Hey guys, I wonder if one of you could help me here

I'm looking to get my first kite after playing around on a couple of mates ones - 2.8m rage being the biggest one so far. I have about £200-£300 to spend and would like to get a kite thats gonna keep me interested for a while without having to upgrade.

I'm 6'4" and about 13 stone so am thinking about getting something in the 5 meter range.

What do you guys reccomend?

My second kite was a Pansh Blaze 5m and then I got an HQ Crossfire 5m. I sold the Pansh later to buy a Blade 6.5. If you want to static fly and maybe do some jumping later the Crossfire or Crossfire II would be a good next step if you've developed some skills with that 2.8m.

DISCLAIMER: I shamelessly have a 5m Crossfire II 5m listed in the for sale section.

Hey there and welcome
Your price range is generous enough for decent kite.
I saw you eyeing that Blade 4.9 on another thread and I'm not sure that is such a good idea. Blades are very agressive, very lifty and even in not too much wind, I would call it violent for a novice. There is a reason they call it the "widowmaker".

Normally it's recommended that someone start with a 3 m or so kite, but with some experience and freinds helping you out, I might say 5 is OK, but on the other hand if your friends have not flown beyond 2.8 m I would still be conservative.

The HQ Beamer 3 or 4m is about the most often recommended kite for novices and with good reason. It is affordable, perfoms very well and is stable and easy to fly, with smooth predictable power build-up. The Flexifioil Rage, a bit pricier, is another good one in this category. the Peter Lynn line of open cell foils are all easy to fly and are good kites, too.

Do not worry about having to "trade up". You will end up with more than one kite in your quiver anyway, and your first kite will simply become your high winds kite as your experience grows.

Hope this helps

yeah i was on the flexifoil site and it said the blade was for experienced kiters and i wouldnt call myself that lol

the rage looked like a good option - will i get air with that? sorry for sounding like a complete newb but i when i was flying the 2.8 it didnt do much for me in the way of lift (it didnt even drag me really) - dont know if thats because of my size.

What do you reckon?

To add to what Angus says, there will be times that you will want to fly a kite, your friend won't be there, and the wind will be too much for the 5m kite you bought for your first kite. I didn't fly a Blade until I had 8 months of experience, and had time in with many other non-lifty kites. The Blade was my 6th kite owned and probably my 10th kite flown. Many have not ever flown a blade out of fear or respect for its veracity.

Quote:

Originally posted by Superdog the rage looked like a good option - will i get air with that? sorry for sounding like a complete newb but i when i was flying the 2.8 it didnt do much for me in the way of lift (it didnt even drag me really) - dont know if thats because of my size. What do you reckon?

That is right. That kite was designed to not have lift, much like the Beamer doesn't lift. You want to have enough experience that you know what the kite is going to do before it actually does it. If it picks you up, your limited experience will cause you to do nothing or the wrong thing to control your landing, and you can get yourself hurt.

Also i have the most experience out of my friends so to be fair i may aswell be flying on my own lol

ok so what should i go for then? 3.5 meter rage?

No worries; fair questions.

The Rage is designed as a low lift kite overhead and gets it's power going fast down low through the window. For this reason it makes great buggy engine. That being said, the 6m would get you some air with the right winds.

I'm 200 lbs/ 14 stone and the Beamer 3m will pull me around in moderate winds.

You are facing the conundrum that kites suitable for jumping are not a good idea for novices, and any kite good for a novice will not be good for jumping. They might lift you but will drop you faster. You want at least 5m for enough float for a decent landing and even then you have to know how to maneuver the kite properly. And 5m is a lot to start with. You might figure that you can compensate by flying in lighter winds, but that is tricky and requires experience to avoid frustration.

I have handed by 8.3m reactor to a beginner, but the wind was Juuuust right that day. 2 mph more or less would have been dangerous or not enough and you need some practice to make that judgement in the first place.

3-4m is typically recommended but lean toward the 3m. If the kite you choose is available in 3.5, that is fine for a first kite.

Quote:

Originally posted by acampbell I have handed my 8.3m reactor to a beginner, but the wind was Juuuust right that day. 2 mph more or less would have been dangerous or not enough and you need some practice to make that judgment in the first place.

This is a picture of my then 12 year old son flying Angus' 8.3 Reactor. That was a day that this combination was ok. Just barely enough smooth coastal wind to fly it.

The Rage 3.5 is a great kite; I have one in my bag and use it as my high wind engine, when it's too much for my Reactor 4.9 (around 18-20 mph for me). But it is great for recreational flying down to 7 or 8 mph. You should be able to scud (get dragged on your feet) starting at about 9-10 mph if you fly it agressively.

Last weekend I had a handful of 14 year olds who had never seen such kites before fly my Rage and they were screaming with joy as they got dragged around the beach.

Ok, thanks guys - i think i'm going to go for a Rage 3.5m - looks like quite a good price here http://www.powerkiteshop.com/flexifoil-rage-kite.htm

is there any more equipment you would recommend other than what comes with this?

You could use a kite stake to help hold the kite in place on the ground when you aren't flying it. Some kite sit still with only a stake on the loops at the bottom ends of the handles, and others like to still blow around without something holding them down a little.

For your kite bag:
A ground stake. Tent stake will do. For securing kite to the ground by the handles (that's what the loops on the bottom of the handles are for)
Sunscreen ( you will be staring at the sky a lot!)
Sailing gloves. They protect from line cuts and have open finger-tips for working knots.
plastic water bottles to weight the kite on set-up, launch and pack-down (and for drinking)
Small first aid kit for scrapes and such.
Wind direction indicator. Collapsable pole stuck in the ground with streamer on top.
Wind speed indicator is optional.

Sooner than later you may want to look for a harness ?

Using a harness will increase your fly time greatly. That will speed up your learning curve. Even if you don't use the harness while actively flying at 1st you will get a lot more time in using the harness to take a break or walk back upwind.

Getting used to flying hooked in is a bit scary at 1st. The longer you put it off the harder it will be to get over the fear !

Quote:

Originally posted by Superdog Ok, thanks guys - i think i'm going to go for a Rage 3.5m - looks like quite a good price here http://www.powerkiteshop.com/flexifoil-rage-kite.htm is there any more equipment you would recommend other than what comes with this?

Ok guys thanks loads for the help

i think i will leave the harness till i got a bit of spare cash - forking out for the kite is a bit of a stretch anyway on the run up for christmas but i loved it so much i just got to get one :D

lol thats only your first fix. Wait until you can fly the heck outta that one then you'll need a bigger one, then closed cell, then a de-power ..... kiss your credit card goodbye:D

I would recommend getting it with a bar though. Especially if you plan on going to surf kites, you will be ready for the bar. And they have a better safety in my opinion. You sacrafice some control, but its far easier to fly them. And the bar with the rage can be staked down on the brake lines, and it wont launch if the trimmer is pulled all the way in.