The Best Kiteboarding Gadgets for Tracking Jumps, Airtime and More

Kiteboarding, in my opinion is simply the best sport in the world. Difficult to learn, but once you get past the scary bits and you’re properly up and running it’s purely a buzz.

Along with insane jumps and rib busting speeds, kiteboarding is all about you and the elements, or as some might call it, nature. For someone like me who sits on his *ss in front of a computer writing about wearable technology and messing around with apps and stuff most days, kiteboarding is a great way to disconnect. This would resonate with most kiteboarders I reckon.

Despite technology being out of favor while I’m on the water, how could I resist a gadget that quietly tracks my jump height, hang time and the likes and then allows me to compare my stats with other riders within an online community? I couldn’t, and some other riders in my local spot (Hill Head) have also given in to the temptation.

I received my PIQ – North sensor in the post a couple of days ago. I haven’t had a chance to review it yet though because the wind is on vacation. Some of my kiting amigos down at Hill Head are using Woo Sports and are going to wonder why the hell I got the PIQ. We will soon see.

Anyway, enough of the babble..

The Best Kiteboarding Gadgets..

PIQ + North

the-best-kitesurfing-gadgets-jump-height-hand-time-piq-north

PIQ, one of the world’s leading sports sensor firms, and North, arguably the world’s leading kitesurfing firm have collaborated to bring what thy reckon is the most advanced kitesurfing gadget available.

piq-north-kiteboarding-sensor

Features

Number of jumps, jump height, best jump, total jump time, total jump height, velocity, airtime, total airtime, rotation, G force upon landing, session score, leaderboard, real-time LED display.

Battery Life

3 Hours from one charge. Included in the package is a PIQ Fuel portable charger which can charge the sensor up to 3 times when you’re on the beach. It takes around 2 hours to fully charge the sensor.

App

iOS 8.0 + and Android 4.3 +

Price

£179.00 GBP. PIQ.com

Woo Sports Kiteboarding Performance Tracker

the-best-kiteboarding-gadgets-woo-sports

The Woo kiteboarding sensor may not have the real-time waterproof display like the PIQ – North, but it has an excellent leaderboard with a location finder, plus it hit the shelves first which means there are more riders in the community.

woo-kiteboarding-sensor

Features

Number of jumps, jump height, best jump, total jump time, total jump height, airtime, total airtime, session score, freestyle mode session score, leaderboard, location.

Battery Life

Apparently up to 8 hours. I’m not sure if that’s from a single charge or not; I’ll confirm it next time I see my Woo using amigos. The Woo battery takes around 90 minutes to charge.

App

iOS 7 + and Android 4.4 +

Price

Woo 2.0 is coming sometime in November 2016. You can pre-order now for €249.99 over at Woosports.com

Xensr 3D Air GPS

xensr-3d-air-kiteboarding-sensor

The new Xensr 3D Air covers pretty much every aspect of your kiteboarding jumps, but unlike the PIQ and WOO it also packs a built-in GPS which allows you to measure speed and distance covered.

Xensr 3D tracks your 3D orientation and provides a 3D avatar video playback. If you want live data while you’re on the water, Xensr can stream over Bluetooth and is compatible with smartwatches such as the Mission surf smartwatch.

Additionally, Xensr’s third-party compatibility allows you to sync your data with apps such as Strava, MapMyFitness, Google Earth and more.

best-kiteboarding-sensors-track-jumps-gps-xensr

Features

Session time, total distance, speed, maximum speed, jump height, jump time, jump count, jump G-force, jump distance, rotation, airtime, landing impact, real-time data streaming, leaderboard, location, interactive map, 3D avatar replay.