Been lurking for a bit and thought I'd register as I plan on spending my disposable income with you nice folks in the near future. Right now I'm flying an hq rush 350 which I've had for about a year. About 50-60 hrs on it, some of which was on a snowboard. Too much wind required to do that with this kite so I'm looking to move up. I'm planning to take snowkite lessons this winter, but thought I'd ask this...should I buy a kite first? (I'm thinking 8m range) and bring it to the lesson so a professional can help me suss it? Rather than take the lesson then figure out the kite on my own. Budget means I will be buying used. Thoughts?

Jon

Oh yeah, my wife's name is Wendy and my username is what we'll hopefully name our future boat someday. Maybe I'll name my kites that. That'll get her on board, right?

If you can hold off on buying a kite (something I'm pretty bad at), then you should see several kites in your lesson and you might have a better idea of what kind of kite you want.
There are quite a few kites out there and if you fly something first you can figure out whether or not you actually want it. That said, if you buy something now and stick with this hobby you're going to be buying plenty of kites after your lessons too :p

If it's with in your means, get some professional instruction first.

Its the safest, fastest route to getting dialed in on flying the bigger kites and with your level of flying expirience you will fly through the remedial parts of the instruction and really get to focus on the most useful and fun stuff. Also, you'll be learning on the instructors kites which means you won't be crashing your own kite in the learning process. :D

The instructor will teach you what you need to know and do it with safety being the primary goal. You can avoid all the trial and error and the risk that comes with it. Your flying skills are adequet at this point but youn will have a steep learning curve going to a bigger depowerable kite. (I'm assuming youre going depow) and Your instructor will be able to point you in the right direction in regards to a kite best suited for your needs and environment. They should be able to advise on support gear as well.

With lessons under your belt and the wealth of knowledge available here on PKF you will progress quickly.

Listen to Feyd... he is one of the foremost knowledgeable guys on ... well ... most everything!

IMHO it is more logical to me to take your lessons first, then buy a kite second. As it has been said, there a multitude of options as far as kites go, so it seems wisest to me to try BEFORE you buy (trying happening on the instructor's gear) that way you will have a better idea of what you want and need. If you buy now (esp if you buy used) you may not get what is optimal for you in your conditions and for your skill level, and you won't be able to return or exchange it.

Thanks soliver. :D And though I appreciate the sentiment I'm afraid I'm really only knowledgeable in my chosen field of kiting which is snow and ice. :D Buggy and water stuff, not so much.

It's really amazing how much there is to know about all these genres of kiting! And this forum is really a great resource for all of it.

Soliver makes a good point about buying now. Believe me when I say all of us have been where you are now, fighting the urge to buy your first serious traction kite. It's a tough itch not to scratch. But a little caution now, and some patience will pay off pretty huge later down the road.

When it comes to the frozen stuff, Chris is da man!

Hello FairWends,
Welcome and good advice is offered above. Not sure which part of CO you are in (I live in Westminster) and I started on a similar path as you - I used an HQ 300 for a ton of time and I still have it.

Taking a lesson is a good idea if for no other reason then to have access to an instant quiver of kites and also harnesses along with a controlled initial environment and knowledge. I took H2O lessons and added snow kiting with my LEI's before I bought several foils specifically for land boarding and snow kiting....I'm now in my second generation of foils and have rolled through several harnesses. Trying before you buy is a great way to find what you like and what you don't. That combined with a controlled environment early can be compelling. Lots of options, lots to learn but LOTS of fun are in your future!

With having some time on your snow board with your 350 it won't take you long to be ripping upwind-snow kiting is incredibly fun. There are good instructors available in our state but I'll also send you a U2U with my contact info - I'll totally help anyway I can. There are several people in our state that I kite with on a pretty consistent basis (snow/land/h2o) and I can say everyone is awesome for info and helping to keep everyone safe as possible and stoked.

Jeff

And then in the spring, you can hop on a plane with Dave (proletariat) and come down to Jekyll Island to the Jekyll Island Buggy Expo (JIBE) and find out the difference between the wind you are used to and the smooooooooooooooth on shore winds in south GA.... You too Jeff!

Hey Soliver!
Dave is totally selling me on JIBE , we're lining up some kite plans for sure! Trying to figure out exactly what we want to kite-JIBE is certainly high on the possibility list for sure.

After just getting back from an H2O kite trip it makes me all the more sad for our junk CO winds....at least with snow the gusts and even direction changes matter a heck of a lot less to me then on a land board. My tolerances on the frozen probably double the land board easy.

Kiting is the best....add to that good wind and it is so easy to lose track of hours at a time only to be truly exhausted at the end of the day. Having a mess of other kiters makes it that much more

Jeff

Don't forget about Wildwood Buggy Bash either.:cool2:

Welcome FNG,

If you have to chose between JIBE and WBB I would suggest JIBE. The beach at Wildwood is great but from what I understand ( haven't been to JIBE ) the hard pack is just that much harder at JIBE. Better for the mountian board.

or the "local" event at Ivanpah - IBX, a great event known by many names

Welcome FNG.

Quote: Originally posted by FrontRangeJeff

Hey Soliver! Dave is totally selling me on JIBE , we're lining up some kite plans for sure! Trying to figure out exactly what we want to kite-JIBE is certainly high on the possibility list for sure. Jeff

:o...listen to the soothing lull of my voice.... "you wiiiiiillll coooooome to JIIIIIIIBE!!!!... You MUUUUUUUST... it is the beeeeeeeest event!!!!"

Sorry it's hard to type hypnosis...

Holy moly this is an active forum. That's awesome and thank you guys so much for the welcome and advice. It is hard to resist the newer, bigger kite, especially since I got the OK to pursue this sport from my incredibly understanding wife. I agree, I think I will wait till after lessons to purchase. It seems there is a strong community of good people with good advice.

Feyd-I'm a NH boy myself and spent some quality time in your neck of the woods, mostly Whitehorse and Cathedral ledges, and annoying the guys at IME. Usually made the trek up to sugarloaf in the winter. Speaking of which flagstaff lake in Maine might hold some possibilities for you if memory serves. Depow for sure. Where I live if it's blowing 15 average, the gusts are easily into the 30s if not more. Defo on the instruction too, hooking into my trainer with a bar loop makes me think very hard about consequences.

Jeff-I live a bit west of Vail. In general I don't make it down your way during the winter, but I appreciate the offer. If you come up this way let me know. I'd be happy to show you around or cook up some badass jerk chicken quesadillas. I will u2u ya back.

Running out of time, my daughter is making noise about painting the cat (he deserves it). Thank you all again for taking the time to give me advice and invite me to places and generally acknowledge my existence. I had a pretty crappy 12 hrs at the job site today...your response was as good as a session flying.

Jon