I live in Alamosa, Colorado. We're expecting gusts of 50MPH today.
Every spring we have a good amount of wind, and our valley (San Luis Valley) is dry. We're the home of the Great Sand Dunes National Park. Anyway....
I'm interested in trying out this whole traction kite business. I just got a Snapshot 1.2 yesterday and had some fun with it, but honestly, I'm
looking for something with a good amount of pull. I'm 6'3" 220 and athletic.
I would like something that could pull me either on skis or a Mountainboard....
Ok first of all a snapshot and a traction kite are not the same. We are all going to recommend that you get a trainer kite. A 2-3 meter kite lower
preformance. A Ozone flow, Peter Lynn hornet, or similar kite. Learn to fly this thing pritty much blindfolded. Then start looking at getting
something to fit your wind range. For skis we recommend depower kites. Kites flown on a bar not on handles.
For your 50+ gusts we recommend not flying only very experienced riders even consider flying in those winds.
Good luck be safe hide the wallet.
go fly a kite trainer 1.4 m
thunderfoil 9 ft.
Flexi sting 1.7m
Ozone flow 2.0 m
PL Vapor 3.2 m
Ozone Flow 5 m
PLVapor 6.5 m
frenzy 14.0 m
Welcome MagillaG!
A 3 meter is a good size to start with. Check out the For Sale section on this forum or google the offerings from Ozone, PKD, Peter Lynn, HQ,
Flexifoil, Prism. Once you get that kite, take it out in 10-15 mph winds to begin with and try to get a half-dozen hours or so in this wind range on
the kite before taking it out in greater winds. Be sure to note the recommended wind range for your particular kite as a guideline for the winds you
should be flying it in. The more hours of fly time you get under your belt, the higher the wind range your skills will allow you to fly in. It is
recommended the hold off shopping for larger kites until you feel that you can fly that 3m kite with you eyes closed. Even though you can fly a 3m
kite in winds from 5 to 35 static, once you hop on a board or skis, the usable wind range will narrow - this is why folks here have a variety of
kites, to cover more wind ranges, thereby allowing them to kite more often.
2m Radsails Pro (from crazyherb), 2.1m Symphony Beach II (from Amazon), 3m HQ Beamer IV (from K-Bid), 4m Pansh Flux (from garydog), 4.7m Flexifoil
Rage (from mougl), 5.6m PL Twister IIR (from Big Mike), 6m Flysurfer Peak 1 (from Flysurfer USA), 11m HQ Neo II (from kiteplace), 19m PL Venom II
(from Smeagol), MBS Core 95 ATB (from Overstock.com), couple of ROSSIGNOL snowboards w/ SIS "click" bindings
Snapshot is likely similar to the HQ symphonies in that it is not 1.5 square meters, but 1.5 meters from wingtip to wingtip. That
said, the 1.5m snapshot is probably even less than 1/2 the square meterage of a 3m traction kite. In the kind of wind you're talking about, you'd get
a LOT of use out of a 2m, 3m, or even 4m. And it's best to start small to learn how to control the kite rather than survive the kite.
I just recently bought a 3m Ozone Octane and think it's an awesome kite, very well suited for a beginner, but not likely to be something you'll "grow
out of".
Hey MagillaG!
I spend time in your neck of the woods - good place for kiting...always windy but like mentioned earlier 50mph is too much.
In up to 40mph I'll get out my 3 meter HQ Rush IV - a great trainer kite and my absolute nuking kite now. I flew that thing for hundreds and hundreds
of hours and still use it from time to time to buggy/land board if it is crazy out - can't go wrong investing in a 3 meter or so.
I am a real proponent too of wearing at minimum a helmet! Even being a big guy like yourself a 3 meter can easily pull you over if things go south.
Welcome to the crazy world of kiting!! Being in Colorado like me - snow kiting, buggying, land boarding and kite boarding are all possible and awesome
but be really mindful and prepared for gusts.
Hey man, I got your message and am sending you my #. I'll be down there in the next few weeks and can show you a couple of trainers, if you want.
Those winds are crazy down there, often gusting well over 200% of the mean (read, 25mph gusting to 60 some times.)
I was actually thinking of getting a tiny little depower kite for down there, because I sometimes afraid to fly my 3m trainers. If I were you, I'd
hold off on buying those 2 kites until you've had a chance to fly one of my 3m, 4line kites. In anything over 15ish mph, they quickly become
dangerous to the untrained hand.
Can you wait until next weekend? If the answer is no, I totally understand, but I think you should go with a 2m instead of a 3m. You'll get plenty of
bugging use out of a 2m on those nuking days, but won't be in as much danger when the gusts are nuts (like, always, in Walsenburg anyway). Also, I'm
afraid the 3line would actually snap with your weight & wind combo. You might actually need all 4 lines to keep tensioned up.
I have yet to snap a line on my 3 line but I could completely see how it could happen!!! Dave (Proletariat) and I often share scouting trip info and
your neck of the woods come up often. Between the two of us we have all sorts of kites and lessons learned to share if you'd be interested. Heck yeah
- always interested in a road trip. Gusting more then 100% is sort of my own current threshold - and that is with depower. It isn't usually the base
winds that lead to trouble but rather the over gusts. Starting on the smallest kite possible to meet your early needs is a good call.
Thanks a lot guys.
I'm looking at 2 kites right now. They seem to be almost identical. Any thoughts on the two?
1) HQ Rush 3 300
2) Ozone Ignition 3-line 3.0
Thanks!:D
No, respectfully. You have the snapshot to teach you the dynamics of the wind window so blow past the 3-line gig and go straight to a four line rig.
Beamer, hornet etc". I have some tips here... http://www.coastalwindsports.com/TutorialMenu.Html
My site is going non commercial later this year but will keep the tutorials and community links up.
Angus Campbell Coastal Wind Sports
where life is better when it blows!
912-577-3920 new number
Thanks a lot guys.
I'm looking at 2 kites right now. They seem to be almost identical. Any thoughts on the two?
1) HQ Rush 3 300
2) Ozone Ignition 3-line 3.0
Thanks!:D
No, respectfully. You have the snapshot to teach you the dynamics of the wind window so blow past the 3-line gig and go straight to a four line rig.
Beamer, hornet etc". I have some tips here... http://www.coastalwindsports.com/TutorialMenu.Html
My site is going non commercial later this year but will keep the tutorials and community links up.
+1 more for 3rd line safety snap. Happened on my 3m 3 line JoJo trainer.
WOW,
CWS is going non Commercial ? SO glad you will keep the tutorials up. Pretty much the best place I have found to send new Folks. !
2nd Bladerunner. When I am independently wealthy, I will run a commercial kiting shop, because it's basically charity thanks for all your help in the kiting community, Angus. Those tutorials kept me
(mostly) out of trouble early on.
Spoke to mi Madre and we are good to go for a trip next weekend. I'll text you details, Jeff, but we can either leave Friday night or Sat morning.
Either is cool.
Magilla, check this thread Call or text me at your leisure, but not too
leisurely If not, Jeff and I will be forced to go hit the salt flats and have an
awesome time, but it'd be cooler if you joined us.
But seriously, I popped into the Great Sand Dunes NP last year and talked with the park ranger and he said "no" but he didn't really seem very sure
about what constituted a "vehicle." I intend to call NAPKA and ask them to help me figure out the political part of this. San Luis Lake, for
instance, is an almost completely dry lake bed that gets very little usage from the general public, but it would be fantastic to kite there. I asked
those rangers and one guy said "sure" and the other guy said "NO!"
Still scouting southern Colorado land like crazy. Mostly, the BLM land seems to be the best bet, although I haven't yet contacted them directly.
There's some stuff southwest of Alamosa that I'd like to check out on this scouting trip, but maybe we can join forces and lobby the sand dunes, if
necessary. They seem pretty reasonable and there is a TON of space on the dunes themselves, so it seems like a match made in heaven, but I'm trying
to tread lightly in order to not screw anything up (thus involving NAPKA for some advice, hopefully).
Talk to Rich and Morrie at NAPKA. We have a good reputation with BLM and he should be able to help.
What the Washington crew do is get one permit and multiple dates that they can use the beach. They still don't have free run to go out anytime but it
is a BIG step towards that.
Also, are you going to be at JIBE this year, bladerunner? It would be nice to finally meet you in person. Just missed you at sunset last year, I
guess.
Okay, thread officially hijacked
Heading to Alamosa tomorrow and bringing my (JIBE-provided) 3.3m PKD Buster and 3m Hornet for the new guy. Also bringing a buggy, a board, Jeff, and
3 flysurfers... You know... Just in case
But seriously, I popped into the Great Sand Dunes NP last year and talked with the park ranger and he said "no" but he didn't really seem very sure
about what constituted a "vehicle." I intend to call NAPKA and ask them to help me figure out the political part of this. San Luis Lake, for
instance, is an almost completely dry lake bed that gets very little usage from the general public, but it would be fantastic to kite there. I asked
those rangers and one guy said "sure" and the other guy said "NO!"
Still scouting southern Colorado land like crazy. Mostly, the BLM land seems to be the best bet, although I haven't yet contacted them directly.
There's some stuff southwest of Alamosa that I'd like to check out on this scouting trip, but maybe we can join forces and lobby the sand dunes, if
necessary. They seem pretty reasonable and there is a TON of space on the dunes themselves, so it seems like a match made in heaven, but I'm trying
to tread lightly in order to not screw anything up (thus involving NAPKA for some advice, hopefully).
Rangers are always going to err on the side of caution for any activity they are not familiar with.
Better to contact the offsite administrators and have them talk to the Rangers on your behalf. If you get cleared, get permission on letterhead that
you can take to the Ranger's station.
Was kind of surprised that they allowed Sandsledding and Sandboarding at the Great Sand Dune National Park. As long as you are not a perceived danger
to the other visitors, you might be able to make some headway.
Assume that others ALWAYS have the right of way.
The sands sleds and sand boards look like they just have a clear coated bottom. Something like a "door" with a PTEX/HDPE/Surlyn base would probably
move with even less drag across the sand.
Probably the biggest hurdle would be that a kite with a sandboard could crest a blind ridge under power and possibly collide with someone on the other
side. It's a lot less likely that something like that would happen to the people that are just downhilling like in the video.
ATB,
Sam
"I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was 12 - Jesus, does anyone?" - The Body by Stephen King
No Jibe for me this year. Work has changed my situation but I made it to IBB as a trade off.
The dry lake has those crazy gusts as well. The kite that saved the day for SandFlea was the 2.2 Buster Soul fly . It is an amazing price new and
complete.
The trick with winds like yours is you MUST size for the gusts. This leaves you wanting for power much of the time but glad you had the kite you had
through the gusts.
speaking of gusts... Here's some video of Magilla's first flying. He picked everything up real fast and got away with all kinds of nonsense because
of his size.
The winds were nuking pretty hard. That hornet has taken a beating in the last few weeks @ ~35 mph gust max.
Hey Magilla!
Always fun to meet and hopefully help a fellow kiter! Too bad the winds ratcheted up to too much for us but always better to bag it and kite another
day!
Hopefully we'll get to meet up and kite again soon.
Funny as well that you see value in a very small depower. Dave and I have been discussing the values of such a kite. On days with nuking but steady
winds (say in the 30 to 35mph range) like we had that day and here Saturday we both think a "micro-depower" could be one kite that would be quite nice
to have.
Kiting....I am always a single kite (or two) from a "complete" quiver....to quote TinCup though - "Perfection...is unobtainable"
![[*]](images/perspective/default_icon.gif){kind=icon}
thanks for all your help in the kiting community, Angus. Those tutorials kept me
(mostly) out of trouble early on.
