I'm thinking about making my second kite a used LEI for low winds (and to try it out). I know this can be a perilous path, so I'm interested in knowing if theres any sites that are similar to this (in terms of awesome, friendly people), but with more of a focus on LEI's both in terms of discussion and in terms of u2u sales!

Thanks!

A few i've come across:

http://www.seabreeze.com.au/
http://www.foilzone.com/
http://www.extremekites.com.au/

unfortunately ebay is place to find good deals on tubes.

basics are 1-2years old 400-600$everything . fresh demos might be a little more from a shop.

at this point avoid 2010 or older(unless u try fly and buy)...its just a time and exposure issue , even just sitting around valve adherence fades, stuff from the north tend to be in better shape, stuff from the south a little more tattered in general . DO not buy anything older 2007... different animals thats why its $100.

other places i dont know , kinda seem brand happy, NOT like it is here though for sure

You might also check kiteboarding schools. They upgrade their teaching kites yearly and sell off the the previous years' models. Depending on where you are located, this ups the chances of being able to inspect the gear before purchase.

ATB,
Sam

What Phree said. ikitesurf.com and kiteforum.com are also good for finding LEI deals, and usually the great deals go within the first few hours of being posted. Plenty of kites there popping up all the time. For information, PKF is still my favorite but google does a good job of telling you what forum your question is on anyways . Some good lightwind water kites: epic infinity, slingshot rally 14m, slingshot turbine 17m, flysurfer speed3 15m, Ozone Zephyr 17m, Airush Lithium LW. Not sure about other brands, for lightwind make sure its wingtips are pretty round so its easy to relaunch (not squared off like an RPM). Read up about the kite before you buy it, there is always plenty of posts about lightwind kites.

Learning to kite on water in lightwind is way harder and less forgiving of your mistakes so I'd define lightwind in the 14m range rather than the 17m range at first. It also depends on your normal winds in your area and how steady light winds are. If you get steady 10knots all the time then 17m would be much better than the 14m, just don't drop the kite much cus relaunching in light wind is hard.

Excellent Info! From a quick peruse, I definitely get the impression that the other sites aren't like this one.

I was seeing the Zephyr.. looks pretty nice, but not too many of those on sale.

Good to know about 2010 and before. I think I'll stick to 2012 and newer!

elnica: thanks for the list, will def keep a look out for those!

Re 14/17, The winds are fairly variable.. i don't think i can count on a steady 10 knots. In that case a 14 might be better? Is it because it's lighter or something I'm missing?

Thanks!

Quote: Originally posted by SpecialK

I know this can be a perilous path, so I'm interested in knowing if theres any sites that are similar to this (in terms of awesome, friendly people), but with more of a focus on LEI's both in terms of discussion and in terms of u2u sales! Thanks!

Here's another one. It seems to mostly be frequented by folks in the Hood River and surrounding area. I had a very pleasant experience buying a used kite from the classified area on that site.

http://www.nwkite.com

Lightwind is harder to learn in especially on water so what I mean is if you live somewhere like San Diego that gets a bunch of 17m weather, then 17 could be good. If you live somewhere else where its move variable, forget about those ultra light wind days for now. 14-15m weather is much more enjoyable and easier to learn to kite. Not being able to relaunch a kite in light wind or having to swim to shore towing godzilla are problems more common in 17m winds since a small drop in wind speed can mean a non-relaunchable kite rather than just being underpowered. Smaller kites are always more fun so invest first where the fun is . My biggest LEI is a 14m by the way so 14m isn't a small kite, but it is the one I tend to use the most at 175lbs.

Oops, double post

Quote: Originally posted by hardstatic

A few i've come across: http://www.seabreeze.com.au/ http://www.foilzone.com/ http://www.extremekites.com.au/

Stay away from seabreeze - there's some really dodgy advertising going on and Kitepower Australia is not a very nice guy. Add some iffy warranty support...

Foilzone doesn't have LEIs that often...

kiteforum.com has a lot of sales in the US.

You have a local store of any kind? Start there, so you can get some support with your first LEI.

Quote: Originally posted by SpecialK

...so I'm interested in knowing if theres any sites that are similar to this (in terms of awesome, friendly people)

Often imitated; never duplicated :D

low wind...just got that part . light wind kites not good start with LEI. big, clumsy and will get beat up. in the right application work great , but learning in 10knots on land ...it would need to be smooth wind ! if its gusty will break your back! they accelerate much different than foils.

12m or 13m tube is a good start , newer ones are more efficient. if gusty same applies about the body treatment, so tubes are for water and on land they're kinda harsh to ride and kinda fragile if crash them alot.

So many great responses!

I'm going to have to lurk those sites for a while and see if anything nice pops up for sale! For the time being, I'm going to cross my fingers for a 15m s3.. I'm really liking what I read about them!

You might try kiteboarder.co.uk

99% LEI, plenty of lively regular discussion, lots of sales but based in the UK. There's a few on here that also fly LEI that I'm sure will be glad to help you out.