I had a few questions and i didnt really want to make start a bunch of new topics so i guess ill just ask them all here.

I just bought a 2007 Griffin Monkeykite and I am now waiting for it to get here.
I have a helmet, wetsuit, bar/lines/kite.



1. Is there anything else that I should get besides a harness and a spreader bar?

2. What harness do you recommend i buy?

3. Would a wake board be okay to start on? (as opposed to buying a kiteboard. Kinda low on cash)

The first thing you should do is GET A LESSON from a QUALIFIED INSTRUCTOR.

I know that most people will say:

"I am cool and smart and strong, I don't need to waste my money on some stupid lesson". <---dumb guy talking here

But what will happen is that you will rush out to the field or lake, pump the kite up, launch it up in the air and (if you got it all hooked up correctly in the first place) fly it around for about .5 seconds before it launches you off the ground, slams you in to the ground HARD, breaks your leg/arm/collar bone and then pounds the kite into a fence/tree/bush/road/rocks and destroys the kite. So, the money you THOUGHT you were saving by not taking a lesson turns into thousands of dollars on hospital bills, loss of work and severe pain, plus, another thousand dollars to replace your now destroyed kite and gear.

So....GET A LESSON FIRST and go the cheap and inexpensive route to kite surfing! A couple hundred dollars on a lesson (or two or three) is always cheaper than an ambulance ride to the emergency room.

Just my opinion.

To add to the above, sure you may already know how to rig the kite and fly, but an instructor will be able to give you so much more.

Things such as weather patterns, best place to launch, water currents, water hazards, wind conditions and wind patterns for the area you are wanting to ride in, board sizes and recommended kite sizes for the current conditions, etc... etc... etc...

Your instructor will also have plenty of demo kites that you can bash/crash and smash at NO EXPENSE TO YOU AND YOUR PERSONAL GEAR!!! That way you can learn on their gear, bash it around and when you get it all figured out, go to your gear and it will stay nice and won't get damages as much. Your instructor will also have a couple different boards that you can learn on - a wake board will NOT work. You can use your instructors giant sized kahuna board which will be easy for you to get up on and learn and once you have mastered getting up on the big banana, you can then purchase a smaller board for yourself and personal use. Also, you may find that one board is better than the other for your current style of riding - hey, you get to try before you buy and it doesn't cost you anything but the price of the lesson. Just think if you would have plunked down $600 on this really awesome board just to find out that it isn't the board you really want. Your instructor will have a couple different boards that you can try so you don't end up WASTING your cash on something that doesn't work for you. One bad board purchase will pay for several lessons!

Also, an instructor will get you to your ultimate goal faster and safer - which is to get up and ride! I would much rather pay $400.00 for a couple lessons and learn to ride right away than to struggle for months and damage my gear and make bad purchase decisions that don't work for me. All of which will cost more in the long run.

Hope this helps....

This advice is worth exactly what you paid for it.

Quote:

Originally posted by awindofchange This advice is worth exactly what you paid for it.

Given how much money I've sent you over the past year... I've paid a lot for your advice, does that make it good?

Quote:

Originally posted by Maven454 Given how much money I've sent you over the past year... I've paid a lot for your advice, does that make it good?

Yeah.... but think of all the free kites you got. :P

ATB,
Sam

The LESSONS are the important thing.

I like my impact vest . The added floatation while I struggle to get into the board + the protection as I get tea bagged along are very nice !

1. Lessons. Or at least someone to watch, rescue if needed and point out how you're #@%$#!ing up - if you can already fly those Pansh's well.
2. Seat or waist, try 'em on before you buy.
3. No. Apparently, they got too much rocker and will spoil your fun.

Then what do us poor bastards without a lesson within a days drive do? Also everybody I priced is more like $300.00 for a half day. Add the up with me and my wife, travel, hotel, and it starts to get expensive fast.

All the lessons I have looked at the first 300 bucks (half day) is teaching the wind window, how to fly the kite, how to setup. Not to sound like an ass but I got that stuff figured out already. So then I have to go to lesson 2 (next 600 bucks...now I am up to 1,200) to get to how to stand up on the board. (and hopefully how to avoid getting teabagged)

I am not "cool or strong"....but I am not stupid and have no intentions of getting hurt or doing something to make us all look bad. Is not taking a lesson and learning one step at a time (very carefully) really that dumb???? I would like to take a lesson but it still seems cost prohibitive. Are there not some alternatives (dvd etc) that might help keep us new guys out of trouble?

Maybe I will go visit borntofli in Port A. Maybe he could walk us thru a "discounted lesson" Just thinking out loud here....

I would really like to find someone on here that boards local to my area to hook up with and learn.

hook knife
life vest
water
food
PPO

I think Txhooter is right ... for liability reasons I assume, all the schools I've used in the past year have first checked my kite skills. That lasted about 10 minutes :D Nick here and KBA in Thailand were great - had me rig the kite (after the crew had pumped it up for me ) then launch assisted, I showed them I could fly it then we set out on the board. Nick here also used his video camera and a helmet radio to give advice - awesome!

There's been big discussions on kiteforum.com about this but IMO if you're one of us who can fly and control a power kite, I think there's a lot you can do by yourself (or with a DVD) with kitesurfing ... and a bit of common sense.

I bought a $100 kite to learn to pump, rig, launch, land, body drag, repair , pack etc ... I think stuff like that "we" can learn by ourselves or with a buddy we trust pointing out the details, using a DVD too check safety points and then get a lesson when we want to get up on a board. IMO again you need the feedback of someone pointing out "You're trying to go too far upwind too soon" etc.

It is, IMO (again!) about experience - out on the water, put the time in.

I agree that feedback is very important and someone to help is advantageous. I think the lessons (money set aside) could be hit and miss depending on the instructor you get. In the past I have taken lessons for other things (dirtbiking, shooting, etc) and who the instructor was and his skill set made a BIG difference on what I got out of it.

Kent's advise is dead on....you should get a lesson if you can. I just simply don't feel all of us have the opportunity for our progression to be with instruction and will be forced to progress with other types of guidance.

What I would recommend is to contact the individual instructors and talk with them. I fully agree that the "kiteboarding for dummies 10 step program" is kind of a waste if you already fly depowerable power kites and have flying experience. You obviously don't need to spend 3 hours flying a two line trainer kite on the beach.

Surf kites are depowerable systems, using a harness and controlling the power through the control bar by sliding it away or towards you. You also have the power adjuster strap which controls overall power output through the angle of attack. This type of setup can take some time to master if you have only flown stunt kites or standard fixed bridle power kites. Still, this is no reason you should waste your hard earned money spending an hour flying a two line trainer on the beach if you have already been flying four line power kites for years.

Talk to the instructors and let them know what your kiting skills and experience is. They should be more than willing to work with you on putting a lesson package together that will teach you the things you have not yet learned and get you up on the water faster. Most instructors don't like spending hours on the beach teaching someone to pull left or right and would prefer getting someone with some kiting experience, especially if they already know and respect the power these kites can produce.

If the instructor you are talking to insists on the 10 step program and wants you to spend 3 hours flying a two line trainer, I would recommend finding a different instructor.

Even though you stress to your instructor that you have plenty of kiting experience, I would expect them to insist you spend at least a couple minutes with them on setup and basic flying just so they can be assured that you actually know what you are talking about. Safety first always!

Looking at your profile listing, you put that you are in south Texas. I know of quite a few schools down around South Padre Island that will work with you. Get with Jeff Howard at Prokitesurf. Jeff is a total stand up guy and not only runs his shop, but has a school as well. Jeff is also an avid buggier and power kiter so he will fully understand your situation and should be able to work out a deal for you on lessons. He would also probably be the best information source for other schools and teachers that may be closer to you.

If lessons are totally not possible then I would suggest picking up a HQ Hyrdra 350. This is a trainer, but it is a water relaunchable trainer that you can use to learn more things like body dragging and getting back upwind to your board and water relaunching and it comes on a control bar that will help if you have spent most of your time on handles. Once you get that mastered then you can probably move on from there to a depowerable system. The Hydra costs a couple hundred bucks - so you will want to compare that cost against the lessons and decide which one will really end up being less expensive in the long run. Unless you plan on passing the Hydra to others to use or reselling it, after you move onto a full surf rig the Hydra will be pretty much useless to you.

Hope that helps.

Thanks Kent. I will give him a shout and see if he can tailor something to fit our needs. I have also already been considering the Hydra if for nothing else the fun of it. I have a few flights on the Synergy and you are right there is definitely a learning curve associated with the de-power system. I have been reading everything I can get my hands on and have started by putting it up on the lightest days possible just to get the repetitions on setup and a little flying.

Honestly, it has been hard to keep in the air the 2 times I have flown it the wind has been so light. I already learned the "tug on the power lines" trick though.

I appreciate your advise and help.

Thank you everyone for all of the info.

@awindofchange
I was thinking about buying the Hydra but I think that lessons would be more worth the money seeing that they let me use a kite that i can (and probably will) ruin