ALUULA – The composite that is changing wind sports

Get to know ALUULA, the composite that is changing wings (and kites) forever.

THE COMPOSITE REVOLUTION THAT HAS CHANGED WIND SPORTS FOREVER

ALUULA is the brainchild of a British Columbia based team of experienced chemists and engineers who share a common passion for exploring and enjoying the outdoors. The initial objective of their ALUULA project was to engineer composite materials that would better serve the sports and pursuits that they loved the most.

First in their sights were kiteboarding and wing foiling.

The standard legacy materials and seaming techniques, originally adopted from the sail industry, had stalled technical advancements of kites. Then in recent years, the new sport of wing foiling saw unprecedented levels of market growth. With wing construction techniques closely aligned with those of kiteboarding, it faced the same challenges with material development plateauing.

With interest in these sports driving the requirement for innovation, an arms race of sorts developed to create lighter and stronger materials that would enhance the performance, durability, and safety of both kites and wings. From the outset of the development process, the weight and performance objectives in the field of wind sports were clear, but it was also understood by the ALUULA Composites team that these materials would be exposed to harsh sun and abrasive beach environments. So to succeed, the next generation of composites would have to be tough as well. The challenge was on.

First introduced in 2019, ALUULA’s innovative composite textiles quickly transformed what was possible in wind sports. The team had succeeded in creating a product that seemed to achieve the impossible. Not only was it significantly lighter (around half the weight), but it was also significantly stiffer and stronger. It was essentially the Holy Grail of materials… Similar to the way carbon fiber revolutionized the cycling industry, the use of ALUULA’s composite fabrics in kites and wings have completely reconfigured wind sport engineering.

A kiteboarder using an ALUULA-infused kite can now fly in much lower wind strengths, redefining the limits of what was previously believed possible, and the kites are also stiffer and perform much better when the wind gets stronger too. Most recently, the first ever “Double Megaloop” was achieved by professional kiteboarder Giel Vlugt, using an ALUULA-powered kite… A move that riders have been striving to achieve for over 15 years.

Event after event, in different locations around the world and in all wind conditions, professional riders using ALUULA-based products are driving kitesurfing and wing foiling to previously unseen levels of performance, and sealing top-of-the-podium spots in the process.

WHAT EXACTLY IS ALUULA?

ALUULA is a new class of composite materials built from components with eight times the strength- to-weight ratio of steel, and yet lighter than nylon, polyester or aramid. Using a patented fusion process, ALUULA Composites has developed a unique way to fuse high tech fibers and technical films together without the use of heavy glues. By bonding materials at the molecular level, ALUULA is creating some of the lightest, strongest and most durable composite materials ever created.

Find out more about ALUULA.