Hi everyone, first time poster here.
So I'm basically a newb at the whole power kite scene but I'd like to say I'm well educated on it. I've had a HQ Rush 300 for nearly half a year now and am very confident in my flying of it aswell as the correct jumping technique (I've done a few small jumps :D).
Recently I just bought a HQ Matrixx 15m edition and it is on its way via eBay and I'm wondering what harness would be recommended for this kite? I don't want to spend too much but will consider any price if its needed. Just a note - I would like a waist harness and I am a bigger guy than most.
Any help would be greatly appreciated Thank you!! =)

PS. should I just go ahead and fly it without a harness when it comes and eventually get one?

Chris,

take a look at the Ion harness...............great suport, stays put and doesnt ride up.............easy in and out but secure speader bar lock system.

I would suggest not worrying about buying a harness but buying some kites in between the little rush and the 15m so you do not injure yourself. Whoever sold you a 15m matrixx should not have done that if they knew your skill level. There is alot of steps you missed. To go from a trainer to a 15m matrixx is too big of a jump. Please, please take lessons before you fly this kite!

Hello tridude and DAKITEZ , thank you for your responses.
@tridude - would you happen to know where I can get one online?
@DAKITEZ - I fully understand what you are saying but I feel as if I'm capable, I specfically bought the matrixx as its known an amazing light wind kite and the winds down where I fly are extremely low and I wouldn't fly in anything moderate+ winds until I am used to the kite, do you think that would be okay? I'm kinda nervous now based on what you said :S
Also the reason I bought the matrixx is because I've been wanting to jump for a while and how floaty the jumps are on the matrixx in videos I've seen look to be safer as opposed to a 6-9m which considering my size are probably less safe for jumping.

Welcome, ChrisG13. Nice to have you here.

First, your question about whether to use a harness -

the answer is... Pack the 15m Matrixx away. This is a question you would not ask if you were ready to fly such a powerful kite.

You should be very, very nervous. A 15m as your first depower is making me, and probably every one here, nervous too.

Others can chime in on good starter depowers. Like 5m to 7m kites.

Fly safe and live to fly another day.

@Thanson2001ok - Thank you for your response, pretty much confirmed that I shouldn't be flying it and I probably wont fly it now.. though tbh I will be taking it out on an extremely light windy day and having a couple of minute fly around when I get it just to see for myself what I'm dealing with and to decide on where I should go from there.
Thank you for all responses =)

Wow mate your Jatz Crackers must be HOOOJ

I have been at this caper quite a few years now, but your step from a 3m Rush to a 15m Matrix

Is in my opinion too big of a jump.

Do you have buddies that go with you or are you a loner ??

Watch out for those light days

We all preach self preservation and safety here.

By the By welcome to the addiction

Hey Chris I am in the Blue Mntns, if this way give me a hoy.

Dont forget to scope out Extreme Kites

Chris dont do it. There is so much advice I can give you but I type to slow to give it to you. Basically you are not ready for this kite in any way. I am not telling you this to disrespect you in any way, but it is the truth.
This kite will not fly in light wind, static, and without a harness all at the same time. First thing is if you have enough wind to get it inflated it will be too much wind for you. If you did get it inflated flying static will do it no justice and you will not enjoy the kite. Then to top it off if you fly unhooked the kite will be at full power and simply stall. I would be amazed if it even launched.
Also when you open this kite for the first time you will be soooo intimidated by its size. This might be a good thing as it might scare you enough to not fly it. You really need to get yourself a much smaller de-power and learn the ins and outs of flying these kites. You will be ready for this 15m soon enough but you are not ready for it now.

HQ Rush 300
3 speed automatic

HQ Prodigy 15M
7 speed dual clutch

Since it has not been stated explicitly already, the reason your question set off warning bells with everyone is this:

Quote:

Originally posted by ChrisG13 PS. should I just go ahead and fly it without a harness when it comes and eventually get one?

Quote:

Originally posted by thanson2001ok First, your question about whether to use a harness - the answer is... Pack the 15m Matrixx away. This is a question you would not ask if you were ready to fly such a powerful kite.

The Rush is HQ's most basic kites. The Matrixx is totally on the other end of the spectrum. In addition, it is a depower kite. Is it possible to fly a depower kite without a harnes?

Yes. However, without a harness, you can't depower the kite so you will essentially be flying it with the throttle wide open the whole time.

This puts ugly pictures in peoples' heads.

The Matrixx is a fairly high aspect ratio (wide and short) kite, that is tuned to be fast. Your 15M will have a flat span of over 27ft. If you measure that out on the lawn, it will give a better idea of the jump you have made from your Rush 300.

27+ feet of nylon will require some wind to fill the canopy and overcome gravity. Once it starts moving, as characteristic of most high aspect ratio kites, speed (the motion of the kite through the air) will translate directly to power. If you are flying the kite static (without a landboard, kiteboard, buggy), it's basically just you holding down that power without any power being bled off as motion.

Even on a light-moderate wind day, they kite can still develop a fair amount of power. Do a Google search for the terms "kite" and "apparent wind".

A better fit for your second kite if you were looking for something lifty and wanted to stay with HQ might have been an HQ Toxic (fixed bridle) or HQ Montana (depower).

As far as a harness... most people are stuck with taking online advice and guesstimating sizes which can be hit or miss. KitePower Australia actually has a store in Sydney where you would actually be able to checkout gear in person before buying. They can be found here:
http://www.kitepower.com.au/contacts/

The Extreme Kites that nocando is referring to is an Australian based power kite forum:
www.extremekites.com.au/

ATB,
Sam

Jump on to the Extreme Kites forum and ask Spartan about his 15m Matrix. You have bought a kite that is very close in size and power to a small paraglider. Small, careful steps will go a long way to keeping you injury free. Putting up a 15m kite after only using a 3m kite could easily put you in hospital. I seriously kid you not. If you try and fly it without a harness you will have no control over the depower. Just don't do it. Not yet.....

My sincerest thank you to everyone who cared enough to write so much, all these posts were all I needed to know it was a bad idea... I've been pretty much obsessed with these power kites since I was a kid and now that I consider myself old enough to start getting into it i may have Hq rushed into it too much (lol).. So I'm thinking the 7.5m Apex looks to be a good fit for kite number 2, what are peoples thoughts on this?.. I'd really like to take the least expensive path to flying the matrixx as possible and the apex is fairly well priced and i like HQ.
@nocando - I always fly with my friend Who is equally obsessed with jumping as me :D

see you in a couple weeks
a: ref(Blade dislocated my shoulder)

So... I understand where you are going with this. And from what I have heard about this kite, it is a great kite. Good low end, decent depower, good upwind travel. Its not a bad kite. Is it above your skill level? Yeah, probably. I'd hold onto it if I were you, but I would not go fly it just yet.

Start with something smaller. You need a harness (go to a store and try some on, you will NOT regret doing this). I think you have been given the perspective of what you are contemplating doing, so I will not re-iterate. However, I do want to mention that once you put that harness on, you are STRAPPED to the kite. You cannot simply let go. You have to active a safety system to either kill the power, or let go of the kite. If you have not practiced this, it will take some practice to become "muscle memory".

If you can get a lesson on depower kites, I would highly recommend it. Be that a kitesurfing lesson, or kitebuggy lesson with depower, it doesn't really matter. Having someone professionally go over how this will work, will surely benefit you in the long run.

Be safe. Fly in low winds. RESPECT THE WIND. Live to fly another day.

7.5 apex in an excellent choice for a first depower. But get a harness !! AND A HELMET !!! In case you don't already use one.

I already chimed in with my piece so I'll also say if you're kiting on land body armour is a good choice.
All it takes is a high velocity impact from the skies to ruin a couple months.

Or perhaps try an Arc... Lots of them for sale. Usually pretty inexpensive.

It's a tough balance between teaching people to respect the kite and the wind and putting fear into them. Fear can be dangerous too. When I hear about beginners being obsessed with jumping you may as well say you're obsessed with falling. Unless you're riding water (and even on water) learning to jump is a dangerous endeavor. You can't predict what the wind will do.

Chris, you seem to be listening to these guys which is a really good idea. The people in this forum (unlike a lot of other forums) are smart, safe and expirienced. Very little (if any) ego to be found in thier responses. All of us have made one mistake or another and theres a wealth of knowledge to be found here. The Apex2 7.5 is an excellent kite. Good value, tough and a great all rounder. Super forgiving, does just about anything you want and goes upwind well which is nice for a beginner. (or anyone else)

I'm all about getting people on arcs but for a newb only if you have someone there that can show you the in's and outs.

"Jatz Crackers" holy hell that made me laugh.

Good stuff people! I'll most likely look into getting a helmet.
@Ragden - Yeah I've decided to head to a kite store for the harness, seems like a better idea than buying online for sizing etc.
@Feyd - Yeah people here do seem very smart, safe and experienced and I'm more than glad to take the advice from these people which have 10+ kites in their signature, they quite obviously know what they are talking about.

ChrisG13 I just came across your post and my first thought was "yea you will need a harness , the kind with a backup parachute". I'm convinced that jumping with a big kite is actualy safer than with the smaller kites , you can use less wind so things happen more slowly and controlled. The problem with the combination you have is , with that big kite ,only a slight increase in wind speed will very quickly put you out of your comfort range and experience. Heed good advice and stay safe.

If you can swing by kitepower in Sydney it will be a huge education + the best place to " try before you buy " a harness. I think they will have a hook to hang from testing harnesses. YOU will want to hang down instead of how they will expect , out. Land kiting and static jumping mean the kite isn't always low like on water. This is why a seat harness is prefered for land. You can still buy used but will walk out knowing what works and what size. Well worth a train ride. Great folks all round! Happy to answer questions knowing you are serious.


I am also in the bigger is better for jumping camp BUT .... that matrix is a bit too much of a jump right now. On that I agree. I just wonder how much the 7.5 Apex will satisfy if you truly have low winds over all ? Jumping is clearly your focus and it will need a lot of wind to do that ? It is a fantastic forgiving kite but ??? 10m is a great all round size of kite. Flies early and eventually you can fly it into the high teens. If you have low winds and a reasonable respect it shouldn't be too much ? It will be enough to float you in much lower winds than the 7.5 Apex.

A harness and helmet are a must.

Believe it or not you don't experience 1 /10 of what this sport has to offer when not riding something !

Hey Powerkiters, I went down to Kitepower yesterday and bought this awesome Mystic harness, thanks for the tip, I'm glad I tried it on and I even tried it on a bar they had mounted to a wall and it felt awesome!!

Mystic is #1 in my books ! Very comfortable and well built.

Did you get the seat / waist combo ?

Nah I had to go for the waist one due to my size which is fine because I prefer it anyway.