I am looking to find a small but ACCURATE wind meter to get a better idea of wind speed and gusts as I am a new kiter and want to make sure the wind is what I think it is.

Down the road, I'll just be able to know from checking it all the time and won't even need it (more insurance than anything)

Any suggestions?
Currently looking at Kestrel 1000.

Thanks!

I think that the windmeter choice goes down to personal preference and budget. I currently have a Brunton ADC Wind. It has temp,wind, windchill, time and other stuff I don't use. On the cheaper end of the budget it works quite well, although the little fan is small that sometimes if not in right direction it can have a hard time reading. But now I seem to only use it when I'm in an area that has lot's of shadows or if I wanna check the max gusts in higher wind. I wanted one so bad but now that I have it I rarely use it.
http://www.brunton.com/product.php?id=259

Others to look at are:
http://www.speedtech.com/r3ntf5484128/WIND-METERS/SM-18-Skym...

And the ones here:
http://kiteboarding.com/products.asp?cat=17

A good thing to think about too is the possibility of loosing it. My buddy has gone through three in two years mostly cause it fell out of his bag while walking or just carelessness, but either way it adds up when saving for something else.

Good luck
Shaggs

While it is good to use a wind meter to judge the wind be aware that it will not give you an accurate reading . More often than not the wind is different up where your kite is .

I tend to just put up the smallest kite I think will work in the conditions I am coming in to. If it ends up too small then I move up.

Of all my gadgets, I enjoy my GPS the most.

my weapon of choice is this...

http://www.ambientweather.com/lacrteeahawi.html

It is inexpensive enough to not be a tragedy if lost. I do not know how ACCURATE it is but this is kiting, not rocket science :tumble:: and I think even in smooth coastal wind that the wind speed variation from moment to moment is going to be greater than the average margin of error for most devices.

Skywatch wind meter ... i have one. the eolo 1 is sweet

http://www.jdc.ch/site/index.php

http://www.jdc.ch/site/index.php?option=com_deeppockets&...

Save your money and just buy a smaller kite.

$20 jobbie off eBay ... once you're out with the kite you can't look at it anyway so it doesn't matter how accurate it is :D
When you get your skills up, gusts become fun

When you get your skills up, gusts become fun

And how true it is,especially if you are an Inland kiter

Still at the point where I am scared to fly anything bigger than a 3m!
Gusts are not my friend...

Quote:

Still at the point where I am scared to fly anything bigger than a 3m! Gusts are not my friend...

It's called self preservation and it's a good thing!! You can have a hell of a lot of fun with a 3m kite. (and get spanked if you get it really wrong!)

Back to the topic - I have a windmeter same as acampbell recommends - relatively cheap and works fine. I would like the Eole though (ripsession's) because you can mount it to a tripod or car roof or something and get a good overview of average speeds / gusts etc and it uses AA batteries.

But here's a trick: cold air sinks because it's denser right? Cold winds (in my case from the South) pack a noticeable extra bit of punch. I have flown kites in a southerly that would not have got me going in a warmer northerly. It may also have something to do with the amount of moisture in the air but I don't know the details. Should have paid more attention in science class lol!

ps: here's a vid of having a blast with a 2m Beamer and 3m Flow: Too much fun on 13th Beach

i have a kestral and have had it for 8 years my dad bought it for me when i was young and had just started usung stunt kite and it still works great