Seeking Advice: kite for my 11 and 9 year old daughters

[skattum]

Hoping someone can lend me some advice. I have a 11 yr old daughter (about 90 lbs and 5ft tall) that's keen on learning how to kite. I've been kiting for 10 yrs, and am excited that my daughter is showing a lot of interest. She is a ski/snowboarder as well, and does quite well on the ski slopes. I've done some research and am considering purchasing one of the following kites for her training / snowkiting. Note that she has flown my 2-line, 1m trainer multiple times ... she's ready to give snow kiting a roll this winter.

Options considering:
1. HQ Rush IV 3 line 300 or 350 (2.8m / 3.5 m actual)
2. HQ Scout II 3.0 or 4.0 meter

Also open to other options / advice for those that have experience training youth. From what I've read, getting a 3-line trainer is a good option, but I want something that has enough power to pull on the snow with easy re-launch and SAFETY. But I also don't want her to feel over-powered / unsafe in say a 13 mph wind. Appreciate any advice / experience the group can lend.

Thanks
Matt Skattum

[pearcele]

Hi Matt,

My kids are the same age as yours.
We have been using an HQ Hydra - its the 3M version, and it had no problems hauling them around the frozen lakes last year.
We outfitted the control bar with a quick release and leash.

It is also a bit slower, and so is easier for them to react to - the inflatables in the small sizes just seem to be way to quick for kids to handle.

My kids also seem to prefer using skis (at least for kiting), as they seem to be a bit more nimble/agile when it comes to keeping things under control.

Hope this helps!

LEO

[Bill S.]

I have a 13 year-old daughter. For what it's worth, here's the path I've taken:

She started flying a 3m trainer on the beach this year. She has been alpine ski racing since she could walk and is fully dialed, a decent wake boarder and small boat sailor, and a strong swimmer.

I've told that if and when she wants to try connecting the kite to her skis in the winter, or the kite to a board in the summer, her related skills will help her. She's not ready yet, but we'll see. . . .

Good luck and have fun!

[BSMITH]

We all need to get together. After skiing the plunge at Lutsen over and over last year my 12 year old is getting bored with MN skiing. My kid has used a B3/B2 since he was 5. I bought him a 5M Naish Cult last year but it will not launch in light winds. Someone needs to make a small tube kite that will launch in light winds! There are kids skis, snowboards, windsurfing gear, but no kids kites.

BRING ON THE SNOW!

[BSMITH]

Bill. Your daughter rips on skis! she is ready!

[speedsailor93]

My kids are 15, 14 & 10 now and I taught them on Slingshot B3's & B4's with 3rd line relaunch, starting a couple of years ago and that worked out really well. Have now switched them over to Ozone Access foils which are 4 line bars, have good safety systems and a nice depower range. The Ozones are certainly more expensive but I find it really nice that they have very similar safety systems to regular inflatable kites hence they are learning ready to take the next step of switching over from snow to water. I picked the 4m & 6m Access kites as they are slower than the Ozone Frenzy & Manta kites and generate less lift. Wanted the kids to stay on the ground while learning and these smaller sizes fly fast enough anyway to be fun with less risk of getting into trouble until better kite skills are developed with experience.

Hopefully we get decent snow this year!

[henjj]

I work at a summer camp down in Iowa and we teach kids how to fly trainers. We have B2s and B3s. The 3rd line is nice for re-launching, but if the wind is blowing really hard then the 3 line pulls the kite further down into the window giving the person flying it quite a workout.

[skattum]

Thank you all for sharing your experiences regarding selecting the right equipment for teaching our young and coming generation of kiters! After reading all the ideas in the post, I'm now leaning toward the Hydra - Leo your post was really informative and it seems to be a good kite for various venues (land, water, snow, etc). Leaning towards the 3 m as well (vs. the 3.5). Thanks much, will keep you posted on how the training goes this winter ... c'mon snow!