Hey guys I've got a newbie question here:

I'm looking at getting an Ace 5m straight from their site. (it's really not too bad! $179!) It comes with handles but What I'm really wanting this for is to get into landboarding and I'm wanting a kite to be able to use a depower control bar with, am I going the wrong direction? thanks!

The ace is a fixed bridle kite and would need to be re- worked to run as a depower.

I had a " crossover " bar on my ace. I liked it in higher winds but the extra weight added just enough brake to be a pain in the lower end.

( search crossover bar on here )

5m ace is a LOT of kite to start out on !!! NOT what I would suggest.

Snowbird is right about crossover bar and the start on Ace kites.
I have a crossover on 7m Ace and it was crazy slow at turning, turns nice with handles.

The 7m Ace kicked my but a couple of times enough to scare my and as someone else said on this forum "fear is your friend".
Up 3-4' in the air and landed hard. Could not laugh or cough for a couple of weeks - I think it was a cracked rib

Start with a 3m Legend or Blaze from Pansh (cheap) and later on will be your hihg wind kite.

Safety first so you can enjoy another day of flying.

Alright haha Thanks for the advice. Yeah, i kinda am a bit extreme when it comes to new things I don't want to start out and spend my money on something I won't use after I get better. I have done a lot of other sports so i'm not really an average "beginner" . I have mtnboard'd skateboard'd(lots), i own a revolution 4 string stunt kite and have flown it a good amount, and so I tend to aim high :P. But yeah, definitely safety first

Make sure you know the difference between stanadard control bar on a fixed bridle kite and true de-power.

Standard control bar, fixed bridle: Bar is used for turning and will apply a little brake in the direction of the turn. You give up the finesse allowed with handles but free up a hand when needed. Harness is optional. No de-power... kite is always powered up. Simpler, less expensive.

De-power: Harness is required. Kite is rigged with a moveable bridle that allows you to change the angle of attack of the entire kite, thus controlling power output. Bar is used for both turning and power control/ de-power. More expensive but the kite arguably takes the place of two fixed bidle kites.

Pansh sells a de-power kite without bar and lines. More than one customer has come to me wanting to buy a simple control bar, only to find out that a proper de-power bar and line set costs more than what they paid for the Pansh. Then comes the harness. The kites come with no instructions or guidance.

dang man, that's quite interesting thanks for the info there. So what do you suggest then? a standard fixed?

Standard Control Bar about 50cm should work well for your fixed bridle Ace. Pretty much a straight swap with the handles. Mains/ Front lines go to the ends of the bar. Brakes go to the leads in the center that run through a little pulley. That's what provides the brake input in a turn. The cross-over setup that Snowbird refers to amplifies the brake input due to the mechanical advantage provided by the pullies.

You are really skipping a few classes to go straight to a depower kite or a 5m of any sort. You really don't want a lifty kite to learn on either. It is very comforting to be able to pull the kite straight up over your head when things get hairy. With that Ace, you won't have anywhere to hide if the wind gets up. It will pull everywhere, especially right in the center of the window after it luffs and then reinflates. I had an awesome time learning on my Beamer III. I'm getting money together right now for a Flexifoil Blade 6.5m after having the Beamer only 10 months. Wasted money on the Beamer you say? It isn't for sale. I had a blast flying it as recently as this past Sunday when the wind was really high. Skipping steps in the learning curve will cause crashes in all sorts of ways. If you start with an appropriate kite you'll always go back to it from time to time, but if you skip it you could get frustrated or worse yet hurt and then it WAS all for nothing.
To fly that Ace on a board you need to be able to know what the kite is going to do before it does it.

alright yeah, i don't want to get hurt 8-P . I guess that was my only concern was not having as much fun as if i had a larger kite with lift :P So I guess I'm now looking at 3m kites, an HQ beamer or a blaze.

The reality is that no single kite can do it ALL. With fixed bridles usually 3 are required. Low, med and high wind kites. Say..... 3, 6, and 9 m depending on your size and the type of kite. I think of mine I use 3, 5 and 9 the most.

Some Bows claim to be a one kite set-up but you will still be lacking a bit at one end or the other.

Better to accept the fact you will need more than one kite and start saving. If you get a descent 3m kite it should resell no problem. No one sells their 3 because it is such a handy , go to and teach folks type kite !

You will have WAY more fun than you can imagine on a 3m kite. The consiquenses will be less if you make a mistake but it will still scare the :moon: off you !

ahhahaha SWEET! That's what I"M talkin about!