I've been a stunt kite flier for a couple years now, and recently purchased my first Foil style kite, a Peter Lynn 2 line Vibe 2.3.

It's a great travel companion. I love the idea of no Spars. I pretty much feel I've learned all that I am aware of for this kind of kite. I can re-launch, flip it over and re-launch ( a bit of wind needed to inflate), stall the kite, lock it in place, carve the sky, loops, carve squares, push-pull turning.

I'm sure there is more to learn, so if any of you know of good resources that will improve my 2 line flying I'm all ears.

Yes, I'm bitten and do want to get a 4 liner Power Kite even though this new Foil is only a month old.

This looks like a great community, and I'm looking forward to learning more about this sport and passing it down to my nephew as well.

Cheers
C
(Vancouver BC )

Welcome. Yes. Pass the kite to the nephew and grab you a 4 line kite! You are very limited with a 2 line foil. Lots of peeps that fly in BC too.

Definitely! we always recommend your first be a 3 meter kite. With it, you can learn kite control. You may know how to fly the Vibe on a bar, but you will find it is a different animal with 4 lines on handles. The advantage is that you already have a good understanding of the wind window. With the 3m you can experience the pull, but not be overwhelmed by it. you can learn how to fly the kite rather than SURVIVE the kite.

Some of the best starters are:

Peter Lynn Hornet
HQ Beamer
PKD buster soulfly (most affordable new)
Ozone Octane
Flexifoil Sting
Flexifoil Rage

Good luck, and feel free to ask us ANY question and there is likely someone out there with a good answer.

"survive the kite"


Love that phrase. Just reminiscing about one of my worst wipeouts ever. Putting my wrists through the straps on a Symphony 1.8 in 20+ mph winds as a noob. Phew... That was ugly.
I digress...

Welcome,

Head out to Garry Point in Richmond on weekends and don't be shy. Folks there will be happy to put different kites in your hands if you ask.
It's nice to " try before you buy".

It may be a bit quiet there this weekend. A lot of us are headed to Seaside Oregon for an event called SOBB. Still there will likely be some folks out? It is basically the only decent place in town.

For Vancouver wind...

A 3 meter will not be enough kite most days
A 5 meter kite is the go to kite
A 7 - 8 meter kite will come out a lot in the summer

A 3 for static flying will be good and can be used on a board or in a buggy if you want to get moving.

Thanks for all of the great advice so far.

Yes I have found in Vancouver that most days my Prism 4D ( SUL ) stunt kite is the only thing that will stay in the air.

Jericho Beach and when the tide is far out can be good, but generally inconsistent and low wind. I Googled average wind speed Vancouver and the average is 10 - 12 km/h (7.5 mph).

Garry Point is great and has consistent wind albeit slow, but consistent usually. Maybe next year I will look into SOBB.

All road sign warnings point to the 3m kite for Starters, but if RonH suggests that 3m may not be enough should I consider something else ?

To add, I am a big guy, 275-300lbs, not sure if mother nature cares or makes much of a difference in kite size / weight ratio.
I am looking to static fly mostly, perhaps get into landboarding, or strap some crazy carpet to my feet and go Scudding to start out. Buggy would be fun - and I know my nephew would love that in the future.

Vanier Park works good on a W/NW wind. I go there a lot. You can check it out at jerichowind.com to see how the wind is.

5m seems like the best all round size around here but larger kites are used a lot. Be prepared to need something bigger and smaller than the 5m .

Static flier here... At 125lbs-135lbs, I fly the HQ Beamer 5m nearly any low *almost 0* to 15mph gusts.
In the lower wind range I can put my weight on it, and it will hold me. Like a bit of a moonwalk/bounce... Quite gentle.
Have to work thru the gusts using my whole body, and steering. Loops and tricks using the power lines are harder for me. Sometimes impossible without running/scudding with it, yet the brake lines steer the kite much easier. Can do sharper turns and cool pinwheels with little handle pull.

For about the past week, I've been unable to fly the 4-line 5m. TOO WINDY. 15mph-30mph+ gusts...Will snatch me from the ground like an infant. Wouldn't be bad if I had a board or something. My 1.8m 2 line flies fine. Still feels like no pull in 30mph wind. Just zips around faster with no chance of stalls.

If you're wanting an easy 4 line kite with a solid pull, 3m. It'll be a little more fun to watch and faster in the sky than the 5m. If you want a little weightless feeling, more action on your body, 5m.

SO was just out today on a glorious summer day in Vancouver during low tide. THe Beach was huge and was fun being able to walk out a couple football field lengths while watching all the skim boarders take advantage of the low tide.

Was having a blast in 5-8mph winds ( not much ) but it was smooth. I began imagining kite surfing on a skim board in the shallows. Is that possible ? After some research I found that I should look into a closed cell kite in case I have any water landings. Is the Hydra the best option to learn on for that purpose ? Do they make 4 line closed cell kites or do they all use a bar instead of handles ?

The other reason for considering a closed cell kite is once the kite got damp from the wet sand it become increasingly more difficult to launch.

Any thoughts ?