With international travel back on the cards it is time to think about the best set up to take with you! If the trip has a distinct purpose, such as riding waves, then gear selection is easy. Likewise if you are driving you can take everything! If the trip is a dedicated watersports holiday then again, it is maybe worth paying for more luggage and taking more toys.

The problem comes when you are less sure on conditions and just want to have a good time. Think family holiday where there are opportunities to ride, but its not the main priority (at least not officially). A single sports luggage on most airlines these days is limited to 22kg. That does not get you very far, so remember your standard luggage is another 22kg, and we certainly dont need that many clothes.

I recently went on a trip to Rhodes and had this dilemma. Rhodes is fairly consistently windy, but it varies a lot during the day and from day to day between 10 and 20 knots. It is not a wave spot so there was no need for a surfboard. I can’t handle a whole week of riding a twintip, so I opted for a Code V3 and an Apex V1 kite foil. Multiple boards provides more variety than multiple kites.

I paired these with a 9m Hyperlink V3. These had just arrived and I was excited to try one, having loved my V2. The 9m is a great freeride foiling kite, which handles light winds really well. More powered up, it also boosts well. This is pretty much a one kite quiver, and was infact all I used for 5 out of 6 days riding. One day was howling, so I used the 7m REO V6 I had thrown in just in case.

Another benefit to the Hyperlink is how small it packs and how lightweight it is. Putting the kites and bars in a bag with my clothes, and then just the boards and foil and harness (and wetsuit I never used) in the board bag kept me easily under weight limits. Most days I would just take the foil and Hyperlink to the beach making it a simple and lightweight solution.

This set up worked for me on this trip – however different locations and different riders will have different requirements. If you need help picking gear – then give us a shout. We do our best to ride everything and