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Big Air · Expert

Double Back Loop Kiteloop

See it in the Trick Tree

Double Back Loop Kiteloop is two backwards rotations off a hard send, the kite looped as the second starts so it drags the rider into a downwind landing.

Also called: double backroll kiteloop · double back roll kiteloop · double back loop kite loop · Kite Loop Back Roll (KLBR)

Prerequisites

Backroll Kiteloop

Unlocks

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

Schools teach this differently

The sources disagree on hand position. IKSURFMAG teaches the double with the back hand slightly down the bar and the front hand near the centreline. MACkite's Blake Olsen teaches kiteloop backrolls with the hands wide on the bar, on the grounds that width gives extra leverage on the bar and lets you loop the kite faster. They also time the pull differently, though for different tricks: IKSURFMAG pulls as the second rotation starts on the double, while Blake says the best time to start the loop is at the apex of the jump, pulling the bar in about halfway through the roll on the single.

Ideal conditions

Powered but not maxed. IKSURFMAG's condition for this trick is that as long as you're not maxed it's game on, with the explicit advice not to try it too powered up to start with and to work your way up in steps, both height and power. You also want plenty of space downwind, in front and behind you, because you are hooked in with no release once the loop starts. No source we cite gives a knot band for the double itself. For kiteloops generally, SoulKite Australia puts learning at 14 to 18 knots, confidence building up to 25 knots, and big loops at 28 knots and above, while MACkite recommends learning kiteloop backrolls on a kite one size down from what the day calls for, no bigger than 11m.

How to do it

  1. 1. Approach and send

    • Come in with good speed on a solid edge and drive through your back foot to resist the pull as you send.
    • Keep the kite no higher than 11 or 1 o'clock before you commit to the send.
    • Send with one hard, short yank on the bar. Drift the kite back slowly and it ends up so far behind you, and so near the water, that it crashes.
    • Keep the bar in on the sweet spot the whole way through the send. Let it out and the kite drifts further back before it lifts you, and the loop comes out low and slow.
    • Stamp up off the back leg as you leave the water. That keeps the kite above you instead of behind you.
    • Build up in steps of height and power. Fully maxed is not where you learn this one.

  2. 2. First rotation

    • Start the back rotation off the send, but keep the spin measured. A super fast spinning rotation is not what you want here.
    • Aim to rotate at a speed that gets you around 360 degrees by the apex of the jump, and remember the higher you go the slower you need to spin.
    • Stay tucked up small with your knees up and the board close so the rotation does not stall or slow down.
    • Look through your arms rather than throwing your head into the spin.
    • Keep the bar level and pulled into the sweet spot so the lines stay loaded and the kite does not drift further back.

  3. 3. Pulling the loop

    • As you enter the second rotation, pull the trigger and loop the kite. Waiting past that point is where over-rotation comes from.
    • Slide your back hand slightly down the bar and keep your front hand near the centreline.
    • Pull hard on the back of the bar and push away with your front hand. Your back elbow drops toward your waist while the front arm extends.
    • Holding tight with both arms in will only stop the kite looping, so let that front arm go.
    • Turn your head and look over your front shoulder so you go with the kite's power instead of resisting it.
    • Keep pulling and do not let the kite pull the bar out and away from you. A completed loop is softer on your body and on the kite than a kite left diving.

  4. 4. Landing and recovery

    • Set the board downwind and land there, board flat and body compact, to take the power out of the landing.
    • If you went high or the loop is coming round fast, dive the kite hard so it does not overfly behind you.
    • Once the loop is finished and the kite is on its way back up, stop pulling and push the bar away so it can climb back to the zenith.
    • Get back on your edge quickly to put tension in the lines and get the kite under control again.

Common mistakes and fixes

Mistake

The kite sits way behind you and the loop comes out low and slow.

Fix

Either you let the bar out as the kite started to lift, or you did not send the kite hard enough. Keep the bar in on the sweet spot and give it one hard, short yank instead.

Mistake

You over-rotate and the landing is ugly.

Fix

IKSURFMAG puts this on pulling for the loop too late, or spinning yourself into the first rotation with too much energy, and fixes it by pulling immediately as the second rotation starts. MACkite adds the same idea for the single: do not throw the roll too hard, let the kite pull you through.

Mistake

You pull and the kite does not loop.

Fix

Keeping both arms in stops the kite looping. Drop the back elbow toward your waist, let the front arm extend, and keep the bar sheeted in.

Mistake

You start the loop, get scared, and stop pulling halfway.

Fix

Now you have a diving kite instead of a loop, and IKSURFMAG's point is that a complete loop is softer on the body and the kite than a diving one. Commit once you have started, because as MACkite puts it, there is no middle ground here.

Mistake

The rotation slows and you never make it into the second one.

Fix

You opened up too early. Stay tucked up small with knees up and the board close so you do not stall or slow down, and look through your arms rather than throwing your head.

If it goes wrong

  • Only go for it with plenty of space downwind, in front of you and behind you. Hooked in through a loop, you cannot release.
  • SoulKite Australia says you have quite a big window at the start of the loop, until about 3 o'clock, where you can still make the decision to abort.
  • Past that, keep pulling. IKSURFMAG's reasoning is that a complete loop is softer on the body and the kite than a diving kite.
  • If you are going down, land on the board heel side with your toes downwind, keep the knees soft, and let yourself sit into it. SoulKite names rib injury as one of the most common injuries when looping.
  • Wear an impact vest if you have one.
  • If you are high or the loop is fast, dive the kite hard so it does not overfly behind you, then get back on your edge to restore line tension.
  • Prefer a biggish kite in lighter wind over a small kite in gusty conditions, precisely because you cannot release while hooked in.

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 do I need wired before I try a double back loop kiteloop?+

IKSURFMAG asks for a decent back loop, so that you can control your rotation and you know where your kite is, plus some experience with looping the kite, and frames the move as commitment and timing rather than finesse. For the single-rotation version, MACkite's Blake Olsen puts the floor at backrolls on lock, downloops and kiteloops, and says you must commit because there is no middle ground.

How much wind, and how powered should I be?+

IKSURFMAG's rule for this trick is that as long as you're not maxed it's game on, and they recommend not trying it too powered up to start with but working your way up in steps, both height and power. None of the sources give a knot range for the double itself. For kiteloops in general, SoulKite Australia puts early practice at moderate winds of 14 to 18 knots, building confidence up to 25 knots, with 28 knots and above for big loops.

What gear makes this easier to learn?+

MACkite caps the learning kite at 11m and says if the wind is a good day for your 12m, use your 10m. SoulKite makes the 11m point for big loops rather than for learning, on the grounds that the bigger the kite the slower the loop, and adds that a C-shaped kite tends to do a perfect circle with uniform pull while shorter lines make for a faster loop. Both SoulKite and IKSURFMAG say wear an impact vest, and IKSURFMAG points out you cannot release while hooked in, which is why they favour a biggish kite in lighter wind over a small kite in gusty wind.

When exactly do I pull the loop?+

As you enter the second rotation, assuming the kite has not drifted excessively behind you. IKSURFMAG frames it like this: in the single version you only perform half a back loop and the kite does the rest, so for the double, if you can get one and a half the kite will do the rest. Pull late and you risk over-rotating when the kite pulls.

Is this a recognised competition trick?+

Yes. The GKA Kite World Tour Big Air Twin Tip tricklist carries Kite Loop Back Roll (1,2,3…), abbreviated KLBR, with a footnote that the bracketed numbers are for loops and/or rotations. North Action Sports describes the kiteloop late backroll as one of the more traditional tricks, now also done with double loops and different board off variations.

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.