Backroll Downloop Transition is a sent backward rotation with the kite looped down through the window, so the landing comes downwind and heads the other way.
Also called: Back Roll Down Loop Transition · Back Roll Downloop Transition · Backroll Down Loop Transition · Back Roll Downloop to Toeside · Back Loop Down Loop Transition
Prerequisites
Unlocks
Nothing in the tree needs this one yet — it stands on its own.
Schools teach this differently
Our sources genuinely disagree on four points. Rotation start: IKSURFMAG's toeside back loop downloop transition says the most common error is initiating the rotation by turning upwind rather than edging and rolling back, while IKSURFMAG's own back roll nose grab down loop transition tells you to carve upwind to initiate your back roll. Head position: Peter's Kitesurfing Handbook says to throw your head in the direction of the loop, while IKSURFMAG teaches the opposite, warning that throwing the back loop with your head just spins you close to the water, and keeping the rotation slow and almost stalled. Exit stance: MACkite lands flat and downwind then redirects onto a toeside edge, whereas IKSURFMAG's back loop transition carves out on the heelside edge and powers away upwind. Loop timing: Elite Watersports pulls the downloop just before touchdown, while MACkite pulls it as you come back down from the apex and recommends working your way up to pulling it in the air.
Ideal conditions
The Global Kitespots rider lists the back roll downloop transition among tricks he does in 12 to 18 knots on a 12m Krypto, describing it as a smooth power transition that keeps speed in light-wind transitions. Peter's Kitesurfing Handbook frames downloop turns as a way to generate a little extra power in light wind, but its back roll page says to avoid back rolls in light winds or if your kite is small for the conditions, so a properly powered mid-teens day is the honest target rather than a marginal one. None of the sources we cite specify a water state (flat water versus chop) for this trick.
How to do it
1. Setup and send
- Come in with comfortable speed, bum low and the back leg stiff, kite around 1 or 11 o'clock depending on your tack.
- Keep the kite high. Sit it lower and you will not get the height.
- Resist the urge to scrub speed the way you would for a normal transition. The momentum you carry is what feeds the downloop later.
- Send the kite short and sharp, deep into the window and up towards noon.
- As the kite moves up, start to edge and load up the lines.
2. Pop and half rotation
- Just before the kite hits noon, extend up and away from it for maximum line tension.
- Get the bar as level as you can, stamp off against your back heel and pull the bar in.
- Roll back off the edge rather than steering the board upwind. IKSURFMAG's toeside version calls turning upwind the usual reason riders get no air (see the note on where sources disagree).
- Look over your front shoulder and let your shoulders and legs do the rotating. Keep your head looking forward instead of throwing it into the spin.
- Take it round only until your old back shoulder lines up downwind and points at the kite. That is the whole rotation you need.
- Pull the front knee tight to your chest and keep the bar on the sweet spot so the rotation stays slow, almost stalled.
3. Downloop
- Before you loop anything, steer the kite forwards with a bit more meaning.
- Get the kite in front of 12 and heading for 11 (or 1 on the other tack). Loop it from 12 or from behind you and you will get nothing out of it.
- Pull hard on the front hand and push the back hand away to dive the kite down and across.
- Keep both hands on the bar. Letting go with the non-pulling hand encourages the other foot to come forwards.
- Commit and get the kite all the way round. Half pulls give wide, slow loops with unpredictable power, and a kite turned too slowly ends up in the water.
- Pull the loop on the way down rather than at the top: MACkite pulls it once you come off the apex, Elite Watersports pulls it just before touchdown.
4. Landing and ride-out
- Look where you will be going and where the pull will come from.
- Bring your back knee up high and swing your knees through so the new front foot leads.
- Point the board off the wind with that new front foot and land flat and downwind, without favouring an edge.
- Once you are on the water, redirect the board into the toeside edge, or carve back onto the heel edge and power away upwind if that is your exit.
- Keep steering the kite forward towards the new direction of travel so it does not go back up and lose power. Exit with the kite low and plenty of board speed.
- Spin the bar to uncross your lines once you are riding away.
Common mistakes and fixes
Mistake
You turn the board upwind to start the spin and get almost no air off the water.
Fix
Edge and roll back instead of steering upwind. IKSURFMAG's toeside back loop downloop transition names this as the most common error, though its nose grab article tells you to carve upwind — see the note on where sources disagree.
Mistake
The downloop produces no pull and you sink onto the landing.
Fix
Fly the kite forward before loop time. Looping from 12 o'clock or from behind gives you nothing. A shorter send, so the kite stops just as it passes 12, or drifting the kite forward onto the T, also fixes a weak loop.
Mistake
You hesitate on the loop and the kite drops into the water.
Fix
Commit to the full pull and turn the kite fast enough to bring it all the way around. Half pulls give wide, slow loops with unpredictable power.
Mistake
You over-rotate and end up pulled downwind of the board.
Fix
Keep the bar in, keep your head looking forward, and hold the rotation slow on the way up and slow on the way down.
Mistake
You land on an edge and get bucked off the board.
Fix
Land flat and downwind first, then redirect into the toeside edge once the board is on the water.
If it goes wrong
- If the kite gives you a big yank mid-rotation, let go of the bar (Peter's Kitesurfing Handbook, back rolls).
- Keep the rotation slow and controlled while learning. IKSURFMAG's back loop transition points out that even if you only get half way round, you will only get wet, so bailing out of the spin is a real option.
- If the downloop pulls hard, point your board downwind and go with it instead of fighting it (Elite Watersports).
- Give yourself clearance of obstacles forward and downwind, and distance from other riders. Peter's Kitesurfing Handbook warns that back roll attempts can lead to disorientation and crashes.
- Learn how the loop makes its power in underpowered conditions, and on a small trainer kite, before committing to it on a full-size kite (Global Kitespots).
Learn this with a coach, not from a page
This guide explains what the move is and what riders get wrong, so you arrive at the session knowing what you are trying to do. It cannot watch your kite, read the gust coming, or stop you committing to something you are not ready for — a coach or instructor can.
Find a certified schoolEducational 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 already be able to do before trying a backroll downloop transition?+
IKSURFMAG's minimum for this family of moves is a back roll and a down loop air gybe, and it notes that already having a back roll down loop transition in the bag makes the grabbed versions easier. MACkite adds toeside riding and downlooping to the list. Elite Watersports wants you riding comfortably with twisted lines and doing clean heel-to-toe transitions, with basic kite control during loops, before you loop the kite at all.
What wind does this trick want?+
The Global Kitespots rider does it in 12 to 18 knots on a 12m. Peter's Kitesurfing Handbook treats downloop turns as a way to generate a little extra power in light wind, but the same handbook says to avoid back rolls in light winds or on a kite that is small for the conditions, so aim for properly powered rather than marginal.
What kite should I learn it on?+
MACkite's rule of thumb is to learn on something no bigger than an 11 or even 10 metre, since bigger kites are slower for loops. It filmed the move on a Cabrinha Switchblade 11m, chosen for its powerful low end.
The downloop is the scary part. How do I get past that?+
Global Kitespots puts it plainly: the key to neutralising the fear is understanding how the power is generated, and the best way to understand it is to play around with it in underpowered conditions. That rider learned a lot about how different loops generate power by flying a 2m trainer kite first.
How far do I actually have to rotate?+
About half a back roll. MACkite stops the rotation at the point where your old back shoulder is lined up downwind and pointing at the kite, because you are landing downwind into the new direction anyway. IKSURFMAG describes the finished toeside version as almost a back roll to toeside.
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.
- IKSURFMAG — How to Back Roll Nose Grab Down Loop Transition
- MACkite Boardsports Center — Kiteloops: Back Roll Downloop to Toeside (Ride with Blake)
- IKSURFMAG — How to Toeside Back Loop Downloop Transition
- IKSURFMAG — How to Double Back Loop Down Loop Transition
- IKSURFMAG Technique — How to Back Loop Transition
- Peter's Kitesurfing Handbook — Downloop Turns
- Kitesurfing Handbook — Back rolls
- Elite Watersports (Ryan "Rygo" Goloversic)
- Global Kite Spots — Trick inspiration for intermediate kitesurfers