DUOTONE News ᐅ Duotone Rail: A new benchmark obstacle

Kiteboarding is one of the most versatile sports in the world. With the ability to foil, surf, race, send it, freestyle or hit the park, the possibilities are endless and at Duotone Kiteboarding we believe in supporting all disciplines.

When Craig Cunningham pitched the idea to build a feature unlike any other that the kiteboarding world has seen, we were proud to be able to bring his vision to life. We built a feature, in partnership, with REAL Watersports that will give generations of kiteboarders a new benchmark obstacle in park riding.

The details in design offer limitless options to ride across this new mega-feature and are certain to cultivate new tricks that have yet to be done in our sport.

Duotone Kiteboarding New Rail Real Watersports

The brand new Duotone box was unloaded and assembled during the 2019 Triple-S Invitational in Cape Hatteras, NC. It made its debut shortly after and our riders, Craig Cunningham, Aaron Hadlow, Noe Font, Xander Raith and Colleen Carroll, in addition to friends and locals, were some of the very first to ride this exciting new addition to the infamous park. After one session on the rail, we wanted to know what our riders’ very first impressions were, here are their replies:

Craig -

After having this design in my head for over three years now, it’s a dream come true to see it become a reality. It’s hard to express the amount of gratitude I have for Duotone / Boards & More for supporting our ideas and all aspects of kiteboarding. It’s pretty crazy that the first feature we built was a home welded shotgun rail and now we’re taking sessions on a piece like this with almost unlimited options. It’s what park kiteboarding needed, so cheers to Duotone for getting behind the cause!

Xander –

It’s a feature that showcases the creativity and potential of park riding, offering infinite lines and adding a creative, individualised perspective to REAL’s arsenal of sliders. The stairs, bank, multiple wall-to-wall transfers and a rounded pipe will progress park riding and bring new energy to the water.

Noe –

I think we underestimated how challenging it is going to be to ride, especially when the wind isn’t that good because yesterday the wind was pretty good and it was difficult to find the right lines. However, with time we’ll find the best ways to set it up. Maybe we just tried to get too tech on the first day instead of taking it easy. We were all trying to find the most technical hits right away – climbing up the stairs and whatnot. I don’t think I’ve ever taco’d a rail as much as I did yesterday *for those that don’t know what a taco is, imagine folding yourself in half over an obstacle-
But the challenge will push our level of riding higher and as much as I hated having all of those crashes on that rail, it’s the exact the reason why I want to hit it more; it will push the sport and all of our personal levels higher.

Colleen –

It’s the most fun obstacle in kiteboarding, period. I can’t express how much fun I had riding this rail for the first time. I was literally grinning from ear to ear for the entire session, minus a few pretty heavy crashes I had. After only one session on the new rail, I can see how this obstacle will allow the entire discipline of park kiteboarding to explore new manoeuvres and push the level of what’s possible in rail riding. With every tack, I’d approach the rail thinking of how to explore a different way to hit it or new transition to try. It was a huge challenge for me and pushed me way out of my comfort zone and I loved every minute of it. I can’t wait to go back to Hatteras and ride it some more!

The new Duotone Rail

Kiteboarding is one of the most versatile sports in the world. With the ability to foil, surf, race, send it, freestyle or hit the park, the possibilities are endless and at Duotone Kiteboarding we believe in supporting all disciplines.