Hi there

new to it all the forum and hopefully in the very near future the sport.

Basically I'm looking at getting into kite surfing am around 75 kgs, and have been thinking about getting a trainer kite but was wondering if there is a small 4 string kite that i could use for training and then later also add to a quiver to use boarding also?

If not which trainer kites have a good reputation and which to steer clear from?

Thanks any help is very much appreciated

Cheers Eddy

The HQ hydra is a great trainer kite that can actually be used in the water. Most other trainers will be a open cell design and they can not be used in the water.

Yup, get a Hyrdra - learn to fly it, relaunch it and control it .... then get some lessons on the big kites from a qualified instructor.

awesome thanks very much guys

They hydra IMO is a waste. Just get a standard foil kite on a bar to learn on. Your not going to get much out if the hydra on water. Its really to small for body dragging, unless its nuking out and you probably dont want to be flying it then anyway.
Most likely you will be flying a LEI kite for water use ( if you get lessons you will be on an LEI) and the relaunch is totally different on an LEI.
All you want for right now is something you can learn control on. Any 3M kite on a bar will do.

Don't worry about snobdr; he is always contrary. True, any 3m kite on a bar will do, but the Hydra is far from a waste. If that were true, they would not have sold beyond HQ's expectations, causing difficulty at times keeping them in stock.

Our local instructor loves it for use in his school and other locals enjoy flying the Hydra in the surf. Sure it won't body drag very strongly and it launches differently, but it is nonetheless instructive in many elements.

Most importantly as mentioned, if taking to the water, get instruction from a qualified and certified instructor and they will be able to advise you on all aspects of the sport. They will have gear for you to use during lessons, including the trainer of their choice.

Another thing that I love about the Hydra is that you can take it in the water and learn not only how to body drag but also learn how to work on water relaunching. Although it is somewhat the norm to be taking a lesson on an LEI, many schools are now starting to teach on other closed cell foils such as the Flysurfers, Peter Lynn's and the HQ Neo's (Hydra's big brother) so learning to fly with the Hydra is far from a waste and in many cases a huge benefit because it reacts very similar to the larger Neo without the safety concerns that come along with trying to learn on a full sized water kite.

If you use the Hydra for what it is designed for (a water relaunchable trainer) then you will get tons more benefit from it than you would a normal fixed bridled open cell foil kite. Plus it is sized big enough to have some serious fun with it.

I still recommend the Hydra over open cell foils and other trainers for people looking to get into kite surfing. It will teach you a ton, be fun to fly and save you lots when you do finally take lessons.

The most popular kite schools all teach with LEI kites. Most everyone here are die hard foil guys, and most are land dwellers. Dont take my word for it, goto your local kite shop/school and they will hook you up with what you need.

Quote:

Sure it won't body drag very strongly and it launches differently, but it is nonetheless instructive in many elements.

So it wont do anything you want a water kite for. Id does what any trainer does, teaches you to fly the kite.

We have the Hydra 350 which has become my girlfriends favorite kite. Yes the body drags on the water are fun. I was getting some cross / up wind on it one day then the last time there was pretty strong wind and couldn't do the same. I guess it was just no skills in that area yet. Had to tie off to the boat so someone could pull you back.

Even with the kite down on the water, swimming back to the boat was impossible while trying to pull it along. Next time I'll just have the boat follow. All things are different on the coast and I'm sure you could learn alot from it.

I don't see an advantage of static flying a Hydra on land. Your not going to learn much as it's basicly a two line on a bar. The third helps relaunch and land but in the air there's not much you can do but figure eights. Still it's her goto kite as it will fly once inflated, always.

I have some vids in the water I'll try and share later. You'll see it can pull pretty good.

The whole idea of body dragging is being able to get upwind, back to your board if youve fallen. A small kite will barely pull you through the water, downwind. Thats not learning anything.

The idea of a tainer kite is to learn kite skills thats it, Trainers are generally low aspect kites. Low aspect kites have good low end, alot of grunt, which is great for pulling you downwind and not so great for trying to move upwind.

Get a good trainer kite, You said you want something you could also ATB with so just go for an open foil, The hydra isnt really going to do anything for you. Unless your dead set on playing with it in the water.

When you go for lessons, they will put you on an LEI made for body dragging/riding, well unless your at a kiteboarding school in Nevada.
Then you will learn how to rig/setup, once in the water you will learn saftey, I.E. using your safety systems and relaunching, then you will do body dragging, the correct way. with a kite that will get u back up wind.

In general a 3M will always have a use in landkiting. As for on water...... the only person i ever saw ride a 3M was Dimitri Maramenides son Cameron, heres a vid for those that dont know who he is.

Yeah thanks guys

I ended up buying a HQ Hydra 350 should be near mid next week after being back ordered due to it been out of stock, obviously a good sign.
Should be enough to learn some kite skills and then hand on to mates to use for learning as well...
Where abouts is every one from? any canadian out there?
I'm based in Manitoba.

I hate that little kid

Hey man

Good choice and good luck.
I'm in Ontario.

John

Hi Guys

next question i have is regarding harnesses - i was wanting to buy 1 online as there is very little for sale in MB Canada, sizes small medium large etc... do the suppliers have a waist size, i wear 30 - 32" board shorts what other measurements do you req.

Thanks Stu

ok sorry stupid question - supplier has it right next to the sizes!!!! LOL

Sorry Stu

I don't know about the Hydra but I spent a LOT of time with my 3m JoJo kiteboard trainer on the water. I was able to body drag upwind on windy days. It taught me to get my body / arm / hand position right . Even body dragging downwind was a great learning experience + a TON of fun.

The safest place to learn kite skills is in the shallows. Water relaunch opens that up to you.

Many water kites reverse launch. While it isn't identical , relaunching a Hydra off the water has to be of some value ?

I KNOW that I would have been happy to pay a little extra for a closed cell trainer if one had been available.

Of course you are buying a trainer kite. That is what it is. It isn't exactly designed to body drag upwind or to be used with a surf / skim board. One has to expect you are smart enough to know all that. The fact you can use it to dabble at the other things is just a bonus that comes with the closed cells.

I think that the Hydra ROCKS . I hope it makes a lot more people less Foilaphobic .

That video rules. :frog:

Foils are just a pain in the water. Get a tangle and your done. Bowtie and your done. Let it lay on the water too long and your done. Theres no flotation there to help u self resque. Foils are great kites, dont get me wrong, but theres a reason why 99% of the kiteboarders ride LEI kites. And as far as i know none of the LEIs reverse launch.
Most here are foil guys, but its wrong to push foils for use on water when LEIs are the prefered choice, and are much better suited for the job at hand.
The safest place to learn kite skills is on land not in the water. Water just adds a whole new set of hazards. One should always learn on land untill they are confident with there skills to try the water.
The extra money spent for a closed foil kite would be much better used for harness, or lessons on a full on water kite, or a board or even a bigger kite.
The only us i get out of my 3m (airush 2 line on a bar) is teaching others. Besides that it sits on the bottom of the pile.

Harnesses are a tough one. A personal choice. There are a few styles. Seat , waist and vest.

If you can afford one, I have never heard of an unhappy Mystic waist harness customer.

I recently bought the waist/seat combo because I wasn't sure what I would like and now am converted to a seat harness. I haven't even tried it as a waist harness only.

I'm a 30' waist and the small is a tight fit. You would want a medium.

It can be a bit tricky hooking in a harness with a hydra. The safety line attached to your wrist hangs from the middle of the bar and half the time you'll hook the safety line.

I guess this isn't right if you have a better set up. But we only have a line as a strop and while hooking and unhooking in, the safety line hooks as well. Also thats just static flying. I think maybe if you get the right things needed, you hook in and leave it, then you should be ok.

I would like to know the correct way to do this.

Would attaching the safety to your harness work better ?

Again, my trainer was a 3 line JoJo . I don't recall this being an issue with that similar set up.

Would changing the wrist that you attach the kite to help ?

I was wanting to get a harness and take a lesson in the near future not wanting the harness for the hydra.
has any one tried the board shorts with the harness built in??? (DaKine Nitrous Harness)

have been getting good air with the hydra gets a bit scary some times but a good rush!!! biggest jump was about 2m high and travelled 15meters landing was a bit rough but good fun, No Pain no gain :D

and John from Ontario who do you buy your gear from struggling to find a good canadian supplier.

You can get gear from here in Edmonton from Horizon Kites. Vince is a great guy to deal with and gets all his stuff (mostly) through Canadian Windrider. Depending what your needs are Ripsession is a cool cat to deal with and again, no shipping or currency hassles since he's up here with us.

Hey

I buy my stuff from SilentSports near Toronto.
They are a real store (not a mail order place) and are pretty straight forward as well.
They have always shipped anything I bought the day I ordered it and I get it the next day.
Another thing thats nice is they all kiteboard so they can answer questions straight up.
Don't know if I can post the website adress or not but just add .com to the store name.

Hope that helps
John