Don't we wish.

There is a "card store" down the street and any night they are all in there playing Magic cards; I'd bet there are more people in there then all of the active kite buggiers in the USA, and maybe even the entire world.

Advantages of Magic cards:

Can be played at all times day or night.
Not weather dependant.
Doesn't require wind.
Doesn't require a suitable place to ride.
Low cost of entry.
Not a physical activity.
Indoors.


Negatives for kites:

Costs up front.
Learning how to fly.
Need wind.
Need a place to fly.
Can be hampered by weather.

I think that list can go on and on.

Out of all the what feels like hundreds of people I've met while out with the kite buggy; them having said things like "that looks like fun"; then later saying they don't think they could do it. I've had numerous girls use the exact words of they "didn't think they were coordinated enough". A lot of people seemed almost terrified at the thought of them doing it. They are okay though standing there watching me do it though.

I wish I would have known about the kite buggy back in the 90's. But I just didn't know of it.

It seems like the kite buggy scene could almost be divided into 3 time periods. The 90's and then the 2000's, then now.

Look at old pictures from the early days. Totally different times. When the kites were the PL Peel, Skytigers, and later the Quadrifoil. Is when the JoJo's and Libre's came online when the buggy scene started to change? It just seems like in the mid 2000's the scene was really big and different from earlier? Like around the time when everyone who owns a Libre buggy that was bought back then got them.

(Here's what always gets me. Wind is blowing in the 20's; gusting upwards of 30. 2m kite. Going high 20's low 30's speed wise. No one notices. Light wind day. Have the biggest kites one owns out. Crawling. Struggling just to keep the kite in the air. Cars are stopping. People are taking pictures. Blows me away everytime.)

Everytime I drive by a busy golf course or drive by a bowling alley with a full parking lot or the huge turnout at baseball and soccer games and think about all the other various hobbies, activities, and pastimes and the huge numbers of people who do them; and then I think about why isn't the kite scene bigger?

Things I immediately think of:

Equipment costs. In my early days; all the enquiries I'd get from spectators; the costs always appeared to be a huge barrier to entry and also somewhat; they were going to have to order stuff off the net.

A lot of geographical places either don't get wind; have light wind, or wind not really suited to fly.

A lot of places have no place to fly or ride.

Most people for a variety of reasons aren't ready to go at a moments notice if the wind blows.

A determined individual is going to kite no matter what one way or another. Nothing will stop the determined individual. If I had a person show up and said they wanted to get into kite buggying; they would be kite buggying. I have 3 trainer kites in my vehicle at all times.

I guess the other hobbies are less demanding and easier to get into. Anyone can golf or bowl. All kids by default get put into sports at a young age(soccer, baseball, basketball and/or football).

I guess the part that gets me and the part I'm getting at is how much bigger this all used to be. From the start; through the booming years; until just a few years back when activity seemed to drop off(the economy?).

What happened to all the people who used to be into this?

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(I've never owned a Magic card; nor ever played.)

Magic Cards

Well I guess we may not be so happy if kite buggying was as popular as other sports.

Like you, I also remember a time in the mid 2000's when kite buggying was more popular than today. I started in the late 90s and it seemed about as popular then as it is now. Maybe these things come in waves or maybe as I suspect some kite buggiers and landboarders eventually move on to kitesurfing. Conversations at my local field back then consisted of 'Where's johnny these days, I don't see him anymore ?' 'Oh, he moved onto the water'

Kitesurfing history which kinda ran in parallel to kite buggying evolution has gone from strength to strength. In fact, reading a few flamed threads on other forums, it is now so popular compared to how it was back in the late 90s that the veteran kitesurfers today are complaining of overcrowding, bad behaviour and bad etiquette. Newbs vs vets vs newbs.

Some popular kitesurfing spots have become so overcrowded that they've been closed down due to complaints from surfers and swimmers. I think we have struck a nice balance of popularity. Our swimmers are dog walkers and our surfers are on bicycle's.

It's a delicate balance. It would be nice to have people to buggy with, but it would be a bummer if too many people would cause me to lose some of my kiting areas.

I wasn't so much suggesting to have as many people as other activities. Just the levels we were once at. With the exception of a few groups of people. Most of us kite alone.

This is an issue with kiting in general. But everything goes in cycles.

As someone who has played far too much Magic: The Gathering, that 'low cost of entry' isn't exactly true haha. The most competitive decks for older formats can run from $500-2500.

If anyone is interested in trading their kites for my cards, hit me up :D