diff --git a/.bingo/Variables.mk b/.bingo/Variables.mk
index 16a0e58a2..273cfb709 100644
--- a/.bingo/Variables.mk
+++ b/.bingo/Variables.mk
@@ -53,11 +53,11 @@ $(GORELEASER): $(BINGO_DIR)/goreleaser.mod
 	@echo "(re)installing $(GOBIN)/goreleaser-v1.26.2"
 	@cd $(BINGO_DIR) && GOWORK=off $(GO) build -mod=mod -modfile=goreleaser.mod -o=$(GOBIN)/goreleaser-v1.26.2 "github.com/goreleaser/goreleaser"
 
-KIND := $(GOBIN)/kind-v0.27.0
+KIND := $(GOBIN)/kind-v0.29.0
 $(KIND): $(BINGO_DIR)/kind.mod
 	@# Install binary/ries using Go 1.14+ build command. This is using bwplotka/bingo-controlled, separate go module with pinned dependencies.
-	@echo "(re)installing $(GOBIN)/kind-v0.27.0"
-	@cd $(BINGO_DIR) && GOWORK=off $(GO) build -mod=mod -modfile=kind.mod -o=$(GOBIN)/kind-v0.27.0 "sigs.k8s.io/kind"
+	@echo "(re)installing $(GOBIN)/kind-v0.29.0"
+	@cd $(BINGO_DIR) && GOWORK=off $(GO) build -mod=mod -modfile=kind.mod -o=$(GOBIN)/kind-v0.29.0 "sigs.k8s.io/kind"
 
 KUSTOMIZE := $(GOBIN)/kustomize-v5.6.0
 $(KUSTOMIZE): $(BINGO_DIR)/kustomize.mod
diff --git a/.bingo/kind.mod b/.bingo/kind.mod
index 3037dbbaa..90ef6aa18 100644
--- a/.bingo/kind.mod
+++ b/.bingo/kind.mod
@@ -2,4 +2,4 @@ module _ // Auto generated by https://github.com/bwplotka/bingo. DO NOT EDIT
 
 go 1.20
 
-require sigs.k8s.io/kind v0.27.0
+require sigs.k8s.io/kind v0.29.0
diff --git a/.bingo/kind.sum b/.bingo/kind.sum
index b4115fe16..30e183508 100644
--- a/.bingo/kind.sum
+++ b/.bingo/kind.sum
@@ -64,6 +64,8 @@ sigs.k8s.io/kind v0.26.0 h1:8fS6I0Q5WGlmLprSpH0DarlOSdcsv0txnwc93J2BP7M=
 sigs.k8s.io/kind v0.26.0/go.mod h1:t7ueEpzPYJvHA8aeLtI52rtFftNgUYUaCwvxjk7phfw=
 sigs.k8s.io/kind v0.27.0 h1:PQ3f0iAWNIj66LYkZ1ivhEg/+Zb6UPMbO+qVei/INZA=
 sigs.k8s.io/kind v0.27.0/go.mod h1:RZVFmy6qcwlSWwp6xeIUv7kXCPF3i8MXsEXxW/J+gJY=
+sigs.k8s.io/kind v0.29.0 h1:3TpCsyh908IkXXpcSnsMjWdwdWjIl7o9IMZImZCWFnI=
+sigs.k8s.io/kind v0.29.0/go.mod h1:ldWQisw2NYyM6k64o/tkZng/1qQW7OlzcN5a8geJX3o=
 sigs.k8s.io/yaml v1.3.0 h1:a2VclLzOGrwOHDiV8EfBGhvjHvP46CtW5j6POvhYGGo=
 sigs.k8s.io/yaml v1.3.0/go.mod h1:GeOyir5tyXNByN85N/dRIT9es5UQNerPYEKK56eTBm8=
 sigs.k8s.io/yaml v1.4.0 h1:Mk1wCc2gy/F0THH0TAp1QYyJNzRm2KCLy3o5ASXVI5E=
diff --git a/.bingo/variables.env b/.bingo/variables.env
index 07e40961f..b773bd006 100644
--- a/.bingo/variables.env
+++ b/.bingo/variables.env
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ GOLANGCI_LINT="${GOBIN}/golangci-lint-v1.64.6"
 
 GORELEASER="${GOBIN}/goreleaser-v1.26.2"
 
-KIND="${GOBIN}/kind-v0.27.0"
+KIND="${GOBIN}/kind-v0.29.0"
 
 KUSTOMIZE="${GOBIN}/kustomize-v5.6.0"
 
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index a576df128..b587f7c7a 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -40,12 +40,6 @@ endif
 # Ensure ENVTEST_VERSION follows correct "X.Y.x" format
 ENVTEST_VERSION := $(K8S_VERSION).x
 
-# Not guaranteed to have patch releases available and node image tags are full versions (i.e v1.28.0 - no v1.28, v1.29, etc.)
-# The K8S_VERSION is set by getting the version of the k8s.io/client-go dependency from the go.mod
-# and sets major version to "1" and the patch version to "0". For example, a client-go version of v0.28.5
-# will map to a K8S_VERSION of 1.28.0
-KIND_CLUSTER_IMAGE := kindest/node:v$(K8S_VERSION).0
-
 # Define dependency versions (use go.mod if we also use Go code from dependency)
 export CERT_MGR_VERSION := v1.17.1
 export WAIT_TIMEOUT := 60s
@@ -160,7 +154,7 @@ generate: $(CONTROLLER_GEN) #EXHELP Generate code containing DeepCopy, DeepCopyI
 	$(CONTROLLER_GEN) --load-build-tags=$(GO_BUILD_TAGS) object:headerFile="hack/boilerplate.go.txt" paths="./..."
 
 .PHONY: verify
-verify: k8s-pin fmt generate manifests crd-ref-docs generate-test-data #HELP Verify all generated code is up-to-date. Runs k8s-pin instead of just tidy.
+verify: k8s-version-check k8s-pin fmt generate manifests crd-ref-docs generate-test-data #HELP Verify all generated code is up-to-date. Runs k8s-pin instead of just tidy.
 	git diff --exit-code
 
 # Renders registry+v1 bundles in test/convert
@@ -321,7 +315,7 @@ kind-deploy: manifests
 .PHONY: kind-cluster
 kind-cluster: $(KIND) #EXHELP Standup a kind cluster.
 	-$(KIND) delete cluster --name $(KIND_CLUSTER_NAME)
-	$(KIND) create cluster --name $(KIND_CLUSTER_NAME) --image $(KIND_CLUSTER_IMAGE) --config ./kind-config.yaml
+	$(KIND) create cluster --name $(KIND_CLUSTER_NAME) --config ./kind-config.yaml
 	$(KIND) export kubeconfig --name $(KIND_CLUSTER_NAME)
 
 .PHONY: kind-clean
@@ -450,4 +444,8 @@ update-demos:
 	  ./hack/demo/generate-asciidemo.sh -u -n $$nm $$(basename $$script); \
 	done
 
+.PHONY: k8s-version-check
+k8s-version-check: #EXHELP verify tooling aligns with k8s MAJOR.MINOR version
+	go run hack/tools/k8smaintainer/main.go --kube-version $(K8S_VERSION) --kind-mod-path ./.bingo/kind.mod
+
 include Makefile.venv
diff --git a/hack/tools/k8saligner/main.go b/hack/tools/k8saligner/main.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..42a5d8672
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hack/tools/k8saligner/main.go
@@ -0,0 +1,110 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"bufio"
+	"errors"
+	"fmt"
+	"io"
+	"net/http"
+	"os"
+	"regexp"
+	"strings"
+
+	"github.com/Masterminds/semver/v3"
+	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
+)
+
+func main() {
+	var kubeVersionString, kindModPath string
+
+	var rootCmd = &cobra.Command{
+		Use:   "k8saligner",
+		Short: "Compares Kubernetes version with kind image version",
+		RunE: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
+			kindVersion, err := parseKindVersion(kindModPath)
+			if err != nil {
+				return fmt.Errorf("failed to parse kind version: %w", err)
+			}
+
+			imageVersion, err := fetchKindImageVersion(kindVersion)
+			if err != nil {
+				return fmt.Errorf("failed to fetch kind image version: %w", err)
+			}
+
+			kubeVersion, err := semver.NewVersion(kubeVersionString)
+			if err != nil {
+				return fmt.Errorf("invalid Kubernetes version format: %w", err)
+			}
+			match := ((kubeVersion.Major() == imageVersion.Major()) && (kubeVersion.Minor() == imageVersion.Minor()))
+
+			fmt.Printf("Kubernetes version: %s\nKind image version: %s\n", kubeVersion, imageVersion)
+			if match {
+				fmt.Println("major and minor versions match.")
+				os.Exit(0)
+			} else {
+				fmt.Println("major and minor versions do NOT match.")
+				os.Exit(1)
+			}
+			return nil
+		},
+	}
+
+	rootCmd.Flags().StringVar(&kubeVersionString, "kube-version", "", "Kubernetes version string (e.g. v1.29.0)")
+	rootCmd.Flags().StringVar(&kindModPath, "kind-mod-path", "", "Path to .bingo/kind.mod file")
+	_ = rootCmd.MarkFlagRequired("kube-version")
+	_ = rootCmd.MarkFlagRequired("kind-mod-path")
+
+	if err := rootCmd.Execute(); err != nil {
+		fmt.Println(err)
+		os.Exit(1)
+	}
+}
+
+func parseKindVersion(path string) (string, error) {
+	f, err := os.Open(path)
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", err
+	}
+	defer f.Close()
+
+	scanner := bufio.NewScanner(f)
+	re := regexp.MustCompile(`require sigs\.k8s\.io/kind\s+([^\s]+)`)
+	for scanner.Scan() {
+		line := scanner.Text()
+		if m := re.FindStringSubmatch(line); m != nil {
+			fmt.Printf("Found kind version: %s\n", m[1])
+			return m[1], nil
+		}
+	}
+	return "", errors.New("kind version not found in mod file")
+}
+
+func fetchKindImageVersion(kindVersion string) (*semver.Version, error) {
+	url := fmt.Sprintf("https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/kind/raw/refs/tags/%s/pkg/apis/config/defaults/image.go", kindVersion)
+	resp, err := http.Get(url)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	defer resp.Body.Close()
+	if resp.StatusCode != 200 {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to fetch file: %s", resp.Status)
+	}
+	return extractImageVersion(resp.Body)
+}
+
+func extractImageVersion(r io.Reader) (*semver.Version, error) {
+	scanner := bufio.NewScanner(r)
+	re := regexp.MustCompile(`^const\s+Image\s+=\s+"[^:]+:?(.*)"`)
+	for scanner.Scan() {
+		line := scanner.Text()
+		if m := re.FindStringSubmatch(line); m != nil {
+			tagString := strings.Split(m[1], "@")[0] // floating tag part before any hash
+			v, err := semver.NewVersion(tagString)
+			if err != nil {
+				return nil, fmt.Errorf("invalid version format: %s", m[1])
+			}
+			return v, nil
+		}
+	}
+	return nil, errors.New("image constant not found")
+}