New Kiteboarder... Need Sage Advice!!!

[mattrau]

Hello friends of Lakawa,

I am a windsurfer who is trying to make the transition to kiteboarding. With all of the options for kites, lines, and boards, I am a little confused as to what a good starter quiver of kites would look like. Could anyone help me out with some suggestions as to what I should begin to purchase? I am taking lessons from Lakawa this winter as well.

Matt

[steveb]

The guys at Lakawa would help you with advise.
A lot of it is how big are you, weight, etc. Do you want to snow kite only or snow and water. Do you have an aggresive personality or milder.
Are you young or old like the rest of us.etc. it helps target kite type and size etc for MN winds if we know a little more about you..

[mattrau]

I am about 190 pounds, 5'10", 23 years old. I am wanting to kite in both the winter and summer, with the focus on the summer. I would hope to someday have an aggressive attack on kiting. Now what do you think for gear?

[Tighe]

When you see kiting, what aspect of it appeals to you most? Different kites have different characteristics and knowing what you want to do with yours will help pinpoint a kite choice.

and there is not just one option. Lots of great gear out there.

[mattrau]

It may sound cliche, but the jumping really looks awesome. I like the idea of going up strong and landing softly. I dont want to sacrifice kite quality for cost, second, how many kites should I expect to be purchasing? Once again, thanks for your help on this guys!

[tom_latcham]

I can't claim to be a sage since I changed to kiting in march 2007 after 20 years windsurfing. For me I found that the low end grunt and huge depower make bow kites the right 1st kite for this area of the country. We have gusty winds with allot of low end marginal days. My 14 square meter kite gets the most use. I like to fly the 9 meter but it does not get windy enough very often. With your size and weight a big kite 14-16meter would get the most use. As you gain experiance you would want to get a kite around 9 meter and the two would cover 90% of the wind conditions. If you wanted to only have one kite I would go around 12 meter.
Since you want to do water and snow go LEI (leading edge inflatable) instead of foil. Now you need to choose type C kite, SLE, or Bow. I am thankful I did not have to learn on C kites. They are great in steady wind or in the hands of an expert. But to learn in our gusty conditions could be punishing.
Bow kites have the biggest wind range. So you need less kite sizes to cover various wind conditions. SLE Kites try to have the performance of a C kite with some of the depower of a bow kite. The things I don't like about bow kites is the bar pressure is a bit higher. This can be a problem when you ride several days in a row. Also they don't pull as well through turns. I think if I lived near the coast where I had steady trade winds. I would have a full quiver of SLE kites. For our conditions I like Bows. Others riders will hate them because they are used to C kites or SLEs.
I found it was much easier to learn to kite on a frozen lake. If you are a skiier do it with skiis. If you are a better snow boarder do it on a snow board. If you are good at both skiis are easier. This is because you can skate around to tension lines and relaunch kite. You have to hop around on a snow board. I learned on skiis on the snow and thought it was so easy. However the spring arrived and I found the water was allot more difficult. But more fun when you get it.
I hope some more experianced riders can chime in and give you some better advice. If you liked wind surfing you will love kiting. I fly slingshot T2s with T3 bars. 17,14,9 and 7 meter. I am pleased with their performance and durability. Many other kite companies also have fine kites. I would suggest purchasing a used kite for your 1st kite since you will crash it allot learning. Try not to go older than 2006. They get better every year. Can't go wrong on LAKAWA classified. You can see the kite, talk to the owner about rigging tips and sometimes try before you buy.
Good Luck, Get good instruction
Tom

[Tighe]

Not sure I could have said it better Tom.

[mattrau]

Cannot thank you guys enough!!!! See you out there!!!

[MK]

Yeah, very well stated Tom, what got into you? LOL

You may be noticing there is some specific info probably not unlike wind surfing. There will be a lot of skills you will bring to your learning of this sport but it is a different breed. I never got into windsurfing but I have seen the interest. I truly don't wish to convert people becuase that is an awesome sport. I think I just saw a 10 year old giving it a go on his windsurfing rig at the race in Milly this summer in 25+ mph wind.

Thanks for the plug back to the school Steve. To that note we would be happy to provide the gear and knowledge to get you going. We try to avoid pitching our professional services in this forum so click the school link for more details. I would enjoy getting you up to speed in a safe and effective way.

[JimPat]

dear Sage,
You can start out with a two kite quiver (covering light and medium winds) and won't need that third kite for big wind days till your riding comfortably. My advice is 14m and 11m(later on you will want that 8m).
Lots of great kite brands out there. I would focus on doing alot of winter kiting as its much easier than learning how to ride on the water. If you can become proficient at flying the kite this winter you save yourself alot of frustration this summer. I agree with Tom, the bowe kites are more freindly for learning as opposed to a c-kite. The newer kites are better for safety and have better flying technology(easier relaunch and control). Enjoy!
Jim

[Tighe]

Once you've taken instruction and are comfortably riding, I'd highly suggest hooking up with one or more of the Advisors Listed in the Knowledge section. Each represent their brand and will help you understand the products in their brand.

I'd be more than willing to meet up with you and let you try out the different kites in the Slingshot lineup. I'm pretty sure most of the other Advisors offer the same with their brand.

You're taking the right approach to the sport; asking a lot of thoughtful questions and getting instruction. You'll be riding in no time.

Look forward to meeting you.

[jerlane]

I made the switch last winter, meaning I've started kiting. I still primarily windsurf in the summer since it's much more convenient for me living in the city.

I started out with a 9m and it was a good size to get the hang of flying. I then got a 14m and it seems to be a good two kite quiver for me at about 165lbs. I have T3's and love them, not that I have anything to compare them to. They seem to be very user friendly. Larry hooked me up at The Scuba Center.

I'd second what Tom said above as far as skis vs board goes, but if you are a skier I would go that way first for sure. I have been snowboarding for over 20 years, but have found it easier to learn with skis. With two edges you can focus more on the kite and less on what your feet are doing. I caught my toe edge more than once on my board and it made for some pretty hard crash landings. Think about a helmet and elbow pads at the least.

Good luck! Everyone around here is great and always seems eager to help. Don't be afraid to ask when you're out there.

[monkey1031]

It's Minnesota.
If there were 5 feet of powder, snowboards would be the most super awesomest.

There isn't 5 feet of powder.... so, snowboards aren't the super awesomest.

'nuff.


-smd7

p.s. just my two-cents.

[BBAddict]

I won't claim to be offering Sage advice, just my experiences.

I'm 6'1" and weigh about 165-170. I started with a 12m and a 7.5m and ending up getting a 17m light wind kite that I haven't used a lot just because I don't go out often if the wind is that light. It was a good combo to get me started but I ended up upsizing and spent last summer on a 13m and a 9m Ozone Sport. That seems to be a perfect combo for me. Good range and good overlap between the kites. By using two different boards, I can ride from 10 or so up to 25+ on the 13m and from 18 - 40 on the 9m. That'll cover most days, but I've hung on to the 7.5m for the windiest days. A two kite quiver works great for me. I've only flown hybrid kites (with the exception of my Contra light wind kite) and don't have the desire to go to a bow kite. I've found that I have more than enough depower, don't have any issues with absorbing gusts and love the bar pressure with my kites. I have never had sore arms or forearms from bar pressure--in fact some people think it's too light.

So much is personal preference, but keep in mind that you don't see many pros or advanced riders riding bow kites. Another observation is that a lot of companies are discontinuing bow kites and are making more hybrid kites and c-kites and models in between a hybrid and a c-kite. Looks like that is where the industry is heading since they've figured out how to get more c-kite performance with a lot more depower.

Have fun learning and hope to see you out there this winter. There are events to go to where you can try product (Snowkite Jam in Green Bay on Jan. 2; Sturgeon Stampede in Fond Du Lac on Feb. 13, 14; Mille crossing in March) and local riders who have demo kites, so give a couple kites a try and find something you'll love.

Seth

[Elkman]

I'm fairly new to kiteboarding, having started back in the spring, so I'll give you some of my hints.

First of all, I don't think anyone has given you advice on boards for the water yet. I can't call myself an expert on boards, but I found that I've had an easier time learning on the larger boards. When you're first starting on the water, your instructor will probably put you on a big board. That will help with being able to get up and plane more easily. Even after that, though, being able to practice with a big board will help. I was down on South Padre Island last month, and I took a lesson using a large board. I rented a big Spleene Door board for the last two days of the trip, and it really helped me dial things in. Not only was the Door big enough to plane up, but the big fins on it helped it track nicely through the water. I was so happy with the board that I was ready to keep it without returning it to the shop, but I decided to buy a new board from them. I got a good deal on the board, with a day's rental credited toward the purchase.

As far as kites go, I bought a used 9 meter Slingshot Diesel, which is a C kite. As a newbie, I found that the C kite was hard to relaunch in the water -- it takes a lot of work and finagling to get it into position. I don't know if the newer C kites are easier to relaunch if you crash into the water, but that was enough to motivate me to get an 11 meter Slingshot T3, a bow kite. That's been my workhorse kite for most of the season. I also bought a Cabrinha Crossbow 16 meter kite, used, from Tom Latcham. (Thanks, Tom.) The Crossbow is another bow kite, and as others have suggested, it's user-friendly for a beginner like me. Between the Crossbow and the Spleene Door, I made a lot of progress in South Padre Island last month.

One final tip: Don't expect to learn everything in just a few sessions. It took me longer than I expected to get everything dialed in, but once I was able to put everything together, I was having a hell of a lot of fun on that trip.