Beginner Questions

robin3794 · Sat May 17, 08 6:18 am **Beginner Questions**

Hey guys, I was wondering what would be a good set up for a beginner rider. I'm 14 and weigh around 115 pounds and I'm looking for a good board, kite, bar etc. for around 15-25 knots. Should I get new or used? Is there really that much change from year to year? Is there any boards or kites that are easier than others? What size of board should I use? The instructor at the kite school I went to said 136 but that seems a bit big for me? I dont really know. Anyway any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Robin

Spike · Since 13 May 2007 1414 Posts Alameda Spelling Expert

for a beginner a bow kite is perfect, and any 2007 kite or newer has all the right safety features as well as a durable design used 2007 bow kites are the way to go if you're on a budget, maybe even some 2006's but you have to be a little bit more careful as they are obviously 2 years old already and can have significant wear depending on frequency of use. Some people are even selling their 2008 kites already too, picking up one of those for cheap would be pretty sweet (if you can). For 115 lbs i think a 9m should work, though you might want a few more opinions on that as I weight 155 and don't really know what the ideal kite size would be.

robin3794 · Sat May 17, 08 8:13 am

would that 9 meter north rhino be a good choice? board?

Moto · Since 03 Sep 2006 2698 Posts Still a gojo pimp! Moto Mouth

Robin - the size of your kite is going to be largely dependent on where you want to kite. Where abouts will you be kiting?

Are you going to be kiting in the central gorge where the winds are pretty strong? Roosevelt where there are nuking winds? Or somewhere else. There are a lot of places to kite in the state and all have different conditions. If you want to kite in the central gorge you'll want to get a fairly small kite or if you are planning on spending a lot of time at places like Sauvie Island then you'll want a larger kite.

robin3794 · Sat May 17, 08 8:37 am

I'm actually up in the Puget Sounds, the San Juan islands to be excat and the wind can get pretty strong but most of the time around 12-17 and sometimes up to around 25 so yeah. do you guys have any recommendations for boards? thanks, r

Spike · Since 13 May 2007 1414 Posts Alameda Spelling Expert

boards are really hard to recommend. Every board will ride. Most every new board has a quite a big of flex, its like a good suspension when cruising over choppy water, and it lets you jump a lot better (more "pop"). any board in the 128-135 is what I would recommend, make sure it has a sharp edge, and not a rounded one (beginner boards are often very rigid and often have this rounded edge, this makes it pretty difficult to make good upwind progress. Don't get suckered into buying a beginner board, you'll outgrow it in a about 10 sessions. Definitely buy a used board, saves you loads of money and are usually just as good as new boards; a few scratches arent going to ruin the board like a few small tears can destroy a kite. Plus, you'll get scratches on your board right off the bat anyways, might as well let somebody else take the off-the-lot depreciation Very Happy

. Don't try wakeboards either, waay too much rocker that creates a ton of drag, and they usually only have one fin in the center as opposed to a twin-tip kiteboard.

I don't want to get too much into which brand of kite since this forum avoids that kind of talk cause it always results in "my stuff is better" kind of talk. The truth is any 2007 kite is going to fly and pull you across the water. I would recommend getting a 4-line kite, since the fifth line can have some issues with bow-tying (when the kite inverts and the fifth line gets wrapped around the canopy, possibly causing it to rip in half)

Oh, and you might want settle on the fact that you will be getting two kites, one for the 12-17 wind, and the other for the 25.

for bow kites, sounds like that would work out to about a 12m & 7m for your weight

Moto · Since 03 Sep 2006 2698 Posts Still a gojo pimp! Moto Mouth

I pretty much agree with Spike. A 7 and a 12 meter kite would work out well for you. I also agree with Spike about the boards.

Regarding the year of the kites. Yeah, pretty much any 07 bow kite is going to work for you. As far as the fifth line goes . . . hhmmmm, I used them for a couple of years - never had any issues with the fifth line inverting - thats not to say that it doesn't happen. It does happen, but I just don't know how often it happens. If you find a couple of kites that you like and they happen to have five lines I would go for them.

Check out the used kites at www.realkiteboarding.com they have some pretty sweet deals.