I would go with something from a well known company.

I would go for a kite that has the riding qualities you are looking for. Now I change kites a lot, but my buddy is still on a Naish Cult from what I think is last century. He is pretty hard on gear....crashes his kite every 5 minutes.

There are never any guarantees, but you have to get a kite with bumpers since you self launch. You obviously are aware that it wears on the kite, but I agree it should last more than 6 months. My other buddies are self launching 1-4 times a day..probably 250+ days a year, and the 1.5 year old parks are still fine.

The Park has a lot of bumpers, some of which are bumpers with padding: http://www.naishkites.com/2012/kites/park.html

I know from before takoon has bumpers and are usually durable. North seems pretty good, but their bumpers are not 3d as far as I remember.

Since you've identified bridle lines and pullies as significant problems, I wonder if part of the problem lies with excessive sand or something getting into these parts.

I've got a few Cabrinha Crossbows, about half a decade old, with my 9m and 12m versions each having hundreds of cycles of use. I can't rememember having to replace or repair anything on those kites.

Prior to the Crossbows, I had various other kites that needed occasional canopy or bladder repairs. That may have been due to generally less developed kite construction in those earlier years, as well as my relative lack of experience at the time, resulting in more hard knocks for my kites.

I think three of the most established inflatable kite brands, North, Naish and Cabrinha are pretty solid and comparable in terms of quality (and performance and engineering in general). Some other brands are probably solid too, but there are also some backed by less experience, capital and other resources. Some of these could be less reliable.

Some other kites come from established paraglider brands, including Flysurfer and Ozone, and I have no doubt are designed and constructed to very high standards.

Cheers,
James

I don't know what the most durable kite is, just wanted to toss out an idea as to why peoples experience with wear on various kite parts may vary. I've noticed as I travel around that sand textures are really different from area to area. Kite beach in Maui has a large grain loose sand that brushes off fairly easily after it dries, while SPI has a fine grained powdery sand that cakes and penetrates everything (SPI also has some of the highest salt concentration in the world, according to rumor). My sand in the Cook Inlet region of Alaska has a moderate mix of mud and clay in it and low salt content.

Some people insist that using a wax or some type of treatment on their center line assembly keeps the wear down, other people say that it attracts grit and causes shorter life. In some areas swivels work as advertised, in other areas they get gummed up with every session. There may be areas where a more open pulley works better than a closed pulley.

Just a thought - original poster might want to examine the gear of other people in his area to see what is lasting well.

i know which one it is, but i am certainly not going to disclose its brand. i don't want them to get too cocky and make their product more expensive

On the LEI side, big recommendation for Gin kites. No pullies, over-built reinforcements for the bridles, great use of dacron on the sail, particularly at the trailing edge, solid bar. They sell for a really good price too (complete).

+1 for Flysurfer too. I've used them for 5 years now and the only repair I had to do was a 1cm long rip after I put my kite into a tree. Amazing that the only damage was a very small rip.

The Ion (from Flexifoil) is a very sick kite, is a bit heavier than most I think, but can't go wrong with them, they're tough man. The construction is super solid. I know people that have then since 09 (Ion3) and they still ride them no problem, and the beat the crap out of them.

I try to baby my kites, but my Ion saw a lot of surf time, and got wasted a couple of times in it, but made it out OK, not a scratch, seriously.

Flexifoil makes a wave targeted kite, the Proton, I hear is super tough as well.

I no longer ride them, but I've recently switched to the Switch Method, havent gotten them yet, just placed my order the other night, although not as robust as the Flexifoil kites, they look very tough as well.

IMO

toughest kites I ever owned were PL arcs. Things will fly just fine with a 4 inch gaping hole. Easy peasy repair and super simple 4 line. No bridle at all back then.

Much preffer the handling of the tubes Im on now and they can last pretty well if you treat em right.

I would go Ozone or Switch if you want stuff to last, if your on a budget definately give the switch's a look but both brands have exceptional quality. I decided to buy the element from switch and comparing them to ozone's quality they are very similiar, but at different prices.

Yes indeed foils are at least twice as durable as leis.

BUT they are crap in the waves with limited self rescue options!.

Trev. try my 10m c4 next time you see me. it wont boost as well as your sb (but its not too bad)but it will do waves better and loves to loop. its my favourite water kite.

ps no pullies on ozone kites.

The toughest I know are the Cabrinha S E (School editions) these kites get pounded all their lives and do not suffer from it. They do cost more though as thicker materials are used.
Nico