Switchblade Info: Q. & A.

[Kite Central]

Todd Hanson here with Kite Central in the Brainerd Lakes Area.

I have received several emails with questions about the Switchblade I will try to answer them here...if you have more questions, post a reply to this chat. Here goes:

EDGING/CONTROL: Do you have control on glare ice? Yes. The blade grips the ice, so you can cruise on anything from black ice to powder. Edging on the board with this control allows for higher speed and the opportunity to fly bigger kites on ice without feeling slippery.

SPEED: How fast can you go? Depends on your cajonas. You can go any speed you want. The blade allows you to track based on how high or low you adjust it. For harder ice conditions, you want the blade a bit lower. For softer ice, you want to raise it up. I call this projection...how much the blade projects from the bottom of the board determines how hooked up you are...it is like hot/cold wax for your skiis. You need different wax on different days. Small increments make big changes.

JUMPING/LANDING: How hard is it to jump with the Switchblade on your board? Is it hard to land the jump without falling? Jumping with a Switchblade is the same as on any board without the blade, but you need to load up on the nose of the board a bit more than you would without it. If you don't, you lose your grip earlier, when the kite is half way to the lifting point, causing you to lose a lot of lift in the jump. Loading the front half makes the board stay on edge longer so you will be powered-up when you are ready to release. As you release, you use the spring of the tail of the board for added boost. Land like you normaly would, flat with your nose downwind, lead hip pointing. I like to land with a bit more weight on my back foot, allowing for a slightly cushier landing.

TURNING: Is it possible to make smooth, fast, powered turns? Yes. The key when going into the turn even at a high rate of speed is knowing how much to compress the nose of the board. (Putting pressure on the nose of the board releases the blade). With practice you will learn how much to release the blade allowing it to glide effortlessly into the turn without hooking up. It is like riding a water board, except you need to be more aware of the pressure on the nose and tail of the board. Turning is also greatly affected by blade projection so you want to make sure you have adjusted it to fit the ice conditions.

PUTTING ON THE BRAKES: How easy is it to stop without falling? Very easy...with practice. You can stop on a dime if you need to, or you can ease into it. Keeping your blade sharp is the key to high performance. Again, projection affects everything.

MOUNTING: How does the Switchblade attach to the board? Due to insurance reasons, I can not mount the Switchblade kit on anyone else's board. Mounting instructions for the kit will be included. Mounting the Switchblade on your snowboard will almost undoubtably void the warranty on your board, so make sure it is one you are willing to dovote to the kiting cause. It needs to happen this way till I find a board company willing to make boards with insert capabilities for the Switchblade.

More info: I am working on making an instructional DVD talking about all of the above. Sorry, no projected date on its availibility.

COST: SWITCHBLADE KIT: $120.00
SHARPENING KIT: $ 90.00
COMBO KIT: $180.00
SHIPPING: USPS PARCEL POST: $10.00 per unit
(Aprox 8-10 days Continental US)


AVAILABILTY: At the moment, Kite Central & Kite Minnesota are the only dealers selling Switchblade. I am open to other Kite Dealerships purchasing in bulk for resale.