February 2026
Its been awhile since our last update, so here is the latest news at Mikeslab:
Mikeslab Europe is growing and wait times are coming down!
To celebrate the expansion, Mikeslab Europe is having an open house and all Mikeslab owners and their loved ones are invited!
It will be June 4th starting at 3:00 pm, Reggio Emilia, Italy. Save the date!
It will be the day before the Foil Grand Prix at Lake Garda, allowing athletes to continue on to the race. There will be a buffet dinner, a show and tell of our recently remodeled and expanded production space, and a prize giveaway. Please RSVP here and more detailed information will be sent along as the date gets closer.
Lead times are around 4-6 weeks and we are working to build a small stock to bring times down even further.
New Products:
We have a new split (two piece) 950. It is based on our very succesful 950 design, just in two pieces for easy transport. It has just entered production in Italy.
We have also recently began production of the new 108-s skinny mast for racing. Formula wing registered.
We are introducing a new high aspect light wind racing machine, the 625-87, due to be released mid spring. It will be formula wing registered as well.
For Downwind and SUP we have new skinny 83-s masts produced in both Italy and the USA.
We have a new product matrix to help people understand what we are currently making, prices, production location, and compatibily. This can be found on our website and available to download.
USA Tariffs:
The United States tariff situation has resulted in several shipments from Italy to the USA having incorrect classification and thus incorrectly high tariffs. This is due to the misclassification of the foil as being made of Aluminum. Should you order from Italy, and have the same problem upon importation, be sure to open up a case with the shipping company and make sure they note the product is made from Carbon fiber, as correctly indicated on the invoice.
Schwag!
New T-shirts are coming
We are proudly made in the USA and Italy. From start to finish!
-mike and stef
_____________________________________________________________
May 4th, 2020.
Dear Kiteracing community,
It is with regret we would like to inform you that the International Kiteboarding Association has rejected our application for the registration of the Bullet 6 and the re-registration of the Bullet 3.
This has occurred because Mikeslab is not willing to disclose certain information that we consider our intellectual property and part of our proprietary processes. We feel that disclosing such information puts our competitive advantage in producing the worlds best foils at risk and therefore our livelihood.
We feel what IKA is asking goes beyond what is actually needed to guarantee availability, repeatability and quality, considering IKA will have actual pieces for qualitative and quantitative comparison. Unfortunately we have not been able to come to a resolution where we feel comfortable in continuing with the registration process.
This is an unfortunate outcome for athletes that enjoy using our products, the sport as a whole, and for us as we have invested considerable time and resources in the last year and a half scaling up with our third party manufacturer.
For the last four years Mikeslab has been the industry leader in foil innovation and race results with the majority of top racers on our foils. We are proud of our part in helping this sport grow to where it is today and will continue to be avid supporters of the sport and the individual competitors.
We wish the IKA, manufacturers, and athletes all the best as they continue on their Olympic track to Paris 2024.
Mikeslab will continue to develop our open class racing foils and give the quality of service and support we are known for.
As the Bullet 6 will now be for open class racing only, we invite all clients on our waiting list to either confirm or cancel their order.
We would also like to remind everyone that the Bullet 3 can be raced at all IKA events through December 2021. (IKA Formula Kite Class Rules B.1.4 d).
-mike and stef