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New Kite Rider

Posted: Fri Apr 25, 2014 5:29 am
by Touche
Hi all completely new to the sport and only started up on a 1.4m HQ Symphony kite a friend gave to me for free to get a feel of it all.

After about 8 hours of practicing control I realized that this kite is much too small for me to jump straight into a big kite so I've been looking at 3-4m kites. I'll probably want to get a 3 line kite? As I might be practicing solo most of the time so I'd like an easy self launch. I'd be using this kite for scudding and a bit of body dragging on a board or kayak.

I live in New Jersey and am trying to buy locally or online. I haven't seen anything on craigslist so I suppose any online site will do at this point. I was just wondering if anyone could help recommend some kites as there seem to be a lot to choose from.

One more thing is in my search for a kite I found a board for sale. A Nobile NBL Kite Board hardly used @ $150, 142 x 42. I know I won't be using it for some time but is this too good of a deal to pass up to invest for the future once I start riding in the water?

By the way I'm 26 yrs old @ 195-200 lbs.

Thanks for any info!

Re: New Kite Rider

Posted: Fri Apr 25, 2014 6:00 am
by Toby
The board sounds like a great deal.
Good board too, and good for your weight!

But, do take lessons. Hospital is way more expensive!!!

Re: New Kite Rider

Posted: Fri Apr 25, 2014 6:27 am
by Touche
Toby wrote:The board sounds like a great deal.
Good board too, and good for your weight!

But, do take lessons. Hospital is way more expensive!!!

I'll definitely be taking lessons before touching anything larger than a training kite. I figure I could wrestle with a bit more power without getting any lift on a 3m kite. I'll probably wait till June-July and take a 3-5 hour session that goes into the water. Until then you think I can handle using a 3m kite doing figure 8's testing out power and maybe sit in a kayak testing drag?

Re: New Kite Rider

Posted: Fri Apr 25, 2014 2:35 pm
by t3rse
Touche wrote:
Toby wrote:The board sounds like a great deal.
Good board too, and good for your weight!

But, do take lessons. Hospital is way more expensive!!!

I'll definitely be taking lessons before touching anything larger than a training kite. I figure I could wrestle with a bit more power without getting any lift on a 3m kite. I'll probably wait till June-July and take a 3-5 hour session that goes into the water. Until then you think I can handle using a 3m kite doing figure 8's testing out power and maybe sit in a kayak testing drag?

You have the right attitude. Master a trainer before you take lessons. You should be able to fly it blind.

I have an HQ 350 trainer. In 18+ kts wind I can haul ass on a mountain board. Once you are good enough to not crash it, you can body drag and even board start on a surfboard. If you do put it in the water (I don't have the hydra, just regular foil), it is down for the count. Supposedly you can even modify these to depower.

Re: New Kite Rider

Posted: Fri Apr 25, 2014 5:03 pm
by Thor SFBay
I started out with a Naish Xeon trainer kite before I took lessons and then went straight to flying the real thing. Personally, I feel that 2 line trainer kites are good for understanding the wind window but are not very good for learning how to fly a real kite. Ocean Rodeo has a really cool 2m trainer kite that has 4 lines and is inflatable - the React. It even comes with it's own harness:
http://oceanrodeo.com/products/react

That thing seems like the perfect way to get really good at kite flying (which is 80% + of kiteboarding) before taking lessons and flying full size kites. The only drawback is the price, about $400. It's probably worth every penny though and you could sell it later to get some of the money back.

Re: New Kite Rider

Posted: Fri Apr 25, 2014 6:07 pm
by t3rse
Thor SFBay wrote:I started out with a Naish Xeon trainer kite before I took lessons and then went straight to flying the real thing. Personally, I feel that 2 line trainer kites are good for understanding the wind window but are not very good for learning how to fly a real kite. Ocean Rodeo has a really cool 2m trainer kite that has 4 lines and is inflatable - the React. It even comes with it's own harness:
http://oceanrodeo.com/products/react

That thing seems like the perfect way to get really good at kite flying (which is 80% + of kiteboarding) before taking lessons and flying full size kites. The only drawback is the price, about $400. It's probably worth every penny though and you could sell it later to get some of the money back.
I do agree on this: a two (or three) line is a very different beast than a depower. I do, however, still fly my trainer regularly, and it's good for getting people fixed by letting them play with it and a mountain board in lower winds (so they can't get going fast enough to get hurt)

But this is why I was saying that I've seen small 3 line foils converted to depower. I'm not sure what it takes to modify the bridle but I've seen it done.

Re: New Kite Rider

Posted: Sat Apr 26, 2014 2:55 am
by Touche
So depower are the 4 line kites? All the different line kites still use the same horizontal bar right? I've seen some kites with two smaller vertical bars.

Re: New Kite Rider

Posted: Sat Apr 26, 2014 8:13 pm
by Touche
Ok so after reading a lot I've gathered that learning on a 4 line is better but the price seems a bit high. Perhaps I would go after a Hydra 350? The 4-line Rodeo seems really cool but at my size perhaps a 3-4m is more appropriate?

My plan is to use this trainer a lot then take lessons here and there then step up to a bigger kite in the water.

Another reason why I'm being picky about this trainer kite is that I would probably use it in the future on a kayak as my friends tend to plan a lot of kayak/camping trips so it would be fun to mess around with. I also have am pretty surprised to find barely if no used trainer kites for sale anywhere.

Re: New Kite Rider

Posted: Sat Apr 26, 2014 9:16 pm
by dracop
If you're interested, I have an HQ Hydra II 420 (4.52m open cell ram foil) for sale for $300 shipped. I have a high Paypal rating altho new to this forum.

The kite has seen about 10 uses and is in great shape. I was teaching a friend on it two weeks ago to lure him into KSing and he was loving it.

Comes with an instructional DVD plus I can answer questions you may have. PM me if you'd like to know more.

In theory, if you knew for sure what kites you were going to buy I would suggest buying the 5m version of ot as trainer. In practice, kites can change a lot year to year and it's hard to predict what you will end up buying. If you buy a trainer and learn on it for 3-4 sessions, it will save you a lot off lessons altho be aware you only get limited value out of the trainer since you only need it 4-5 times max before it's pointless. Still, at $100/hr for 5 hours of lessons the trainer pays for itself and you can sell it or lure in friends to kitesurf with.

The larger trainer will let you practice body dragging; even if you go elsewhere, look at 4-5m kites.

Re: New Kite Rider

Posted: Sat Apr 26, 2014 11:45 pm
by Touche
I actually found a website that offers modding services for 3-line to a depower line setup. They actually have a Hydra 300 remodeled to a depower for sale. Not sure if I could post as it may seem like advertising.
dracop wrote:If you're interested, I have an HQ Hydra II 420 (4.52m open cell ram foil) for sale for $300 shipped. I have a high Paypal rating altho new to this forum.

The kite has seen about 10 uses and is in great shape. I was teaching a friend on it two weeks ago to lure him into KSing and he was loving it.

Comes with an instructional DVD plus I can answer questions you may have. PM me if you'd like to know more.

In theory, if you knew for sure what kites you were going to buy I would suggest buying the 5m version of ot as trainer. In practice, kites can change a lot year to year and it's hard to predict what you will end up buying. If you buy a trainer and learn on it for 3-4 sessions, it will save you a lot off lessons altho be aware you only get limited value out of the trainer since you only need it 4-5 times max before it's pointless. Still, at $100/hr for 5 hours of lessons the trainer pays for itself and you can sell it or lure in friends to kitesurf with.

The larger trainer will let you practice body dragging; even if you go elsewhere, look at 4-5m kites.
Check your PM.