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Foil Carving 360

See it in the Trick Tree

Foil Carving 360 is a full circle carved heelside on the foil without leaving the water, the kite sent overhead for the upwind half and looped to finish.

Also called: kite foil 360 · heel-side 360 · standard 360

Prerequisites

Foil Carving Jibe

Unlocks

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

Schools teach this differently

Our sources disagree on where the trick sits and on whether the kite loop is compulsory. Progression puts the 360 first, calling it the easiest first step and a good place to focus before attempting a tack. MACkite files carving 360s among the more advanced tricks its duck-tack-to-toeside episode lays the groundwork for. MACkite also says that if you are riding with a fair amount of speed you might not need to loop at all, whereas Progression treats the loop as exactly the part of the 360 the heel-to-toe tack leaves out.

Ideal conditions

Flat water, moderately powered. Progression's guidance for this family of upwind carves — the article groups the 360 with the tacks — puts 8 to 10 m kites in the sweet spot, a compromise between lift and how fast the kite flies round, which helps on the exit. Kites of 6 m and lower generate lift for less time, so you can get a surge that goes before you finish the turn. In very light wind your technique has to be spot on to get the lift you need. Flatter water lets you carve hard into the turn with less chance of a wingtip popping out, and there is less turbulence under the water.

How to do it

  1. 1. Set up the entry

    • Pick flat water and a moderately powered session. Progression puts 8 to 10 m in the learning sweet spot, because 6 m and lower generates lift for less time and the surge can go before you finish the turn.
    • Rig large wings. MACkite calls for them on the upwind carving tack it names as the groundwork for carving 360s: more stability, and less speed is needed.
    • Have both gybes nailed before you try this — heelside to toeside and toeside to heelside — and be comfortable with them with a downloop transition.
    • Come in with moderate speed. Enough for stability, slow enough for a tight radius turn upwind.
    • Ride in heelside and leave your feet alone. You do not have to change stance the whole way round, which is why the sources point riders at the 360 before the tacks.

  2. 2. Carve upwind with the kite overhead

    • Get the kite directly overhead before you start carving upwind. Kite first, board a moment later.
    • As the kite climbs up, push your bar out and depower.
    • Begin the turn with your hands near your head and push the bar forward, not backward, as you move through the turn. Skip that and you get blocked by your lines.
    • Keep your weight centred over the board. Leaning back to get around the lines, or trying to back roll into it, is the mistake almost everybody makes here.
    • Do not carve while the kite is still rising. You tension the lines, the kite resists because it wants to pull you downwind, and you want to go upwind.

  3. 3. Loop the kite past halfway

    • Use the kite as your clock. When it reaches its apex you should be just past halfway through your turn.
    • Start the loop there. Pull on the back hand and turn the kite aggressively in the direction you want to go.
    • Commit to it. You lose almost all your speed by the time you are heading in the opposite direction, so the loop has to be started at the right time and seen through.
    • Expect the board to out-turn the kite. A hydrofoil is efficient enough that you can already be pointing the new way with the kite yet to finish its loop, and the lever the source names is line length: the longer the lines, the slower the kite turns or loops.
    • Correct the kite as it comes out of the loop so it does not crash into the water.

  4. 4. Ride out the same way you came in

    • Get back on your front foot and be ready to counter the lift as you accelerate — more speed means more lift.
    • Expect to come out riding back in the same direction. The 360 does not change your direction, so leave yourself the room.
    • If you are touching down, go in with more speed, loop the kite sooner, or make a faster carve on the foil. Potentially all three.
    • Run it on your weak side too. Do not just try new manoeuvres on your strong side — the writer of one of these guides landed his first no-touchdown 360 on his weak side.

Common mistakes and fixes

Mistake

Carving upwind too soon, with the kite still rising.

Fix

Get the kite directly overhead before you start carving. Go early and you tension the lines, the kite resists because it wants to pull you downwind, and you want to go upwind.

Mistake

Leaning back to get around your lines, or trying to back roll into it.

Fix

Push out on the bar, put your hands high, and proceed with the turn as if your lines are not there at all, centred over your board. Leave the bar low and hands down and you get blocked by the lines.

Mistake

Touching down partway through the turn.

Fix

Go in with more speed, loop the kite sooner, or make a faster carve on the foil. Potentially all three.

Mistake

Not having weight on the front foot when the kite pulls you out.

Fix

Get back on the front foot and be ready to counter the lift as you accelerate, because more speed generates more lift.

Mistake

Turning the board before the kite, or pre-empting it and slacking your lines.

Fix

Initiate the turn with your kite first, just moments before you initiate it with the board. Do not fight the tension and do not go pre-emptively — go along with it as if it is pulling you around a corner.

If it goes wrong

  • Wear a vest and a helmet. MACkite lists both in the pre-flight check for the upwind carving tack it names as the groundwork for carving 360s.
  • Do not go out severely underpowered or really overpowered. It reinforces bad habits, makes it harder to progress, and puts you in a bad position in terms of safety.
  • In light wind, treat a dumped kite as a swim — those are the winds where you cannot relaunch and you end up swimming it in.

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 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 to land before trying a Foil Carving 360?+

Both gybes — heelside to toeside and toeside to heelside — and be comfortable with them with a downloop transition. The wider progression the sources lay out runs taxiing, short glides, gybing, mileage riding toeside and then foot swaps, with the 360 sitting after that alongside tacking.

Is it a jump?+

No. Both the magazine and the school that carry Alex Buss's tutorial describe it as a non-aerial backroll, which basically means you ride the foil around a full circle.

Do I change my feet during the rotation?+

No — you do not have to change stance throughout the turn, which is why one guide recommends trying the 360 before tacking. Progression describes the heel-to-toe tack as kicking out halfway through the 360 before you loop the kite, and says the first half of that tack is very similar to the standard 360: ride in on your heelside and carve upwind.

What kite and wind suit it best?+

Moderately powered on flat water. Progression calls 8 to 10 m great for learning this family, a good compromise of lift and speed of flying, since 6 m and lower generates lift for less time. It also notes foil kites are very helpful for tacking because of the prolonged lift they offer. For kitefoiling generally, riders take 2 to 3 square metres off the kite size they would use for a twintip and favour a single-strut or no-strut kite — that is what makes the loops in gybes and 360s feel very mellow.

My board comes round before the kite has finished its loop. What is wrong?+

That is a known kitefoil problem: the board can turn faster than the kite because of the hydrofoil's high efficiency, so you are already pointing the new way with the kite yet to finish the loop. The lever the source names is line length — the longer the lines, the slower the kite turns or loops. Suggested lengths are 20 to 22 m on a 12 m kite, 18 to 20 m on a 9 m and 16 to 18 m on a 7 m.

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.