Rookie in Cartagena, Colombia -RRD vs Airush vs Wainman-

[tzigari]

Hi everyone,
Last year I moved to Cartagena,Colombia, on the Caribbean coast.

Nice side/in shore (N, NNE trade winds, 14-25 Kts from November/December to February/March. Out of season you have to travel up north to Cabo de la Vela. 15/25 kts year-around, offshore, with local motor boats looking after kiters. They charge a small fee whenever someone requires assistance.

I have taken a couple of courses and now I'm looking into buying my own equipment, one kite only. I intend to practice as much as possible, here, in Brasil (possibly) and in Europe over the summer.
I have been reading as much as I can and talked to people at the beach and, so far I'm inclined towards:
1) 2012, RRD Vision, 11m, or
2) 2013 Airush DNA, 10m
3) 2013 Wainman Rabbit Punch, 10.5m.

I love the Wainman but, I'm not sure this is an appropriate setup for a beginner.

I'm 77 Kg (169lb)

Any opinion out there, would be greatly appreciated. Also, anyone know a good, fairly priced dealer, that ships world wide ? I have found a few well-stocked UK shops over the internet

cheers

[AlexandreBorges]

Could you explain better how to kitesurf in Cartagena is? And what about San Andres?
Is it easy to buy equipment around? Are they a good deal?

Do you think in Panama, this kind of equipment would be under a better deal than in Colombia?

[nherbold]

Personally I am a big Wainman fan and I am curious as to why you say you really like 'm. My guess is that you used them in your lessons??
First of all you will get used to any kite you will ride for a longer time and while I'm not familiar with the other 2 kites they do look like solid kites for beginners too. The Punch will also be just fine.

Price is also an important factor to consider and the 2012 will most likely be cheaper than the 2013 kites. Changes are that you will be crashing your kite quite a bit as you are practicing new stuff and it will feel slightly less bad when you rip a kite you paid 500 bucks for than one you paid over a 1000 bucks for. Having said that I do recommend buying a new kite over buying a used kite simply because you rarely know what you are actually buying when you buy second hand. IMO the wainman kites are one of the strongest kites out there, but I haven't many bad things about RRD or Airush either. Also don't forget the bar; the 2013 carrot bar certainly is more friendly for beginners than the 2012 I also heard good things about the Airush & RRD bar. As long as it has all the safety features you should be fine

Then there is kite design...however trivial it does play a role in deciding what you ride for some people. And opinions on what's cool vary person to person so that one you have to decide for yourself.

Hope this helps and good luck
Maybe see you out on the water in Brazil sometime. This place is amazing for kiting pretty much all year round

[tzigari]

Could you explain better how to kitesurf in Cartagena is? And what about San Andres?
Is it easy to buy equipment around? Are they a good deal?

Do you think in Panama, this kind of equipment would be under a better deal than in Colombia?

Not sure about Panama.
Cartagena has a couple of good spots. The main place is called La Boquilla. Good winds, hot water, long stretches of unpopulated beaches.There are people here kitesurfing from all over the world. Some nut cases kitesurf right in front of the historic city, but that's not for everyone. It's all about rocks and waves and, impressing the tourists.

The thing here is Cartagena is that you have to catch the trade winds, december to march, generally. Otherwise, as I said, you must travel up north to Cabo de la Vela.

In Cabo de la Vela you'll find a couple of kitesurfing schools. Cabo has no electricity and the facilities are pretty basic. You can rent a hammock and/or small rooms and have succulent fish and lobster meals arranged, with local Wayuu ladies/families. The Wayuus are the indigenous ethno-linguistic group who inhabit the region.

I haven't seen any kite shops in Cartagena. Although, you could buy used equipment from the schools. And, they say that they can help you get new stuff as well, since, I guess, they have ties with distributors. I prefer saving a few $$$ and buying online (I've ordered things from the US or Europe, via amazon or other sellers, and had no problems) or get my stuff when I'm out of the country.

By the way, today is a great, windy day, 16-20 kts, choppy waters. I'm off to the beach now !!

I hope this helps!

[tzigari]

Personally I am a big Wainman fan and I am curious as to why you say you really like 'm. My guess is that you used them in your lessons??
First of all you will get used to any kite you will ride for a longer time and while I'm not familiar with the other 2 kites they do look like solid kites for beginners too. The Punch will also be just fine.

Price is also an important factor to consider and the 2012 will most likely be cheaper than the 2013 kites. Changes are that you will be crashing your kite quite a bit as you are practicing new stuff and it will feel slightly less bad when you rip a kite you paid 500 bucks for than one you paid over a 1000 bucks for. Having said that I do recommend buying a new kite over buying a used kite simply because you rarely know what you are actually buying when you buy second hand. IMO the wainman kites are one of the strongest kites out there, but I haven't many bad things about RRD or Airush either. Also don't forget the bar; the 2013 carrot bar certainly is more friendly for beginners than the 2012 I also heard good things about the Airush & RRD bar. As long as it has all the safety features you should be fine

Then there is kite design...however trivial it does play a role in deciding what you ride for some people. And opinions on what's cool vary person to person so that one you have to decide for yourself.

Hope this helps and good luck
Maybe see you out on the water in Brazil sometime. This place is amazing for kiting pretty much all year round

Thank you so much for your kind answer.
To be frank, I never actually tried a Wainman kite. I'm attracted to these kites on the bases of purely "empirical" reasons, so to speak. Forums and watching videos are my only references so far.

At the school I had the chance to try the RRD, a few F-One Bandit and some old and beaten rags.
Today at the beach someone had an Advance -Ikarus that looked pretty interesting. this guy said that Advance are excellent kites of superior quality... Any idea?

cheers very much

[nherbold]

Advance kites...didn't they also have the Kaiman kite??
Not familiar with the Ikarus (but looks OK from what I can see from the website) but I remember the kaiman being butt-ugly. But also know people that liked flying them and that should be more important.

Now there is going to be a big difference between a Wainman and an Advance kite, but as a beginner you are not going to notice this as you never flew the wainman before .
Whatever kite you buy you are going to crash it too and at some point it will break so personally I wouldn't focus too much on the brand but rather go for something that is a bit more affordable and once you decide on what type of riding you want to do (freestyle; free ride, wave) then focus on getting a kite that suits that type of riding best for you. As you are learning I wouldn't recommend buying a C kite as that will increase your learning curve, but once you can ride comfortably you might find a C shape kite to be better than anything else..

Yes I like the design and graphics of the wainman rabbit series too, but I fly them because I like flying them more than an Fone, Cabrinha, North or whatever. That's just me and that's not saying much because IMO no one can tell you what you should fly.

If you get a chance try to demo a few kites before you buy

[AlexandreBorges]

As for kites, I really think Wainman are the most expensive kites and some details on quality and finishing are simply disappointing.

I like to buy my kites on them being all around and up to spare parts around. So I learned with a North and have been buying Cabrinha's since then. As I had some left last October I bought my first C (slingshot Fuel 2013).

Recently I tested Airush (Razor, Lithium, Wave) and they fly great as Cabrinha's and North's but as a "new" company I believe they should offer lower prices.

I also tested Best Cabo and they are really well finished. Although I didn't like the plastic bar and its ejection system. (plastic, plastic, plastic...)

[wrogu]

Airush being a new brand ....

[tzigari]

Advance kites...didn't they also have the Kaiman kite??
Not familiar with the Ikarus (but looks OK from what I can see from the website) but I remember the kaiman being butt-ugly. But also know people that liked flying them and that should be more important.

Now there is going to be a big difference between a Wainman and an Advance kite, but as a beginner you are not going to notice this as you never flew the wainman before .
Whatever kite you buy you are going to crash it too and at some point it will break so personally I wouldn't focus too much on the brand but rather go for something that is a bit more affordable and once you decide on what type of riding you want to do (freestyle; free ride, wave) then focus on getting a kite that suits that type of riding best for you. As you are learning I wouldn't recommend buying a C kite as that will increase your learning curve, but once you can ride comfortably you might find a C shape kite to be better than anything else..

Yes I like the design and graphics of the wainman rabbit series too, but I fly them because I like flying them more than an Fone, Cabrinha, North or whatever. That's just me and that's not saying much because IMO no one can tell you what you should fly.

If you get a chance try to demo a few kites before you buy

the Kaiman yes!
the guy on the beach uses a Kaiman 12. I kind of liked the design. It's sturdy, triple stitch sewing, coated lines, I didn't love the bar tho... I prefer bars where the de-power ropes are protected or contained within a tube like the RRD Global Bar or the Wainman Carot... .

I hear what you are saying. The thought of my a-few-months-old kite torn apart, is quite scary! I might just buy a bargain kite from one of the schools (RRD or F-One) and postpone getting the new kite until next year. However, the local schools never ever wash their kites with fresh water, and even the newest ones are well used-up. And, these used kites are not much cheaper than new ones. The fact that here in Cartagena there are no proper kite-shops also doesn't help. Another possibility, at end of April I'm off to see my family in Europe for a couple of weeks, and I might just wait and get one from a shop over there.

In the mean time, I'm renting my equipment for 20 dollars a day, which is quite a bargain. Although, sometimes I do end up with pretty old, really crap set ups.

[AlexandreBorges]

Airush being a new brand ....

Sorry, but it is. No offense, although I was careful enough to put it between ".
Or would you compare it to Cabrinha, North and Naish as for global reach?
It's not because I claim to be there first I am.
Everybody will say it was there in 98/99, but as long as it stayed in your backyard...