KiteKim

Go to your nearest shop and try some on, then you know what you like and don't. I love my mystic harness, it's so comfortable and will probably last me ages. Most importantly, get the sizing right. I searched the web and found that you need a size smaller than you would expect. I normally take a medium but I need a small or extra small harness. Don't get a really cheap one that doesn't fit well either, after all you are wearing it for a while and if it's ucomfortable you will develop bad posture and then end up injured or with a painful back - which will prevent you from kiting!

Paint the trampa stuff? I think you can get dye for plastics, there was a thread about changing the colour of hubs somewhere on here.

You can get an additive to put in paint that provides grip on boats. I can't remember what it's called but International make it. Pretty sure it would work in varnish, mix it up and paint it on. Might not be that clear; I have only tried it on white paint but probably worth a look at if you want a varnished effect.

Probably should have remebered what I said they should be!

Wicked mars bar trick! What happened to the leg??? Never seen marks like that before!

It only takes 1 idiot to ruin something for everyone, shame we seem to get a lot of them! You cant board or buggy at Hill Head. Just turning up with a small kite was enough for a couple of kiters to come and explain to me how boarding was 'illegal' there. So, a few weeks later I cycle down with my flow and set up (about 40m away from the other guy there) when he launches his kite, hops on a board he (that had been hiding under bags and other bits and pieces) and comes over to tell me stop setting up in 'his area'. Hill Head isn't massive, I was static flying and the douchebag does not need to whole field to himself. Maybe the blokes that 'explained' to me how boarding was banned should teach him a lesson. Phew! Rant over

Bksa

Probably!

I cut my strop, then tied knots in the end so I could attach a proper strop if I want. Not sure why I'd want to though, never found a reason to hook in to a 2m.

Reminds me of a history lesson with our exchange students. I have never felt so awkward in my life... Might have also upset out language assistant by giving this as post war German history: War ended Wall went up We won World Cup Wall came down They won Eurovision Whoops I couldn't say a bad word about them though, the family that looked after me were very hospitable. One complaint, the cheese selection in the North-West isn't particularly impressive - unless you like it smoked.

That's so amazing, such a good idea!

Glad to be of service!

Look at 3 or 4 weather sites to get idea of the wind. One site may say 20 - 30 knts and another 10 - 20 (has happened to me)! Then go out. I look at a live weather station to check when I get there and watch the trees near my house to see what the wind is really doing. Basically, just guess! If the trees are falling over, it's probably not safe. If the trees aren't moving at all, it probably won't be fun.

My insurance ran out last month; do I have to go on the website and apply again or is there another way to renew? Cheers Kim

Far to many people think that it won't happen to them, this is true of most water sports. I was chatting to some sailing friends about man overboard drills; most yachties would practice with a fender either on purpose or because some dropped it. However, you wouldn't think to try it with an actual person in heavy weather so that you'd be prepared if it ever happened. This had led to fatal incidents. The same thing applies to kite surfers, you wouldn't think of what you would do if you lost your kit and if it happened you wouldn't be thinking straight. With so much to think about already very few people plan what they would do if the worst happened, so when it does they don't always do the right thing. Most things like this are learnt because it happened to someone else. The marine industry produces accident reports that include details and lessons learned from it. Unfortunately this is the way we often learn things. After all, it's easy to look back in hindsight. As it has already been said it is impossible to have a plan for every eventuality and lots of people overlook such issues like reporting lost gear. For example when I started kiting I didn't think about things like insurance and without forums like this I would never of thought of it. Reporting lost gear only occurred to me because others have told me. Hopefully this thread will provide all that read it with the knowledge they need. If mistakes are made we can all learn from them whether it be what to do next time, what to do if it happened to you or what to do if you see a lost kite.

Cool stuff (perhaps not my choice of music ) but as snab said claim you did it, most people wont know otherwise

For the first vid?? If so: The Glitch Mob - We Can Make the World Stop (Featured on the new GoProHD 2 vid on YouTube) Awesome vids BTW I need to go kiting more...

That looked amazing! Fun police...

Want. Light would never be a problem again!

I use a mixture: windguru, bbc weather, windfinder, met office, xc weather and a local weather observation post (bramblemet). Never rely on one forecast alone it won't be accurate and tyou might be in for a shock if your expecting light winds! Get an idea from 3 or 4 sites, check bramblemet and then decide is my plan.

They are warm I have a set of Musto BR1s for sailing. Might not be great for freestyle though, coastal gear tends to sacrifice some flexibility for warmth and comfort. I have some snowboard pants and they are toasty (fleece lined!) and usually wear them with normal thermals and I have never been cold.

That would be really useful on yachts because: -Smaller than conventional life ring and probably lighter(?) so good for racers. -Easier to throw than conventional life ring making throwing in bad weather easier. -Line can be attached to boat for easy retrieval and to prevent it from being lost (Round the Island race 2 years ago I counted no less than 12 life rings in the water that couldn't be recovered. If this would be attached than you could get it back easily and have a better chance of rescuing the casualty yourself.) Does it use a similar system to a lifejacket for inflation? If so then yachts that already carry lifejacket CO2 canisters wouldn't have to buy extras.

My jaw just fell off!

1 hour of DH... AWESOME! I have to ride through foam now (7:20), it looks amazing!

Yep. Some owners are complete a***holes. Last year I was at my local spot (just flying not boarding) and I nearly decapitated a dog. There is a small hill in the middle and there was a woman walking her dog the other side. She threw a ball which damn near hit me in the head(!) and her dog came chasing after it. I had just landed my kite, grabbed a drink and was about to launch again. As I pulled the lines tight and the kite started to fill this dog came barrelling straight towards my lines (which were at its head height) and nearly took its head off! Thankfully I lifted my arms to avoid the dog but the owner didn't give a crap about nearly hitting me or her out of control dog... The kite surfers at my local all leave their bags in the middle of the field where there kites were and quite often you see a dog run to first one, pee on it then see the next and pee on that ect. ect. Must be annoying for them but it made me laugh!