I just got into power kites . Ive been flying stunt kites for a while . but the traction aspect of the big stuff has drawn me in . so far i have the tensor 3.1 and the 5 meter . i like them both but now im thinking about surf and snow . so heres the question . what big kite should be my first . i want to use it on snow adn water . im 6'1" 265ish . Im thinking the neoii 14m but im not sure if that would be too much in higher winds . i was also thinking lei . but i dont want any probs in the snow . ill be doing some field boarding .
thanks in advance for helping out a noob .

I have been having a blast with my new 8m and 14m Neo 2 since I have figured out how to tune them....

FNG(man oh man I laughed so hard when I read this name)- you may want to get a cheap LEI and get some time under your belt with the traction kites before making up your mind as to what kite you want to build a quiver of. That said, I seem to see lots of Best Waroos on Ebay/Craigslist, and they are a decent kite at low prices. While I personally prefer the foil kites to LEI, I don't go on the water, and foils can be prohibitively expensive if you are not certain that you want to spend a couple K$ on this hobby.

When I got into this sport, I went from a lil trainer straight to a 12m LEI as I was overly concerned with "getting up/moving/having enough kite"....well, that is way more kite than I needed to learn on....

Where are you located at? Maybe we can steer you towards some other locals and you can test fly a few different models.

im in upstate ny . about 20 miles from albany . if there are any locals ive never seen them . so you dont have any probs with the lei in the snow ?

If you are going snow, go with a Montana. If you plan on doing water as well, a Neo or Charger.

for starting Flysurfer Pulse ... a little pricer.

if you can hit up someone in your area, its better to try it first hand. i find a lot people use different kites based on their launch sites for kitesurfing.

Peter lynn, hq, ozone, flysurfer, and the list goes on make great kites.

You need to hook up with bigben91682, he will show you what's up. Plus I'm sure he will let you try out any of the kites in that massive quiver he has accumulated, so you can get a better feel for what you want. I was also in the Albany area about 2 yrs ago. (Got my B.S. degree from RPI) There are a few locals out there, you just need to know where to look. Ben and I used to fly at the park in Colonie just behind the Colonie mall.

I say try LEIs and foils before you decide what you like most. LEIs were originally designed for water but work great on snow and land. I prefer them over foils, but that's just personal preference.

Hi, I just posted in your 'meet up' thread, but I'm in Albany and I'd love to get together and fly sometime. You can try out some open cell depowers and see how you like them. I can't tell you much about anything inflatable, but you're welcome to try what I got.

The summer is pretty quiet around here, but there are a lot of snowkiters out there, and lot's of great places to ride, so get your quiver built up before snow hits and you can ride with us this winter!

The fact is that you are going to need 2 or even 3 kites no matter how you go.

A 14m kite is pretty good as a low wind kite but will be too much on some of the best days. The 8m would be too small for low wind but great in higher winds. An 11 will fill the middle but leave you short on the low and high winds.

It's the sad truth.

Nothing wrong with LEI but as a 1st depower it can take a real beating. A foil can stand the beating a bit better + be repaired more easily.

Open cell foils are best kept on land. Closed cell foils will work on water as well.

Good advice here. If you can hook up with some flyers, you'll be well on your way. Otherwise, it's a long slow learning curve.

Ok, I've got to ask now that erratic winds was cracked up with the post name. Whats FNG?

F*$%ing New Guy

LOL, I bet a lot of folks thought about using that.

thanks for all the solid advice . I guess im leaning twards the neo ii 11meter . for my first one . cant waite to fly with bigben. although he might say i need the 14 cause im not exactly down to fighten weight . not yet anyway . man this site kicks a$$ . gets me pumped every time i log in .

It is absolutely crazy how much your weight affects your power in your kite, I've lost about 20lbs since I got into it years ago and now I think twice about pulling out the 12m as it's a bit harder to handle!

and I'm a fat F&*%er and I love a fly with the 13m!