How the catalog works

Kitedex is an open catalog of kite and control-bar specifications. This page explains how we decide what gets an entry, how we handle model years, which photos we use, and where the data comes from, in plain language.

What gets an entry

We keep exactly one entry per genuinely distinct product. A real redesign or a separate model is its own entry. A new colorway, a fresh graphic, or a retailer relabeling the same gear is not a different product, so it stays under a single entry. The catalog is a map of designs, not of every listing a shop has ever put online.

Carryover years

Manufacturers often sell the same kite for several seasons without changing it, while still advertising it as the new year's model. When nothing about the design changed, that is a carryover, not a new kite. We list the design once, under the first year it appeared, rather than repeating it for every season it stayed on sale.

For example, a kite released in 2022 and then carried over unchanged as the 2023 and 2024 model is listed once, as the 2022 model. If the maker actually revised it (a new frame, a new canopy, a version bump), that revision is a distinct product and gets its own entry.

Coverage

The goal is exhaustive coverage: every model year worth distinguishing, across brands. If you spot something missing, tell us with the report a missing entry form. Before reporting a specific year, remember that carryover years are listed once, under the first year.

The images

We favor clean studio renders over lifestyle or action photos, so you can actually see the product. When no studio render exists, we fall back to the best available shot instead.

When two entries share one photo

Once in a while a manufacturer releases a genuinely new version but reuses the previous product photo for it. In that narrow case, both entries point at the same image on purpose. Slingshot's Sentry V1.1 (2022) added coated center lines and a redesigned quick release over the V1 (2021), but Slingshot kept the V1 render, so both share it. This only applies to real version changes, never to carryover years.

Where the data comes from

Specifications are mostly taken from each manufacturer's own product pages, and where a page has gone offline, from archived copies or retailer mirrors. Every field records where it came from.

Open and free

The catalog data is free for the community to use under the CC-BY-4.0 license. Product images remain © their respective brands and are shown for identification and reference only.