In a Strapless Air with Grab you pop the unstrapped board off the water, tuck your legs so it stays at your feet, and hold it with one hand in the air.
Also called: pop with grab · grab with kite · strapless grab with pop
Prerequisites
Unlocks
Nothing in the tree needs this one yet — it stands on its own.
Schools teach this differently
Our sources disagree on grab placement. ProKite Alby Rondina teaches reaching the front hand to the nose as the board comes out of the water, while IKSURFMAG teaches a central grab around where the front foot was and names a too-far-forward grab as the cause of a board that will not turn and of nose-first landings.
Ideal conditions
Stronger wind is easier for first attempts: Evan Netsch suggests around 15 mph on a suitable kite such as a 14 m, flown on a modern surf kite (Drifter, Neo, Carve) rather than a C-kite or freestyle kite.
How to do it
1. Set up the approach
- Rub surf wax along the rails so the board is easier to grab and hold.
- Stand wider than your normal riding position, with the back foot near the tail, straddling the centerline.
- Ride at a comfortable speed with the nose of the board pointed slightly into the wind.
- Bring the kite up to around 11 o'clock — high, but never past 12.
- Carry speed and carve that bit further into the wind just before you pop, taking off almost facing dead into the wind. Move too slowly and the wind controls the board when you pop it up.
2. Pop, or send it with the kite
- Sheet in to create lift while you carve upwind, and pop early — the earlier you pop, the better your chances.
- Stamp down on your back foot and lift your front leg in a see-saw motion. As the nose rises the wind catches it and helps the board up.
- Keep your head and shoulders leaning forwards. Leaning too far back on take-off is what puts the board out of reach.
- For the kite-powered version, steer the kite quite high and pull the bar in for maximum lift. You want to feel the hang time and float up there while you grab.
3. The grab
- Do not reach out for the board. Tuck your legs in and bring the board close to you — reaching out takes a lot of time and ends up much harder.
- Grab around the place your front foot was, fairly central from nose to tail.
- Lift your back foot off the board so it can cork back up, and get both knees up.
- Keep the kite around 12 o'clock for support, and balance the kite's power against the lift of the board so it stays glued to your feet. Straighten your legs slightly to re-catch it.
4. Landing
- Hold the grab and drop the board at the last moment.
- Put your front foot back onto the front pad where it belongs.
- Land with the nose off the wind to maintain forward momentum.
- Extend your legs as you come down so your feet keep contact with the deck.
- Sheet in on touchdown to engage the kite for a smoother, more controlled landing.
Common mistakes and fixes
Mistake
Reaching out for the board after the pop
Fix
Tuck your legs in and bring the board close to you first. Reaching out takes a lot of time and makes the grab much harder.
Mistake
You cannot get a hand on the board at all
Fix
You are leaning too far back on take-off. Keep your shoulders and head leaning forwards as you stamp the tail.
Mistake
The board blows out of reach
Fix
Turn further into the wind before popping and do not let the kite go too far behind you. Carry enough speed, or the wind takes control of the board as it leaves the water.
Mistake
Landing too far forward, or on the nose
Fix
Hold on longer and drop the board at the last moment. Grab centrally rather than far forward — a grab too far forward also makes the board difficult to turn.
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
How much wind do I need for a strapless air with grab?+
No source gives a fixed band. Evan Netsch's guidance is that beginners are better off starting in stronger wind because it simplifies the jump: around 15 mph on a suitable kite such as a 14 m, sheeting out to manage the lift instead of working the kite aggressively.
What should I be able to do before trying it?+
A clean strapless pop without the grab. Willow-River Tonkin's series puts it plainly — a solid pop is the foundation for all further strapless tricks — and Alby Rondina's progression treats Pop with Grab as the basic pop with a grab added.
Where should I grab, nose or rail?+
Coaches differ. ProKite Alby Rondina has you reach for the grab as the board comes out of the water, front hand at the nose. IKSURFMAG coaches a grab around where your front foot was, fairly central from nose to tail, and warns that grabbing too far forward makes the board difficult to turn and leaves you landing on the nose.
Does gear matter?+
Yes. Netsch points to lighter boards such as the North Comp, Cabrinha Flare and Duotone Whip, and to modern surf kites like the Cabrinha Drifter, Duotone Neo or North Carve — avoiding C-kites and heavily freestyle-oriented kites that generate excessive pull and sit forward in the window. Rondina adds surf wax on the rail so the grab holds.
What is the difference between 'pop with grab' and 'grab with kite'?+
Same grab, different engine. In the pop version the height comes off your own pop off the back foot. In the kite version you steer the kite quite high and pull the bar in for maximum lift, and that hang time is what lets you float up there and take the grab.
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.