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Big Air · Expert

Late Backroll

See it in the Trick Tree

In a late backroll you hold the rotation back and only start turning after the kiteloop has pulled, which keeps the roll slow.

Also called: kiteloop late backroll · late back roll

Prerequisites

KiteloopBackroll

Unlocks

Kiteloop Late Backroll

Helps to know first

Backroll Transition

Schools teach this differently

Schools sequence this trick differently. Blake Olsen (MACkite) teaches a roll-first version: start the roll, then pull the bar in about halfway through the rotation. This guide follows the late sequencing from Brad Strahm and Shaun Bennett — loop first, then start the rotation as the pull arrives, around three quarters of the way through the loop.

Ideal conditions

For learning kiteloop-plus-backroll combinations, Blake Olsen (MACkite) says to start with a kite no bigger than an 11m and to learn in a little lighter wind than you would normally ride — if it is a good day for your 12m, use your 10m — because the bigger the kite, the slower it loops, and anything bigger than a 10m will make it difficult to land the trick properly.

How to do it

  1. 1. Build the ladder first

    • Work on the foundational skills before you attempt this: get your kiteloops consistent and get comfortable with rotations at height. Coach Mike MacDonald calls the late back roll "more scary than it is difficult".
    • Dial the kiteloop itself: pull the loop at about 80 percent of your total jump height, not at the weightless peak — at the very peak there is not as much line tension, so the kite will not loop as fast when you pull.
    • Make sure the kite is at noon, or even a little before noon, when you pull the loop, so the loop stays centered and straight downwind instead of low and behind you.
    • Be able to do a sent jump before you try this. Brad Strahm teaches the late back heli loop as one step closer to being able to do a late backroll with a kiteloop.

  2. 2. Send, pop and loop first

    • Commit from the water: once you commit to the backroll kiteloop, keep the bar pinned in all the way after the load and pop.
    • Loop the kite right before the apex of the jump, while you are still on the way up — not once you are already at peak height.
    • Use the line-tension window: your lines are really tight leaving the water, go a little spongy at the apex, then reverse tension as you start to come down. Crank the loop before that tension runs out the first time.
    • Keep your hands fairly close to the middle of the bar during the pull so you do not oversteer the kite.

  3. 3. The late rotation

    • Delay the roll until the pull arrives: just as you initiate the pull on your hand and feel the line tension incoming, lift your leg and start the backside rotation — you rotate against tension, not against slack lines.
    • Shaun Bennett goes into his late backroll about three quarters of the way through the loop, letting the loop pull him through the rotation.
    • Keep your eyes on the kite through the spin: watch the center strut all the way around until you see it coming back.
    • Do not throw the roll as hard as a normal backroll — let the kite pull you through it, and keep your front knee close to your chest for a low center of gravity. The loop does most of the work for you.

  4. 4. Catch the kite and land

    • Coming out of the rotation, bring the kite back in around to 12 o'clock for the heli loop landing and let it get a little bit behind you — if you loop while the kite is still more in front of you, you get less loft and more horizontal pull.
    • With the kite slightly behind overhead, initiate the landing heli loop by pulling with a medium amount of force on your back hand; the kite loops around and gives you loft for the touchdown.
    • If you are still really high after that loop, you may need to initiate another one.
    • Square your shoulders up to the kite, point the board downwind and land with the board flat, shoulders over your knees and your body stacked. Keep the kite high when landing to soften the impact, then dive it forward once you are back in control.

Common mistakes and fixes

Mistake

Starting the rotation too late, when the lines have gone slack and you are already descending.

Fix

Initiate while you are approaching the peak of your jump, while you still feel upward pull from the kite — if you wait until you feel a little slack in the lines and start to descend, the rotation becomes very difficult.

Mistake

Oversteering the kite during the loop pull (worse than understeering).

Fix

Keep your hands fairly close to the middle of the bar so the steering input stays controlled.

Mistake

Throwing the backroll as hard as a regular backroll, or letting the legs go straight — both end in over-rotation.

Fix

Let the kite pull you through the rotation instead of muscling it, and keep the front knee tucked to your chest; open the legs slightly only after the loop completes to slow the spin and spot the landing.

Mistake

Pulling the loop at the very peak of the jump, in the weightless moment.

Fix

Pull at about 80 percent of your total jump height with the kite at noon or a little before — at the peak there is not enough line tension for the kite to loop fast.

Mistake

Initiating the landing heli loop too early, while the kite is still in front of you.

Fix

Be patient: bring the kite back in around to 12 and let it get a little bit behind you before looping it — loop it while it is more in front of you and you get less loft and more horizontal pull.

If it goes wrong

  • If the rotation is not coming round and the landing is gone, think about a down-loop to soften what happens next. Nathalie Lambrecht, whose worst crash was a backroll kite loop late back where she was not high enough for the second rotation, tells Duotone she always keeps that down-loop save in mind.
  • When you know you are not landing it, get the board off your feet and away from you. Mystic, writing about kitesurf crashes in general, says to come down as far from your board as you can, and that you can rehearse kicking it off on controlled jumps.
  • If you come out of the rotation with no idea which way is up, stop trying to fly the kite. Mystic's crash guidance for kitesurfing generally is that once you have lost your orientation you let go of the bar and brace for the impact.
  • Point your feet down before you reach the water so you go in legs first. That is what Nathalie Lambrecht tells Duotone she does while she is preparing for the crash.

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 to have dialed before trying a late backroll kiteloop?+

Consistent big kiteloops and comfort with rotations at height. Coach Mike MacDonald's advice is to work on those foundational skills first — and he stresses the trick is more scary than it is difficult.

When exactly do I start the backroll?+

Not on takeoff. Steer the kite, and just as you initiate the pull and feel the line tension incoming, lift your leg and start the backside rotation — the tension is what you rotate against. If you wait until the lines slacken and you are descending, the rotation becomes very difficult.

How high should I be comfortable jumping and looping first?+

David Fischer breaks it into zones: 2-3 meter "baby loops" are the safe entry level because you are not relying on the swing of the kite to catch you; the mid-range is the dangerous zone, high enough to freefall after the loop but not high enough for the kite to climb and catch you in time; steady and reliable kiteloops in the 6-meter-and-above range come from your edge and pop.

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.