i am just looking at a small kite to buzz around with at some lakes near by me,i dont want a big kite there are three kites i have my eye on one is a North 2010 Buzz 7.5m + Bar & Lines or a north 2010 buzz 5 m plus bar and lines and the other is Cabrinha (2009) 7m kite plus bar and lines,all advise welcome

nanna...you know i love you, but you always make me worry.. i am starting to think you are intent on hurting yourself.
you are trying to be careful aren’t you??..going to the water you really should have someone w/ water experience teaching you what to do.. mistakes out there are a whole different thing..imo.

He's right, flying tubes in the water is a different kind of animal.
Do yourself a huge favor and take a lesson from a certified instructor.

Yes, don't mess with water. Get lessons if you lack experience. I got into trouble with my kitecat last year. I could have drowned. Been kite buggying since the 90's but no water experience.

only wanted to sit in a tractor inner tube and go in to wind across are local lake pond and walk around it and do it again,in the past i walked in the water from one side to the other its deep but not hugley deep they use it for a run of before the water goes in to a water race to the farms paddocks around here,i spoke to one kite dealer who has a 3,5m wate trainig kite,abkayak i know you deely care but sugar darling i dont eve have any grey hairs yet and way to you to join the knitting club was a nanna at 38 lol i just didnt want to use the land kite on the water and encase i drown it ,i have been practicing skudding just wont do wearing shorts again ,i ust want to have fun of course be safe

If the water is shallow enough to wade in, you don't need a LEI. You have a foil? Go for it, you can always fish it out. Water won't hurt it and odds are you won't crash it downwind on a little pond anyways.
Just make sure you don't put it away wet.

nanna&jordann,

It may seem that a 7m kite is just like any other 7m kite. A 7m foil kite is typically a "light wind" kite. A 7m LEI is usually used in high winds. Where I live; when it's nuking out, 30mph gusting to 40mph(48km/h - 64km/h) ; the 7m LEI's come out. And peoples highest jumps are made with only a "7m kite". You want to go 60'(18 meters) in the air?

You might consider a smaller kite to start off with:

http://www.mackiteboarding.com/trainer-kites-faq.htm

A LEI really needs 2 people to safely launch and land it. Also; walking for any distance with it in the air over land is to be avoided.

thank you all for the advise and will just use my 3 meter ozone and just be careful i dont skinny dip it and maybe if i save up i might treat myself to a 3 to 4 hour kite surfing lesson next summer

ok i feel better.. i take my foils in the ocean all the time to fool around..its a diff story once you start hooking in and looking to board, but thats not what you are after....yet...but im thinking that days coming for you guys too..if you do want a relaunchable to play with and kinda take another step, or just need to scratch the next kite itch..check out the HQ Hydra or Pansh Adam..remember whoever dies w/ the most kites wins..but you gotta be old w/ lots of grey hair:D

as a heads up on the inner tube thing - it can be fun but not quite in the way you expect. The direction of force from the kite will often cause you to get ejected from the tube, or when you try and brace for it the tube will just flip you out and then once you do start moving you have no directional stability so often end up spinning and get backwards. So it can be fun but don't expect to go zipping across the lake like a tube towed behind a boat - you are far better to be underpowered compared to the power you need for kitesurfing just to get out and have some laughs in the tube. Let us know how it goes - hey pop over to visit peter Lynn in Ashburton, he has a yard full of old odds and ends for water and might give you something to play with.

I played with my 1st kite in the water a lot. A simple 3m , 3 line on a bar. Crashing was a minor pain but I simply wound up the lines and dragged the kite ashore. A mesh bag to stuff the kite in made it less hassle. Lay it out . Re-launch and fly it dry. Added incentive not to crash. Just play in water that isn't over your head or too far from shore.

Mark is correct about the tube making for better " funniest home video " material than for actually getting around. Also correct about catching up with Peter Lynn

Please DO take a lesson before hitting the water. They teach all sorts of important stuff about self rescue and such that is hard / dangerous to pick up on your own. Your land kite experience will be a big boost in the lessons !

Quote: Originally posted by rtz

nanna&jordann, It may seem that a 7m kite is just like any other 7m kite. A 7m foil kite is typically a "light wind" kite.

RTZ= please remember, you are referencing only fixed bridle kites when you say this. A 7m depower foil like a ozone frenzy is not a light wind kite.

That's true. I should have been more specific.