woodsy

sorry, not too clear was it!!! i meant that if you have the kite low and are already travelling pretty quickly, when you get a gust, rather than getting pulled onto your toes, the kite will accelerate you and the kite will also accelerate in the direction it is going. the board will grip onto the ground but generally won't skid out (unless its a big gust!) so assuming that you have the kite pointing toward the direction you are going rather than toward the sky, it will accelerate towards the edge of the window and be much more controlable. if you have it high then yes you get blasted with uncontrolable power and end up overtaking it resulting in luffing and trouble when the kite ends up falling into the power!! hope that explains what i mean. hard to explain you will know just what i mean when you get out there, and you will definitely find it easier to stop/slow/and go upwind. have fun

slowing down and stopping...... ive had a few issues with this myself! the best way, as has been said, is to slide the back of the board to bleed some power. but i can hear you think "how the hell do i do this when i am getting lurched on to my toes?" ok... this bit sounds back to front but i reckon its the all time best begginers advice..... keep the kite low. although more powerful, you get a lot of horizontal pull which is easy to power slide against, instead of vertical which isnt because you feel like you will face plant. if you keep the kite low it will eventually work its way ahead of you and over to the edge of the power window. then you can just fly the kite out of the window whilst carving up wind and stop. if you keep the kite low you will also be able to go up wind much easier as you will hold your line much better rather than getting pulled upwards and losing friction on the ground. finally, when those gusts hit, the kite will lurch froward when low rather than YOU lurching onto your toes when the kite is high and a gust hits. some geezer told me this in the park when i was learning and it sorted me right out. hope it helps you too. have fun woodsy ps i once couldnt stop, didnt have any kite killers so let go of one of the handles which promptly shot off at a hell of rate and nearly killed someone. not good.

try before yo buy? ok guys i understand the advantages of trying before you buy, but if you are a total novice, as 90% of people are when they buy their first board what help is discovering that you can fall off both boards?!?! i recently bought my first board as a total novice which was an air-s. the dude in the shop offered me a trial..... i looked out the window at the force 5 and then at my blade 4.9 and thought to myself.... all the best mate!! my advice mate is buy the board that gets no stick from anyone, the air-s. just my opinion woodsy