Hi, I've been reading this forum for a while, and I finally decided to register today =].

I've been practicing on flying the kite for a few times now and starting to get on the board. Somehow I have a hard time to get the board rolling or if it starts rolling for a little while and the the wheel gets stuck in the sand a little too much and I'll have to jump off or I'll probably eat the sand.

So, I'm wondering what did I do wrong here:
1. Wrong technique? I did start off in a somewhat downwind direction and then turn to the beam reach (I guess that's what it called) position.
2. I'm using a 3.3m kite, and the best wind I've tried so far is around 15mph. Do I need to a bigger kite to start with?
3. Is buggying a little easier to start off than boarding (since buggy has bigger wheels :D)?

Any advise would be helpful!

Sounds to me like you need more hard pack! (wait for lower tide)

On a buggy, in the soft stuff with bigger tires, the barrows work just fine on the hardpack. Not going to say which is easier because that is a personal preference. The buggy comes natural to some the board to others.

The 3m should get you started at 15mph winds, may not get cooking, but you should be able to start.

Some landboard pros will put in there info soon, sure there are a few tricks they can help you with.

Pssst Rich... don't think there's much tide action going on in Houston


Learn the kite well and contact Adam (flyjump) and I'm sure he will help you right along with anyone else on the forum. Welcome






Posting from the Petro in Bucksville Alabama!

Dang, got me there, didn't even see that he was in TX. My Bad, Thanks for pointing it out bro!

I suspect your sand is not exactly hard enough . We have similar issues since our sand isn't pounded by surf. I can sort of force a ride using a big kite but ??? Extremely hard on the arms trying to go at it unhooked.

Getting a bigger kite might help but if your sand is a bit soft you ay want to think about a buggy?

you can always try letting abit of air out of your tires, id say down to about 20/25psi. this might help abit, but as others have said if the beach is toooooooooo soft then get a buggy. lol.

Thanks for all the input, and I was suspecting maybe the sand isn't hard enough. I'm actually thinking about getting a buggy instead, but just want to make sure that a buggy would work since it has bigger and fatter tires. BTW, I normally go to Galveston's east beach in case anyone is familiar with the area.

Also, I want to get another kite for the lower wind conditions, should I go with a 6m or say 4m instead (FB)?

Jeremiah was just down at East Beach on saturday with his new VTT Stinger on bigfoot tires. He said he ha a few hours of fun with the buggy. I landboard on east beach all the time. That's where we have the annual DBBB meet. There's plenty of hard pack there if you keep near the water. Also, because galveston beaches are normally narrow, you can only landboard when it's direct onshore with the SE wind. I used a 3m beamer to landboard sometimes in about 15mph wind so you have plenty of wind there.

Give us a ring next time or keep an eye on the forum when me , Dylanj123 , houstonairhead , taper123 , or treblehook head down to the beach. We usually post when we do go so come join us. We have plenty of buggies or landboards for you to try out.

Glad to see many of you from this area, and I'll definitly try to get with you guys next time going out there.

I actually went down there on Friday, and other than the wind was nice, nothing went right (really bad traffic, my car stuck in the sand, and couldn't get the board rolling for more than 5m...lol). Anyway, thanks for the reply and I'm really excited to get into buggying as well.

Bump for letting some air out of the tires... can help a lot. I weigh 175ish lbs, and as soon as I hit some softer dryer stuff, I have the same issues. Check out the beach with the other TX guys and figure out what you like best.

That could be the issue as well...I always pump those tire up as much as I can and never thought about that. Will definitely try that next time.

As someone who tried both buggy and landboard, all I can say is that its a total different game. Yes, buggy is a bit easier if you know what you're doing, yet, same with a landboard.
Personally, I found the buggy a perfect match, since its a bit more forgiving if you make a mistake in a normal condition, meaning low wind and lots of time to bailout the buggy. When you fall with a board, you fall and hit the body no matter what (to my opinion anyway). I like to think and call the buggy as the laziest sport, but as you can tell from watching all those pro out there, it is nothing like it. You can choose to 'only' cruise with it, but like myself, soon or later you'd like to learn some tricks and discover the NON lazy part about the buggy. I found it VERY easy to start, since youcan actually sit and enjoy your ride, study the kite and get use to it while having fun safely.
Bottom line is, it all depends on what do you want to do and how far you want to go with this kite sport. The more time you'll have and spend with your kite, the more ways you'll discover to make it more fun.
Good luck and welcome to the wind zone :-)

A very Wise Gentleman told my kid "lean back man... you got to lean way back"
Way late thanks WG my big guy is progressing nicely!

The more I think about it, the more I'm leaning towards buggy. Need to find a good deal on a buggy and a bigger kite for lower wind condition.

Now the challenge is how to bring the buggy to the beach...how do you guys do it without a trailer or truck? I don't think it will fit in a sedan.

You have to unbolt the back axle before you can put it in a car. You might want to check out the other end of Galveston(west end). Turn to the beach at the toll booth. It might not be as crowded as east beach during the summer. In the past they have run us off of east beach during the summer tryng to buggy there.

Susan (npw goddess)

Not all buggies break down easy but some do. I only need to undo one bolt holding my downpost and my little buggy will fit in the back seat. My Ivanpah requires a good bit more tear down .

Peter Lynn makes a folding buggy. It isn't too bad as an intro but the seat makes it a real uncomfortable ride. Airin changed out the seat and hers serves her needs very well ! I found the same issue almost with the Peter Lynn XR. Changing the seat out makes a big difference.

Dylan is selling his stainless buggy. He has a compact hatchback and lives in an apartment. He breaks it down into 3 pieces.

regarding getting the buggy in the back of a small car:
I have a MINI Cooper [albeit with the rear seats removed] and I regularly carry TWO buggies and over 10 power kites.
First buggy is a PL XR+: Very easy to break into three components: front wheel/ fork and downtube; Rear axle; side rail/ seat. This bug has slip joints at the rail to axle joint and two easy nuts for the rail to downtube joint. If more room is needed the rear wheels can be removed from the axle.
Second buggy is a VTT Stinger: This is a four component breakdown [c. 100 cm axle]: front wheel/ fork and downtube; side rail/ seat; axle; rear wheels. Loosen four bolts that form the downtube clamp, undo four bolts holding rear axle to side rails, remove rear wheels from axle.
The PL came with a pair of adjustable crescent wrenches. For the VTT I found a open ended/ ratchet wrench for the axle bolts [IIRC 1 1/8"], and got a ratcheting dogbone [4 sizes per end, both ends ratchet]

Well, thanks for all the responses. Finally, I got with Steve (Van) and Jeremy (not sure his user name here...) and tried the board and a VTT buggy on the hard packed sand. Suprisingly, I can get on the board and the buggy with no issue, and it was great fun! The PL Phantom is so much easier to fly too. I think I'll stick with ARC for now and deal with my FB kites later. I also had my first ejecting out of the buggy experience with a cut on my foot; need to remember to bring my shoes next time...

Shoes are a must.

Susan (npw goddess)

Haha .. I think Mark ( Nfish) still has a smile on his face from the session 2 weeks ago on the 15m phanton and VTT Stinger (Jeremiah's bigfoot buggy). The wind was around 15 to 20mph during the evening. Not sure if he cut his foot from hitting shells on the ground or part of the buggy when he was ejected sideways from doing a kite loop with the phantom. :singing: He's now in the market for a 15m phantom if any of you have one for sell. I think I got him into the phantom fan club !!! Another one falls to the D'Arc Side.

Make that 2 that moved over to the phantom fan club just need some wind so I can try out this new 15m phantom 2