i dunno if you can get a kite that does it all, but i want one. im 170 lbs in central new york(relatively light wind). i have never done this, but i think it would be perfect here. The snowboarding is so-so here b/c of the small hills, but there is a 30 mile lake that is nice in the summer and frozen in the winter, not to mention the farmer's fields that the occasional snowmobiler travels through. so can one kite do that? are open foil kites good on the water? lastly, what are some good brands to start with? I want a beginner/ intermediate. i'll deal with a harder starter kite so that i dont need to trade later.

There are water relaunchabel foils but you might benifit from starting with an inflatable first. Inflatables are cheaper and easier to find because kiting is more popular on the water than snow. On snow 90% of the time I use my 10m Ozone frenzy it's a great snowkite but on water and when I need something diferent I use a 16m best and a 12m naish I also have a 3m best for teaching friends and a 5m slingshot when it's howling. My 10m frenzy is good from 7-20mph winds on the snow but I have never tried it on the water because if you dump it you need to swim back. If you have no local stores near you try Ebay and get a complete package bar;lines;kite and pump dont forget you are going to need a harness and a leash hope this helps. We have a great snowkite rodeo in Feb up here in Montana you should check out the website www.mticesports.com. Good luck!

ok, can you use an inflatable 12m for snowkiting? or is it too powerful? im looking for something that will do both and not kill me while im learning. it looks like i might need to get a couple kites

i dont think inflatables should be recommended as a first kite, should start with a small foil, say 3-4m, then once got some experience go onto inflatables

Gene..I'd have to agree with Jim on this. For you first kite you don't want something that is too large, nor inflateable. Inflateables have too many other things going on that you have to worry about. As someone new to the sport, I'd imagine the added things going on to be more cumbersome and frustrating then adding to the fun. Not to mention if you take that on land (not snow..but grass and dirt) and accidentally crash it, then you're probably going to be out some money getting new bladders.

Best bet..for a new person to the sport is start like Jim said, don't go with anything too lifty or with any lift, don't worry about depower at the moment either. You'll probably even keep your first kite for higher wind days. However, as you progress you'll want something possibly with more lift, more power, depower, and that can possibly take you in the water as well. So to answer your question about getting a couple kites...yes. You'll end up with kites for high wind days, low wind days, days that you want to go out on the water, days that you want lift, days you dont want lift, etc.

There are foils out there that you can use for water, snow and land. A bit more money and they are also something you should wait til you've been flying for a while and / or get lessons, to get as most are depowerable and they're in the larger spectrum of kites. If you have the money and start off with a smaller static foil, then decide to step up into one, peter lynn, skite, and flysurfer all make kites you can use for land, snow and water (there's another thread in this forum about this). Higher end as far as cost, but they have your do-it-all kites.

Inflateables are good for snow and water, not so good for land due to the bladders popping. That's not to say that people don't use'm on land though..they do (but with the knowledge of crashing cost money..haha).

Baby step in the sport..you'll have more fun that way. And if you decide to get into the water, the inflateables, etc. then take some lessons (that'll save you time, save you from spending money on what you "think" you'll need and you'll be up having fun a lot faster with less frustration. Less bruises and what not too..May even save your life as well).

Hope this helps,
Joe

yeah, i have been doing some thinking on this. it is the new bug up my butt right now. i think kiting will solve my problems with new york snowboarding. so my next idea was to maybe size a kite that is small enough to start on but just big enough to get some air. (i don't need much, but i need some) i think, based on what you're saying, that a starter/ intermediate snow kite is more feasable than "an all in one". the water can wait for a season or two. so im guessing a two line system is the suggestion? another problem is that there are no lessons in central new york, if you know of some, let me know. i think i will have to learn myself, unfortunately.
by the way, thank you for your time. conversation is the best tool to dial in on what you need.

Gene,
Personally I'd go with the 4 line setup and something in the range of 3-4 (no larger then 4.5). Seriously..for your first kite, don't put too much emphises on size or lift. You want to learn the basics on something small and work your way up..otherwise you'll get really frustrated really fast and possibly seriously hurt yourself in the process. I said the 4 line setup because you'll have access to brake lines which both help you have more control over the kite and if you put kite killers on you can let go of the kite causing it to fold up and come to the ground without hurting yourself or someone else. If you're planning to eventually move to the water a bar setup may be helpful as well (but try the handles first..they're easier to figure out, give you a better idea what the brake lines do, etc. Then get a bar later on). The Hq beamers and beamer tsr's aren't bad kites, along with ozone little devils, or the flexifoil bullet.

I'm not sure where abouts in central new york you are, but out in long island area there are lessons. Also if you travel to vermont at all there are several places in that area that do both snow and water lessons.
Just my .02
~Joe

Sent you a u2u

thanks for the info. VT is very doable. I just didn't see any lessons in the area. Actually, all I got was Utah and France for locations. I will look harder as I have plenty of time. Is a 4 line "kite killer" the same as "depower"? I do like the brake idea. I figure, as long as I can stop, I'll be ok. Wind speed- A really light breeze is 4 mph and it seems like an 8-12 mph wind is light but very common. Is this right? if it is, then you can snowkite on all but the stillest of days. i will look into the smaller kites, i like the idea of brakes (i thought 2line systems were easier) I'd like to start with a bar, but more importantly, I'll try to goto VT and try a lesson and work on trying bar vs. handles.

You can check out powerlinesports.com for lesson info. If you call ask for Andrew and he should be able to help you out. He's a very knowledgable guy. If you ask them about lessons they'll either be able to help you or at the very least point you in the right direction. I'm not sure who teaches down in the Long Island area, but I've heard that there are lessons there as well.

Depowerable and having brakes are two seperate things. Depowerable kites allow the kiter to change the angle of attack in which it hits the wind..powering the kite up or lowering the power. Those kites have a larger range in which they can be flown, but there is also a lot more to them then a typical static 4 line kite. At the moment don't worry about what depower is though. Get a 4 line static foil kite and learn with that..later on you can look into the depowerable kites.

As for bar vs. handles.. I'd start with handles just so you have some sense of what the brake lines do, it helps with control, etc. Bars tend to be less responsive and when learning it can make for more frustration. When you figure out the wind window, how the kite works, etc. then try the bar.

As for wind speeds...you'll notice that in some places (like here in maryland) the wind is pretty dead around now..but come fall, spring and winter things start to pick back up. Some months tend to have more wind the others too. Which is why a lot of people tend to have more then one kite...to put it simple...larger kites for less wind and smaller kites for high wind days. Sticking in the range of size that we mentioned earlier will allow you to fly in both, but you will find that once you get use to the kiting you'll want more pull all the time...which means additional kites.

Glad to hear you're considering the lessons..it'll definitely save you from some hurt and frustration that I'm sure the rest of us have been though.
~Joe

thanks again for the help. I will probably call one of these days. Talking is easier than typing...


tom