We all started somewhere ......
.... most with trainer kite .....

Witch one was yours ...... ??
How long did you play with it ??
What was cool about it and what make you nuts ????

Looking for mini review with newbie point of view on you first kite .....

Prism Tensor 3.1

..... Ok .. I got some info on web about what all that power kitting is all about ..... so .... I located nearest store ( Cobra Kites ) and drive down south 2h to get my first kite ......
.... I did some research on web and was set to buy Tensor ....advised at store I got 3.1m ...... and drive to near by park to try it
.... wind was just right ...... I stay there for 2h playing with the "monster" ... I been drag , pull and thrown .... when smiling all that time ...
I fly it for 3 months .... almost every time wind show some activity ..... and here is how I see it as trainer kite

Most practical thing about it is that you can change set up from bar to handles in a minute ..... that way I got to try both ways for a same price ....
Adjustable AOA its another plus ..... that let you make kite stronger or weaker according to you needs
When you done with it as a trainer ..... you can still use it as buggy engine ......
Love that kite all the way ..... nice colors and good quality
Kite is available in 3 sizes ... 3, 4 and 5 ..... and I think 4 and 5 should not be considered as a trainer .....
After my training was done ... I decided to try snowboarding with it in high win .... and it did not work .... I was not able to hold power of kite that was needed to pick me up from ground and let go bar few times ..... Kite killers did not hold ... and rip in half .... and it happens few times ...
I was able to start my first session with ATB on that kite and have lots of fun with it .....
I am still using that kite to introduce new people to the sport and its been hitting ground 1000 times by now ..... and is still in good shape with no damages ......

Would recommend this kite for anyone who can pay $$$ to start addiction and planning to keep it as buggy engine or kite that can be used by you friends and family ......


Below ..... photo from my first kite session ever .......

Rebble 5.0 :D still have it ... center lines are about 6 feet too long now though!
And an Airush Lift 16 for the water :o

My 1st kite was a 3m 3 line on a bar . A kitesurf trainer made by JoJo for Airtime board sports.

It was a great kite. Flew in near no wind and had plenty of power when it picked up. I used it to get my 1st runs on rollerblades + on snow. Taught a lot of people on that old kite. Definately one that paid for itself. I don't even remember who to or why I sold it ? I think to fund my Bullets ?

Ozone Samauri 2m. Still have it. Tough as nails, flies awesome and in high winds it's a damn rocket. Came with a bar and a "trip" strap that just made it fly like poo. Put it on handles for a while and it was awesome. Now it's back on a long Slingshot bar with a split 3rd rear line and it's hella fun to fly.

Awesome kite to learn with but tough enough and powerful enough to keep on hand for high wind snowkite days.

Bought it on blowout sale at Eastern Mountain Sports. Didn't know anythng about kites and EMS sales people knew even less.:wee:

8.5 blade III is what I learned on but I had been flying dual line kites for over 10 years and full understood the wind window and kite position. 6 months later I bought a quiver of JOJO Instincts and spent most of my time progressiong on the 5.5 and 2.5 (which I've kept to this day).

8.5 blade III is what I learned on but I had been flying dual line kites for over 10 years and full understood the wind window and kite position. 6 months later I bought a quiver of JOJO Instincts and spent most of my time progressiong on the 5.5 and 2.5 (which I've kept to this day).

First dual lines were NewTech Black Dragon Thunderfoils in 1.2m and 1.7m. Steve at Gone With The Wind had them on sale and I thought "Hey, let's give these a try..."


First quads were Flexifoil Sting 2.4m Petrol & Sting 1.2 Punk (Pink). The 1.2 was the last of the Punk color scheme left and they had to ship it from the UK. Both ordered at the same times from a local (well, in the same state anyway) retailer.



Looking around for more in the Punk color was what prompted my first call to Angus at CoastalWindSports as he had some listed on his site. Sadly, the website just needed to be updated as the Punks were all gone at that point. But it was the start of what would become the first of many, many calls to CWS.

ATB,
Sam

Not sure it really counts, but the original Hawaiian Team Kite was my first "traction kite." Couldn't resist taking them out in nukin' winds and stacking them as well. Lot's of grass-stain sessions with these and the 6m Flexi's.

I put them away after kids came along. Then a friend I taught how to fly dual lines many years before told me about kite skiing. I bought his 5m and 7.5m Frenzy's. I thought, Holy McIlhenny, these are kites! The rest is history.

So, powerful dual line stunters were the gateway drug.

I was in San Francisco taking a break from a project I was working on back in 2007 when I saw some people flying some "big" kites. I was intrigued and immediately started searching on google...... I found Dino's online store and bought my first kite...... a 2m Pansh Legend.....

I bought a few more Pansh kites direct since Dino no longer carried them.....and had some good times and some frustrations....... I had to get out of flying for a while do to re-injuring my back(not kite related)....got back into it a little over a year ago and that is when I started going down the d'arc side.......

My first year in Oregon (I was 9) I saw people on the beach with stunt kites, and asked for one for Christmas. The next year for x-mas i got a mountainboard for the hill in my back yard. That spring I put the 2 together on a nuking day on the beach and yes, was being powered by a stunt kite engine. I snapped one of the bridles from too much tension. Took it in to above it all kites and Eli fixed it, but asked why everything was so tight. My mom told him, he told her I was crazy and needed a foil. We got a 1.8 beamer for my dad and I to play with. Met Jim at the beach one day who taught me a lot and later sold me my 5m radsail (what i consider my first REAL power kite)..... still have all the kites.

Started about seven months ago with a Prism Stylus P3 (2.5M 2-line, precursor to the Snapshot) that Sierra Trading Post had as a Bargain Barn offering. Had no idea about kites but love physical challenges, and the challenge of having to teach myself something new. I have done all sorts of outdoor sports, some considered extreme- so why not. I still have the Stylus and use it to teach friends and family basic kite handling skills before I introduce them to the 2M Hornet or 2.5 Rage. Love the Stylus, nice looking kite and really, really, tough too...

Ozone Imp III 3.5m - 3 line - bar

Great first kite and still using it today for landboarding!

Great with 5knots of wind up to 25mph!

Saw a guy flying a Flexifoil Stacker 6- was amazed how fast it was! Went home and Googled the price:eekdrull:

Have to remember I was not into powerkites so the $300 price was just so outrageous then!!

Bought a used stacker on Ebay- flew the snot out of it! The rest is history.

haven't thought about that kite in a long time...hope it is still cruisin the skies somewhere!

My first kite was a very cheap 2 line kite I got on flea bay for a couple of$$ with exy shipping

Any way I flew the heck out of it, in all wind strengths, is now so blown out is unflyable

and that was the start

Second the Ozone imp lll 3.5m three line on a bar of course. I still enjoy taking it out just for a relaxing session at the park. When I started out, on a few occasions flew it in 50km/h winds. I tried that last summer and swore I must have been insane. That guy has some serious power when you get in that range. My arms still hurt just thinking of it.

I had this old dual line diamond shape stunt kite that sat in garage rafters for years... took it out one windy day and broke it .... started looking online and found Victoria Kiteland on the island .. got a PL Vibe II 1.9 and instantly loved it. Started thinking quad line and found this forum online, then started asking questions ... ended up learning about Pansh deal of 3.0, 4.5 and they throw in a free 6.0 proto flux (thanks G00f) ... the one I fly the hell out of is the 3.0 blaze. Now with a buggy I am starting to go bigger more often. Say what you will about Pansh kites ... I am happy with them. Added a R8.3 from Goofba11 and a First 6.1 from Weldngod

My goal is to get some buddy lessons on the D'arc side. Got the Scorp from flyjump and new, never flown phanny, from VinceH (the phanny was kind of a kiting bucket list thing for me) but ... embarrassed to say .... haven't flown either yet until I can buddy up for some guidance. Kinda thinking now that looking at projected area, probably have a big quiver overlap with Scorp and Phanny. Maybe I should just man up and launch the darn things!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ... before someone accuses me of being a collector:duh:.... loving every minute I kite so far .... trying to finalize my first meet up with the Alberta crew (Macboy and all) as I'm headed their way for a nephew's wedding.

anyone wanna swap a Scorpion for a Phanny15 ..... :wee:

Well my first foil was a 2 line... An HQ symphony beach 2.1m fun fun fun

Then I got stupid and thought (in spite of being told to start smaller) "I want a big kite that I can grow into rather than out of,... that way I only have to buy ONE kite" ,.... HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH ,... what a goob... so I bought a 5.6m PL twister IIr,... what a fool.

I took it out and flew it until it spanked me, ... then I couldn't fly it without getting nervous and anxious when it got gusty and lifty,... then I was just nervous and anxious with it all the time,... so I bought a 3m Beamer,... that was much more manageable.

So seeing my nerves over the twister, Mr Cheezycheeze offered to trade it for his 5.1m Core, which is much less lifty, and more enjoyable for me.

So you tell me,... which one was my trainer???? I'm not sure either,... I think I learned the most from the beamer.

After the 2.1 HQ Symphony Beach II hooked me, I found vids of guys getting air and new I wanted some of that. Then I found this wonderful forum. Started reading Dr. Drew's review of the 5.6 Twister and said "Yeah, I want to be like him when I grow up!" So, cut my teeth on the PL Twister IIR 5.6.

I HATE pain, so made sure the kite killers became instinct.

Still "training" with it as I explore the upper half of it's wind range and enjoy the world of motion (ATB).

Fitst kite ever was a two line delta when I was like 12 or 14...

First "real kite" was my twister 2, 5.6m.... Still comes out on a very regular basis! Bad trainer for a newbie awesome kite tho... For full review, check the review section... Its got a few hits

This whole sickness started when I was 11 at Chrissy Field in San Francisco watching a guy with a big stack of 2 line kites and me being an annoying kid. "Those are cool sir, where'd you get them?" "I make them" he tells me. He tells me he will sell me some of them if I come find him later. I go home and bug my dad into letting me do any kind of chore to earn money, I HAVE TO HAVE SOME OF THOSE! I bought a Rainbow Stunt Kite from Steve (Eideken) out of the back of his car the next day for $28 and immediately had to fly it. By the end of the summer I had bought a stack of 6, that I still have and fly. The next summer it was a Flexifoil (now called a stacker) but again didn't have the money and this one was WAY more than a single Rainbow Kite. With only a few days left in the summer, I finally had enough money to catch a ferry into the city and pick up my new foil at the kite store on Pier 39. Many more 2 liners wanted, worked for and flown followed in he next 25 years until Rick at Klig's hooked me up with a Prism Stylus P3 about 5 years ago. (I went back and bought the P4 the next day.) Since then the cycle is just repeating itself, see kite, want kite, work overtime, buy kite, fly kite, see different kite while flying new kite, want kite...

Started out just 4 months ago with a PL Hornet II 4M, having no previous experience with kites. The Hornet II is a lovely kite, but in hindsight I'd have gone for a 3M instead. I knew next to nothing about wind conditions at the time, and soon discovered that low winds at my location usually have lots of sudden lulls etc that makes learning hard, and in higher winds the pull was too strong for me. So I ended up getting a Flexifoil Sting 1.7M to take out in slightly higher winds until I got the controls nailed, then went back to the Hornet.
I'd highly recommend a 2M or 3M Hornet II as a first kite, very predictable and user friendly, as long as wind conditions are ok it won't do anything unexpected.

First kite was a Twister II 5.6. Got some good sessions on it and got yarded so I bought a Viper 2.6. Still have it even with 2 blown out cells. Sentimental reasons. Still fly Vipers along with the rest of the quiver.

I started with a couple quad line kites, seemed safer to me, but they were cheap, Jakks 2.5m and 3.5m, my son and I still use them for stunt and synchronize flying, not afraid to crash them ($) ($70 @ amazon.com BTW)

Not bad ..... I did not expect that many posts ..... Keep posting ....