Do you know the exact wind speeds? If you are rarely above 15 mph of wind, a 5m kite might not be too much overkill.

THANKS AGAIN FOR THE FEEDBACK! I REALLY APPRECIATE IT! I'M GOING TO SCOUR THE INTERNET AND COME BACK TO THE FORUM TOMORROW WITH A LITTLE MORE KNOWLEDGE, AND HOPEFULLY A FEW MORE SUGGESTIONS FROM YOU ALL!

THANKS!

- John Christensen

Last thing, place you bought your kite? Suggestions in that vein...

WOW you are excited !

Largest kite I fly on land is 19m . Smallest is 2.5m .

There is no such thing as 1 single kite that will do it all . SAD FACT ! I will be traveling with just 1 kite to Cuba this winter and it will be my 15m Synergy. ( confusion alert ) It is a depower, Peter Lynn arc .

We use different sizes of kites to fly safely in different winds. The stronger the wind the smaller the kite we need to produce the power we need to be moved along. A smaller kite like a 3m will fly in very little wind because it is light and fast so you can fly it and create " apparent wind " . The thing is that the 3m doesn't work as an engine until the wind is stronger. The fact it flies early but acts like a grown up kite when the wind picks up is what makes it the perfect size to get going. You will desire more power in less wind once you are master of the 3m .

Go to www.coastalwindsports.com and look over the tutorials that Angus has put together BEFORE buying . He has everything in there that I would want someone to know.

I have bought almost all my kites from the for sale section here. Kites lose value as soon as you take it out of the shop.

Welcome Hominid. You can't go wrong with a good 3-5m 4 line kite as others have said. No matter where you end up in the sport, you will always have a itch to fly the 3m. Ozone, Peter Lynn, Flexifoil, etc will not let you down. Buy good gear!! Always great deals HERE in the classified forum. Peeps look out for one another here at PKF too. If you don't see it for sale, ask and someone generally will have one .And since abkayak didn't say it, say good bye to your checkbook. Lol. Welcome again.

Quote: Originally posted by riffclown

I flew with 3shot one day and ended up buying 2 Flexifoil Bullets.

:evil: :evil:

Quote: Originally posted by Ferrous_Hominid

If you could only own ONE power kite. Which one would you own?

Easy, One that could be exchanged for other kites regularly.. Seriously, that question is often asked but nearly impossible to answer. Strong wind days I'm flying my 2.2.4, if there's very light wind, the Crossfire 4M is getting some airtime. I don't have a 3M kite myself, I started out with a 2M and got a smoking good deal on the 4M (actually traded my Snapshot 2.5 for it.) My 2.5 Bullet is closest to a 3Meter that I have and if you are solely static flying (like me) then the Bullet (or Rage) would be very fun "stuntable" kites. If you are going into buggies, ATB or jumping, the answers would be very different.

As long as you start whatever kite you get at the low end of the wind scale and progress smartly, you'll be fine with just about anything within a reasonable 2-4M range. Just don't try to fly a 3-4M kite in strong wind and expect it to be fun the first time. Dirt/grass/sand is not a dietary supplement.. Fly smart and safe and you'll always have fun. Push the envelope before you are ready and you probably won't.

As for a specific recommendation, The 3M HQ Beamer is a great first kite that you will keep long after you purchased other kites. The HQ Toxic 3M (I've only flown the 2M Toxic) would be a faster kite and a bit more high performance than the Beamer but less forgiving.

Thanks for the help everyone. I think the Beamer looks good. Riffclown, what did you mean by the HQ 3m Toxic being less forgiving?

http://www.coastalwindsports.com/ChoosingAKite.html

This is a resource that really helped me...

Quote: Originally posted by Ferrous_Hominid

Thanks for the help everyone. I think the Beamer looks good. Riffclown, what did you mean by the HQ 3m Toxic being less forgiving?

Different kites have very different flying characteristics. The Beamer is a great starter kite due to its stability. However every kite (with different aspect ratios) is literally a balance between stability and the sheer speed and performance with which thy fly through the air. Fly a Beamer outside the wind window and there's a good chance you can maneuver it back into the window even with limited skills. Fly a HQ Crossfire or HQ Toxic (or other higher aspect ratio) outside the wind window and it's going to take a lot more skill to keep it from folding up on you. The advantage to higher aspect ratio kites is they simply fly faster and given the same amount or wind will potentially produce more power in the right hands.

I learned on the Symphony and once I modified it, it's literally the first kite I reach for in most wind conditions. But I'm 100% static flying. I bought a Snapshot 2.5 to get more pull but the performance didn't meet my expectations. It was a blast to fly but not a fast as I wanted. I got a sweet deal on the Crossfire 2M (Thanks Kent) and a friend bought the 4M at the same time. After watching the 2M luff on me a few times, I got into the science of the foils themselves and realized, a higher performance kite needs a higher performance kiter. I enjoy my 2M Crossfire now but I do have to fly it in a more limited window than many of my other kites. My friend that bought the 4M decided it was too much kite for him and offered me a trade for the snapshot. I ended up with a pair of Crossfires including the 4M which is now my main low wind kite.



I'd still recommend the Beamer as your first kite. Learn all about the wind window and how to keep it stable anywhere within your flying area, once you are wanting more then you should get more into the science of aspect ratio, performance.If you want to Jump, Buggy, ATB or ge Kiting Watersports, then your choice would be based on those factors.

Get the Beamer. It's a great kite and I'm personally a little partial to the HQ brand. That's a personal endorsement, not a paid one. I'm sponsored by no one.

I will second what Riff says. My first actual power kite was a 5.0m Prism Tensor, and I still fly it often. In fact I have more buggy time on the Tensor than I do my big Toxic because my wind has been too gusty lately. The Beamer is going to be very similar to the Tensor in performance, and equal or better build quality. Oh, and the Beamer is priced very well. Get the Beamer.

I got the 4m Beamer V from Angus at coastalwindsports.com.


Then, I had this $50 gift card for amazon...

...so I used that to justify getting:

A Prism Snapshot 2.5
A Prism Nexus
Some Mechanix gloves
A pair of polarized sunglasses
And a big stupid boonie hat...

I've got the itch! But now that I've jumped in with both feet and everything's in the mail I'm hoping I didn't make any huge mistakes. I spent way more money than I thought I would, but other than that, some last minute jitters and second-guessing I think I did good.

I think I've got all the gear I need besides some sunscreen but i was wondering (if anybody is still reading this thread) what you think about shoes. Proper footwear. I have a pair of work boots with high ankle support, steel shanks, and steel toes. Unfortunately they have pretty good tread on them and I gather you don't want your feet catching while you get pulled. I've heard old school canvas converse are great for skidding but canvas ain't great support for the ankles...


Thanks for all the help! Angus, riffclown, abkayak, demoknight. Anyone else i left out. Thanks!

That's a lot of stuff for $50..
If you don't have one, you might want to get a helmet as well.

Riffclown, it was like $240, I just used the gift card as an excuse to spend *way* more money...

i am very proud how quickly you have come to piss ALL your money away on kites....you will do well.

Really? A helmet? I thought I was paranoid when I came up with that piece of equipment... Any cheap ones out there?

What do you think about the shoes/boots?

I think I would be worried about my head before my feet.

Look for a helmet that will protect the back of your head. That is what I seem to hit most. Many of those times have been with a small kite in hand.

There is a big thread on here about peoples choice of footwear. I like skate style runners myself.
http://www.powerkiteforum.com/viewthread.php?tid=26607

Worried about breaking/spraining my ankles. That seems like the most common injury sustained...

Helmet... I guess I'll be pissing off my girlfriend a little bit more.


Cheap helmet that still protects your melon?

Damn... That means I can't wear my big stupid boonie hat.

The others are probably going to yell at me for this, but I have never worn a helmet while kiting. I wear my straw cowboy hat. If you are on a beach, the type of shoes does not matter much. If you are on grass in a park, you want shoes that do not have really deep grooves or chunky soles. The flatter the better. Lucky me I have a beach nearby that I fly almost exclusively at, so I wear whatever I want on my feet

sorry imo...bad advise above..get a helmet, and get used to wearing it...and look for a correct one not a cheap one...you want no regrets on spending that money

I think a helmet is way overkill until you are moving fast, or catching tons of air.

Thanks for the advice.

Anyone know of any other products like this? I love these, but the guy making them wants over $200, which probably isn't a bad price but it is too much for me.

They look so bad-ass though!

I'm looking for something like this that would strap over my work boots. There has to be some kind of work boot/strap cover thing but i have yet to find it. All the work boot covers I've seen have rubber soles, as you would expect, so you don't slip.

Can't think of any other situation where you need to make sure your feet slide besides dirt track racing...

These "steel shoes" or "hot shoes" can be found here...
http://vft.org/vftforsale2Products.html