The Best: Kitesurf Boots for Girls

This article is a little old now, check out the 2015 kitesurf wake boots here.

We have all seen a huge rise in the number of girls wearing boots at the spots we visit and in the videos that grace our screens. We at KiteSista are big fans of our boots, in the way they look, feel and their impact on the style of our tricks.

So where has this come from? The answer is of course wake-boarding. There is a huge influence in the way it impacts our sport and the tricks and equipment. Whilst there may be some fundamental differences in where we are coming from and where we are going, we cannot ignore the parallels.

So why do we want boots?

• You will never come out of your board (never say never, but almost never).
• It forces a commitment to every trick.
• The added weight adds momentum to your spins and jumps.
• They look amazing in photos.
• You can attack sliders and features.

Why would we be better without boots?

• You will never come out of your board, meaning your body will twist, turn and bend as physics takes over when crashing.
• If you do come out of your your board you risk some very nice injuries to tendons and muscles.
• You cannot kick the board off quickly mid air if it all goes wrong.
• You may find yourself being dragged a long a beach backwards and upside down.
• You may find yourself planted in the water backwards and upside down.
• You need more power, so in low wind you may find yourself struggling to go upwind.

There are plenty of other reasons of course for either argument, but those are the big ones, and once you have decided that you are going to go for boots anyway, …the question as girls is which ones.

A quick check online will show many many cheap wakes boots we can buy, and the choice is huge, …but here are some important points to bear in mind:

1) Wake boards are heavier than kite boards, this is because they are designed for boots and therefore tougher. Strapping boots onto a very flexible/thin board might well break it (the board or the screw fixings).

2) The lighter you construct something, the more expensive it becomes (think of a tennis racquet or bicycle), well the same applies for boots. The more expensive boots are generally lighter and constructed of more high tech materials

3) Mens and womans shoe sizes are NOT the same in UK/US sizes, because us girls have thinner more dainty feet. We are not saying that you cannot use mens boots (we do not have a lot of choice) but often a womans boot will have a better fit.

4) Kite boards almost all have a 6″inch distance between the screws, this is the same in most modern wake bindings, but it is an idea to double check.

So what are the best wake board boots on the market at the moment specifically for us girls:

 

What about boots designed specifically for kiting?

There are currently none for girls. There are not even that many for the boys, but we found that the best selection comes from Liquid Force with one pair from North Kiteboarding.

So there you have it, the options. What are the differences between the wake boots and the kite specific, well not a huge amount actually, the stance on the mounts is ever so slightly different, there are usually the odd extra pull tab to help us get the boots on easier with one hand as we control the kite at the same time and they are aimed at different markets of course in terms of styling.

To know more about the thoughts and direction of the industry at the moment stay tuned as we have been speaking to Michael Juhl, the CEO of Liquid Force Kite Europe about just this very subject, but you will have to wait until next time as we would not want to distract you from the matter at hand, choosing your boots!