too many kites to choose

[Ouch!!]

Hi all

I was wondering if anyone can help me out by suggesting a kite that would suit me. I have a mbs core 95 landboard and have been carving it up on the mountains, but want to get into the kites. I have a shit load of people free back beaches that I want to take advantage of. I have never used a kite before and don't want to blow the bank out too much.

cheers

[BobM]

Hi Ouch!

Welcome to XK. It would help if we knew where you were. Do your beaches have lots of hard-packed sand? Are you light weight or a heavy weight? Do you have lots of protective gear?

Cheers

BobM

[Ouch!!]

I live in mount gambier right down the bottom of SA. the beaches range from hard sand that goes on for 20km+ to soft sand beaches to massive sand dunes that also go on forever. I have the basic knee, elbow, wrist pads for skating plus a helmet. was looking into a set of motorx pants. I am 6ft3 and 86kgs. hope that is enough info

cheers Ouch!!

[Steve]

G'day Ouch

Welcome to XK. Thats a magic part of the world you live in for kitesurfing and landkiting, the Coorong area is absolutely amazing.

Great that it is finally getting a good flush with fresh water too.

At your size I'd recommend an 8-10 depower foil, something like the Ozone Access or Frenzy/Manta. We have several ex demo kites that are extremely well priced and would give you years of fun. Are you planning to get a buggy?

Prices for 8-10 kites range from $800 - $1300 for ex demo or last years superseeded models, check our website for bargains in the "clearance section" or call us on 02 95296894 and we can walk you through whats available.

[jhn.holgate]

Hi Ouch. Check out the SA section in the forum. There's a meet at Kingston on Jan 22-26. Should be well worth the trip - quite a few of us are going - buggy's/landboards and kiteboards too (I think!). If you haven't flown a power kite before, I would suggest a 3-4m fixed bridle - any of the ones Kitepower & Briskites are selling are good kites. Once you get to know it you'll end up with something a lot bigger (and more expensive) but your 3-4m kite can come out on the high wind days.

[Jason]

It is really going to depend on your budget.

Fixed bridle are cheaper and I prefer them in a buggy but for landboard you will be much better off with a depower.

We are running out the Apex II as the Apex III is on the way. Details are here- http://www.briskites.com.au/index.php?l=product_detail&p=230

Otherwise we have our ex demo Montana V up for sale here- http://www.extremekites.com.au/forums/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=14401&view=unread#unread

If your not in a hurry to get a kite you could consider signing up for the EK demo kite scheme and trying a few out.

Jas

[jhn.holgate]

If your not in a hurry to get a kite you could consider signing up for the EK demo kite scheme and trying a few out.

Now there's a good idea. I was thinking of a smaller fixed bridle 'cos I know what I did to my small fixed bridle while I was learning There sure aint no law that says you can't learn to fly on a big depower though.....

[JKS]

It's cause Land boarding requires a lot more balance which is combined with leaning against the kite.

Use a smaller fixed bridle when you learn in the buggy .... beeeeewdeeeeful. Try it learning with a land board and it will tend to be snappy/on and off. This makes it much harder to get it all together while you learn. You will face plant

MUCH better with a bigger de-power ....... cruizy and floaty

[Ouch!!]

thanks guys, I have a starting point to work with now. I will definitely make the trip to Kingston to check a few of the kites out and see some in action. I see that there are a few kite schools around the trap are they worth a look or is practice makes perfect the best way to go. I don't know if it helps much but I got into stunt kites for a while but found them boring would rather be dragged... I mean pulled along by one and have some fun.

cheers Ouch!!

[Steve]

thanks guys, I have a starting point to work with now. I will definitely make the trip to Kingston to check a few of the kites out and see some in action. I see that there are a few kite schools around the trap are they worth a look or is practice makes perfect the best way to go. I don't know if it helps much but I got into stunt kites for a while but found them boring would rather be dragged... I mean pulled along by one and have some fun.

cheers Ouch!!

I think you will find all the kite schools are kitesurfing schools, they will most likely know next to nothing about land kites.

Check out our clearance section for depower foils http://www.kitepower.com.au/catalog/cat ... Kites.html

Or consider the new Ozone Method, its such an easy kite to fly and it has performance to keep you interested and excited for years to come.

http://www.kitepower.com.au/catalog/pro ... t_249.html

Another excellent option for fixed bridle kites is the Peter Lynn range, particularly the Twister II http://www.kitepower.com.au/catalog/pro ... t_249.html

or ReactorII

http://www.kitepower.com.au/catalog/pro ... t_249.html

Keep in mind that one depower foil will cover the wind range of 2 fixed bridle kites, but depower foils must be flown on bars and you must be wearing a harness ( so you are physically attached to the kite). Best idea is to learn on a fixed bridle and don't harness into it and don't jump on land unless you are prepared to be injured and potentially incapacitated or worse.

[SoutherlyBuster]

First thing to learn is that the bigger traction kites can have a tremdous pull, so it's best to learn the kite skills on one of the smaller kites, ie 3m^2 or so on a fixed briddle. Since you have been flying stunt kites for a while perpaps you can omit the 3m^2 and go straight for a larger depower.

I both landboard and kite surf. I use cross over kites that are suitable for both land and water, which are also depowers: Peter Lynn Venom II 13m^2, Peter Lynn Synergy 8m^2 and Fly Surfer Speed III 12m^2. My 10 year old son also landboards and uses an Ozone Flow 3m^2 (fixed briddle).

As the others said, for landboarding you want plenty of depower to tune in the balance as the gusts come and go. The fixed briddles don't give that, you have to wash off the power by going further down wind or just hang on a grit it.

I must say the large depowers with plenty of float are much easier to learn on, but don't go out in big winds, take it easy at first and keep to light winds, as JKS said. The cross over kites are great because they handle both land and water and keeps the cost down. The Peter Lynn Venom II's are not a bad choice to start off with as they are now superceeded by the Synergy and Chargers, meaning some second hand ones should be coming through the system at bargain prices. A 10m^2 is sitting all by it's lonesome at KitePower Geelong at a bargin price and it is brand new.

If you want a new kite, some of the cross overs to consider are the Peter Lynn Chargers, HQ Neo and if you want to fork out the dollars the Fly Surfer Speed or Pyschos.

Oh and what size, well for my 67 kg, before I got the Fly Surfer, my Venom II 13m^2 was being used the most. I'd say a 10 m^2 would also do the job nicely, though not as much bottom end when the wind gets too light.

On the point of jumping. Be careful here. Personally I would not attempt jumping with the landboard until you have at least a years worth of experience (or more) under you belt. Remember the ground is a LOT harder than the water. As Steve said the consequences of stuffing up can be serious. There is a thread floating around about he fella that boosted with a Panch and ended up with split kidneys. George (Spartan) and I boost all the time at our local park for the land action, but generally use a bigger floaty kite for this. Remeber there is plenty of fun in just cruising without boosting.

If you find a bargain, post up your ideas and I'm sure some will come on past experiences with that kite.

Regards,

Norman.

[HarryRJumpjet]

Learn to fly something first, like a 3 or 4m fixed bridle in a wide wind range.

Then decide if you want to spend on bigger and better.

Dont rush. Be safe.