Blog

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’re enjoying, the right helmet cam…Read More

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, Mike Steen and and Steve Mayer, have been definitive athletes in kiting from the very begi…Read More

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 long of spring-season accidents is that rusty pilots are so gung-ho to fly, they push it -- way…Read More

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 have to explain that). 2. You need wind to fly a paraglider -- lots and lots of wind. Strictly speaking, you don't need wind t…Read More

Let's face it -- this was pretty much the crappiest snow kiting season on record (at least for us, in Utah). Between the complete lack of coverage and the super-short season, we were entirely out of luck. Happily, the short winter means that the traction-and-water-kiting season is coming up quickly. (A couple of athletes have already started their water kiting season at Rush Lake, and we're alread…Read More

Check out Steve, Kevin and Steve at Snowbird Utah. The guys at the World Freeride Tour sent over this clip they put together. I think we were all on Ozone Bullets for this outing.http://www.paragliders.com/speed-flying/ozone-bullet-gt-wing-only.html We have to get special permits through the USHPA and get clearance from Snowbird to fly here so please know Snowbird is not "open" for speed flying. W…Read More

The repair shop is swamped with a fresh batch of repairs. It seems like everyone tried to: land in trees match their glider against a 4-wheeler melt a nice set of holes in their wing with a hot exhaust pipe …all in the same week. Yeah. It looks like our repair ninjas will be working around the clock to get those unlucky pilots back in the air.…Read More

An epic day for Cloud 9 Toys. It started with 15 tandems this morning on the south side of the Point of the Mountain, and one of my customers decided to put on a cape and carry a snake with him during the flight. (?!) Today’s four students all were from out of town, and each of them got a short soaring session in (as well as 6 or 7 sled runs to the bottom). Back at the shop, we had a huge day. W…Read More

We did a weather ground school today with our Cloud 9 Paragliding students, and when we walked outside we saw just about every kind of cloud you could think of: a cloud encyclopedia, right up overhead. Then, right on cue, mother nature dished up a nice gust front for us. We called Salt Lake International Airport, wind was 12 knots gusting to 42 knots! No flying tonight, boys and girls.…Read More