I guess I have a few general questions about various kites and things. My first in on the Ozone Turbo Bar. Is it designed to turn any four line fixed bridal kite into a sheetable kite? That's the impression I'm getting with it but I don't understand entirely.

The reason I'm asking about that is I've been looking for a smallish kite to use on its own or with a mountain board. I want something sheetable but not too big. I weigh about 45 kilos and I'm worried anything larger than 4-5 meters is going to have far to much pull for me to use without a board. I'm also looking to not spend more that around 500 dollars on the kite, so the Viron is out. (I would consider up to 600 with bar and lines but that's really pushing it). Water usability isn't necessary but I certainly wouldn't mind having it. Winds are often pretty gusty where I live too.

So after a bit of looking around the kites that have caught my eye are the flexifoil blade v (4m), 4m ozone uno, 4m beamer, and the 4m ozone octane. The non sheetable ones I would get an ozone turbo to make them sheetable, assuming thats how that bar works. Any of these kites stand out over the others, or are my size requirements wrong and therefore I need to reconsider everything? I do have some prior experience with power kites, and quite a bit with sport kites, so I should be able to fly something more advanced than your average first time buyer.

Anyone able to help me out with this?

A turbo bar will not make a FB kite sheetable...its still a fb..
i dont know your board or flying skill so i vote no Uno or Blade
for $$ and lift reasons... small 3m fb kite to get your mind right but i say that to everyone...cause everyone needs one..welcome

I have a turbo bar, and I use it almost exclusively on my larger 8m HQ Toxic. Flying static, the turbo bar will turn the kite ALMOST as well as handles, but if you pull the bar in you will stall it. If you are at speed in a buggy or blades or board and pull the bar in, it will behave KINDA like a depower in that the kite will surge with power and slow down just a bit. Basically you need a ton of apparent wind, and whereas a true depower kite's pull will double or triple when you pull the bar in, the Turbo Bar gives you maybe 10-15% more pull. That varies on the kite. It will only give you this little power boost on a kite that behaves well with brake input. I only fly it on my Toxic, which could easily be steered using only the brakes.

Don't limit yourself to a hard size number, because it truly depends on your wind conditions. A 12m depower can be had within your budget that would serve you from 12mph on up to nearly 30mph of wind. Especially if you are planning on moving to a board in the future. You will want depower for the board and you will have to buy one less kite. For most average wind conditions, assuming between 10-20mph wind, you would want a 7-8m depower foil or a 12-15m arc.

Check out the for sale section here on the forum, and keep asking questions. Someone here can always give you the exact info you are looking for because between all of us on here, we have flown pretty much all of the kites in all of the wind

Quote:

Is it designed to turn any four line fixed bridal kite into a sheetable kite?

No. Ozone advertised it as 'depower through brakes' but that's just more of Ozone's BS and misleading advertising. The turbo bar just pulls the brakes on when you pull the bar, nothing more than that. The turbo bar is excellent on some kites, but handles and strop will get you the same things (and more control) but without the convenience of the bar.

If you're after a sheetable kite, then you want a depower kite - Ozone Access, HQ Apex for not too lifty foils, Frenzy/Montana if you want more lift.

Size of kite really depends on your winds. The Peter Lynn arc's seem to have a wider wind range than the depower foils and so do some of the LEI's I've seen used - these can both be used on the water too.

I can't advise you on PL arcs or LEI's - but there should be plenty here who can but I think they're worth considering as an all purpose depower kite.

Welcome.

A bit about your previous kite experience . Your size and location. Average winds, type of surface etc. would be helpful.

The tried and true method of learning is to start out with about a 3m foil. 4 line on handles is best.

Now the catch. You will eventually need more than one size of kite. The 3m will be good for learning, teaching friends and as a high wind kite but you will want something larger to learn to ride. You could sell the 3m to fund the larger kite but most folks hold on to theirs.

Don't waste your time with bars and FB kites. They are designed to run off of handles.

$500 should get you 2 decent used kites. MUCH more valuable than 1 kite and a Turbo bar !

Thanks for all the great replies I've gotten so far.

I think I'm going to shy away from the turbo. I read some reviews for it and its not as good as I though. I never could find good used kites but I was looking on ebay. I quick look through the classifieds on this forum alone has yielded some fantastic deals.

I don't need a 3m. I have a lot of experience with stunt kites in general. I've taken a single kite surfing lesson (on vacation. I live in the desert), and we spent about five minutes on the 3m. Where I live, generally open desert fields. with winds sustained in the 10-20 mph range with gusts up to 25 at times, sometimes more. I'm in the process of building a Rev-esque 4 line but as I'm mostly looking for a depower kite I'm not really looking for handles.

I think my main concern is size. I just have no idea how to figure out what size I need. Manufactures have the wind tables with the kites, but those aren't great because they bring up the question of "is this the range that it'll even lift off the ground up to too powerful, or is it the range necessary to pull a 180lb person across the water?"

I'm just looking for something I can fly on its own without killing myself and with a board or maybe a buggy. Something that'll depower. If I know what size I should look for I should be able to find a good kite.

I can give you a rough idea for depower sizes in the buggy. HQ Apex II 7.5m - needs about 8 knots to get me rolling in the buggy and is getting too much to hold a line in 20 knots. I'm a conservative buggier - so a better pilot could add a few knots to that. Also, that's in a coldish southerly airflow - add a couple knots for drier desert air. 5m Apex II needs about 13 knots to have me rolling - over about 22 knots I put it down and grab the 4m Ozone Access which can handle 18 - 35 knots. In 30 knots you've got a really fast kite and you have to be very careful with it. I'm about 75kg and in a Libre Vmax - so subtract a few knots if you're a bit lighter.

The higher aspect kites - Frenzy, Manta, Montana usually have a bit more lift, wider window, better speed, more depower and need a few more knots than the lower aspect Apex/Access. I had the 5m Frenzy for a while and found it ok in 12 knots, good in 15 knots and still quite manageable in 25 knots.

Wind ranges for Arc's and LEI's will be a bit different - I had a 4m Airush LEI beat my 5m Frenzy quite easily in 14 knots but still look pretty controllable in 35 knots.

Hope that's of some help.

An Ozone 6m Access or 7.5m HQ Apex would probably be a pretty good place to start....

Sorry, When you were asking about Turbo bars I thought you wanted Fixed Bridle kites.

The above advice is all good. The lack of rolling resistance + gusts means that something in the 6 - 8m range of depower foil will serve you well. Don't count out Peter Lynn arcs. They can be found at some good prices. 12 - 13m would be a good size.

Take your time and ask on here for advice before purchasing from Ebay etc.. Folks will be happy to help you spend your money and hopefully save you from a bad choice.

If you're looking at manufacturers wind tables for kitesurfing, then those advertised minimum wind ranges would allow I assume not just to launch the kite but to also provide usable traction across the water for a rider of average skill.

I'm pretty sure manufactures assume a rider weight of 75kg or 165lb when calculating those numbers but don't forget that on water you can edge much harder than you can on land. This widens the range for kitesurfers.

However these ranges can be pushed a little below the minimum and quite a bit beyond the maximum on land and at sea if you develop the skills.

sorry..no offense but you do not seem to be giving proper respect to 3m Fb 4 line kites
they are the perfect kite in the conditions you are describing for what you want to do
they never become obsolete in any quiver and are the right tool for becoming a pilot
then you get a depowerable and you will better off....imo

Another thing to keep in mind about a 3 meter fb kite is a good medium aspect will have more power than a lower ar. I like having the beamer for sharing with others but I kind of wish I would have gotten a higher performance 3m fb.

+1 for abkayak
burdman, you asked for help and you're getting great feedback. The 3m is a staple in every quiver.
I'd also agree with your ditching of the Turbo bar. I have one and it never gets used 'cause I can't be bothered to tune it for each kite.
Don't forget a helmet.

I agree. Lots of great advice here, so thank you all for your help.

I guess I just have one more question. Most of the advice I see here recommends a 6-8m foil. What size LEI would have similar power? My only experience with an LEI was in wind that was barely enough to get the kite off the ground with a 12m North and that was too powerful for me. I'm worried that anything smaller will just need more wind, but even at its minimum wind speed will generate too much power for me. Anyone have anything to say on that?

Thanks again to everyone for your help.

Um either that kite was not properly trimmed or you weigh less than 100lbs. I think that kite might not have been trimmed right. You should be able to static fly pretty much any power kite parked at the edge of the window and only have to lean into it, but it shouldn't be dragging you unless you sheet in or fly it into the power.

Oh right. I didn't make that as clear as it needed to be. I do only weigh 100ish pounds, but the kite was fine as long as it was right above me. Any movement at all with it though and I started body dragging across the water.

you can go get the dp foil or lei you may see be fearful of it and not get out enough and set back your flying for quite sometime...or get 3m and learn to fly and be landboarding this summer...either way is fine