over-rotate the back loop frontside past toe side and take the bar behind your back around touchdown; moving that handle pass into the air is exactly what turns the trick into a back mobe.

How much power do I need?+

IKSURFMAG teaches the one-movement style partly because you can work on it without excessive power, and first attempts are easier with less power and less height, since committing to the second rotation is the hard part.

Is there a friendlier way to learn the wrapped landing?+

Yes — the hooked back to wrapped. You never unhook, the kite gives you float while you learn, and IKSURFMAG files it as intermediate rather than advanced. You want a smooth back roll to toe side with a delayed landing before trying it, and flat water helps because you need less speed and keep momentum after landing.

Why learn it when most riders skip straight to the back mobe?+

It is the stepping stone in the back mobe ladder: powered unhooked back roll, then back roll frontside 180 landing toe side, then landing wrapped without passing the bar, and finally passing the bar in the air. Most riders do skip it, but landing wrapped builds the consistency that more progressive moves need and leads on naturally to the back mobe.

Keep reading

Sources

Every step on this page traces to the sources below. Where they disagree or stay silent, the page says so instead of guessing.