Power Kite Forum

So im buying my first kite

rrdude - 23-5-2006 at 11:07 AM

Okay guys as the title suggusts im really liking the idea of kiting. I have been workin on my cousins kite for one or two sessions and i think its time for me to have a go.

Alittle about my self. Im a 16 year old guy, weights in just above 130 athletic build with mostly upper body strength.

conditions are usualy light wind (0-10ish) with some good days with wind around 150-20mph. what im really wondering is what size kite and what kite with good life but still retains steady flight charastics.

Also im wondering what type of board i can use for moving around. Mind you this would be on grass if it makes a diffrence. Also if anybody is from from the central indiana area if they could help me find a spot and mabye have a bud to go kiting with thatd be amazing.

Watch the Skys,

-Will Cordell

awindofchange - 23-5-2006 at 12:49 PM

Always a tough decision because there are so many different brands and types of kites on the market to choose from. To help narrow down your selection I would highly suggest starting out with something smaller and moving up from there. A small kite does not mean you aren't going to have any fun with it. Even my 1.5 LD Stunt has enough power to pick my 240 lbs up off of the ground in the right winds. Most of the very experienced buggiers in our group own a 1.5 and use it for their high wind buggy machines....so don't be turned off by getting something small to learn on.

In power kiting (which it sounds like you are looking to get into) you will ultimatly end up with several different sized kites in your bag. The reason for this is because you will always be flying in different winds on different occasions. The multiple sizes will allow you to ride/fly in all wind conditions. Small sized kites for those nukin' wind days and the larger sized kites for the lighter wind days. Starting out with a small kite will give you the fastest learning curve with the most safety. Smaller sized kites are less money than the larger sizes as well.

I would recommend searching for a kite in the 3.0 meter sizes or smaller. If you are serious about buggying/boarding then I would also suggest going for a quad line kite over a dual line kite. Quad line kites give you the best control, the ability to reverse launch (Huge plus!!!), and the ability to depower the kite as you fly. Quad line kites are slightly more money than dual line kites but worth every penny.

As far as steady flight characteristics....
Nearly every kite on the market will have semi-decent flight characteristics although there are some that just don't perform and are a waste of good material. The pain in spending a little more money on a top quality kite is nothing compared to the months and months of frustration in trying to fly a kite that just wont fly. If you stick to the top known brands on the market then you should be fine. Some of the top brands are Ozone, HQ, Peter Lynn, Flexifoil, JoJo and others. The other thing you may want to consider when searching for your kite is durability, (In my opinion) Ozone builds one of the strongest and most durable kites on the market today. Having a durable kite that can take some punishment is nice, especially when most beginners end up driving the kite into the ground quite frequently.

For boards, you also have a huge selection and like kites, some are better than others. With the boards you don't have quite as large of range in quality and most boards on the market are pretty good and will work well. Our shop carries the Ground Industries boards. The decks are very durable and the trucks are strong, simple and work excellent. Other boards available are the Scrub boards, MBS, Earthboards, and Flexifoil boards (just to name a few). Any of these boards should work fine for you.

Finding a local group to ride with is always your best bet. If you can hook up with other local riders in your area you can talk to them about what size kite they use the most, what brands they like (or dislike) and why, what boards they use, and where the best places to ride are. Chances are they went down the same route as you and you can benefit from their mistakes or trials. Remember - what works best for our area may not work at all for your area.

Hope this helps you out some.

rrdude - 23-5-2006 at 01:50 PM

thanks alot. problem with smaller kites in my area is we dont recieve to much wind. 5-10ish on avrage days and mabye 15 on a excellent day bar stoms and such. so even with that info would you still suggust a 3.0 or smaller?

thanks much,

Will Cordell

cbabbman - 23-5-2006 at 03:15 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by rrdude
thanks alot. problem with smaller kites in my area is we dont recieve to much wind. 5-10ish on avrage days and mabye 15 on a excellent day bar stoms and such. so even with that info would you still suggust a 3.0 or smaller?

thanks much,

Will Cordell


Kent is my kite guru and I've been purchasing most of my kites from him. His advice above is right on the money from my own experience and he couldn't have recommended better choices in kites for my preferences than if he was standing right next to me handing me kite after kite after kite...

The Ozones are just plain awesome and I have a 1m IMP, 1.5m LD Stunt & 3m Riot. My winds here suck also with most days in the 5-10mph range (and too many in the limp flag range).

For me, when the winds are at 5-10mph, out comes the 3m Riot. Plenty of pull and fun in those winds... I haven't flown it in anything above that.

When the winds are around 10+, I pull out the LD Stunt. I've flown it in as much as 20mph and that little kite has enough pull to yank me around and give great laughter to those watching. FYI, I'm 44, 5'-9" and weigh in at 205lbs.

I also fly several Revolutions and as of tomorrow, I will have a miniscule quiver of 3 Revs.. an SLE, a Blast & a Shockwave. The Blast has SURPRISING power in 10mph winds and is one hell of a fun kite... Took some getting used too but using the LD Stunt as my trainer REALLY made picking up Revolution flying easy.

I'm still comtemplating something larger for a couple reasons. When the winds are really low... and when I am a bad boy and feel the need to allow God to kick my ass... I think a 5M will be as high as I ever go as I will never be doing any buggying or landboarding here in Chicago.

After flying my Ozones and seeing the abuse and excellent construction of them, I will be hard pressed to buy anything else... But that's just me.

rrdude - 23-5-2006 at 04:44 PM

yeah i was lookin at the 1m imp as a trainer and super super high wind kite. I might be heading up to the dunes here soon so who knows. i was also looking at the 3m riot. however im mainly concerned about life as it is right now.

Pablo - 23-5-2006 at 07:19 PM

If your already considering ATB's and a young pup, probably best to start with a 3m, your choice on brand, just be sure to fly it in 5-10mph winds until your good with it. With your weight you'll probably end up using it on a board in 10-15mph winds. I'd go with a kite with little lift for the 3m, then you'll probably find yourself wanting a 5m ish within the next year or two for lighter winds.

Don't rule out the cheaper kites like the Rads, Busters, beamers etc. Yes they may die a year or two earlier than some of the big brand names, but you can buy 2 of them for the cost of one of the nice ones. It can be a good way to get a couple kites to get started, see which way you want to go with this crazy kite thing, then you'll have enough exp to test fly the nicer kites and see what qualities you like about them, when the entry level kite dies, replace it with something that you'll have for years.

getting started

dlyc101 - 23-5-2006 at 08:30 PM

Yeah i def. agree with pablo. Dont rule out those man. Im 17 years old and i live around chicago. We get pretty #@%$#! wind here too. I way about the same and have a crap load of upper body strength from sailng and football. I bought a beamer 3.6 for my first kite with a mbs core 8. The beamer was good for learning on in def. LIGHT winds but when u want to hop on that board it just hasnt been doin it for me lately. Especially in grass fields. I bought a 5m beamer after that and it works perfectly. I also use a bar and harness with it from my kitesuring rigs. NOW ITS FUN MAN with that kite. i would NOT suggest this but ill tell you its fun anyways. I found this big abandoned parking lot at my lake house and i use that with the 3.6m and the harness. You really move. you just lock in your knees and stay on an upwind tack and you just fly. The only prob. is risking serious injury but i live for that kind of stuff. If i had to do everything agin with land boarding woul def. of bought the 5m fist and gone out in like 10mph days with possibly a harness. Everyone says dont go over 4 but if yuor tight on cash def. go with the 5m beamer. They hold up well. If you got any questions shoot me an e-mail dlyc101@yahoo.com, i know how it is to start off with all those questions. Def. i suggest those beamers. i have one for sale right now but someones interested in it but if that falls through it would be a good kite.

rrdude - 24-5-2006 at 08:39 AM

I have around 750 for a board and kite.....any suggustions? Oh by the way. I was looking at the bego 400 series, the samurai and the Reble. any thoughts on those choices?

thanks for all the help so far!

Will Cordell

dlyc101 - 24-5-2006 at 03:31 PM

Def try finding a cheap mbs board on ebay or something. I have a core 8 and it works perfect

rrdude - 26-5-2006 at 08:37 AM

thanks guys

rrdude - 26-5-2006 at 10:21 AM

what about rebbles and Beamer TSRs? are those any good? im really also lookin at the Riot and the Flexifoil Rage. any thoughts?

DarkHorse - 26-5-2006 at 02:36 PM

hey there guys, I'm also from around Chicago...Carpentersville. I'm 5' 7" 155lbs and had been considering getting a Beamer 3.6m to learn to fly on land.

Any other kites I should look at considering the wind conditions around Chicago.

Scoopy - 31-5-2006 at 04:58 AM

The Beamer 3.6 is probably the most often used beginners kite. You will probably even have this kite around for a few years. Great first kite.

the TSR is a bar only kite. Its optimized to fly on a bar. Again, if you want to fly a bar, this is your best bet. If you want handles, stick with the beamer. I dont have any experience with the Rebble.

Scoop

Beamer TSR

HQ-Powerkites - 31-5-2006 at 08:27 AM

Scoopy is not correct,
The BEAMER TSR is constructed to fly better on a bar than the BeamerII would, BUT it also flys wonderfully on handles. If you consider landboarding, buy a TSR, it's the better kite over a BeamerII on a bar and it also flys great on handles.

Just to let everybody know

Tim
HQ Powerkites USA

rrdude - 31-5-2006 at 11:09 AM

thanks guys. I think im probally going for the Crossfire. I hear it has more pick up capabilities. also is there a way to upgrade to a bar on the cross fire? and if so how much would the appx price be?

Scoopy - 31-5-2006 at 05:01 PM

I cannot ADVERTISE at less than retail price. Anything public (this forum would be advertising) The Bar from HQ runs $80.00 retail. This is in addition to the lines/handles that come with it.

Scoop

rrdude - 31-5-2006 at 05:36 PM

right....so ill email you later when i plan to buy from you. if you can infact get a lower price that it! :borg:

HQ-Powerkites - 1-6-2006 at 09:30 AM

The Crossfire does not perform on a bar. It's being made for Quad Handles only. Just to let you guys know. It was advertised for being adaptable for bar flying but it never has been released. So the Crossfires can not be flown properly on abr. It's aspect ration is too high so it's getting very unstable at the edges on the window.

Tim
HQ Powerkites

rrdude - 1-6-2006 at 11:16 AM

so does the beamer TSR produce good lift?

HQ-Powerkites - 1-6-2006 at 03:59 PM

the Beamer TSR is not a good lifter. It's a beginner traction kite for landboarding, snowkiting and buggying. It is very stable and easy to handle. But it is not a lift kite, although you can certainly jump with it, depending on wind, your weight and your expertise. I am 6'3" and I have jumped with a Beamer 5.0.
The Crossfire has a lot more lift, is more agressive, faster tighter turns...... But due to its high aspect ratio, it is not stable enough with a bar, you need to make active use of the brake lines.

Tim
HQ Powerkites USA

rrdude - 1-6-2006 at 04:10 PM

right.....well mabye ill have to learn how to use handles then!

thanks alot guys!

rrdude - 2-6-2006 at 05:55 PM

rochester is quite a haul.......but idk....mabye next time i head up north i can make a pick uP!...thanks for showing me thta!

about the helmit.....i had 3 concussions last year....swimming...so i fully plan getting a helmit

rrdude - 5-6-2006 at 05:04 PM

problem with that store is id have to pay shipping and taxes where as i could pay less of a base price and with no tax.

covernet - 25-6-2006 at 11:11 AM

Hi i am considering bying my first trction kite and i do not no what to by can you please suggest what. my budget is 250-350 plz can you help