There are many reasons why windsurfing cratered:
windsurfing equipment is very heavy and unwieldy. You cant just drop it in your car and go. You also need a lot more equipment. to sail in the marginal 15-18 mph winds in the most of the US you need very large equipment. Finally, it is much harder to learn and is much more physically demanding.

The #1 reason why i switched to Kitesurfing is that the equipment fits in the trunk of my car and I can take it on planes without exorbitant fees. It turns out that I also get a lot more time on water because light winds are more fun and the equipment isnt unwieldy (like formula gear). The fact that it is less demanding and easier to learn is actually a minus. After 3 years of windsurfing I could only barely do a planing carve jibe (maybe 5%). Part of it was lack of windy days, the other part was difficulty. After under a season of kiting, maybe 30 sessions Im able to jump, carve jibe, ride toeside. Not that Im good at any of them, but I can do them.

I agree that a full beginner kit needs to cost under $700 (1 kite/bar, harness, board) new to bring it in competition to costs of entry level in other sports. Each kite can be an additional $400-500.

Kiting can much more easily be done on inland lakes (15mph) which means that a much larger # of people will be able to kite. Plus land kiting and snowkiting are actually pretty fun and can turn midwest corn fields to ski slopes in the winter. People in the midwest havent discovered snowkiting yet.

Online sales will help drop prices for sure - now is the time. People running these shows just need to be ethically responsible just as shops are(well most of them anyway).. ie safe kiting

u are looking at min US $450 just to manufacture board accessories kite bar and lines..

Thanks for the great post on here. I gleaned a metric ton of useful information. I couldnt agree more that beginner kits need to be in the $700 range.

Spike
http://www.kitegrab.com

Do we really want it that cheap?

Spike,

Interesting thread for sure, but the growth of this sport has very little to do with the cost of gear or the cost of lessons. It matters, but is not limiting the growth.

Trust me, there's plenty of money in the world, so why isn't it spent in droves on kiteboarding?

Access to training and access to quality riding spots and unpredictable conditions are the biggest barriers.

Take skiing and snowboarding.

I'm the head trainer for a local ski hill's ski school and also run a kite business where I have 4 others help me with lessons.

In one good day at the ski hill, I will teach more new students to ski than in an entire year of kite lessons.

Skiing is easy to schedule and we hardly ever have to reschedule.
Kite lessons are a pain in the ass. We're always rescheduling due to conditions.

Skiing can be done every day of the week all day long. Snow is more predictable and can also be made.
Kiteboarders are lucky to have 2 days a week to ride unless you live in one of the lucky windy places worldwide and you cannot make wind.

I'll be that in our small 3 state midwest (WI, MN, MI) region of ski hills, we teach and train 10 times more new skiers and snowboarders than all kite lessons worldwide. Add the Rockies, Canada, East Coast, Europe, Asia, etc. and the amount of new skiers and snowboarders worldwide is massive in comparison to kiteboarding.

The money matters only for those who want to get into our sport. Getting the masses into it will never happen and that's a good thing.

There's a lot of money being spent on skiing and snowboarding. Skis, boots, binding, jacket, pants, gloves, hood, goggles, polypro, rubbers, etc. and your over $2,000. Add trips to the mix and it's another $3,000+.

For kiteboarders, there's a much much bigger commitment to STAY in it once riders start. There are so many little things to know and understand. If you are a beginner skier, staying on green runs is easy and conditions will be the same. If you are a beginner kiteboarder, conditions can change quickly from green to blue, black or double black and heaven forbid Yellow (aka...Kevin Keele like).

Money makes a difference at times, but there's much more at play as to why kiteboarding will stay more of a fringe sport and that's not all bad.

Hope this helps and I welcome any comments, other thoughts, etc.

Bob
www.kiteridersllc.com

Bob,

GREAT observation. If only it would be cost effective to build an indoor kiteboarding arena with steady state winds of 20mph! Thanks for the post!

Spike