Power Kite Forum

looking to buy my 1st power kite..need help

quincydog - 13-6-2014 at 12:37 PM

I am hoping someone here can point me in the right direction on what kite I should consider as I enter the world of power kiting. I have a 2 line stunt kite that I have been using for 10 + years and I recently seen some guys down at the beach with power kites and it looks like a ton of fun. I have visited a few sites and did some research but I am still unsure what I should get.

I am not really looking to do kite boarding (water), but perhaps mountain boarding down the line (I used to skate back in the day). I would mostly use it down at the shore, and I would love to be dragged a bit over the sand and also do some static jumps (but nothing crazy). I am 5'8'' and about 160 lbs. What should I get that would meet my needs? I live on Long Island, NY where the wind can range from 2 mph to 15 mph on an average day at the beach. But on a really windy day it's 25mph +. I don't really have a budget, so quality and safety is paramount. I don't mind spending for a high quality products. Thank you in advance.

abkayak - 13-6-2014 at 01:10 PM

Welcome!! i usually say get a 3m fb kite... so gonna say that again...ohh yea im atlantic beach so if your by there you are welcome to try my stuff..and you are underestimating our wind or i would move

ssayre - 13-6-2014 at 04:15 PM

With your experience I would almost be inclined to advise on getting a 4 meter. I find my 4 meter very useful where I almost never get the wind for the 3 meter (in the buggy, I can still fly it static). If you have more wind than I get than a 3 meter might be useful down the road.

soliver - 13-6-2014 at 05:28 PM

Any one of the following in the 2-4 meter size are great starter kites. 3m is usually best to start with as it is a good versatile size which can be used for many years yet to come... :

HQ Beamer
Peter Lynn Hornet
Ozone Octane
PKD Buster Soulfly
Flexifoil Sting or Rage

The point in buying a "smaller sized" kite to start with is to learn how to control the kite where you'll get to the piont that you can fly it blindfolded... Then you can get some larger sizes and develop a range of kites to suit different wind conditions,... because unfortunately no ONE kite is good for everything. Big wind = small kite... small wind = big kite

loftywinds - 13-6-2014 at 09:02 PM

Unless you're going to stick with buggy ATB or static kite flying, I would not recommend a fixed bridle kite (like the Ozone Octane and others mentioned).
Get yourself a depower kite. They are "slightly" more expensive, but they offer you a lot more safety aspects, not to mention ease of use in terms of kite control and ability to use them over water too depending on the model you get.
I highly recommend one of the HQ or Ozone closed foil kites (Chrono if you can afford it), or even better Flysurfer kites like a Pulse, Psycho or again if you can afford it - Speed 3 or 4.
I had a fixed bridle kite and lots of guys here love them, but when it comes to using them for everything like land kiting, kite surfing or even buggy riding, a depower is the way to go. You'll get more bang for your buck!

John Holgate - 14-6-2014 at 03:04 AM

Geez, going from a 2 line stunt kite to an Ozone Chrono??? Sheeesh! Didn't someone do something like that 12 months ago or so - I think it was from a small fixed bridle to a 15m Matrix??

I think if you're mainly going to be static flying it, a good 3 - 4m fixed bridle will keep you well and truly entertained. If you end up with an ATB, then chances are, you will eventually want a depower. And I guess there's no real reason you couldn't start with something like an HQ Apex III or Ozone Access - but they're really designed to be used in motion (on your ATB) and will be a bit slow and ponderous to fly static. A small fixed bridle can be a blast to fly static and the power will be a bit of a shocker after flying a 2 line stunt kite too. I think best start with one of the kites Soliver posted - but be warned, it's like Golf.....you don't just play with one club.

BigMikesKites - 14-6-2014 at 05:04 AM

You could start with smoething like a HQ Hydra if you wanted to play in the water some, learn to landboard. Once you master those skills, you can move up to something DePower. You could also start with a small DePower, but your winds don't really warrant that on most days.

quincydog - 14-6-2014 at 05:11 AM

Thanks for all of the info. Much appreciated. Someone reached out to my (not from the forum) and recommended the Prism Tensor either a 3 or 4.2. Anyone have any experience with this kite or comments on it?

ssayre - 14-6-2014 at 05:52 AM

It's a good kite. Maybe a little pricier than other comparable kites but it can convert from handles to bar.

ssayre - 14-6-2014 at 05:58 AM

If your going brand new, a 3 meter twister would be fun and higher performance per sq meter than the othe kites mentioned. It would be faster and more powerful. Which would make for better scudding than the other kites mentioned.

abkayak - 14-6-2014 at 06:35 AM

Tensor is great..any kite that size will serve you fine...but those hydras do have the added bonus of playing in the surf...lot to be said for that on LI

ssayre - 14-6-2014 at 07:35 AM

Abkayak, just curious, could you use a hydra or similar kite on a stand up paddle board? Could you steer the board and go crosswind or would it just be a downwinder?

Bladerunner - 14-6-2014 at 08:17 AM

Quote: Originally posted by soliver  
Any one of the following in the 2-4 meter size are great starter kites. 3m is usually best to start with as it is a good versatile size which can be used for many years yet to come... :

HQ Beamer
Peter Lynn Hornet
Ozone Octane
PKD Buster Soulfly
Flexifoil Sting or Rage

The point in buying a "smaller sized" kite to start with is to learn how to control the kite where you'll get to the piont that you can fly it blindfolded... Then you can get some larger sizes and develop a range of kites to suit different wind conditions,... because unfortunately no ONE kite is good for everything. Big wind = small kite... small wind = big kite



Obviously you are getting as many different suggestions as there are kites.

I consider the above to be the best advice so far.

Loftywinds suggesting a Chrono or Speed as a 1st kite is about the worst advice I have ever heard. ( no disrespect meant, Just my humble opinion ). Both are top quality, Spendy, high performance kites made of ultra lite easily damaged fabric. NOT good for crashing and you WILL crash your 1st kite a lot.

Foil kites are best to start on. They take a lot of abuse and can usually be repaired pretty easy if you do damage them. Closed cell foils have the added advantage that you can relaunch them off of water.

There are a good number of Pilots in NY . I would highly suggest you try and meet up with one of them even if you have to drive a few hours to do so. Nothing like having a coach to show you the ropes.

Nice to here somebody starting out who thinks safety 1st and isn't on a limited budget. As you see we all have more than one kite for different situations.


abkayak - 14-6-2014 at 08:17 AM

yes many do...key is a skeg on the board...otherwise no cross wind at all

hardstatic - 14-6-2014 at 08:40 AM

Quote:

abkayak said:
Welcome!! i usually say get a 3m fb kite... so gonna say that again...ohh yea im atlantic beach so if your by there you are welcome to try my stuff..and you are underestimating our wind or i would move


Do this ^^. If you can't meet up with someone locally, notice the pattern here. Almost everyone recommends a 3-4m fixed bridle. The ones mentioned are top quality and have a very good, very long track record... and you will most likely never say, "I wish I didn't have this 3m fixed bridle <Hornet, Octane, Beamer, etc>."

If you are on a tight budget, the Flexifoil Sting 2.4 is a great quality kite and can be had from the Flexifoil store for about $115 shipped (lines, handles, killers, bag, everything RTF). When I ordered mine it arrived in about 2 days from the UK - it's the first kite I get out when I have new pilots around.

loftywinds - 14-6-2014 at 03:59 PM

Quote: Originally posted by quincydog  
....I am not really looking to do kite boarding (water), but perhaps mountain boarding down the line (I used to skate back in the day). I would mostly use it down at the shore, and I would love to be dragged a bit over the sand and also do some static jumps (but nothing crazy)...


Right! This is why i recommended you go straight to a depower kite, and not a fixed bridle kite. I am not trying to be a smart arse about it and my apologies to JH etc, but you want to do some mountain boarding and some static jumps? Well that means a depower kite. You 'can' jump with fixed bridle kites but mate, you won't get the fun boost and power you would with a depower kite. And considering the light winds you have there a large foil like a flysurfer or chrono is surely to satisfy you in every aspect, even to the point of when you're ready to hit the water. But i think in your case a HQ Montana will be perfect, and ideally at least a 12m kite for the winds you're describing.

But of course if you just want to stand there flying a kite and looping it around, then by all means stick with fixed bridle, and of course the recommendations so far fit you perfectly. If anything, a fixed bridle is good as a trainer kite ad a true first kite. My first kite was the Ozone Octane and found it 'boring' and dangerous when trying to do some jumps. That's also why I recommend going straight into a depower foil, but use your fixed bridles first to learn on.

quincydog - 19-6-2014 at 07:48 AM

My new kite should arrive today (thanks to Big Mikes Kites). After some consideration and research, I went with ssayre's recommendation of the PL Twister. I decided to go with a 4M size. I am counting on my years of experience with my 2 line stunt kite to give me a good head start in the world of a 4 line power kites. I have a very good understanding of the power window and I think it will be easy for me to get the hang of this quickly. I plan on piloting only in steady, calmer winds (single digit MPH) for as long as I need to get confident and gain experience. I have read some horror stories of folks that are new to the sport, going big out of the gate (large kites, strong winds) and being hurt badly. I certainly do not want to join that club. I went with the handle setup to start (as I am used to that from my stunt kite) and could progress to the bar setup (and maybe a harness) down the road. Let's see how it goes.

Thanks for the recommendation of a depower kite, but perhaps that is something to look at in a year or so. I don't know much about depower kites, but I am sure I will learn along the way.

Anyhow, I am off to Cape Cod next week, and if conditions allow, I will try out my new toy. Hopefully I will run into some other power kiters on the beach that could give me some pointers.

Thanks again for all of the advice and I will report back on how it goes.

ssayre - 19-6-2014 at 08:47 AM

Good choice. You will be fine since you have respect for the wind and kite. You might have to do a bit of tuning to get it dialed in and to fly properly. By tuning I mean tying knots on the leader lines of the handles to adjust the length of the power lines in relation to the brake lines. This will be easiest in winds between 7-10.

Good luck and have fun.

BeamerBob - 19-6-2014 at 09:48 AM

Much better choice than a large depower foil. I winced when I saw you were recommended to get a 12-14m Montana or Chrono as a next step from a stunt kite. The Twister will open your eyes but not get you killed in the process.

abkayak - 19-6-2014 at 09:58 AM

Congrats and good luck w/ that...be careful out there and dont jump your schedule... a twister actually can kill you if it wants to..so always remember to be nice to it

metajack - 19-6-2014 at 10:24 AM

The 4m Twister is pretty amazing. I can fly it static in about 3mph and it is great on the landboard. It beats the pants off my other kites.

Be careful when it gets going fast or near the top of the window. I got launched playing around with it in slightly gusty conditions. I wasn't expecting just how much more power it had than the other things I've flown.

quincydog - 1-7-2014 at 06:10 PM

Well, back from the Cape and had a chance to get the twister in the air. I was at the beach mid week and the winds were blowing a bit too much (10 mph with gusts to about 15 mph) but I really wanted to get the kite in the air so I decided to give it a shot. I launched it with no problem but then the power took over. It took me for a little ride on the sand, got up and tried to fly it the outer window but eventually crossed into the power zone and it dragged me again. At that point I packed it away and figured I better wait for a little less wind. I was at my local beach on Sunday this past weekend and the winds were in the 6-8mph range in the morning and I had no problem flying my 4M Twister. I was at it for a good hour+ and was getting the hang of it. Crashed a couple of times, but then did some reverse launching. It looked liked I knew what I was doing (to the bystanders). A lot of fun for sure! I now know that this kite can bite me but soon I will be able to bite back. Looking forward to getting some more flying time under my belt and then take it out in slightly stronger winds.

BigMikesKites - 1-7-2014 at 06:42 PM

Keep it below 10 for awhile and get the feel for it. Just like you have already done. then you can expand your window as you expand your experience.