The more I read on here the more I second guess myself. I'm Looking to landboard mostly on grass. I want to start off static to get the hang of kiting , move to landboarding and eventually move to some jumps with one kite. I was set on the twister 5.6 but now i'm wondering if I should go depower. The apex III seems to be the most affordable depower i can find. I'm thinking 7.5 or 10 ? My concern is lift with the apex. how does it compare with the twister which seems to be made for jumping? Thanks.

If you are looking for big air, the depowers always have the edge and are actually a bit safer if you remember to use the safety.

I would say start off with a 2-3m to learn how to actually fly a kite first. Nothing worse than someone new being harnessed into a big kite. Then you can start thinking about depower.
I started with a 2m Peter Lynn Hornet then jumped too a 10m Ozone Access. Bearing in mind I had the hornet for 2 years so had been out in all kind of wind + I had someone who had previous experience in kiting

I would have to agree with Clunthoo. I didn't realize that you haven't been flying already. Grab yourself a used 2-3 meter and have a blast with it while you learn. Once you have it down firmly, then you can move into a depower. It will make the learning curve much easier and if you do happen to explode your kite with a bad series of lawn darts, you will be blowing up a much cheaper kite instead of a high dollar depower system.

buy a 3m, fly 3 times a week/// wait a month
buy the twister and try not to kill yourself.

Erich, trust me I was the exact same guy as you, thinking I would buy one kite and grow into it,... its not worth it.

I started with a 5.6m twister IIr, had a few good days with it and then it spanked me hard. ... after that day i was afraid of it and just didn't enjoy it.

so I bought a 3m beamer got some better control and eventually traded the twister for something else less lifty,... Kite control is the most important thing to learn, and that will be easier on something smaller 2 or 3 meters. You can still get a board moving with a 3m.

I never got over the anxiety of that kite, it has A LOT of lift, and when the gust hits it you're off to the moon.

If you want a twister, go for it, its an awesome kite, just start smaller. I'm still pretty newbish myself, but i know most any guy on here will tell you to start on 2 or 3m and learn control.

im going to disagree with afew of the comments on here and tell you to go for the twister. im not saying that the other comment are wrong as a 2-3-4m kite is a good place to start, but a 5.6m wont kill you if you are sensible and fly it in the correct wind for your ability. never take it out in anything above 10mph to start with until you feel more dialed into the kite and never try to jump with it for at least 5 good controled sessions.

there are also 3 more things you will need to buy and they are a helmet, knee pads and some crash shorts. fly safe and enjoy yourself.

+1 for what carl said.
I would add if you're playing with lifty fixed bridle kites, a motocross/downhill armored jacket isn't a horrible investment either.
GREAT KITE btw.. I sold mine to move to depower, now I'm stuck buying one again lol

I started out with the 4m Scout and I never had any issues or felt that I was in danger or over powered (not as lifty as a twister I'm assuming AND I was very cautious in what winds I took it out in). The reason I started with it was because everyone told me a 5m was too big. I feel like if your very cautious and take it out in minimal amounts of winds to get it up and rolling you will be alright as I would have been as well.

You have the same problem most folks do getting started. You want it all in one kite and that just doesn't happen. This is why you see so many kites in our signatures.

Going straight to a 5.6m kite is a recipe for disaster. A short search of this forum will show person after person who has made this mistake . Usually a story about their injury.

You don't exactly learn how to control a big kite so much as save yourself from getting hurt by it. Even if you go the sensible route you will miss out on flying in decent winds because your skills aren't there.

YES, the odd person has gone straight to a 5+m kite and lived to tell about it but they have taken the hardest most dangerous route to the same end .

Small sizes make a huge difference when down at the small end of FB kites. This fellow comparing his 4m Scout and a 5.6m Twister II should really think about what he is suggesting ? Very VERY different kites .

I understand they are very different kites. I've read every post on this forum since I joined, I understand how lofty and lifty the twister is. There are countless posts about how insane this kite can be. But everyone is also different and can excel at different rates. I also didn't really compare, I even said how the scout really isn't a match to the twister... But at the same time, the first couple sessions I took the scout out in I couldn't even get it up because it was pretty much NO wind. Then when I finally did get it up I had to keep running backwards and whip it around to keep it in the air. Then I progressed to having it out in 25+ winds eventually (probably 15th+ outting). Because I did respect this sport and mother nature so much.

But yes he will have to be smart about it and skip out on days where you must live to fly another day. Where as once he has a lot more experience he will be able to handle those same winds.

That said... if you have the funds, getting a smaller kite to train on is definitely the better route (espically if you want to show your friends and they want to try because you can feel more secure with them on a smaller one) because then you can end up using that 'trainer' kite in high winds where as with the twister that would be extremely scary.

+1 on what bladerunner said.

Hey, I'm not trying to discourage you from a bigger kite, I just see from others and from my own experiences that the twister (especially in inland gusty conditions) can be a lot to handle.

I've been told by guys who have flown that kite that it behaves very differently in the beach wind vs inland gusts.

Applying wisdom and caution are always important, but with this kite, it doesn't take a big gust to get spanked hard. And we still get spanked in spite of our caution sometimes.

What bothered me most was that I had spent a great deal of money on the kite, but didn't enjoy flying it because it made me nervous.

Even the guy that sold me the kite recommended I started with something smaller, but I HAD to have it. I'm not saying DON'T GET A TWISTER,... I'm saying GET A SMALLER TWISTER. I personally think you'll enjoy it more.

... then you also have an excuse to buy another kite later :singing::singing::singing: