I am totally new to power/traction kites.

My daughter is 10yrs old and has flow my dual line stunt kites for a year or so.

I would like to get a power foil kite for her. I don't want her to be pulled off the ground at all. She weighs 60lbs.

Ideally I would like to get something that I might enjoy too.

I assume I should be looking at a 1.2 or 1.4 range kite. The winds here in San Diego are not super strong most of the times we go flying.

Is a quad line kite too much for her to handle? She's flown my Rev kite a few times and has had some luck keeping it in the air. Or should I just start simple and get a Snapshot 1.4 or something like that?

I would like something she can grow into, but I also don't want it to me too hard that she just gives up.

I do not own a power kite either. Just Rev's and dual line stunt kites.

Your thoughts?

Thanks in advance,

-Darin

if she can fly a rev, it wouldn't hurt to teach her on a beamer 1.4 I just posted a bit about me teaching a 6 year old with that kite. otherwise at 10 try teaching on something like an Ozone Imp or HQ Rush Pro 250.

3m Blade2 will get a smile on her face in the right winds.

I expect she will pick up the quad lines faster than you might expect.

As there are no spars to break, some hesitation will be removed once that sinks in.

Some kites that fall into the size range:

• Flexifoil Sting 1.2.... or even 1.7 (as long as your are mindful of the winds).
  
• HQ Beamer 1.4
  
• Ozone Imp Quattro 1.5
  
• Peter Lynn Hornet 1.5
  
• PKD Nippair 1.5
  

The 1.2 will require a fair breeze to get airborne. The larger kites less so.

The San Diego Kite Club will be having a General Meeting and Memorial Fly on May 8th at Tecolote Shores / Mission Bay Park. You might want to contact them and check if any power kiters are going to be out that day. Contact information for the club can be found at:
http://www.sandiegokiteclub.com/Contact.html

ATB,
Sam

10 yrs would be ok for a quad, but the light weight I would have a little concern over. If so, I would stick with the Beamer 1.4 or Imp Quattro. Dual line foils like the Symphony or the Peter Lynn Vibe would be a nice alternative.

Thanks for all the quick responses. Really great feedback.

Of course with all the choices, I am still not sure.

I will go with a quad, so it's down to:

Beamer 1.4
Flexifoil Sting 1.2
Peter Lynn Hornet 1.5
Imp Quattro 1.5

I'd love to support the vendors on this forum, but I did find the Stinger 1.2 from a liquidator on EBay for $119.

Do you think I should just buy that one or do you think the Beamer or Sting or Imp is worth the extra $60 to $80?

Thanks again for your help.

-Darin

really is your choice, a dollar saved now can go towards more kites later

The sting is excellent quality. I've had a 3.5yr old and 6 yr old and friends, beating the crap out of the kite and it's still in excellent condition. In terms of power, I'd rank them as below.

Flexifoil Sting 1.2

Beamer 1.4
Imp Quattro 1.5

Peter Lynn Hornet 1.5

I went with the Sting 1.2 since it's unlikely to be risky for my daughter even in moderate wind.

The guy on EBay also accepted an even lower offer for the kite so for under $100, I couldn't pass up the deal.

Hopefully the kite is really new as stated on his auction.

Of course with the money I saved, I can buy an upgrade if my daughter gets more into it.

Thanks again to everyone for your help.

-Darin

My kids started when they were 6 and 8 on a 1.2 sting on handles and that kite has been great. Now they are 8 and 10 and still use that along with a 1.5 lil devil and I will be getting then a 2m to step up to or maybe a 4m depower as they can hold more power down now.

I'd go with a 1.5 meterish kite for a 10 year old.

Quote:

Originally posted by darinf I did find the Stinger 1.2 from a liquidator on EBay for $119.

Well, as luck would have it, I bought the one off E-Bay and paid for it. Now I cannot contact the seller. He has not responded to any e-mails from EBay. Does anyone have any experience with this seller?
http://myworld.ebay.com/liquidatedsportsltd/

Looks like he has sold a lot of gear on EBay with decent feedback so I figured three was low risk.

Oh well, live and learn.

Ya...I hope you have luck getting hold of him. You can't go wrong with most people on this forum. There are plenty of used kites here and plenty of retailers to help with questions, etc.

Let us know how it turns out please.

"Speak of the devil..."

After my last post on this forum, I got an e-mail saying the kite has shipped.

So all is good now as long as the kite shows up.

Thanks,

-Darin