This is basically a wall of text, so I will sum up at the beginning: Hi! I'm brand new to kiting. I basically got bit by the bug yesterday, and got bit HARD. I'm planning to pick up a Symphony 1.8 as a low-cost gateway drug to power kiting and am hoping to get a bigger power kite in the next month or two (or whenever I'm ready)! Not sure what I'm specifically interested in, because it all looks awesome! It's nice to meet you all :D

Also, random question: I have a very nice bike helmet that fits me really well (a Bontrager if you like bikes) and I was wondering if it would be okay for kiting purposes if/when I get a bigger kite. I don't really plan on doing anything super dangerous, but I'm sure a lot of people say that at first :P

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So I had no idea what I was getting into when I picked up some $1 Delta kites from Target on Saturday night on a whim while picking up some treats for my dog :P We flew them on Sunday morning until they broke (which took about two hours). My husband was like "Meh" but I was like "OMFG *_*" and so I dropped him off at home and went to Toys R Us! I got a $10 stunt kite and a $12 dragon kite with a spinning tail (which is amazing for the price btw, when I pull to get lift the wings flap!). A wonderful and very skilled pilot named Ann helped me learn how to launch and fly the stunt kite, and I found out how nice kiters (is that a word) can be! I spent three hours yesterday afternoon flying the dragon and the stunt kite, and only a weekly dinner with a friend pulled me out of that field :P

I couldn't stay away and spent a few more hours in the field this afternoon (forgot to put on sunscreen and got a bit crispy). I was doing pretty well with the stunt kite (managed to keep it in the air for up to 5 minutes at a time and recovered from some pretty close calls) until it SUPER bowtied during a crash (that means tangled, right?). So I spent half an hour trying to untangle the lines, and then some dumb lady comes up with her two dumb #@%$#!er spaniels and they start ROLLING IN THE CORDS and I was like "Noooooo :*(" So I spent another hour trying to untangle them, but now I have to replace the cords because they are hopelessly tangled.

So then I was like "Hey, power kiting sounds like a good workout and looks incredibly fun on YouTube, but it also sounds a little scary," so I called up SFKites and this really awesome guy chatted with me for a while. He actually referred me to this forum! I poked around on here for a while and decided that you all seem really nice, so I thought I'd join up!

I'm very not-fit-at-all, which is one reason why I'm interested in "fitness kiting" (if that's not a thing, it should be). I am not at all worried about being carried away by anything smaller than a 4.0 lol. I'm also a bit of a wuss, and this is the first "extreme sport" or whatever that has really piqued my interest. I actually first got interested in power kiting last summer when I watched some kite jumping videos on YouTube (don't worry, I'm not planning to do any jumping), but then I got a very intense short-term job and kinda forgot about it until now.

Also, kiting seems like a pretty male-dominated sport, so I wanted to join up to give a special shout-out to kiting sisters out there :D My husband has almost no interest in kites (yet), so I guess I'm in a kind of reverse of the typical situation. I'm hoping to lure him in with power kiting :D I showed him a few videos, and he's a little skeptical, but he agreed to get me a Tensor or something in a similar price category when I'm ready for it, as payment for entertaining his mom when she stayed with us for the entire month of April. :P

A bit about me: I'm 26, currently a housewife, have conflicting future interests in full-time parenting and software engineering, have a useless bachelors degree and two-thirds of a masters in sociology, moved to Silicon Valley/the San Francisco Bay Area from Orlando less than a year ago, my husband works for Google and I was a temp at Google briefly, I love animals and volunteer at the zoo, I have a dog and a cat, I've seen every episode of Futurama at least four times, and in my non-windy days I enjoy video games and crafting!

I hope to make some local friends in California, and also meet cool kite enthusiasts from around the world! I will probably mostly just lurk until I have something incisive to say, but I look forward to absorbing your wisdom :)

And I mostly just wanted to gush about kites to people who understand :P so...thanks for listening, if you made it through this wall of text!

Oh, I also wanted to say that I know how dangerous kiting can be from reading some of your posts, especially Jeff's, and I was joking when I said I wasn't worried at all. I plan to be as safe as possible, even with just a 1.8. I know that there are freak gusts and stuff, even on normal/crappy days.

Welcome to PKF family .... welcome to the addiction .... welcome to best outdoor fun ..... on snow, water or sand ......

Thanks, Kober! Wow, you have a lot of kites :o

Welcome from down here

Look for one of the members here DAKITEZ he owns a shop in GALT CA

Great bloke very friendly, you will find all are that inhabit this place.

For tutorials (printable) go to this site

www.coastalwindsports.com

They will be your kite bibles for a while, very consise and informative.

:bouncy:

Welcome! Cut up your credit card now!!!!! Wait until you get your four liner,it will be on big time. Hubby might like it a bit more when the power comes on. Keep us posted how you do,and if ya got ANY questions ,come see us.

Welcome aboard the crazy train:wee: Donnie is right. Your hubby may change his mind when he realizes he can slide across the land on his feet (scudding) with a kite.:bigok:
As for the helmet I would go more for one that will cover the back of you head. A lot of the time you fall it is when a wind lets up and you go over backwards. Or as in my case you get yanked out of the buggy (OBE) and land on your back. So a skiing type helmet is better than a bike helmet to start.

Welcome to PKF and the sport!!!

Hello from the East Coast. Welcome to the forum. You'll love the sport! :singing:

zooprincess, Dan at SFKites did you a nice service steering you here. Hold on tight , bend your knees , stay springy , and jump right in.
Welcome to the forum.

Quote:

I couldn't stay away and spent a few more hours in the field this afternoon

And that means trouble!!! Your all done for! Find yourself looking at flags lately? Thinking about turning your kids shirts into kites? HHHMMM?

This forum will give you all the help you need! If I do say so myself we really are a resourseful bunch of misfits

Don't buy kites new- look at the forsale section to get some great kites at great prices. We are always selling and trading good products.

Yep, another one bites the kite habit! When you get your 1.8, be sure to make hubby try it! Fun and zippy little kite, with enough pull to make him go hmmm.....(wonder what a bigger kite will do?) Buying used here is usually a great way to save a few bucks, and you can check the good sellers list. A lot of our sigs say it all, hide your wallet!

Welcome to the other Zoo. I gather from your name you have a crazy life at home. lol
I can so relate when my son and his 6 kids leave after a visit.:shocked2:like a hurricane blew through and now the calm after the storm.:D
As stated above, the other half will enjoy the power of a bigger kite, and get rid of the CCs while you have money.

*edit* you work at a zoo, hahaha, I should have read a bit more, thought I did, but missed it anyway. welcome all the same.

+++++ for buying good used when starting out ... lets you try different sizes and different brands ..... in my sig below, the four kites after the pansh flux and my buggy were bought on this forum .... Welcome to the forum and hide your wallet:tumble:

Welcome aboard, I got into this sport no more than seven months ago and you can see from my sig how fast it's "taken off."
I've also got a buggy on the way next month! Anyhoo, kiting is definitely great fun, I got into it because I liked static flying as a workout but enjoyed it so much it was time to try kiting with wheels...Good luck and check out the tutorials mentioned above and Youtube, to help you learn the right way (safely).

As far as a helmet look for a skateboard style helmet such as a Pro-Tec or similar. These are still inexpensive, reasonably light, and most importantly, cover the back of your head.

Ahh, your enthusiasm is contagious. Years later, you will be in better shape and still get that tingly feeling inside when you are about to set up your kite to fly. Welcome to the sport and the forum.

Welcome too mad house of fun!!!!!:singing:

Wecome in, the water is great (i'm told) ..... I wont list my kites in case my wife checks my history.
Try to buy at least a kite a month for a while. I find you run out of $/food and loose lots of weight.
If I didn't think it would crowd the beaches i'd let everyone in on that.

welcome to the addiction... there is a good group of folks who ride close to your area .. look up dino at dakitez forsure ...

Hey everyone, thank you SO MUCH for such a warm welcome! It's not my imagination...kite people really are super friendly :D

The following wall o' text just blathers on about my super-fun day today. Long story short, I got a Prism Snapshot 1.2 (2-line speed foil) and had a BLAST flying it!! Can't wait to share pictures and video after this weekend. Cross your fingers that my husband falls in love with the sport too after he flies my new kite :)

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I went up to SFKites today (only my second time in San Francisco since moving to the bay last May)! I got to meet Dan in person--very nice guy :) He talked me out of the Symphony 1.8 and talked me into the Prism Snapshot 1.2. His reasoning, which made sense to me, was that the 1.2 would be a significant addition to my quiver, whereas the 1.8 would be more similar to the larger kites I hope to get soon, so that way I'll have kites to fly in any weather. Frankly, I'm glad he suggested that, because I think the 1.8 might have been almost too much for my first "real" kite. I felt like the 1.2 was exactly what I needed once I started using it. And it was ready to go practically right out of the bag after some minor bridle detangling! I almost had a panic attack when I realized it was tangled (I had a bad incident with a tangled stunt kite), but I stayed level-headed and untangled it in no time.

The Snapshot is neon green...not my first color choice, but it was the only option lol, and I am fond of the blinding highlighter-colored tail. I want to make a longer, more elaborate tail with ribbons from the craft store...I'm thinking pink, purple, reflective silver, and more highlighter neon green! Like a skywriter, but cheaper :P

So then I headed to Shoreline Park in Mountain View, where there is a dedicated kite flying area. Dan at SFKites said it's one of the best flight areas in the Bay, and I wasn't disappointed. I don't know how to tell wind speeds yet, but there was plenty of wind, and it was just the perfect speed. The best things about the Snapshot that make it so great for a beginner are that (a) it is almost indestructible because there are no hard bits to break, and (b) it relaunches on its own with just a couple of tugs on the straps! I would like to formally recommend it for older kids and kite-shy friends/romantic partners~ They just have to be able to see past the NEON GREEN and into the pillowy goodness inside <3

Within just a few minutes of setup, I was already doing fun whiz-bang tricks and having a blast. I stayed at Shoreline for about an hour and a half and also got the pleasure of seeing two different landboarders with HUGE kites! No idea how big they were as I don't have much frame of reference, but they were probably at least 5.0 based on the size of my 1.2? I don't know lol.

So then I packed up (also super easy and fast, no complaints at all) and I was going to head home, but then I decided to show off a bit at the park near my house, which borders a playground and a shopping center, so there's always an audience :3 I got a bit of ego-stroking with a lot of audible oohs and aahs from passersby, and parents being like "LOOK AT THE KITE" to their kids. I think it's a pretty normal human thing to enjoy getting attention, so...I had a good time :)

People occasionally wandered directly under my kite and looked up at it, which was very scary and weird because I made sure to be in an area of the park that didn't have anything interesting in it to cause people to want to be there. I guess they just liked my kite, but I was really afraid I would hit them accidentally, so I just hung out at the highest point of the wind window and did really slow/easy figure 8's until they went away, and then I went back to doing crazy spirals and sweeping the ground and crashing dramatically every so often when I didn't pull up in time lol. Luckily, it's a big park, and there's plenty of space for everyone, including a big boring grass field for kiters :D

So...yeah! A total of about 3 hours of flight time today...and I'm totally hooked lol. I can't wait for my husband to try it out this weekend. I really want him to enjoy kiting too. I think he'll find the Snapshot a lot more exciting than the busted Deltas we "flew" on Sunday. I am also hoping to get him to take a few pictures and videos, which I will totally share on the forum!

Wow, best intro I've seen on here I think. Welcome to the family! You're doomed.

keep those reports coming ..... I can relive my beginning again ......

Thanks for sharing .....

I smell a GOPRO in your future. Kiters LOVE cameras and videos!! Yeah, stick a fork in her ,she DONE!

You pick the perfect place to kite. Most of the guys at Shoreline are on this forum so will help you out. They meet there often so you will see them with their buggies. There is a meet at El Mirage dry lake (southern cali) on the weekend of June 2nd and a few of the shoreline guys are coming down for it. I am planning to be there for some high speed buggying! Welcome to the forum!! :singing:

welcome to the forum and the addiction. Like others have said you made a great intro. Some of folks at shoreline will be good to try and learn from as they have years of experience. Some there are still newbies so learn who is who and who to take advice from lol.

You think your hooked now ... just wait till you try your first quad line foil :wee:

Edit: also check the dates for berkeley kite festival and family kite day in the marina green in SF. You might really enjoy those events

Welcome,

Your stoke is infectious !

Folks are right about the helmet. If your kite helmet won't protect the back of your head well then something like a ProTec is a good idea. Still any helmet is better than none. Comfort is key !

Sounds like you have seen how foolish people can be around kites. Always expect them to do the wrong thing ! Try and be polite , as dificult as it can be at times. We are all effected by each others actions.

+1 for shopping the used section. Kites are like cars and drop in value as soon as they leave the store. Avoid impulse buying ! Take the time to discuss your purchases on here 1st. It will save you some money and disapointment. I know this from experience.

If I can assume that your S.O. is larger than you it is great. He will typically fly one size larger than you so sharing a large quiver will be a saving !

Dino is right. Moving to 4 line will be another big FUN step to look forward to soon. Power kiting can be pretty safe if you do the right things. Like with snow skiing and many other sports it can be tame or extreme . That depends on you !

You Go Grrrrl !

Welcome from farther south in California. Right by Disneyland. I'm new too and have been on the forum for some months now. Everyone I've found is nice and helpful. My wife is getting the bug too and since we are both into handwork and crafts we are in the process of making a foil for her, since we had to repair the Beamer I blew 4 ribs out, she got an education in sewing ripstop . Looks like new and will be taking it out soon.

Check out the work Kieron does ! Sort of extreme kite building .
http://www.powerkiteforum.com/viewthread.php?tid=19507

Hey everybody, you keep replying so I'm gonna keep on posting about my noob adventures! :singing: Everyone here is so friendly and encouraging. I just wanted to give a special thanks to the local people who have been U2Uing me. I'm really looking forward to meeting you guys at Shoreline, hopefully this weekend! I'm not-so-secretly hoping someone will be kind enough to let me and/or my husband try one of their big kites. I promise not to sue you if I get carried away into the San Francisco Bay :D

Today I went back to the park near my house for another session, but the wind was very uncooperative. It was coming in occasional gusts and was overall pretty weaksauce. I had trouble keeping the kite in the air at times, and relaunching was a bit more of a pain today since I had to keep jiggling the lines and wait for a gust at just the right time. I'm glad yesterday was great winds, because otherwise I might not have been very encouraged by my first day out with a foil.

Am I right in thinking that bigger kites work better than smaller kites in lower wind speeds? If the wind was 2 miles an hour but you just HAD to get in some kiting that day, what size kite would you fly?

I also had a really awkward experience today. A guy and his toddler came up to my kite when I was trying to relaunch it and grabbed it, pulling it up by the tail. I was like "Please don't grab my kite by the tail :puzzled: ". But then he picked up the whole kite, right as a very weak gust came through, and it spun around and lightly wapped his kid on the head. The kid didn't appear to notice or care (it was really weak wind today) but at that point I loudly said, "Thank you for trying to help, but please back away, large kites [lol I have a 1.2 but still!] can be dangerous!" and the guy sort of looked at me weirdly and backed away slowly. It was bizarre. I don't know if I reacted properly or if I should be more assertive next time. I'm not particularly shy or anything (as you can probably tell by my posts) but I also don't like confrontations.

So today was my first experience with both super-lame winds AND people manhandling my kite! I feel like I grew as a kiter today :P

..... You funny .....
.... I think you should write a book .... You have some kind of gift ,,,,, I am coming back to this post and waiting what you write next ,,,,,