Sounds like you could be flying in pretty gusty conditions. Stay hundreds of yards (downwind) clear of any trees or buildings - they will cause lots of turbulence - picture the wind as water flowing and any trees or buildings as rocks in the stream - you'll get the picture!

Actually, the wind reacts pretty much the same way to the ground as the water in a stream or river reacts to the bank/obstacles. The higher you go, the smoother it gets (and faster).

I'm on a small farm and if the wind is in the right direction, there are no obstructions for miles. Even so, sometimes the wind here is so gusty it is literally unflyable. The kite hits a gust, surges forward, then there's a lull, kite folds up and drifts back into the power zone, unfolds then pow - another gust.

If I look outside and see the trees waving madly back and forth, I'll keep the kites in their bags. If the trees are bending but not waving around..... Not as good as a seabreeze though. If you have kited on the beach with a late afternoon seabreeze, you'll know what I mean. If you haven't, then you should!

Some sessions will be great, some sessions will be crud. The wind is fickle! Cold winds are usually denser and will pack more ooomph than warm winds (well, at least here they do!).

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Originally posted by krokonoster Oh yeah! The wife also like it, but seems 2.5m is a bit tough for her weight and strenght. Borrowed sis's kid's stunt kite and let her see later if she like that more or a power kite. If the latter, I think a 1.8m is ok for her?

Careful now....the sport is about to cost you twice as much if your wife likes it!!!!! Welcome!!

My wife flies and is hooked too....bring your wallet!!!

Good idea bout the shorts and kneepads (since I hurt both knees and butt in 3 hours of kiting!)

Will see if they sell here, and what it cost of course.

This armour pants...can you give me a link to some good product available where you are?
Trying to find where I can buy it here, but all I seen so far just look like my underpants actually.

Strap a pillow on my butt? :eureka:

ps: 5th time tonight and seems I perfected it (for a beginner). Never got twisted, hardly crashed (only cause I tried to fly / turn as close possible to the ground), etc. :singing:

Plan to go to a beach where I first saw some dude fly this stuff this weekend. Not sure I'm ready cause the wind there is strong. Luckily that must be the widest beach in the country and nearly no people. Or should I rather wait a bit?
It's a small kite compared to you guys anyhow (2.5 sqm) :dunno:

Sounds like you are having fun. Go for the beach for sure unless the winds are just stupid. 15 mph and under is good for now. Later you will be able to fly that 2.5m in 30 mph winds and feel safe (and smiling)
Good luck

Quote:

Originally posted by krokonoster This armour pants...can you give me a link to some good product available where you are? Trying to find where I can buy it here, but all I seen so far just look like my underpants actually. Strap a pillow on my butt? :eureka: ps: 5th time tonight and seems I perfected it (for a beginner). Never got twisted, hardly crashed (only cause I tried to fly / turn as close possible to the ground), etc. :singing: Plan to go to a beach where I first saw some dude fly this stuff this weekend. Not sure I'm ready cause the wind there is strong. Luckily that must be the widest beach in the country and nearly no people. Or should I rather wait a bit? It's a small kite compared to you guys anyhow (2.5 sqm) :dunno:

This shop is in the UK but they ship worldwide.

Powerkite shop

A few weeks passed and after go flying 2-4 times a week (in various windspeeds) it's pretty funny reading back my original post. Thanks guy, really owe that to you.

Ok, before anyone preach, I read over and over that jumping is dangerous. Point taken, and not planning to go bananas and get myself hurt (90% of the time I go fly where I got hundreds of metres open space, sand or grass around me)

Would like to upgrade, but curious about sizes. So what size of kite would you recommend for someone with a bit of experience, wanting some serious pull (great excersize isn't it?) and well....would not mind to jump now and then when wind/space/confidence are all lined up?

4m sounds (Wont know) a bit small. 6m....that sounds scary.

Oh...been flying a 2.5 until now.

Btw. Plan to buy from the online shop you posted. Seems cheaper than buying the same stuff locally. Much more choice for sure.

Lots of variables to kite jumping but the standard rules are not under 5m and LEARN SLOW!!! I have a 7.7M Twister that is awesome to jump with but I would absolutely not recommend it to you starting out. Depending of your weight/experience/wind/etc. you might look at the 5.6 m Twister in time.

A Twister II is, for the money, the most fun, lifty, easy to fly kite you can buy, IMHO. A 5.6m should suit you just fine, but keep in mind that it's more than twice the size of your kite, and this model in particular packs a huge punch for it's size. The 7.7m Twister is a bit big, and you can't take it out in as wide of a range of wind speeds as you can with a 5.6m. I will assure you that your first time on the bigger kite, and the first time you get hangtime (intentionally or not), you WILL have the #@%$#! scared out of you :wee: but it's all part of feeding the addiction. :D

Ummm, several fixed bridle kites from Peter Lynn are sold out completely, including the Twister II. It may be hard to find one, but they come up for sale on this forum periodically.

Protip: If you decide to buy a Twister and the option comes up for a bar/handles, GET THE HANDLES. This kite doesn't like being flown on a bar. Also, if you're willing to spend a little more, get a harness (totally worth it; you will need it later anyway if you decide to move to depower [which you probably will]) and a Flexifoil strop line (or equivalent), then rig a quick release to the strop so you can bail if you get in trouble. There is a website that has short how-to guides for making useful things out of stuff found around your house...

here's the link: http://kiteboarderz.piczo.com/projects?cr=6&linkvar=0000...

I find the Twister in particular flys extremely well with a strop line because it keeps tension on the front lines, and the kite almost flies itself. Super stable. Plus, it takes the weight off of your arms and you can fly it for much longer. However, with a standard strop, you compromise the safety of the setup, as the kitekillers are rendered useless if you let go of the handles. If you let go, you would have to manually yank out the strop line from the spreader hook in your harness, which is hard to to with the kite pulling you. So again, rig a safety release. It's super easy to do.

Have fun!

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Originally posted by krokonoster 6m....that sounds scary.

In the bottom of it's wind range, a good 6-8m is like a gentle giant, smooth and a tad slow.... If the winds are smooth. still pulls like a truck though!

fwiw, I've broken my tailbone twice... once on a landboard doing a downhill run when one of the rims sheared off (effin vegas hubs!) and then again a few months later landing hard on just the right spot from a badly timed jump.
They can take a while to heal....

small blades are good as well, pansh ace worth a look if you are blessed with onshore seaside winds, inland forget about them. 4m would be wisest, 6m if you have good winds and trust your judgement... you need to be able to walk away from winds just that little bit outside your comfort zone!

As a newbe myself, I'd like to hear what you end up getting.

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trust your judgment..you need to be able to walk away from winds just that little bit outside your comfort zone!

Truer words have never been spoken. I've only been flying for a few weeks, and I can attest to this, and I've only been flying my 3m Beamer.

A thing I learned the hard way was that if the winds become gusty DO NOT rest the kite at zeinith or try to jump... know when to pack it in.

Walking fairly normally now after several months out... the metal has assimillated itself to my ankle. :wee:

remember a gust that pulls you horizontally will hurt you, one that lofts you will break you.

I have a feeling that you will find the winds on the beach may be stronger but less gusty so easier to manage?
It sounds to me like you may want 2 or 3 things out of your next kite. Something to handle your gusty winds. Something to learn to jump with. Something to take the step towards the water.

Open cell foils don't work ( don't relaunch ) on the water. The 5.6m Twister or similar seems like a good size for your winds and desire to jump. It is the same handle / 4 line fixed bridle set up as you have now.

I suggest you look into depower kites. You have sort of got 3 choices. Closed cell foils such as Flysurfer brand and the HQ Neo. Twin skin arcs by Peter Lynn and a ton of different inflatables.


I suspect that you can pick up some good deals on used inflatables with the huge kitesurf crowd there ? U2U Kiteboyza on here. He is a South African transplant that may have some local knowledge to help you out?

Having the wife fly doesn't mean you need 2 of each kite but that you can buy twice as many ! Odds are she will fly 1 size down from you on any given day. Still get her ANY kite she wants !!!!!

+ 1 for wearing a helmet at least.