The megaloop is the move that defines big air kiteboarding, and it is also the one that sends the most people to hospital. Those two facts are related: it looks spectacular, so riders attempt it years before their progression is ready.
This is how to build up to one without getting hurt. If you read only one section, read the prerequisites.
What a megaloop actually is
You send a big jump, and instead of floating down under a parked kite, you loop the kite through the power zone while you are still in the air. The kite accelerates hard downwind and drags you with it, turning a vertical jump into a long, fast, downwind arc.
The kite is not assisting your landing any more. It is pulling you, and you are along for the ride. That is the whole appeal, and the whole danger.
Prerequisites: be honest with yourself
Do not attempt a megaloop until all of these are true. Not most of them. All.
- You jump consistently and land cleanly, every time, in the conditions you plan to loop in
- You can loop the kite low, close to the water, without panicking. Downloop transitions should feel routine
- You can body-drag upwind and self-rescue without thinking about it
- You know your kite turning speed well enough to predict where it will be in one second
- You are not the only person on the water
The single most common injury pattern is a rider who can jump big but has never looped a kite low. They send, panic mid-loop, sheet out at the wrong moment, and the kite stops pulling exactly when they need it to pull.
Conditions: this is not the part to compromise on
Steady wind. Gusty offshore-type wind is the worst possible choice. You need the kite to behave predictably through the loop. If the wind is jumping five knots at a time, go another day.
Deep water. You will land hard sometimes. Shallow water and hard sand turn a bad landing into an injury.
Downwind space. A megaloop moves you a long way downwind. Look at what is there before you commit: a beach, a pier, a sandbar, other riders. If you cannot see at least a hundred metres of clear water downwind, do not loop.
Enough wind, not too much. Counter-intuitively, marginal wind is more dangerous than solid wind, because you are tempted to oversheet and force it. Solid, steady wind at the top of your comfortable range on your normal kite is the right window.
The progression, one step per session
Do not skip steps. Each one should feel boring before you move on.
- Downloop transitions. On the water, no jump. Loop the kite as you change direction. Get used to the acceleration and to keeping the bar in while the kite is pulling hard.
- Small jump, loop on the way down. A modest jump, and you start the loop late, when you are already descending. The loop finishes near the water and the pull is short. This is where you learn the timing.
- Start the loop earlier. Same jump height, but you begin the loop closer to the apex. The pull lasts longer and moves you further downwind.
- Bigger send, same timing. Now you add height. Do not add height and earlier timing in the same session.
Four sessions minimum. Most riders need more, and there is no prize for rushing.
The movement
Send hard, the way you would for any big jump: loaded edge, fast send, real pop.
At the point you have chosen, commit. Pull the back hand decisively and keep the bar sheeted in. A half-hearted loop is far more dangerous than a committed one, because the kite stalls mid-rotation and then snaps.
Keep your eyes on the kite through the first half of the loop, then switch to the water. Let your body swing downwind: fighting it wastes the energy that would otherwise carry you.
As the kite comes back up, steer forward and let it fly to the edge of the window. Absorb the landing with your legs, board pointing downwind.
What goes wrong
Looping too low. The kite has no room to complete the rotation before you reach the water. You get pulled straight into it, face first, at speed. This is the one that hurts.
Sheeting out mid-loop. The instinctive panic response. It kills the kite power at the moment you need it to lift you, and you drop.
Looping in a gust. The kite goes around faster than you expected and the pull is double what you planned for.
Not looking downwind. Always check what is behind you before you send. Always.
Gear
Your kite matters more than your board here: turning speed and how predictably it comes around are what you are relying on. Know your kite before you loop it.
But the board is what takes the landing. Megaloop landings are fast, downwind and loaded, which is exactly when a foot slipping in a strap or a board that will not hold its edge becomes a problem. Straps with real adjustment, a heel that absorbs impact, and fins that bite when you set the board down are not luxury items at this level. They are what lets you ride away instead of washing out.
If you are putting that setup together, our Big Air equipment is built for exactly these loads.
One last thing
Every experienced big air rider has a story about the megaloop that went wrong. Ask around at your spot before you try one. The people who have done it will tell you what they got wrong, and that is worth more than any article.
Build up slowly. The move will still be there next season.