Double Backroll Transition is a change of direction in the air: pop with the kite near 12, turn two backward rotations, then dive it the other way to land.
Also called: Double Back Loop Transition · Double Back Roll Transition · Double BLT
Prerequisites
Unlocks
Nothing in the tree needs this one yet — it stands on its own.
Schools teach this differently
The two main tutorials disagree on what the kite does. IKSURFMAG teaches an active send from 11 (or 1) to 12 on the approach, a pop off the back leg with the bar pulled right in, and a hard kite dive the moment the rotation is carrying you. MACkite teaches no send at all, with the kite sitting at 12 for the entire trick and the hard redirect coming only after both rotations are finished. They also describe the body differently: MACkite splits the move into a flat 360 followed by a backflip with the head thrown back, while IKSURFMAG treats it as one rotation on the way up and one on the way down with the feet lifted and knees pulled in.
Ideal conditions
No source we cite gives a wind range or water state for this trick. For learning multiple rotations in general, New Wave Kiteboarding calls 12 or 14 metre conditions ideal because larger kites move slower and are more forgiving, and recommends the kite's slowest settings and a high kite position while the move is new.
How to do it
1. Approach and send
- Come in with low to medium speed. Carry too much and you will not be able to kill your momentum and head back the other way.
- Sit on a decent edge with your weight back and tension in the lines. Your back leg is bent but still pushing, never soft.
- Start with the kite at 11 o'clock, or 1 o'clock on the other tack.
- Send the kite up quickly and sharply while you edge harder upwind. That edge resists the pull and slows you down.
- Make it a proper send. If you drift the kite up instead, you feel the lift late and the kite has already travelled too far behind you.
2. Pop and first rotation
- Pop up off your back leg as you pull the bar in, with the kite somewhere close to 12 o'clock.
- Pull the bar right in with both hands. That stops the kite moving and keeps it centred above you around 12, with a bit of extra lift on top.
- Keep your head looking forward between your arms so you do not over-cook the rotation.
- Lift your knees and make yourself small. Small is balanced and easier to rotate.
- Turn the first rotation flat, feet underneath you, spinning with the bar.
- Pop up into the rotation rather than carving around into the wind. Without good height there is not much time to separate the move into two halves — one rotation on the way up, one on the way down.
3. Second rotation
- Keep the feet lifted above you and the knees pulled in close at the halfway point. That slightly inverted position makes the second half much simpler.
- Look around in the direction you are turning. With your feet up, your body, legs and board follow your head and shoulders.
- Pull gently at first on your left hand — old back hand, new front hand — to encourage yourself to lean back into rotation two.
- Or, MACkite's version: use the momentum from the first roll, throw your head back and tuck your knees in hard.
- Take an indy grab if you want one. It is easy here and forces the knees into the tuck.
4. Dive, land, ride away
- As soon as you feel that you are rotating, dive the kite down hard.
- Pull hard in the opposite direction with your back hand. That whips the kite and pulls you into the transition.
- Watch the timing. You need the pull to finish the rotation, but pull too early and the kite ends up low with little power, which forces a late kite loop after landing to keep you dry.
- Land downwind, slightly favouring your toeside edge.
- Do not edge hard on touchdown. Edging too hard is the biggest landing mistake, and riding downwind on the landing is the key to everything.
Common mistakes and fixes
Mistake
Drifting the kite up on the approach instead of sending it.
Fix
Send it quickly and sharply from 11 (or 1) to 12, so you feel the lift in time and the kite has not already travelled too far behind you when you land.
Mistake
Leaning back onto your back hand as you take off, so the kite is never stopped or redirected to 12.
Fix
Perform the move with the kite at 12 o'clock and then add the kite dive on at the end.
Mistake
Concentrating on the rotation instead of launching yourself up, so you land on an edge across the wind with your bum in the water.
Fix
Make an effort to pop up into the rotation, and not just carve around into the wind.
Mistake
Edging too hard on the landing.
Fix
Ride downwind on the landing. So few people try it, and it is the key to everything.
Mistake
Approaching with too much speed, so you cannot stop your momentum and go the other way.
Fix
Come in with low to medium speed.
If it goes wrong
- If you over-rotate, just go with it and try to complete an additional rotation.
- If you become disoriented, try not to steer the bar. That could cause the kite to dive or loop into an extremely dangerous landing or wipeout.
- If you dive the kite too early it ends up low with little power, and you will be forced into a late kite loop once you have landed to keep you dry.
- When first learning, put the kite on its slowest settings and keep it high. Bring it lower and lower as you get more proficient.
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 landing before I try this?+
A solid, controlled back roll transition — IKSURFMAG calls it a BLT and gates the double behind it, while warning that the single and the double are distinctly different moves. MACkite says you first need to know how to do a proper air transition, and describes the opening rotation as a flat 360 like your first backrolls. New Wave Kiteboarding adds that before any double backroll you should be comfortably landing jumps both regular and goofy foot.
Where does the kite sit during the trick?+
The two main tutorials teach it differently. IKSURFMAG sends the kite from 11 (or 1) up to 12 on the approach, keeps it centred at 12 through the move by pulling the bar right in, then dives it down hard. MACkite keeps the kite at 12 for the entire trick with no send at all, then sends it hard in the opposite direction once both rotations are done. Both agree the kite stays at 12 while you are spinning and the redirect comes at the end.
How much wind do I need, and what kite?+
None of the tutorials give a wind range for this trick. For learning multiple rotations in general, New Wave Kiteboarding says 12 or 14 metre conditions are ideal, since large kites move slower and are more forgiving, and says to put the kite on its slowest settings while you learn.
Why do I keep landing with no power in the kite?+
Two causes turn up in the tutorials. Drifting the kite up rather than sending it means you feel the lift late and the kite has already travelled too far behind you, leaving it at the edge of the window. Diving the kite too early leaves it low with little power, and you end up forced into a late kite loop after landing to keep yourself dry.
What does this trick lead into?+
The double back loop down loop transition. It keeps the two rotations but down loops the kite to pull you out at the end, so you have to keep flying the kite throughout the move. IKSURFMAG recommends you are happy with at least a back loop to toeside and comfortable with your down loops before trying it, and says that if you come out with no power you need to fly the kite forward before down loop time — try to loop it from 12 or behind and you get nothing out of it.
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.