Im new to the kiting world and was really interested in kite jumping. I just purchased a Prism P.4 and I am 135 pounds. Im currently running it as a two line kite. Is this enough for me or can I go bigger? If i can go bigger what do you guys suggest and should I run it as two or four lines. Oh yea and what is the best website to purchase gear for jumping. Thanks!!

Hey there and welcome to the forum. You are fitting the mold to a tee of the newbie that comes on here thinking you would like to get involved with power kiting and right off asking about how to jump. This is the equivalent of going on a parachuting forum and say you are thinking about getting into parachuting out of planes and then asking about what the best way is to do a HALO jump. I always tell new participants that they should get a 3m Beamer III made by HQ. Others have their favorite but the beamer is always a hit when fliers come back to tell us about their first flight. After putting in some hours with a beamer or equivalent, then you will be able to handle a kite that would be suitable for jumping. I flew for about 9 months before I tried to jump the first time. Think how you would look trying to drive an F1 car after you got your drivers license. Do some searches on this forum for "first kite" and you will learn alot. Hope you become a regular here.

Try the P4 on 4 lines.
The main advantages are :
You can reverse launch the kite after a crash saving tons of time and agro' while learning.
You can apply the brakes and stall or back the kite down if things get hairy.
Once you get the swing of it you will have far better control with 4 lines and be able to do brake turns.

Become the MASTER of that P4 before rushing into your next kite.

As a general rule it is NOT SAFE to learn to jump with a kite smaller than 5 sq. meters so look for one about that size once you are in total control of the P4.

Flexifoil Blade is the undisputed # 1 kite for jumping. The 4.9 is called the widow maker because it will lift you but you have to redirect properly or it will send you crashing down as well.

Feel free to ask us all more questions !

P.S. GET A HELMET and get used to wearing it !

Great info. Thank you sooo much. When i'm ready and more confident I'll start with baby hops. Nobody wants to get hurt. I would much rather learn from all of you guys mistakes than make my own! lol To be honest with you I still shake whenever I fly my P4 in 20 mph winds. It sometimes takes my 135 pound frame all I got to keep from being dragged.

Go with the getting dragged part . It's called scudding and a lot of fun + an essential skill as you improve.

Be careful when trying to jump with that little kite. It will be a good size to practice the motions to create the lift. Just don't expect anything like float from it !

You are doing the right things, heck you are starting with the right kite!

Safety and control first and then bigger kites and jumping.

Do develop a sense for wind range and kite size for yourself.

Quote:

Originally posted by bradg Great info. Thank you sooo much. When i'm ready and more confident I'll start with baby hops. Nobody wants to get hurt. I would much rather learn from all of you guys mistakes than make my own! lol To be honest with you I still shake whenever I fly my P4 in 20 mph winds. It sometimes takes my 135 pound frame all I got to keep from being dragged.

Definitely convert your P4 to quad line! You will get better power and better control from it and as posted, you can reverse launch it as well. This will be your least expensive way to go as you will only need to purchase another dual line set and a set of quad handles.

Your P4 is a great kite, by changing it over to quad line you will like it a lot more and it will be more suitable to what you are wanting to do.

Hope this helps.

Thanks guys. I will order the extra lines in the morning. One more quick question. What should be my next kite when I am ready to advance to jumping? I hear nothing but good from the Blade series, but which one? Remember I am 135 pounds and here in Kentucky the winds are never really strong. Maybe 10 to 15 mph. Also where is the best place to order from?

Yes, when you are ready, the blade is a real jumper. A new kite that just came out is the HQ Crossfire II. It comes from good kite jumping breeding itself. At 135 you should be very jumpy with a 5m range kite. My sweet spot is with a 6.5 in 12 mph winds. I'm about 230 lbs though. Larger turns slower but floats longer. High Quality kites don't give up as much handling as the size increases. Low quality kites suffer more loss of performance as the size goes up. You might not always get what you pay for, but you won't get what you don't pay for.

Hi mates Could some of you expers for kiteing help me? i bought my kite few mounths ago but probably small bec. im 186cm tall and my weigh is 120kg what the perfect kite for me for jumps, kitesurfing ang kitesnowboarding i mean universal kite. thanks you very much be4 answer DomDom

@ domdom: you shouldn't hijack other people's threads, it's not nice. Start your own thread, tell us what winds you normally get and what you currently fly as well as what you've already put down, and you'll get your very own personalized advice!

and welcome to welcome to powerkiteforum!

@ bradg: welcome as well, hope you become a regular!

cheers,

furbo