And some cans of spinach... Getting ready for my first winter kiting the ferocious winds of Saskatchewan. I'm not sure if I will get to use my 7m NPW this year?

I thought I would warm up for snowkite season flying my 2.6m in some "moderate" winds well once the kite got up out of the ground effect of the hills that little guy just dragged me all over the pasture! 15 minutes and my arms were screaming "enough!" and they are still sore today.. should have worn my scudding shoes instead of my big mud boots!

Got 320 acres of open rolling hills to play on and some big windy sloughs that should freeze nice and smooth. Also Lake Diefenbaker which should give miles and miles of riding space... and pretty much guaranteed wind every day (hopefully without too many days of frostbite-inducing temperatures). This could be my biggest season to date!

Yep gonna have to build up those arms or this might be the year to start riding with a strop, or buy a kite that flies from a bar? Nahh handles and FB kites for life! :evil:

yea go for the strop and harness [agree FB forever ] it will do wonders for the length of time you can fly and the size of the kite you can run. Armstrong practice does come in handy when you do not feel like stropping in or when your safety releases unexpededly ["it is never bad when the safety does its job, it is never bad when the safety does its job, ....." ]

DePower for what you are doing. hands down.

I do agree a depower would handle nicely for getting up and down the hills, in fact my 7m NPW is a depower (on handles though). Unfortunately, the hills have wheat and barley stubble on them! Otherwise I have long had an interest in picking up an Ozone Access, they look perfect for my style of riding. I like to stay on the ground.

I built my indestructible Tyvek kites for farm fields... I never fly my Crossfire over stubble, only on ice. Too easy to shred an expensive kite on stubble.

I used to be all about the machismo of unhooked handle flying but I guess am getting older and with wide open spaces and lots of time to ride, I just can't hold on long enough! I do have a strop, release and harness, and I guess they are going to get used a lot more this year.