I Couldn't Find the Right Gear. So I Made It.
I'm Kieran Sammon, founder of EXIT Watersports. I've been in the water since 2002, kitesurfing, surfing, SUP, wingfoiling… But for every session, there was a soggy car seat, a stretched-out wetsuit, or a piece of gear that just didn't do its job. I kept running into the same problem: the gear around the sport just wasn't good enough.
It started with a wetsuit hanger. I was sick of draping an expensive suit over a coat hanger and watching the shoulders stretch out of shape. I couldn't find a solution that worked, so I made the first version of the XRail myself. That single frustration became the foundation of everything EXIT does today.
EXIT gear is for surfers, kitesurfers, wingfoilers, paddleboarders, swimmers, and anyone who spends more time in the ocean than out of it and is tired of the gear around the sport not keeping up.
Whether you're a weekend warrior, a travelling surfer living out of a van, or someone who hits the water before work every morning, EXIT products are designed around the way you actually live and ride.
Nothing in the EXIT range started with a business plan. It started with annoyance.
Wetsuits losing their shape on cheap hangers: that became the XRail.
Messy car park changes with nowhere clean to stand: that became the BUX.
Windchill cutting sessions short that should have lasted another hour: that became the XTend.
A ripped suit and no surf shop for fifty miles: that became the FYX.
EXIT is based in Ireland, and if you know the Irish coast, you know it doesn't give you easy days. Cold water, relentless wind, and conditions that test every piece of gear you own. That's where every EXIT product gets developed, tested, and proven before it reaches a customer. If it holds up through an Irish winter, it holds up anywhere.
I've been part of the Irish watersports scene for over two decades, competing, organising events, and spending more time in the water than is probably reasonable. I was the amateur Irish kitesurf champion back in 2006, which I mention mostly because it makes me feel old. But that depth of time in the sport means I understand what a watersports kit actually needs to do, because I depend on it myself.
The XRail is made from 100% recycled plastic. The FYX repair kit comes in a reusable bamboo tube. Several EXIT products are 3D printed and assembled in Ireland. These aren't selling points I bolted on after the fact, they're built into how the products are designed from the start.
Making gear that lasts longer and uses better materials is just common sense when you spend your life in the ocean.
I don't build EXIT alone. The XTend range was co-developed with another watersports enthusiast. Some of the products in the store have come through partnerships with people who had a great idea and needed a home for it.
I'm part of the Surfpreneurs community, where I've connected with other watersports entrepreneurs and collaborated on ideas that neither of us would have built solo.
Gear that works. Designed by someone who uses it. Made to last. No gimmicks, no overengineered nonsense - just smart watersports accessories that make your time on the water better and your time out of the water less frustrating.
Thanks for supporting a small, independent brand that genuinely cares about the products it makes.
- Kieran
