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Kites for teenagers

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Hudsonhacker
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Kites for teenagers

Postby Hudsonhacker » Mon Nov 12, 2018 1:10 pm

Hi All

I just got my first kite for kiting with skis once the local lake freezes. (I know, wait until the ice is thick enough. No worries, I live near Montreal, Canada, we will have plenty of ice).

My question pertains to kites for my kids. They are both very good skiers, and want to get into kite skiing this winter. I am trying to determine what size kite to get them. Just for a bit of context, I am looking for foilf kites as we will not be using them in the lake in the summer. I want to get them something that they can learn on, but still requires a bar and a harness.
Kid 1
16 years old, 5 foot 6 inches. 130 lbs
Kid 2
14 years old, 5 foot 2 inches, 90 lbs (Do not want to attach this one to a 10m kite, I will never see him again!).

So, what size kite would be appropriate for each kid? Assuming winds of around 5-10mph (8 to 16 km/h) on a frozen lake with packed snow.

I think the small kid can use a 3m, but would a 3m be powerful enough to pull along the 130 lb kid as well? I will be buying them each a kite, so budget is important as well.

I am sure this has been asked before, but I have been reading threads for a while and keep getting sidetracked!

Thanks in Advance

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Pierrot
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Re: Kites for teenagers

Postby Pierrot » Mon Nov 12, 2018 1:22 pm

I asked the same question last year. Search on kiteforum.ca
I got lots of recommendations for a flysurfer Viron (4m or 6m). I could not find one used, so ended up buying an ozone access 4m to get my 10 yrs old to practice on skis in light wind.

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Re: Kites for teenagers

Postby KiterDon » Mon Nov 12, 2018 1:47 pm

Hi

You might want to consider Pansh kites. Ive got several Blaze 2s which have worked out well. They are very inexpensive (at least half the price of any of the big brands). Your kids will be hard on the kites at first so if they destroy one no great loss. You can order them online and they will show up on your doorstep in a week or so.

Kite sizing is a combination of the wind and snow conditions and your kids skill set. 3 to 5 meters should work for your kids in most conditions. You might want a 7 meter too for the larger child in light winds. Pansh are so cheap so I suggest you just buy the 7 too and have more flexibility with regards to conditions. It really sucks to show up at a lake and not be able to ride because you do not have the right size of kite...

Kiting is a great winter family activity. My kids who are now in their 20s are still riding.

Good Luck!

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Re: Kites for teenagers

Postby jakemoore » Mon Nov 12, 2018 5:29 pm

Price/quality/durability/safety mix seems about right on the single skins e.g. Flysurfer Peak.

If you are willing to consider pumping, my kids are enjoying the Naish Boxers which you can find on clearance.

I prefer foil kites for me, but the safety behavior dropping the bar on a tube kite appeals to me as I am more risk averse with the kids. They do need some more wind to fly.

As the wind approaches 5 mph you are definitely entering single skin territory to keep the kite in the air.

For their size I would start with Peak 4 and 6 and then move up from there.

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Re: Kites for teenagers

Postby Iceni » Tue Nov 13, 2018 6:52 pm

Peter Lynn Arc.

Something like the Charger v3 18m.

It's a Twinskin/Arc. And because of that there are a number of features that might suit you.

There are no inflatable bladders.. So nothing to pop if you crash on ice.
It's got good depower capabilities.
They handle gusts very well.
They water relaunch.
You can self land and launch them safely.

The biggest feature is the auto zenith. Let go of the bar and it'll fly up to the top of the wind window fully depowered, And it'll just stay there until you grab the bar again.

The biggest drawback to the arcs is they arn't competitive, Your not going to win any speed records, or jump the highest or the furthest. But the fact the kite is tame, and super easy to fly launch and land mean it's got other qualities that a more competitive kite might not have.





All of the Arc range from the Guerilla model and onwards would work for you. You will need the larger size for that wind range. Arcs are not like a regular kite they have a much smaller projected area than a standard foil. Peter Lynn have sold them since the early 2000's so there are quite a few older ones kicking about that generally sell for very good prices.

There are no bridles, And the only thing that can happen to them is either tears in the material, or the spars snap. You can replace the spars for home made ones, And often people will use aluminium tube rather than the carbon fibre ones that they came with. Either way a very robust design with a decent following.

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Re: Kites for teenagers

Postby joriws » Tue Nov 13, 2018 8:45 pm

I am using Flysurfer 6m Psycho4 with my back then 9y kid. Got it second hand cheap. Just adjusted bar throw from std 40cm to shorter 30cm. Perfect for the task and has saved me at mountains in 40+kn winds.

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Re: Kites for teenagers

Postby PBKiteboarding » Wed Dec 19, 2018 4:24 am

I did the same with my Son a while back. So many more choice now.
Ozone Hyperlink, the New Ozone Explore and the great Ozone Access like guys have mentioned.
Still have some other ideas for the youngest tough...
Budget with an Ozone Ignition V2 for certain reasons, many options can be 2 different kite models.

Paul
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Re: Kites for teenagers

Postby esignoretti » Wed Dec 19, 2018 7:23 am

I bought a 6m Flysurfer Viron for my 10y old (less than 40kgs).
The kite is perfect for light wind on the beach and first water starts and relaunches. But after a while it shows its limits (no upwind at all).

We are now trying a 6m Flysurfer Stoke. Looks better and, of course, faster. My kid loved it but we didn’t have the right condition to try in on the water yet. Not sure this kite will be good for water relaunches though. We tryed it with less than 10kn, but we will need a couple more knots to get it into the water IMO. Our spot is very good and safe for learning (shallow water for 200m from the beach)

Last summer he had Lessons with a 7m Peter Lynn LEI kite. With 15kn wind, but we were with instructor, radio helmets and far from the beach (started from a boat). Perfect conditions and he was able to do upwind and transitions.

Really hard to find kits designed for kids in my experience. I found the Ozone Uno, but hard to find used ones.

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Re: Kites for teenagers

Postby windrider1 » Thu Dec 20, 2018 6:49 am

Kites for beginner snowkiters would be low aspect ratio kites which usually means a low lift stable kite like the ozone access, HQ apex, flysurfer Peak, flysurfer viron. these are all depower kites or u may want to start with fixed bridle which are way cheaper but stay away from pansh their kites mostly come with unknown defects straight from the factory . lots of used kites from quality manufacturers out there on websites like ikitesurf and ebay . Im assuming they have some type of kite experience so no need to start with trainer if no experience thn better to start on a trainer . A good depower kite size for the windrange u mentioned would be like 7m or 8m or if u go fixed bridle a 3.5 or 4 m would work.

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Re: Kites for teenagers

Postby Hardwater Kiter » Thu Dec 20, 2018 7:31 pm

Iceni wrote:
Tue Nov 13, 2018 6:52 pm
The biggest drawback to the arcs is they arn't competitive, Your not going to win any speed records,
Uhmmmm maybe...

https://youtu.be/E1LNyyfpKzc


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