hey, im already thinking about getting a couple of new kites ( :O )

i was looking on ebay and found these 2 kites, only advertised as " 5m Naish & 7m Wipka " (pics below)

no other details about the model of the kites have been given.

however, they are at a good price, and are close to me, so i could collect them.

i have a couple of questions:

1- can anyone identify these kites more acuratly ?

2- these are C kites, i think these are the kites used for kite surfing, with the inflatable egde, and no cells, is this correct ?

3- if this was correct, is it possible to use these kites for recreatinal flying, and flying for a buggy ? i dont know enough on how these types of kites handles etc.

4- lastly, can thesse kites be used with handles, or do you have to have the bar + harness combo.

thanks for your time guys

tim.

Save your money. You don't want these old kites.

why is that ?

Cos they old and crappy. There's better second hand kit to be had :bigok:

I agree they are quite old and will have a very limited wind range. They are inflatables as you said, and have very little if any depower. they are also quite hard to relaunch if you crash them. I have only relaunched (or attempted to) an old Naish AR in the water. I tried on ice and there isn't enough friction to flip the kite. On grass or soil you would likely wreck the kite trying to relaunch as it will skid leading edge down quite a ways before you will be able to get it to flip over.
Lastly they fly on a bar or are supposed to. I don't know if you could fly them on handles without serious modifications. These kites stear off the rear lines and don't have brake lines like a foil. Personally I would'nt try I've heard of a few accidents hooking up kite lines backwards.
Just my 2 cents
John

if they inflate, that's IF. they want hold it long. some bladder materials turns to powder and are very fragile with time.
couple hundred $ for updates
about $100 bar and lines
and it sounds you need to do a ton of research to learn about handles/ bars /combo's/harnesses/power kiting/SAFETY

and a mountain of air to fly this things plus a gut check you want forget when they're lit up.

keep looking save your effort/$/and bones .

Buy the BladeIII 6.6 on here before I do :Ange09:

i guess these aren't for me then...

thanks for the good advice again guys

It seems like 05 was a big year for kites.

Pre 05 kites are not a good choice.

Quote:

Originally posted by Bladerunner It seems like 05 was a big year for kites. Pre 05 kites are not a good choice.

Careful, we don't want to offend anyone with generalizations. ;-)

But I've read the same thing. Personally I wouldn't buy an LEI earlier than an 2006 or maybe even a 2007. They just don't seem to hold up well and I wouldn't want to be out on the water with a kite that was on its last legs.

Anything with a 5th line would be fine. Stay away from old 4 line c-kites. Blade is correct. Around 05 most started using 5th line safetys which are much better. A few 04 also have this. As far as buying a new kite.... All depends on the kite and who used it. I had on 04 that was like brand new, and ive seen 08s that were beat to death. Buy local if you can, that way you can see it for yourself.

To answer your questions directly...

1) Not sure on the model but they are quite old.

2) They are indeed inflatable C-shape kites. You will need a pump and other accessories to fly them.

3) These are not recreational kites. They are very high aspect ratio surf kites designed mainly to get you airborne and will have tons of power to get a person out of the water and up onto a board. Flying them statically is not recommended and wind selection must be made very carefully. If you fly them outside of their suggested wind range then you will either not be able to get them in the air or you will be injured. It will take two people to launch these kites and they should never be flown alone - especially if you are not fully trained in the handling and use of these types of kites.

4) These kites CAN NOT be used properly with handles and SHOULD only be used with a proper depowerable control bar and safety systems. You will also need to use a compatible harness with these kites or you will not have the proper depower and control.

As mentioned above in the posts, you may be better off getting a bit more knowledge about the different kites before putting your hard earned money down on something that will not work for you and be a waste.

Hope this helps.

okay, thanks people.

ive decided not to go for these kites...