Cloud 9 Toys

The GoPro HERO 3 goes *everywhere*.
Skydiver? Paraglider? Hang glider? Rock climber? Mountain biker? Skateboarder? Unicycle enthusiast? No matter what your obsession, you need a helmet camera to seal your bragging rights.
Whether your aim is to record your latest daredevil stunt for YouTube glory or simply to capture an enduring record of the amazing scenery [...]

You probably know Cloud 9 for paragliding and speed flying -- but did you know that Cloud 9 Toys has been one of the largest "on ocean" stores for kite surfing gear for over a decade? We've also been THE center for snowkite-specific gear since the birth of the sport. Pretty impressive, huh?
Cloud 9's owners [...]

Snow. Flight. Mountains. Add the three together, and you have so much more than the sum of those parts: you have speed riding. Yes, it's as awesome as you've heard. And yes, you can do it -- but you'd better be smart about it.
 
Photo by Carson Klein
1. Learn to ski. Well. If you can't ski [...]

Beach towels are for the weak and boring.Yay! Summer!
If you're an inland kinda paraglider, you may not be used to coastal flying dynamics. Here's what you need to know to keep your summertime paragliding vacation from ending in a soggy, salty mess.
1. Know the pattern.
Coastal sites tend to work in three distinct stages, shaped [...]

Your paraglider is in here somewhere.
Traveling with your paraglider is, y'know, the best reason to have one. However, if you don't play your cards right you may have a big, expensive mess on your hands. Here are some handy tips to help you avoid some serious hiccups as you travel to and from your paragliding [...]

It's that time again! The hills are alive with the sound of varios. If you're a ridge rat, you may not be used to mountain launches; to avoid being this week's most-shared carnage video, you'd better refresh your knowledge before you pack up the car.

1. Get Your Timing Right. 
Thermal currents generally form at regular time [...]

If you ever have to spash down, you'd better know how.
Landing in water is not an exact science. For chrissakes, don't listen to those who pretend it is.
Without a quick-release system, landing in a tree is generally preferable to landing in water. If you have no other landing option but the water, here's your plan [...]

The best advice? Think before you launch.
Crazy springtime weather patterns, poor planning or just plain bad luck: if you're in the air, rain sucks. Do you know what to do if you're flying your paraglider and a raincloud suddenly pops up and soaks you? The following are, of course, totally dependent on how intensely the [...]

The springtime sees more accidents than any other season -- generally, because pilots are rusty from a winter on the ground. If you've had a long season of sporadic flying (or none at all), there are plenty of factors you can address to put luck on your side.
Prepare Yourself
One of the reasons we see a [...]

This is *not* parasailing. Sheesh.
When you spend as much time in the sport of paragliding as we do, you hear a lot of nonsense. Today, we at Cloud 9 were inspired to set a few things straight.
1. Paragliding does not occur behind a boat in Jamaica.
That's parasailing (and you would not believe how often we [...]