I want to try kiteboarding but i figured starting off on land would be a good idea... I purchased some equip off ebay... a MBS comp 6... a dakine pyro harness... airush 60cm bar with 20m lines... and a cabrinha 17m black tip kite... the reason i purchased that kite is cause i wanted a lei kite for use on water as well and cause i thought i needed a larger kite for in land use where i assumed the wind would be less powerfull..

i have not even been able to use the board yet... i think the kite is too big for me... i can fly it in the low power zones but as soon as i put it where it can give me some power i get pulled around like a rag doll... ive alread fallen from about 15 ft and been dragged a few times...

can anyone give me any suggestions... as what i should do... different kite?? and if so what size and style??? any brand reccomendations??? or just more practice???

i weigh about 170lbs. thanks.

Hello:

First let me say "welcome to powerkiting!!"

Please allow me to point out a few errors you've made. That way you can get back on the right foot.

1: You are absolutely right... A 17m LEI is WAY TOO BIG for your first kite!! Particularly using it on land.

2: Your notion that the wind on land would be less than the wind on the water is false. Because of land features (i.e. trees, hills, buildings, dunes) the wind on land tends to be more jumbled and gusty, but not really less powerful. In which case, would would want a SMALLER kite, not a larger one.

3. Being picked up 20ft and dropped out on the water, simply gets you wet. On land, it breaks bones.

4. Although it's O.K. to use an LEI on land, They are not really suited for repeated land lauches and crashes. They simply aren't built to take that kind of abuse.

5. Your weight really has not that much to do with the size of kite you should get. Wind speed, and skill level are the 2 most important factors in determining what size kite you should fly.

6: Because conditions always vary, most kiters will have a number of different kites at their disposal. My suggestion is therefor, start small, and gradually increase size as your skill level improves. That way, those smaller beginner kites can still be used on heavy wind days. You unfortunately started at the top.

My suggestion for you is this... Depending on the wind conditions where you live, get a 4m to 6m Radsail, Beamer, or Buster foil kite. Since you want to eventually go out on the water, you can convert any of these to fly on a bar (see the x-bar configuration on this forum) Master that kite, then move up.

Your MBS board was a good purchase. Keep it. However don't simply dismiss land boards and just a transitionary step towards kitesurfing. You may find, as most people do, that land boarding is just as fun and exciting as kitesurfing. Most hardcore kitesurfers I know, are still avid and competative land boarders. Try to think of "Power Kiting" as the "sport" you are learning. All the different catagories (i.e. landboarding, kitesurfing, kitebuggying, jumping, kiteskating, etc..) are just different facets of that sport.

Good luck, I hope that helps

Yup, get an entry level 3-4m kite, if you live in a lower wind area, maybe a 5m might be ok, either way it'll be enough for you to landboard in med to strong winds no problem and you'll learn your way around the wind window.

I'm 240lbs, and a 17m LEI would only be used in say 12-18mph winds for surf, for land, probably 8-14mph. I'm an experienced kiter and like to be powered up though.

There are a couple of points Bucky made that I would like to disagree with. When you are a beginner, weight matters. Matter of fact, when you are very experienced, weight matters. I will hold more kite static flying than anyone I know. 2 reasons. Experience, and Weight. I tip the scales at 295. Im a bit chubby, but Im very largely built, and strong and in decent shape. Secondly, Saying that later on this guy can convert a beginners 3-4 meter kite to a bar and go out on the water is insane. Sure you can put them on a bar, but I have NEVER heard of ANYone kitesurfing with a 3 or 4 meter radsail, buster or beamer. I think this information is very misleading.

I do agree that you need something in the 3-4 meter range, get comfortable with it, then move up in wind speed. Later down the road you will get a bigger kite, and maybe then on those lighter wind days, you can still use your 17.

Bucky, sorry to disagree, I dont want to argue or start some post war, I just want to be sure this guy gets the best information.

Scoop

Just reread your original post, didn't notice that you only weigh 170lbs, forget the 5m kite to start with, I'd go with a 3-4m kite, and as Scoopy states, although it'll be a good starter kite, and you'll be able to fly it on a bar, There's no way it'll be able to be used as a surf kite, A kite such as the Radsail, Beamers, or Busters would be well suited to learning to landboard with though.

If your seriously thinking of learning to landboard first I'd go with a 4m kite and start by flying it in lower winds, when you work up to higher winds it'll be plenty to learn to board with.

Hey scoopy: WAR!! WAR!! WAR!!! ARGGGHH!!!!

Just kidding.

Anyhow, Allow me to clarify. Weight matters... Just not as much as wind speed and pilot experience. Now let me back up what I say with some facts.

The usual weight range of the average person doing powerkiting sports (physically active - adult - male) is between 140 and 220 lbs. (not counting certain physically active yet "largly built" members) That's about an 80 lbs. weight range.

Now lets pick a kite... Oh lets say a 4.9 blade.. What would you say its wind range is? Lets just say 6mph to just get it flying all the way to 20mph in the hands of an experienced pilot. At 6mph, what would you assume is the minimum pressure in lbs. generated when flying (but not moving). Probably less than a pound. Now at 20mph.. What is the maximum possible lift/pull generated in lbs.? Probably about 600lbs. at a conservative guess, but I'm sure its more like 1000lbs. This means that the range of potential pull of this one kite is from 0 to at least 600lbs. depending on windspeed.

Given this info, you can see that the 80lbs range in weight difference is largely irrelevent when compared to the 600 to 1000lbs. difference in potential pull determined by windspeed.

It goes without saying that pilot experience is also vastly more important than a pilot's weight.

Now in regards to foil on a bar comments... Upon rereading my post, I can understand how someone might have misread what I was trying to say. To clarify...

If your whole intention is to eventually go out on water, you're probably going to want to learn to fly on a bar. My suggestion to you was that you could convert these land kites to a bar setup, NOT so that you could take them out on the water (BAD IDEA!!), but so that you would be familiar with flying on a bar when you eventually move out on the water with an LEI. I apologize if anyone misread that.

Non-baffled foils (one's that don't have one-way air capturing baffles) should NEVER be flown on water!!! EVER!!! They sink, and can actually "reinflate" underwater, pulling you down!!! VERY VERY BAD!!!

Just want to post in here....

I have to agree with what Bucky is saying with one regard to weight being a factor.

For land use, weight is not that big of a factor and wind speed and pilots skill are more directly related to kite size than weight is. As you progress and move to wind vehicles, weight does start to become a more determining factor. If you are a heavier person you will probably need a slightly larger kite to get you moving than a lighter person would need. Again there are many factors including what you are riding on and the terrain you are going to be riding across. For instance, out here on our dry lake beds the ground is very hard and very smooth. If the winds are anywhere over 15 mph you can throw up a 3.0 meter kite and ride regardless of what your weight is. Me at 240lbs have been riding side by side with another female rider in our group at appx. 125lbs on the same size kites. I did have to work the kite a little more than she did but we were both riding. Now on a grassy field she could probably still ride with her 3 meter kite no problem where as I would probably need to rig a slightly larger kite to go.

Now moving onto the water this all goes out the window. Weight is a HUGE determining factor when it comes to kite size. Second important factor would be board size and third important factor would be wind speed. As an example, at my weight in 18 - 20 mph winds I would without question rig my Venom 19 meter kite, where another female rider weighing about 135 lbs would be rigging a Venom 13 meter kite. Water kiting has tremendous amounts of drag and the more you weigh, the more kite you will need to get you out of the water and planning on your board.

These things will need to be taken into consideration depending on what type of riding you are going to be doing (land or water). I do agree with all the above about purchasing a smaller 3-4 meter open cell foil kite to learn on with your land board. And I also agree that converting it over to a bar will give you a huge amount of experience that can be applied to the water when you choose to go that route. Don't be put off by the 3-4 meter size kite when you are looking at your 17 meter LEI. Surf kites do not have near the power output as bridled foil kites do and the 3-4 meter kite will have more than enough power in the right winds to spank you if you are not careful. If you are looking for the ulitmate fun factor, a kite in this size will definatly give it to you. Save your LEI for when you finally do get on the water.

Hope this helps and hope I didn't step on anyones toes.

My toes are fine. I LOVE it when people agree with me - even when I'm wrong! :wink:

Does anyone have negative experiences with the 2003 black tip line of kites. I saw a few reviews else where that seemed to be written by noobs that the kites weren't as tough as they wished they were.