Hello -- I've never owned or flown a powerkite before, but I'm fairly competent at snowboarding, and intermediate at mountainboarding. I live in southwest Ohio right now, and since there aren't really many hills around here, I thought pairing a power-kite with my mountain-board might be a good way to fill the void. I have a budget of about 300 dollars, and I'm looking for something that I'll get plenty of use out of without getting another kite in the very near future. I weigh about 200lbs, so I'm thinking a 3m kite might not be enough to pull me around in 8-10mph winds. I'd also like to eventually be able to "jump" the kite without seriously hurting myself (like those youtube videos of people sailing around 70ft in the air). Is 4m going to be too much to handle, or will I need something like 5m because of my weight? It would also be nice if it was usable in the snow...

I've been looking at the hq beamer iv 4m and hq beamer v 4m -- they sound like really solid and stable kites for the price, but I wonder whether I'm better off going with a 3-line kite like the rush II pro, or scout II. I'm having a very hard time determining whether I'd be better off with a control bar, or if a 4-line kite with handles will offer any long term advantages, especially if I purchased a control bar separately at a later date. The Ozones look nice but the bigger ones are a bit out of my price range.

Any input would be greatly appreciated!

You'll need to learn to fly the kite first, maybe after a couple of hours in good conditions you could start trying to mix it up with the board, but you would likely go straight back to the kite for more practice.

4m is a biggish kite to learn on, 3m is better, the folks i sometimes get to teach learn quickest on 2m.

Safe (ish) jumping doesn't kick in until around 5m size. The saying is that the kite you learn on isn't the kite you jump on. The short version of why many of us have so many kites.

Start with the handles, save the bar for depower -- handles offer a degree of finesse and kite control which is better than any other set-up. But eventually you'll want to go depower, and for that you need a bar.

You'll need a lot of power to landboard... esp. if you are not on a smooth surface like hard-pack beach sand. Best to be doing that with your second and third kites at 5-8 m size for fixed bridle. Yes add enough wind and a 3m will work, but it will be edgier and less comfortable than other winds and rigs.

TL, DR? Learn to fly a 2-3m fixed bridle on handles first.

Buy one off PKF to save money,good starter kites come up every few weeks or so.

Okay, I've been looking at a bunch of 3m kites to learn on.

I'm following a beamer iv 3meter on ebay right now, and I also found a beamer III 3m here http://www.4kiteboarding.com/beiii30sqmep.html. There is a used Ozone flow 3m here http://www.kitebookie.com/forum/index.php?topic=16.0, and this guy gives a 10% discount on depower kites if you buy your first kite from him http://thekiteline.com/shop/index.php?main_page=index&cP... -- if I go through that site, maybe it'd be best to go with an hq alpha and then go for a 7.5m apex later in the year?

There are also a number of 4 and 5m flows on ebay that are within my price range.

I guess the biggest problem is that I'm on SUCH a tight budget... I only make like 18,000 a year before taxes, so the prospect of buying not just two but THREE kites within the next two years seems... well, not possible. What seems most ideal is to get something slightly bigger than recommended and take it out in light winds to learn -- that way it can still pull me around once I have the hang of things. I can forego the jumping and snow-kiting for the time being until I have saved up for a de-power...

What do you guys think? Thanks again

-Amir

If you get ambitious too early you're going to get hurt.
get a cheap hornet or look at clearance demo kites on awindofchange.com

They're dumping old hornets for 20% off retail and some of the RTF setups on the clearance page are just about $200.

If you want to be ambitious just buy a twister 4.1
but stay off that board for a while if you know whats good for you.

invest the $200 in learning a seriously daring sport.. Then buy a new one in a month or so...
The 4.1 will drag you around while your static flying, you'll get off little jumps, and have a great time learning.

take your time, TAKE your time.


everything is fine until it isn't.
Daniel

i hear you about the tight budget.....i'm a newbie too, but it looks to me like there is a solid market for used trainer kites, if you can get a good deal on a good condition used one and then take care of it, i bet you could re-sell it without losing a lot (once you're through that part of the learning curve, which is lots of fun)...recycle the money into kite #2, which you won't be flying for a few months anyway..

don't forget the coin you'll save by being able to play without lift tickets!

Ok, little story here... Ive been flying kites forever... Not power kites but singles and stunt kites, so I know the wind in my area and what is too much....... That being said... My first power kite was a twister2 5.6m kite.

Its not a kite that's good for newbies, and it has spanked me before... But the key to buying a kite that is out of your league is to take careful to the extreme... If the kite says 10mph minimum wind... Take it out in 5 tops lol! Take baby steps, and learn... Then just keep pushing it.

I will catch some flack for this... But the twister is a great kite, and with proper respect, can be an awesome first kite... Hell, it was my first kite, and I still use it all the time... If you are safe, get proper gear, and try to keep the stupid to a minimum... Youll do fine

I just cant emphasize enough the baby steps if you buy beyond your skill.

No joke tho, buy a used 3m beamer, see if ya like this whole sport (which you will lol) then upgrade down the road to a twister or toxic, and get your a$$ jumping!... Used gear is up all the time... Half of my kites are used, I too dont make millions

Look up kamikuza here... He lives on a teachers wage, and owns more kites than everyone on this board combined

Hey all,

Well -- I just barely got outbid on the 3m beamer, so I went ahead an pulled the trigger on 4.1 twister II from windsofchange. The folks who worked there were SUPER nice and we talked a bit about appropriate wind speeds to take it out in while I'm learning, and he seemed to think it was a great choice for me given the limited budget. For 250 shipped, the twister seems REALLY hard to beat -- I can't wait to get it out on a nice open field ^_^

I can't thank you folks enough for all the sage advice -- I will be EXTREMELY careful, especially for the first few months while I'm getting the hang of things. I'll post an update once I've had my first session with it.

That's hilarious about kamikuza -- I'm also on the road to being a teacher, but right now I'm technically on a "Teaching Assistant" living stipend.

Anyway, cheers everyone.

-Amir

Dood,
awindofchange is next to my own heart.

Kent shipped me my 5.6 on free shipping and was here 4 days later. <333
I will def do business with him again.

Enjoy the 4.1!!! Be careful with jumping until you understand redirect. I got yarded 15ft in the air for like 30-40ft on a freak gust.

Bought motocross batman lookin armor the next day... lol


pads pads pads with the twister bro.
You'll save so much recovery time(and fantasies of flying) when you get spanked...

haha so stoked for you.

Thanks for the kind words everyone. Your Twister is packaged up and waiting for FedEx to pick it up. Pads are a must!!! Plus a helmet. Be safe and you can kite many days without injury.

Thanks for the order, let us all know how you like the Twister II, it is an awesome kite for sure!!!

Very good choice! I learned serious kiting on my Twister 4.1, and i'm still flyboarding with it all the time!

Will do on the pads and helmet -- I already have some knee and elbow pads for the mountain board, and I'll be sure to pick up a skate helmet. Any other types of pads I might need?

with a smaller kite you should be fine with knee/elbow

I would consider forearm/elbow pads when you get the cash..
Forearms can get thrashed on rolls.

I just bought the fox titan motocross jacket because... falling 15ft into a roll*ROCKS!!*... lots of stuff gets jacked lol