Hello there everybody!
First off, thank you for having a forum with such a wealth of knowledge.
I'm a newbie in the kite world and feel like I should test the waters before I jump in full blast. I'm pretty excited about the sport/hobby, but I've dropped lots of money on other sports that didn't work for me previously. I figured that I'd see if anybody had a good kite setup they'd be willing to sell. I don't really care too much about style, just something of size to do some snowkiting here in the San Juan Mountains of southern Colorado. Our winds are good up high in the mountains and I'm mainly seeing this as an opportunity to tow into some cool backcountry ski areas, but the entire kiting experience seems very cool as well. I'm also on a college budget so I don't have a whole lot of money to pour into it as well. I have an old skytiger 26 that my girlfriend found at a thrift shop that had never been flown before so I've been having fun figuring that out. Something of the same era, just bigger could be really awesome, and a depower or bar kite would be rad to learn on as well, but I have been seeing that these are a bit more expensive as well. I'm 160 lbs. and an expert skier ready to try most anything. Thanks and let me know if you are willing to part with anything. Happy Kiting!
Luke

How well can you fly your skytiger? If you can fly it well I'd say you could get a depower. Most people that ride skis and snowboards use depowers. How are the winds where you live? Are the smooth or gusty? Also what would you say the average wind speed would be?

If you decide so get a depower, consider getting a peter lynn Arc. I have one and I love it. A member on this site called Feyd rides with skis and uses arcs. Arcs are very durable. Look at how many of the original S-arc's are still flying. They also absorb gusts very well so you don't feel a jerk when when a gust hits.Another thing about arcs is the auto-zenith. If you let go of the bar, the kite will fly back above your head and stay there. That comes in handy when you need to get your skis on or rest for a bit. The down side to arcs is there low end isn't the best and they need to be prefilled before the will fly.

Let use know what your wind is like and your skill level with your skytiger is and we can help you from there. Show us any kite you find before you buy it so we can tell you if it is any good.

The perennial Beamer is always a good choice. This PKD is a screaming deal as well.

Thanks for the advice!
Our winds are pretty much always gusty. We get forecasts like, "west winds 5-10 mph with gusts of 15". The usual wind speed is 5-20 mph depending on stormfronts and whatnot. I am realizing that that is a definitely a big range to cover, but something that would cover as much as possible would be good obviously.
I feel like I do well with the skytiger. I can pretty much always keep it where I want it and have become proficient at keeping the figure eights consistent, as well as getting dragged across a parking lot . I feel comfortable with it in the air, but the gusty weather is definitely hard to deal with.
Looking at a few kites and finally have a bit of money to play with:
HQ Samurai 5m with lines and bar: $350
Peter Lynn S-ARC 630 with Naish depower bar, lines, bag, sticks: $350
Flysurfer Cool 9m with Naish depower bar and lines: $500
Flysurfer Pulse2 8m with Naish Depower bar and lines: 450
I'm leaning towards the Cheaper 2 options for financial reasons, but am also very interested in the flysurfers as the added size could be awesome. What does it take to inflate an arc?
Thanks for all the help!

Also, the PL 13m Guerilla II with Naish bar and lines: $450
Thanks again for any and all help!

I would avoid getting the S arc. Could be a bit more to handle than you are prepared for. Look around, check out the apex 7.5 m can't beat it for affordability as well as consistent flying characteristics. You can find one in your price range I'm sure

FWIW:
I'd be cautious of the Flysurfers you listed as they are being sold with NON Flysurfer bars.
Flysurfers are meant to be flown on their own bars.

Alright, well I'm still looking for a de-power kite, if anyone has a decent one laying around that they don't want anymore. An older apex, montana, or similar (not partial to brands) rtf for <$400 would be awesome. Something in the 5m-11m range that will work well in 7-20mph winds that will treat me well for learning and progress me for a while as well. Thanks in advance! Feel free to u2u me any offers.

I have a 3.6m. Beamer tsr. Great shape. 150 shipped

This may fit the bill. You'll be the only guy in your area with a solid purple kite. :Ange09:

I also have a mid-size bar I could sell for $125.

http://www.powerkiteforum.com/viewthread.php?tid=24796

I usually promote the PKD Buster http://www.pkdkitesusa.com/ for beginners but since you are interested in snowkite this is what I would get http://bigmikeskites.com/PeterLynn/Xplore/Xplore.html

I agree about the kites you mention not being your best choice. Old and or mismatched. You want something trouble free. Something will come up soon. That 8m Pulse II would be a great kite at a good price if it had the original bar.

Good move checking your choices on here. Avoid impulse buying.

You will have to budget for a harness with a depower kite.

It is a tough call for you. You can pick up a used fixed bridle or 2 cheap but with gusty winds it will be a struggle . You can fly FB without a harness but it's hard on the arms. I used fixed bridle kites snowkiting when I 1st started out. It was often a struggle to find the right kite from my 3, 4.5 and 7m quiver. If you can find the money for depower it will serve you better in the long haul.

If you don't have a helmet, budget for one !


I think this may be the best deal on the forum at the moment for you ?
http://www.powerkiteforum.com/viewthread.php?tid=22435

Smallish but a nice size for learning + handling your gusts. If you master it you should be able to get going on snow in much less than 13mph? Passing on the bag will save $25 + about $5 in shipping.

Thanks for the help, I actually picked up a 10m access2 a week ago and am loving it. Super fun and so far perfect for what I'm trying to do. Thanks again!