Kite bars are essential gear, yet often overlooked. The Line Smith, founded by Gilion Goveia, is changing that with SK99+ lines, trusted by top pros for their strength, precision, and speed. Now, with the Line System, riders can upgrade or replace lines in minutes—no more waiting, just better performance! Find out more here.

When we go kiting, we often think of three components: a board, a kite and a bar. These days, you’d be forgiven for wincing at a new bar’s price, with some now priced at well over 600 euros. Kiteboarding bars are in a world of their own regarding the number of parts and pieces; they are much more complicated than the combined kite and board. This is why they are so expensive; there is so much work and design that goes into the bar, plus it needs to be a fail-safe bit of your gear; you don’t want a line snapping or chicken loop exploding when you are twenty feet up. 

As riders, we often overlook the bar as just a piece of gear that comes with the kite. We agonised about kite choice and size and what brand or design might suit our riding style, but we never really paid much attention to the bar, which “just comes with the kite”. Gilion Goveia is a name some of you may know; he’s been repairing bars and fixing broken lines for years. His brand, The Line Smith, has become increasingly popular among the top flight pro riders on the big air scene. Names like Ross Dillon Player, Nico Gambier, and even Jamie Overbeek openly referred to The Line Smith as their line supplier in 2024. More than that, though, if you have ever had the misfortune to snap a line, then the chances are you’ve used him too.

Let’s find out who or what The Line Smith exactly is.

“The Line Smith is a Dutch brand owned by kite designer and product developer Gilion Goveia. A name you might already know, as Gilion has a long track record in the kite industry. As the owner of multiple kiteboarding-related brands, from his kite brand Fluid Kiteboarding to being a rider, Gilion has been in the kite scene for decades.”

As a rider, I’ve constantly pushed the sport from the production/development side and the front end. It all started in 2015 when I became obsessed with breaking the world record on WOO, pushing myself and my equipment to the absolute limit at every opportunity. Unfortunately, that also meant I went beyond the limits of my equipment! Most of the time, it would be lines snapping, as the equipment back then wasn’t made like it is now. That was the start of it all!

As I was already developing kites then, I had access to all the commonly used and prototype lines. I could try out all the lines on the water in different conditions on many kites. This gave me great insight into how lines work and their influence on your kite. Most developers are amazing at development and design. I was lucky to start young enough also to be a good rider. (And yes, I broke that world record in 2015, being the first person to jump 20m on Woo.)”

A few years ago, Ross Dillon asked me for blue lines. I got a spool of lines and customised a few sets for him. As he and a few local Dutch friends were happy, they started referring more people to me, which was the start of The Line Smith. I decided that I didn’t want to be a repair shop but a full-line brand that focused on the highest quality lines and refurbishing bars, just like we do with our phones.

Many bar designs have remained relatively unchanged over the years, so why not allow consumers to upgrade what they already have? After receiving and refurbishing many bars over the years, I became skilled at this and gathered a lot of data on line layouts.

In 2023, it all blew up when I launched our SK99+ lines—something the market had never seen. Stiffer, thinner, and stronger lines will increase any kite’s performance. More pro riders came knocking on my door, and within a few months, I was the line supplier for most of the pro fleet.

Our influence has been HUGE on the 2024 events across almost all disciplines, with multiple world champions riding The Line Smith lines.

SK99+ Premium 

Yes, it’s an SK99 line, but there is a big difference between a traditional SK99 and The Line Smith SK99+. Although they are both made with SK99 fibres, the major difference is the coating process. Standard lines are braided first and then coated. With SK99+, we have taken the coating process to the front, coating each individual yarn.

Due to this process, we have a coating inside and outside the line, creating a stiffer and less stretchy line. With the low elasticity, the line maintains its length during flight, causing the kite to fly at the perfect angle of attack in much stronger wind and decreasing the response time of the kite. It’s a noticeable difference. Another benefit is that we do not have this thick coating wall outside the line, making it possible to have a much thinner line with a higher breaking strength. Thinner lines have much less drag, resulting in a much faster-recovering kite after loops and before jumps.

The Line System

I’ve just launched The Line System to take things to the next level. This universal modular line system makes it possible to fit The Line Smith SK99+ lines on ALL bars. I don’t have to custom-make each set as I have been doing in the past. No more waiting for your lines to be made! It’s in stock and ready to be shipped. We offer worldwide delivery, but we opt for a global network where you can get our lines on the spot. Break a line? Walk inside and replace it within 10 minutes! #nevermissasessionagain

The Line System also allows centres, schools, and even beach bars to become resellers, offering all riders an instant local repair option. 

Within 10 minutes, you can replace your lines with premium SK99+ lines and have a supercharged kite that flies better than when you first bought it.

The Line Smith is a person, a brand, and it’s also in every kiter! With the step-by-step guide, you can also mount lines to your bar. We also have videos for most bars, which will help you learn how to mount lines to your bar. The idea is to make upgrading your lines or repairing a broken one really easy. 

With the new Line System, everybody can become a Line Smith!

Videos

THE LINE SMITH | the line system explained
By Rou Chater
Rou has been kiting since the sports inception and has been working as an editor and tester for magazines since 2004. He started IKSURFMAG with his brother in 2006 and has tested hundreds of different kites and travelled all over the world to kitesurf. He's a walking encyclopedia of all things kite and is just as passionate about the sport today as he was when he first started!

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