what do you think is better for my girlfriend shes newer to kitting than me and cant handle my beamer 3.0. its just to much pull for her. what do you guys think? and what size? i was thinking the symphony 2.2 beach

Not to throw a monkey wrench into your plans, but have you considered a 2-meter Beamer? It may not sound like much of a difference, but you might be surprised. Depending on her weight, you might want to go for the 1.4-meter Beamer.

The reason I suggest these two kites for you is simple. The Symphony is a 2-line kite. If she is actually serious about learning how to fly a power kite, you will want to stick with a 4-line kite. Much easier to grow accustomed to flying a power kite if you learn on it. :D

edit: I have never flown the prism kites, so I cannot say anything about them. I do like those beamers though. :D

she was actually leaning towards a line kite but ill look in to the other size beamers

I was going to suggest the smaller Beamers, too. Had the 16-year old niece and her friend out the other day with a Sting 1.7 in moderate winds and they had a blast without mussing up their hair and makeup.

I have several snapshots and really enjoy flying them. No complaints. Depending on what your girl wants and how much you're willing to spend I'd keep it as an option. My wife won't touch my beamer 3m but she loves flying my snapshots.

I'd recommend a small 4 liner also. For the simply fact of safety. You can not use kite killers on a dual line kite. Plus simple launch and land with a quad line.

If your lady wants to kite my advise is get her any kite she wants ... you are a lucky SOB!

I've flown the snapshots and the symphonies, I've had the 1.4 snapshot and the 1.8, 2.2, and 2.7 symphonies. I don't know the beach series tho.

any of them would be doable -- was she really looking at a single line kite???? If it's between a single line and the 2-lines, then the 1.8 snapshot or the 2.2 symphony would keep her happy. But there's a limit to what you can do with 2 line kites, the suggestions above to check out / convince her to try a small 4-line kite are good. The thing to think of is progression, you can go a lot further with skills on 4-lines, not too far with 2-lines.

Sting 1.7 is a good kite for small 4-lines, also the beamers, but I've only flown the sting.

and finally, a good small 4-line will hold its value better for resale than a 2-line.

In any case, it is cool that GF is into kiting in any way! not all of us are so lucky!

ardrouin, I have just gone thru the same exact exercise with my GF. We are both newbies to 4 liners but have some experience on the 2 line recreational kites. I assumed (incorrectly) that she'd want to stay with a 2 line kite so I ordered a 2m Symphony Speed for her and a 3m Beamer for me. We sat down in front of the computer and I reviewed the options and kites shown on http://www.coastalwindsports.com
and I explained 4 line vs 2 line, and foils, size, etc. before I could finish explaining why I got her the Symphony, she told me she also wanted a 4 line kite. She thought it was safer because of the kite killers. Well we got a 2.4m Flexifoil Sting II for her. I wound up with a 4m Beamer IV. I spoke several times with Angus at Coastal Wind Sports and with his guidance we determined that she could handle the 2.4m but there is a 1,7m if you desire a smaller kite. Seems like the Sting II is a quality kite that is not agressive and a forgiving kite in gusts so we went with that. It just depends how much of a workout your sig other wants... and her size, and the wind you'll fly in etc. My gal is 135 lbs and she's fit and athletic... she wants a workout, hence the 2.4m. We ordered the kites on Tuesday... they'll be here by the weekend. I'd recommend you call Angus at Coastal Wind Sports. He is happy to spend time to discuss and explain; a very nice guy with alot of knowledge and experience... it really helped me make my decision

those are good choices for first kites, good for later as well when you have skills, it's great to have stable small kites in high winds... the small race kites are widowmakers when flown static powered, these will be excellent kites in the quiver for the long run!

the 2.4 would come with workout factor, the 1.7, well, not really. yes in nuking winds, definitely, but you don't want to fly stuff like that your first few times out, it can be a bit aggressive and frustrating. Doing the widowmaker thing is not for everybody...

sorry about the ramble, just adding support for the build quiver with 2 good kites idea instead of the 2-line and the good kite idea.

there's a bit more of an additional learning curve with the brakes on 4-lines, but that's a good trade-off even in the short term for the way the kites can be relaunched vs. 2-lines.

Hi Ardrouin,

Just a quick note to let you know the standard HQ Symphonys (vs. the Symphony Beach) may be a better comparison to the Snapshot. The Beaches are an economical foil that fly well and include braided polyester flying line. The standard Symphonys were redesigned in '09 to be even better. They include the following:

1) High performance, low stretch Dynema lines, winder and straps.
2) Sewn Dynema bridles (instead of knotted and tied) for strength and aerodynamic efficiency.
3) New profile (shape) and bridle design that allows for amazingly easy relaunching.
4) Super smooth flying and performance.

Good winds,

Chris