Hi all! Been lurking around, soaking up info here for a couple weeks. Did a brief intro in the General forum, but now let's get down to the brass
tacks... what kite are you going to make me buy?
I'm at the point where I've overloaded myself with too much information, and it would be awesome if I could get some help...
Here's some info to hopefully make things easier:
Where are you?
NYC
Where do you fly? (or want to)
Floyd Benett - landboard
Now that the beaches are clearing out, I'll try to hit Breezy, Rockaway, LB, Jones (open to any suggestions on where from any locals here) - probably
dawn patrol (which is when I surf anyway)
Hope to snow kite this winter, probably flat (Bennett?). Maybe places north - again open to suggestions.
What kiting experience do you already have?
About 20+ hrs static on a 3M Sensei (2 line kiteboarding trainer kite with bar)
3 sessions landboard at Floyd Bennett around 3-4 hrs each - 1st time light and variable, 2nd time around 10 and variable, 3rd time 10-15 with thermals
gusting to 25. Dripping with sweat holding on to that bar... please recommend a harness and kite, quick!
What aspect of powerkiting are you interested in? (Buggying, Landboarding, Snow Kiting Kite Surfing, Jumping, etc..)
YES!
ok, right now Landboard and Snow - having so much fun on the landboard I'm going to put off water until next spring or summer. Jumping - probably some
after a little more experience, but not throwing myself around like a rag doll at this age...
What are your local winds like? (Averages, gustiness etc.)
Good question - it's fall now, this is probably getting to high season through spring, so my guess is 10-25 (stronger in storms), but we do get a lot
of light and variable with the high pressure blobs mushing through, and then there's summer.... Right now I don't think I intend on going in anything
over 20-25.
How much do you weigh? (Not trying to be personal, Bigger people are less likely to be overpowered by marginally bigger kites and most of us
want to start you on a kite that will teach you without hurting you.)
190-195. Wow, seeing that in print...
What kind of budget are you looking at? (just to narrow choices)
This is where I'm a little stuck... maybe you kind folks can help out a little. I'd like to keep everything (right now) to around 1k... hopefully that
gives me some possibilities. Will reassess when it becomes water time...
Right now I want to landboard and this winter some snowboarding. Eventually (next season hopefully) I want to kitesurf. I definitely want a depower so
I get experience with a harness. Any overlap of equipment is a definite plus, so if there's a bar or harness that I can carry over to water that would
be awesome.
Kite is where I get murky... maybe some sort of foil? Maybe LEI? LEI on the downside will probably be bad on the Bennett pavement. Might be ok on sand
though? I will most certainly crash as I learn, no hiding from that. I read through the entire Peak thread (yes, all 14 pages!), single surface
certainly looks interesting. Some of the light wind foils look really awesome (maybe the Pansh A15 that @feyd has for sale if it's still around?) But
maybe that's too much kite for first time hooking in? The ozone's are maybe too expensive (but they look great!), the HQ Apex might be affordable - I
think that comes with a bar? I don't know... I'm open to suggestions. One of the things that is a bit confusing is of course, what size? I'm rolling
pretty fast with my little 3m (in 20kts), but I would imagine steady 20 is the exception, not the rule around here. I'd also imagine sand and snow
create a little more resistance. Any New Yorkers want to chime in?
Anyhow, while I figure this out, there's some nice wind (and waves) coming this week, so I'll have lots of time on my 3m if I can catch up on my work.
Speaking of which... where is everyone? I have not seen one other kiteboarder in any of the times I went to Floyd Bennett. Do people still do this
here?
Oh, I forgot to mention - yes I have helmet, knee, elbow, gloves. I got a pristine MBS core 90 on Craigslist. I have tons of sailing, hang gliding etc
experience, so dealing with thermals, wind direction and all that is pretty intuitive. On my last time out I felt comfortable enough flying and riding
that I was concentrating on turns and riding upwind rather than balance, take off and kite position.
I hope this is enough to go on, and thanks in advance for any/all help! Great to meet you all!
And I'll let you in on a secret... this sport is seriously fun! Don't tell anyone I told you that.shehatesmyhobbies - 5-9-2017 at 03:34 PM
Brandon, Cheezy, this guy is in your neck of the woods!
I will reply with a few answers in a few when I get a chance to finish reading, but you are in great luck as you just named a couple places that a few
guys up that way frequent. They should chime in soon hiaguy - 5-9-2017 at 07:41 PM
As mentioned elsewhere, you'll get lots of great suggestions around here.
Suggestion #1 - get together with abkayak and cheezy. Take beer.
#2 For a harness: the Peter Lynn Divine. There are others, but I haven't heard anyone complain about the Divine. There are some less expensive
options, but they wind up hurting where you don't wanna hurt. Waist harnesses are an option, but they put the centre of gravity (pull) too high in the
buggy for my liking.
#3 Generally, the cost of entry is palatable thanks to the For Sale forum. Great deals from the fine folks here on well taken care of gear. None of
the kite suggestions (well, at least very few) will be Pansh. (Here's where I get into trouble.) Just for giggles, take a look at the Aurora II. Other
than the 2-kite quiver currently being offered by RickyD, it's a great way to get a usable quiver for under $1k.
#4 WBB in 35 days. 'nuf said.jeffnyc - 6-9-2017 at 07:11 AM
Ok, charger wasn't even on my radar, lovely looking kites and looks like it ticks all the boxes (landboard, snowboard, water). Are the 10 and 15 for
sale here appropriate for my weight/skill etc? Abkayak doesn't know it yet, but he'll help me set up
Joining NAPKA today, just have to think of a good number.... Feyd - 6-9-2017 at 09:59 AM
1) Great thread start. Seriously the gold standard by which all newbies should go by. Well thought out and concise. Well done.
2) Our A15 is still available.
3) It would not be a good starter kite. :P Although it is quite forgiving and if you were to use it in the right conditions, a big slow forgiving
kite can be great for a beginner. And yes it's a Pansh, which is a double edged deal in many ways, but it is tuned and flies perfectly. But I think
there are probably better options out there for you.
4) The Chargers. A special kind of kite. To be clear, RickyD is selling Charger 2's which are great kites but not to be confused with the Charger 1
which is also a great kite but will hand you your backside the first chance it gets. :evil: The Charger 2 is more like the older Synergy, which was
a GREAT kite. 10 and 15m are the best two sizes in the series. Arcs are a little different. Mechanical inflation methods are useful. Some people
frown upon it but it's no different than using a pump on an LEI. Some will say that if there isn't enough wind to inflate w/o a blower, there's not
enough to bother to fly.
I would strongly disagree.
5) Harnesses. Peter Lynn Devine is designed primarily as a buggy harness for use with handles and connecting strop that runs on the pully/hook. Not
easily compatible with a chicken loop. For snowkiting and kitesurfing, a more robust harness would be a much better option. The upside, durable and
offer tons of support and some limited protection. Downside feel diaper like and restrictive. Our most popular harnesses are the Ozone Connect BC
and Dakine Chameleon. The BC is a purpose built snowkite/land harness. Super comfortable and very good support integrates with Ozone packs which is
actually pretty sweet once you try it. The Chameleon is similar in design but even more rugged. It's transformable so you can remove the seat portion
and use it as a waist harness. We may have a couple of left over school Ozone Access harnesses which are like a split between the Divine and the
current Connect. I we do, we'd let them go for short $. I'd have to dig around to see if we actually have any left. Bladerunner - 6-9-2017 at 10:59 AM
Great intro.
Arcs are an interesting option. Some words of warning if you go that route. Arcs are losing a lot of their following. They are a good deal but resale
may be disapointing. Arcs do work on water but are less than ideal for learning / relaunch on water. Similar issue to all closed cell foils. Set up
and pack down is slower and a learned skill.
You have a catch 22. Gearing up for water but starting on land. It sounds like your sensi is working for very strong winds for now. I would suggest
you look for a good deal on a well behaved foil around. 7 to 10m to take you into winter + get used to depower. If you find you need a low wind kite
and are comfortable with the smaller one then consider a big closed cell foil.
Harnesses are very much a personal choice. Look for one that will work well on land and water. I bought a waist harness with built in seat conversion.
Glad I did. I am skinny and like the seat version . When sizing consider your winter clothes.
Plan to spend money on lessons when you transfer to water. Plan to go to WBB for the best education on land. DON'T impulse buy. Hold off at one
purchase until you have visited WBB. After going there your perspective will surely change. cheezycheese - 6-9-2017 at 11:31 AM
Jeff, check your u2u.jeffnyc - 6-9-2017 at 02:49 PM
Quote:
a well behaved foil around. 7 to 10m to take you into winter + get used to depower
OK, that sounds pretty damn reasonable... so who fits into the well behaved foil (at a decent price) category?
And thank you all for taking the time to respond. Super helpful!gemini6kl - 6-9-2017 at 03:39 PM
Ex landboarder here. I used to kite at Floyd bennet field for many years but went to the dark side( kitesurfing) and havnt been there in a while
:Dlol. Its a good spot to ride and its all ours for wind sports . Only thing is its all asphalt so really have to take it slow if ure learning or u
can go to beach on low tide and a south wind day . Its a small crew there of only 4 guys. Send me a pm and ill fill u in on more details.Windstruck - 7-9-2017 at 06:59 AM
Hope to snow kite this winter, probably flat (Bennett?). Maybe places north - again open to suggestions.
Jeff, you saw that fewd weighed in on this thread. He runs an outfit in New Hampshire called Hardwater. If I lived out your way and wanted to get
involved in the snow aspect of this sport I would be working directly with him. I would really encourage you to reach out to him. Good luck!jeffnyc - 7-9-2017 at 11:00 AM
Stupid week for me to be researching all this stuff, been pulling all nighters to get jobs out the door... but I'm sure you guys have no idea how
obsessed you can get researching kite gear...
@Windstruck - I will definitely absolutely contact @Feyd! I've been holding off for a minute while I gather information (and have a second of free
time) so I hopefully come off as somewhat coherent (unlike that sentence I just wrote).
I don't want to give Chris a big head or anything, but the info he's plastered around here and on Hardwater is amazing and invaluable. Pretty sure I
found this site through Hardwater.
Connected with some folks here offline, so next time we get onshores I'll hopefully get to connect faces to screen names.jeffnyc - 7-10-2017 at 01:30 PM
First - thank you everyone that responded - all the info is really helpful.
Just a quick update - I ended up getting an ok deal on a Charger 10m + bar on eBay after looking for 3 weeks for an Access or an Apex.
Flew it for the first time last Sunday at Plumb beach with the awesome gemini6kl in light winds (thanks again!). Ended up being a perfect day for my
first ever time with a depower, and hooked in. Not that I have anything else to compare it to other than the 3m trainer, but wow I love this kite!
Took the subway out to Rockaway this week to meet up with the equally awesome abkayak, and we drove over to his home turf on Atlantic beach. Love the
off season - miles of empty beach to play on. Got a better feel for the kite in decent wind - I think the back lines need some tightening - will try
the next knot up next time I'm out. The auto-zenith doesn't happen reliably and it likes to fly itself out of the side of the wind window. Looking
around the internets, the cause seems to be loose back lines. More than likely the next time I'll be able to fly is wbb, so I'd love any arc-heads to
take a look and chime in. But both gemini6kl and abkayak thought the same. It just meant I had to stay on it, which was fine with me, had a blast
zinging it around the sky, and scudding all over the beach. By the time I felt like trying out the mountain board, the wind had picked up enough that
I thought the better of it... want to ease into it...
abkayak was zooming up and down the beach on his bug and a 3m kite. By that time I think it was blowing 20 steady with gusts. I had never flown a 4
line with handles - abkayak talked me through the basics, we switched over... holy cow I was not expecting that kind of pull from such a small kite! A
bumble bee on a steroids and acid combo. A lot of control with those handles though.
Missed out today with abkayak and Cheezy, looks like they had some fun.
shehatesmyhobbies - 7-10-2017 at 02:53 PM
Glad you had a good time with the new toy!
Spoke to Cheesy earlier, he was stocked to say the least.
I will gladly take a look at the kite and show you a thing or two, yes I'm an arc head, the first stage is admitting you have a problem, the second is
flying the piss out of them. Had my 18m up toady static flying in 15moh winds. It was a blast. See you in a coulee days. jeffnyc - 7-10-2017 at 03:09 PM
Thanks Rich! Brandon had mentioned you were the guy to talk to... will see you soon
