Looking into getting kite boarding. Been looking for some good starter gear and came across a deal that fits my budget.

Board: Ground Industries AK 103 Standard
Kite: Beamer 3.6m 4 line

This will be used on the Gulf Coast of Texas for the most part, on the beach. Maybe some in flat fields.

Would this be good to start with? I'm 5'7", 165lbs. I am also confused about bars/handles. Seems split pretty evenly from what I've read on this forum and other sources.

I keep reading about people adding straps and using a harness with handle kites? Can someone post a link or pics so that I can see what this setup looks like.

Could I use my rock climbing harness?

Thanks in advance!!

here is a link with a picture of a strop between two handles:
http://community.flexifoil.com/showthread.php?t=96168&hi...

As far as the AK goes... I am 145# and ride a GI Pro flight board.

The AK is nice for the money but it is very flexible - good for pop but bad for heavy riders. A 185# guy out here broke his deck jumping so I'd say at 165# you are at the upper end of that decS-P-A-M-L-I-N-K-s tolerance.

For straight out cruising you should likely be fine but if you start jumping on something other than your beamer you may snap the deck or constantly bottom out.

Bars vs. handles is totally down to personal preference and comfort and how much brake control you want to have or surrender.

Blades are great kites, but you should seriously consider getting a depowerable foil. It's much more user-friendly because you can basically dump out power if it overwhelms you. Fixed bridle kites like blades can be a handful if you're flying downwind and there is sudden gust of wind. It will pull you right off the board. just a thought.

Thanks for the advice so far!

Cloudy,

Are depowerable foils harder/easier to learn/use initially? Can you recommend one good for a beginner?

Anyone have thoughts on using my climbing harness rather than a kite specific one?

Depowerable foils are not really harder to learn, they are just a little bit different. Along with the normal control you get from a bar on a fixed bridled kite, you now have another control of sliding the bar up and down on the center line to increase/decrease power. You do have to have a harness to properly use the depower control on the depowerable foils.

Harness:
Your climbing harness SHOULD work ok. It all depends on the harness itself and what the strength is. Your hook may also need to be modified to work with your kite safety release system and such....or it may work just fine. It is kind of hard to say without seeing the setup first. You will probably move into a kite-specific harness later down the road.

Bar vs. Handles:
This is a tough debate and has been thrashed over quite a few times on the forum here. Depowerable kites MUST use a bar to work properly. So that is the only real option you have with those. Fixed bridle kites such as the Beamer you mentioned and most other open cell ram-air foils can be used with a bar or handles. Handles give you the most control of the kite as you can work each side of the wing independently of the other. A bar will be easier for boarding as you can hook in easier and fly one-handed which leaves your other hand free to manipulate the board or get extra twisting of your torso while riding. Again this last point is argumentative and the same can be done with handles with an experienced pilot. I use handles with my mountainboard unless I rig up one of my Frenzy's, then its obviously the bar. I prefer the Frenzy on the board but prefer the fixed bridle kites on the buggy.

The Beamer 3.6 is a very good kite and will work great for you as a first kite. Learn to fly the kite first on handles and then switch to a bar later. You will get the best flying knowledge that way.

Hope this helps.

Sorry to jump in like this, but I seriously question anyone who recommends a depowerable kite to someone who doesn't already know how/what a harness and strop are.

I always recommend people start with a 3-4m fixed bridal foil, easier to learn, easier to dump the kite if it goes pear shaped, you should also be using Kite Killers for sure during the learning phase. If you buy a decent 3m kite you can always use it for your nuking wind kite later.

For those who don't understand what I'm going on about, average foil involves you holding onto the handles, kite killers(kk) are attached to your wrists, if you get into trouble, all you have to do is let go of the handles and the kite's powered down, the KS-P-A-M-L-I-N-K-s will pull the brakes for you and keep your kite from getting into anything on it's own. You can fly on a bar with a fixed power kite without harnessing in as well, it'll be similar to flying on handles as described above.

The problem with Depowerable kites is that you have to harness in to use the depower feature, this involves you physically hooking the kite up to your body with a harness, While there is a safety release on the connection, you have to pull the release to dump the kite, so if you're getting dragged face first across the park, rocks, trees the kite will stay powered up and dragging you until you manage to get your hands to the release, If you're getting dragged on your stomach this may be hard to do. I simply don't understand how this can be good advice for someone just getting started.

Best bet, get a decent beginner kite in the 3-4m range, you'll be beating on your first kite anyways during the learning curve, learn the wind, learn the window and the kite controls. Then if you like, get a nice big depowerable kite for your second, keep the lil fixed bridal for either nuking wind or your buddies who will want to try a kite out. Worst case, learn on the little kite and sell it off when you're done with it, resale isn't that bad if you get a decent kite, usually you'll only lose $100 max on the deal.

I'll put my 2 cents in here.Both windofchange and Pablo can be right.It depend on how You are looking on it.Generaly You can fly any kite with landboard and even wings.As You are new to kiting You should consider getting small kite to learn flying and all rules,but You also can get smaler depower as first kite to began with and in my opinion it will be easyer for You to learn that way later on board.Ether way is fine if You will start slow and here everybody should agree start flying in low winds(below 10mph) and as You progress move to higher winds.Make sure You master kite first and don't try to take shortcut and fly kite with any moving object on first week.It's simply danger and stupid.Learn how to fly in place that is safe for You and other people like on the beach.For a landboard You will need at least 2 kites to cover all winds condition anyway, so start with something in 7m range an later get 12m.Make sure You stay on the safe site and wear at least helmet and knee pads.On the end it is always good to take lessons or ask someone that know how to ride.

Thanks everyone for the advice. I have had the opportunity to practice with a 2.5m 2 line kite (kite only-no board).

Even standing still I can see how you can quickly find yourself in trouble when the kite hits it's powerband unexpectedly.

So it seems that the kite and board will be ok for me to begin on, but I'm going to do a little more research this weekend before ordering. Safety gear is not a problem as I have piles of it from the various other things I do (mountain biking, climbing, inline skating). Hopefully my surfing skills will translate somewhat (balance and such) when I finally hop on a board!

If anyone has any specific board or kite recommendations, I welcome them.

tweak...stick with your orginal thoughts for kite size. The beamer series is a great entry level kite to start to learn to kite. Even when you have progressed to something larger or depowerable, there will be days that you'll want to go back to the 3m for using on high wind days, just to tool around with, or let a friend fly that doesn't fly often. So don't think that this purchase is going to be a waste of money after a few months. You'll more then likely end up keeping it.

IMHO, I would also have to suggest that the strop or idea of being hooked in, be something that comes later on when you get more comfortable and know how to react quickly to get released from being strapped in to the kite. If you're strapped in and new at flying then you're asking for a world of hurt (been there and done that). It's not worth it.
~Joe

Just get the Beamer 3.6m, it'll do you for a while, even when you progress you'll still have times you need it, or want a freind to try it.

I still remember getting launched head first out of the buggy, being 3-4 ft up and being able to let go of the handles and just worry bout myself, no hassles of having to cut a kite loose. If I was harnessed in it would have been a lot worst. That was with a 3.5m low lift kite.

Fixed power on handles without harnessing in is the way to go for the first while. When you find yourself able to either ride out of situations or fly the kite out of them without getting yanked around too bad then it's time to hook in.

I'm not that sure about landboards, but the Beamer 3.6m has been a great kite for a large number of people on here.

Thanks again everyone for the advice. I changed boards to the from the AK103 to a Scrub Deimos. So that board and a Beamer II 3.6m (w/handles) will be at my door Thursday!

Lucky for me I've got a 1/2 acre empty lot by my house for practicing kite control.