Kitelement re volt 140 x 43cm 2018
Reviews / Twin Tips
7,148
At A Glance
The re volt from Kitelement is one of their split kiteboards on offer alongside their traditional twintips and wakeboards. Split boards have been gaining popularity over the past few years, with more and more people travelling and being conscious of the size of their bags.
Kitelement use a unique and superbly strong joining system for their boards. Known as the A-Lock Joint System, full carbon slats are embedded in the wood core in both halves of the board which are then slotted in place and held with 5 screws. This is a simple and easy to do procedure which takes a couple of minutes but creates a board which you simply would not know splits in half!
The core of the board is made with wood, and whilst there are the carbon slats within the A-Lock Joint System, the main body of the board doesn’t feature carbon. This promotes a flexier and softer board to ride. Designed as a more free ride board, the re volt sits well along side its more freestyle orientated brother, the re solve.
The re volt has a highly resistant foil coating and polyurethane side walls which protect the board from bumps and scrapes often found in travel. The bottom of the board features a dual channel system for better stability, and an ultra-dynamic rocker for better rebound during more advanced new school moves.
Compatible with both straps and wakeboard bindings, the re volt represents a new era of split boards.
Sizes: 132x39cm, 136x41cm, 140x43cm
“Gone are the days where you had to make a compromise, now you really can kitesurf out of a suitcase”
On The Water
That this board can split in half went completely out the window when we were riding it, and instead we had a ton of fun just kitesurfing. This is where the beauty of the re volt lies.
Relatively wide, the re volt gets going incredibly quickly and certainly picks up some speed in the process.
The pads and straps supplied are super comfy and made with active memory foam which after a couple of sessions actually moulds to your foot shape perfectly for an even better grip.
Though the board has been made to be slightly flexier than others in the range, we actually found the re volt relatively stiff compared to some other brands. This, however, did make higher speeds much more manageable, and the board packs a serious punch in this department! Upwind riding is easy, the channels push you well and the continuous rocker encourages the angle.
The re volt houses some fun and accessible pop for air tricks, whether old or new school. The width of the board does need a little more aggression with the ride into the trick, but it comes into its own on landings, and certainly landing right on top of the board rather than behind it is kept stable by the large surface area. That said, if you are a little off on your angle, the board grips exceptionally well, and carving out of a trick not only saves your bacon, it feels fantastic too!
The re volt rides well in chop with minimal splash, and here you can really feel the smoothness which Kitelement have focussed on with this board.
Overall
We have really enjoyed the re volt for its great fun riding abilities in a range of conditions and disciplines, and also that it can be split in half to transport around the world is a fantastic bonus. Gone are the days where you had to make a compromise, now you really can kitesurf out of a suitcase.
Videos
This review was in Issue 68 of IKSURFMAG.
For more information visit KitelementRelated
By Robin and Sukie
With years of kite sport experience combined, you can be sure you’ll be receiving the highest quality of knowledge on the best equipment the industry has to offer.
