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Foundations · Intermediate

Carving Upwind 360

See it in the Trick Tree

Carving Upwind 360 is a heelside carve through the wind's eye until the board points back the way it came, with the kite at 12 and a downloop on the exit.

Also called: Twin Tip Upwind 360 · Upwind 360 · Carving 360

Prerequisites

Downloop Transition

Unlocks

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

Helps to know first

Carving Transition

Schools teach this differently

Our sources genuinely disagree on two points. First, whether the kite loop is part of the trick: GONG teaches it with or without one and treats the loop as the way out without crossed lines, while IKSURFMAG's twin-tip version calls the down loop transition the only way to come out of the move and carry on as if nothing happened. Second, the shape of the move: IKSURFMAG's twin-tip page runs it as one flowing sequence, while its strapless page says to approach it as a move of two halves — the carve up onto toeside, then the downloop and carve out — and that the only continuous part is the slow drifting of the kite. The hand action at the loop differs with the stance you loop from: the twin-tip exit pulls hard on the rear hand and pushes the front hand away, while the strapless toe-to-heel exit pulls the front hand down and pushes with the back hand until the bar is parallel with the centre line.

Ideal conditions

Flatwater makes it much simpler, because it's easier to carve the board through the eye of the wind. In very light wind you'll pivot around on the tail for the second half of the move; as the wind increases you'll carve in and carve out. If the downloop keeps overpowering you, trim first and then drop a kite size. None of the sources opened here give a wind range in knots.

How to do it

  1. 1. Set up and drift the kite to 12

    • Check you have plenty of space and the coast is clear before you commit. When the kite loops it can scythe low across the water as it comes around.
    • Build speed on a solid edge on an upwind course. You need real momentum to carry the board through the wind, but don't just blat at it.
    • Load both feet with the bias over your back foot.
    • Close your hips and shoulders parallel to the board's centreline.
    • Drift the kite slowly up towards 12 and feather the bar out as it rises, so it dumps power instead of lifting you off your rail.
    • Keep your hands centred on the bar so you don't move the kite aggressively.

  2. 2. Carve through the eye of the wind

    • Drop your weight low and sink as much heelside rail into the water as you can.
    • Hinge at your hips so your upper body stays upright, and turn the board rather than twisting your body.
    • Drive with both feet and both knees, keeping plenty of weight over the back foot so the board carves instead of sliding out the tail.
    • Look upwind and stay centred over the board. Don't lean back as if you're setting up a back roll.
    • Keep the kite creeping slowly along the edge of the window so it passes through 12 without pulling you. That slow drift is the one thing that never stops in this move.
    • Carve the board as far as it will go, right through the eye of the wind.

  3. 3. Hold the carve past the wind

    • Shift your hips and weight back a touch. This is where the move splits from a duck tack, which sends you forward instead.
    • Push your back foot away from you to drive the board that extra bit further round.
    • With the kite drifting just past 12, pull the bar in gently for support so you can drive the board around.
    • Then feather the bar back out and keep steering the kite back with your rear hand. Support yourself by steering, not by hauling the bar in — do that here and you'll leave the water and spin into a low back roll.
    • Keep carving until the board is facing back the way you came.

  4. 4. Downloop and carve out

    • Wait until you are past the axis of the wind before you make a move with the kite. Late is the safe error here.
    • Pull hard on your rear hand and push away with fury on the front hand to fire the loop from the rear side of the window.
    • Keep the loop as high and short as possible.
    • Stay back over the tail with the bar on full lock and follow the kite as it pulls you down and around.
    • As the surge of power arrives, shift your weight across onto your heels so the board carves as it accelerates.
    • Let the bar out so the kite can breathe and rise, then level it to stop the loop and aim kite and board across the wind in your new direction.

Common mistakes and fixes

Mistake

Leaning back into the turn to help the board come around.

Fix

Stay centred over the board and keep looking upwind, carrying your momentum through. Tucker Vantol names leaning back — trying to get around your lines, or trying to back-roll into it — as the biggest mistake almost everybody makes.

Mistake

Firing the downloop too early.

Fix

Loop late. Go early and you risk being pulled onto your back or, worse, launched into an involuntary back roll kite loop. Loop too late and you get pulled low and bury the nose, so go a touch earlier next time.

Mistake

The tail washes out and the board slides instead of carving.

Fix

Keep plenty of weight over your back foot and drive with both feet and knees. If it still feels like a slide-and-pull action, feel the pressure as you edge and use that force to turn the board — urgently, not in a long languid arc.

Mistake

The downloop rips you off the board.

Fix

Trim the kite first. Then make sure the downloop is happening at the edge of the window. If it keeps overpowering you, go down a kite size.

Mistake

Losing all kite support in the middle of the move.

Fix

The kite has not drifted to 12, so move it more. If it pulls you off the board instead, you moved it too far past 12 and want to ease off a tad next time.

If it goes wrong

  • Check the coast is clear before every attempt. A looping kite can scythe low across the water as it comes around.
  • Leave yourself a safety margin with enough space downwind. On early attempts, whether the kite loops or not is not always a conscious choice.
  • If the loop rips you off, aim downwind to vent the kite sufficiently.
  • Then luff back upwind into a balanced position so the lines regain tension and the kite doesn't lose flight.

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 should I be able to do before I try it?+

IKSURFMAG names two: the twin-tip duck tack, and the down loop transition from its learning-to-loop series. The downloop matters because it is the only way to come out of the move and carry on as if nothing happened.

Do I have to loop the kite?+

The sources split on this. GONG teaches the upwind 360 with or without a kite loop, and says the loop's job is to get you out of the manoeuvre without the lines crossed; the no-loop version means tightening the curve and leading the kite back down into the window with your front hand to recover power as fast as possible. IKSURFMAG's twin-tip version treats the downloop as the only way out.

What water and wind suit it best?+

IKSURFMAG's strapless version says flatwater makes it much simpler, because it's easier to carve the board through the eye of the wind. If there's very little wind you'll pivot around on the tail for the second half; as the wind increases you'll be carving in and carving out. No source opened for this page quotes a wind range in knots.

Does it only work on a twin tip?+

No. IKSURFMAG calls it a classic strapless move, favourably adopted by the foiling community, that has a place in every twin tipper's box of tricks, and teaches it on both a twin tip and a strapless surfboard. GONG teaches it on a kite foil and calls it an excellent entry point for kite foiling freestyle, mainly because unlike a tack you don't have to switch your feet.

It keeps trying to throw me into a back roll. Why?+

Two named causes. IKSURFMAG says pulling the bar in for support once you're carving past the wind will lift you off the water and spin you into a low back roll, and that looping too early risks an involuntary back roll kite loop. Separately, MACkite's Tucker Vantol — coaching the duck tack to toeside that lays the groundwork for carving 360s — names leaning back, either to get around your lines or to back-roll into it, as the biggest mistake almost everybody makes.

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.