And in answer to the flood of enquiries ...
YES - Best is doing a minimum trade-in of $550 or $660
YES - KSS is on board with this deal
YES - you will be able to demo Best kites at Kitestock
Its FB official - www.facebook.com/Rubenlen10
Extreme Kiteboarder Ruben Lenten signs with Best Kiteboarding
Project: Extreme Kiteboarding
All days are good, some are just better. Just like this one. I have found the right partner to push extreme kiteboarding to the next level. Stoked with my new partner in 'crime', Best Kiteboarding.
First of all I would like to thank Slingshot for all their support over the past 10 years. It's been an absolute blast to ride and work with you guys. Thanks for all the experiences that I will never forget and also for helping me explore the limits of kiteboarding.
Now the time has come to move on and continue to follow my vision. My passion for kiteboarding is big, it's my life and this partnership allows me to raise the bar of extreme kiteboarding even higher.
At the highest level of sports and in the strongest conditions there is a strong demand for high quality products. That's why LEN10 likes to team up with companies that have a similar vision and want to put the time, effort and money into accomplishing it. Quality is essential to feel safe on the water and in the air. In order to push the limits of your body and sport you need to feel comfortable. This comfort comes from the performance of the kite and all other gear. In my opinion there are very few products that make riders feel comfortable enough to go as big as they would like. Not because they can't but simply because the products won't let them. That's a shame because I feel extreme kiteboarding is the discipline that keeps our sport hardcore and spectacular.
Sebastian Heitmann, CEO at Best Kiteboarding says:
"Best Kiteboarding is incredibly proud to make this next step for our sport. With Ruben Lenten we will push extreme kiteboarding to the next level and are happy to partner with such a great sports icon who will challenge our R&D team more than ever before. LEN10 rides with us so stay tuned because we have many more exciting plans to come!"
Best Kiteboarding and LEN10 will be working closely together to create the 'best' products for the rider that wants to ride hard with us!
I can't wait to get started and will keep you updated on the progress and testing of our new products.
Stay up to date with the latest projects and developments around extreme kiteboarding supported by Mystic, Red Bull and BEST Kiteboarding.
^^^ so this is based on your extensive experience with owning many brands since july last year? because you started a thread then about how your revs, which were already a few seasons old, were falling apart after being dumped in the whitewater too often.
you must have gone through a lot of kites between july and january.
www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Kitesurfing/General/Toughest-Wave-Kite/
I fly SS kites & have remained very happy with them, both performance and longevity. I accept this may be partly blind brand loyalty or a lack of energy to try out the many other kites that would possibly be just as good.
My question was more that their prominence seems less in Oz than previously, and wondering what might be causing this. Is it a marketing/PR issue?
And losing all their high profile riders is either a deliberate strategy to go for new blood, or they haven't been treating them right.
Haven't read all this rabble, but here's my take on this subject:
Redbull king of the air yesterday -
1. Ruben still riding a fuel... (It will be funny to see if he can even do the same stuff on the GP as from what I viewed yesterday I'm not sure the kite is really on the same level as a Fuel.)
2. Youri isn't nearly as impressive on a Best GP, it looked like the kite has no guts (not just yesterday)... it will be interesting to see how he goes this year on tour with it and also whether Best just end up making an RPM copy, my guess is they will.
3. SS secure Sam Light (Riding Fuels btw). A great move in my opinion, one of the best riders in the world and fits SS image pretty well. Also a far better investment than Ruben (IMO) and probably at a better price...
That is all.
I was surprised to see Sam Light leave Naish until I saw their new board lineup today. One of the best wake style riders in the world on their team to develop gear and they come out with a bunch of wanky freestyle noodles.
