Well, I am a very experienced snowboarder that had about 25 deep powder mountain days last year, yes I am blessed. However this year I will not be so lucky. I will be living on a relatively large lake, about 15 km long. Plus my gf has a decent sled that I'm hoping she can pull me on. I'm looking for something to start out on. I normally ride a 157 twin tip but have a variety of boards in my arsenal. Not too worried about that. What I don't know is how big of a kite I will need. I would like to be able to reach at least 40kph. I am concerned about required wind speed and the required kite size. What kind of speeds could I expect? I am used to 70-80 kph speeds going downhill.

Are there any kite shapes or models I need to stay away from? I could possibly use this kite on the lake in the summer if possible. I am an experienced wake boarder but not near the level of snowboarding experience.

Thanks for any suggestions.

Bill

FYI I am 5'11" and close to 200 lbs.

There are several kites around that will cover you for what you are asking for - they will let you go fast and are useable on snow and water.

Board wise something long & quite stiff without much sidecut works best. I use a 162 with a wide 15 degree symmetric binding setting. Its my Powder board when not used with the kite. normally I ride a 155cm @ 6'1 & 175lb. You can get kite specific boards if you want.

Before you get into that you need to learn to fly a power kite. get a 3-4m 4 line foil kite and read/watch some tutorials or buy a dvd if you are having to learn solo. You will also be able to start snow kiting with this but you are quickly going to want something bigger and depowerable.

If you want something for the lake later, peter Lynn Charger, HQ Matrixx, HQ Neo are 3 that come to mind right off the bat.

Welcome aboard!!..imo...doesnt matter where you came from or what you’ve done..now you will have a kite in your hands and that is the principle of the matter...get a 3m fb foil learn to fly and be a pilot..than you worry about movement..and this stuff blows deep powder days away, just not as pretty...imo