ABOUT US

Discover our Journey

Driven by the power and versatility of nature as well as the demands of outdoor-enthusiats, we persue on goal: developing and manufacturing highly functional watersport products and close to nature, stylish outerwear for tough weather.

Since the founding of JN in 2003 by Bernd Jochum and Michael Nessler, the JN-Family continuedly growths, we extended our product range, built strong relationships to our customers, suppliers, distributors and producers. Futhermore we luckily collected plenty of outstanding experiences by following our passion for wind-driven watersports. Despite this development, our core value remains: we act as JN-Family. We stayed independent, we are free in making our decision and don´t have to serve any external economical expectations. Thus, we are able to create and develop our products based on our understanding on how a modern performance watersport product should look like. This includes the choice of materials as well as continuous technical research and development to ensure the best possible performance and sustainability of the product.

By doing so, we achieved several World Champion titles in snow kiting and kitesurfing, further product test winners and awards (ISPO Award, Export Award).

During 2009/10 we added the first collection of technical & sustainable Outerwear. Since then we follow the same part we do for our watersport products.

At the end of 2023, we expanded our corporate structure and Leonard joined as an active team member. Due to his place of residence in Hamburg, we were able to open a second base there in order to serve the markets in northern Germany and Europe in the best possible way.

We think global and act international but have a focus on the resources and possibilities given by our surrounding. These are for exable the flat-water-lagoons or powerful waves of Bretagne, the multifaced spots of the Northern and Baltic Sea or the deep blue waters of Italian lakes.

Tracing Our Roots

Our History

Before founding JN Bernd and Michael were designing kites for some of the big names in the industry. Their first kite, the Wild Thing was a high performance monster and also a graphic design masterpiece.

This was followed by the original Prima Donna which performed extremely well with the change in direction to wakestyle. A mean looping and unhooking machine. Since then they have followed up these kites with a successful range of high performance C shapes and newer hybrid designs appealing to all sectors of the market, like the Mr. Fantastic – just Pump&Play.

Innovating Outdoor Gear

Where to go

Our core competences are thoroughly developed  3D desiged shapes for multilayer fabrics or composites and their realization into arenonautical products and wear (your body deserves the same valuable approach, too).

Industry leading products to complete our program we add from only very trustful partners.

We care about our customers and environment. Sustainability is part of our DNA, not only since it became industrial talk but since we started JN in 2003. e.g. we have a direct influence on work ethics in the world; that’s why we work with international partners and subcontractors only who maintain decent working standards as a matter or course.

In principle, only the material ordered by our distributors is produced. This means that the manufacturer does not have full stocks of kites from the previous season at the end of the season. There is therefore no need for the manufacturer to organise fire-sales end of season.

Thus, our kites not necessarily appear in an annual cycle, but remain in the current version until we have collected enough innovation to justify a completely revised kite model.

For our customers, this means that the kites they have flown for a season do not suffer such a severe loss of value at the end of the season. The direct competition for resale, the cheap sales of large shops, is eliminated.

CRAFTING TOMORROW

Our Vision

At JN, we view the creation of sporting goods as an art form, focusing on sustainability and a timeless aesthetic. Our commitment is to design products that are as eco-friendly as they are stylish, ensuring that each piece not only meets the demands of today’s athletes but does so with minimal environmental impact. This philosophy is embedded in every step of our process, from the initial design to the final product, guaranteeing that our gear not only performs exceptionally but also carries a unique, timeless style.

Follow along on our path and passion, building high performance products and serve you the best way we can.

Aloha, Hangloose, ByeBye, Servus and BaBa

JN-Family

Ethics

Global Partnerships

Symbolizing collaboration with international partners, adhering to high labor standards.

Fair Labor Practices

Representing the commitment to fair working conditions throughout the supply chain.

Sustainability

Highlighting the dedication to environmentally friendly production processes and materials.

Social Responsibility

Demonstrating a commitment to social standards and supporting the communities where the business operates.

SCIENCE AND CRAFT BEHIND JN’S Watersports Products

Quality

JN use only the highest quality material and use cutting-edge design software and extensive prototypin. Double taped seams, Kevlar reinforcement, the best available canopy fabric and new stiffer dacron all build an extremely robust kite, designed to last. A stitched in graphic design saves on added weight that a screen print would cause.

JN Behind the scenes
JN kites are designed principally by Micheal Nesler, who is from a successful aeronautical/paragliding design background, and also designed some key kites for big brands in the early days of kitesurfing. His concentration on aerodynamics and efficiency, coupled with some elegant and unique production methods give quantifiable performance advantages to all three kites in our range.

Perfectly curved leading edge segments
Fundamentals of aerodynamics state that smaller, smoother surfaces improve performance.

If your kites’ leading edge is heavily segmented with harsh elbow joints, at each segment you have a vortex, and more drag slowing your kite down. Also at each point you have doubled up material and stitching, adding overall weight to the wing. This technique also adds stiffness to the airframe, as it distributes the load on the leading edge more evenly, rather than deforming at one point.

The reasons some other manufacturers use this less elegant method, is because straight lines are easier to model with CAD / aerodynamics software and get the approximate characteristics of the kite. It’s also much easier manufacturing wise, as calculating a 2D shape, which when inflated turns into a perfect 3D curved tube requires a lot of clever maths. All these elements equate to cost/time saving but sacrifice performance.

We have had the leading smooth leading edge design in the Wild thing and Prima Donna Range since the PD2 and WT2 in 2007/2008. The lack of drag/turbulence and extra stiffness and lower weight of the leading edge improves:

  • The forward flying speed of the kite (and therefore board speed)
  • Stability of the wing shape at it’s top wind range
  • More power generation at lower wind speeds on apparent wind
  • Better upwind flying angle
  • More dramatic generation of lift from sheeting and redirection

Stay Ahead: Dive into OUR LATEST NEWS

News

Here you’ll find the latest updates and exciting announcements about our products,
events, and milestones in the world of kitesurfing and outdoor apparel.