anyone do kiteboarding? the wheel based type. fancy getting started. need to know some basics.
what size kite. two string or four. what kind of handle. what board. do i need to practice with a smaller kite? everything really. including whether or not that stuff at decathlon is worth buying. all help appreciated. thanks

Buy nothing.

Talk to a local club, seek out some basic tuition.

Power kites have the capacity to hurt you, a lot. Learn to control a kite first, then worry about wheels.

Come back in a couple of months and buy my buggy. (-:

I use a 4m kite, 4 line with a control bar and harness. Many happily use control handles without a harness but using a bar means I can take one or both hands off and more comfortably control the board and manoeuvre myself.
Get yourself a helmet of some sort, you will fall on your face at some point.

The decathlon stuff is a bit cheap and cheerful, best look at something like powerkiteshop.co.uk

buggy?i was thinking of the skateboard kind. what size kite should i learn control with? and all the four and
two string questions. i would be happy to start small and slow. i am an old man after all.

Learn how to handle a kite first, start with a trainer, then move onto a depowerable kite of some sort. Lots of advice available on kite forums. Things have moved on since I had my Frenzy and Blades.

Things can go wrong quickly and without warning so if you’re new to kiting, join a club or get lessons. You want to be competent with a kite prior to using the board as you’ll need to be able to recover the kite, avoid a spanking or ditch it if it goes wrong. You’ll also need to understand wind and how it changes around objects etc.

Where are you based?

I have a harness and a furnace creek scrub2 kiteboard that I need to shift if you’re interested.

I know it’s not popular but I would suggest taking at least one lesson before buying your kit.. You should get some good kit advice as well as taught how to kite safely.

Also, as cougar says learn to master the kite first. I wouldn’t advise against buying yourself a 3 or 4m 4 line kite though, learning the basics of flying isn’t difficult really but the power they generate is initially surprising, even in low winds.

(Grasp the wind window concept before anything else)

ow this is getting complex quickly!
ok what is a trainer? seems like i need to practice without a board to start. four lines are easier to ditch
so how about if i start with a four line which won’t drag or lift my husky 95g weight?what size is that 2.5 m^2? so that i can learn to master it. what does it mean to ‘master’ it?

It’s not complex at all really. I have this book http://www.powerkiteshop.com/accessories/bookflexifoilpowerkiting.htm
Which ill be happy to part with for a fiver. It tells you everything you need to know about firstly mastering kite flying and then going on to land boards and buggys.

I also have this DVD http://www.powerkiteshop.com/accessories/videodvdpowerkitinghowtoguide.htm which you can have for a tenner or both of the above for 13 quid.

There is a lot to learn but once you put it all into practice it clicks quite quickly. It’s not complicated but it can go wrong quickly if you don’t know the basics. Personally I would say get a 3m 4 line kite with control handles first and learn the basics with that. Most come as standard with kite killers so essentially if you get into to trouble you just let go of the handles and the kite will fall to the ground.

Go look at http://www.kitecrowd.com good bunch who will give you loads of info. Great sport (all varieties) just be aware it can hurt a lot if you get it wrong. I fractured two vertebrae in a buggy when I got lofted but I was being silly and it’s an amazing sport if you have the time and patience.

Kites are ace. As already said learn to fly one standing still first. I started with a 3m 4line ozone which was great. Would fly in some pretty light winds and would happily lift me off the ground in moderate to strong wind. Apart from the first kite I got, all my subsequent ones have been 2nd hand. Loads of people buy them to try it and don’t like it orhaven’t got space/time to learn. When starting to learn you need space. A deserted beach is ideal or an old disused airfield. You need to master the basics like the wind window and launching and basic hamdling such as figure of 8’s. getting the hang if reverse launching is a good one to know too. I started with an eye to moving on to boarding but to be honest I have enough fun static flying. And static flying with a big depowerable kite and a harness is hilarious once you have the hang of smaller 4 line kites.

It’s not complicated but it can go wrong quickly if you don’t know the basics.

Power kites can pull a bit.

IIRC, that was under something like a 2.5m^2 kite. Ok, it was a Blade, but still. You can come unstuck very quickly if you’re not careful. Even if you think you know what you’re doing; I once launched a 4.9 Blade III directly into power without thinking and landed horizontally about twenty yards away. That was the day I rethought my previously hardline stance against kite killers.

I use kite killers, which are basically wrist straps that attach to the brake line on a 4 line kite.

Then if the kite is wrenched from your grip the kite will just float to the ground rather than be taken hundreds of metres away.

I started with a HQ Beamer 3.6 with no problems.

I would also strongly recommend kite killers , as they have saved me countless times, also ensure you have a helmet even before a board…my first kite was a 6.5 m2 and it was defiantly a bit adventurous, I echo what has been said here around 4m2 is good, and will keep you going for a while as you will be able to go out in stronger winds rather that having to buy more kites.

I also agree that learning a kite first is the best was to go, then add either a buggy or a board. Buggies are very stable and less likely to have you eating dirt or sand. But Boards are great fun too, but can cause ankle pain if the board is facing one way and the wind is going to other way…

As it happens I have a couple of boards that I am looking to get rid of at the moment as the introduction of a baby cyclebiker has quashed many hobbies that require time and the possibility of time in A and E?? If your anywhere near Bristol I am more that happy to lend you one should you wish to try it.

Coincidentally, I’ve just found a “Revolution Kites Training DVD” when cleaning out a room. No idea if it’s any use, I don’t remember ever watching it. Yours if you want it, email me your address.

I kitesurf, use a 9.5 & 11mtr for the surf, it’s ace but…

It took sometime to get used to the kite flying, coming at it from years of windsurfing I opted to do an IKO level 1 thro 3 course, best option IMO you know, just to get used to flying kites and recovery etc. though if you use them on land as you mention I’m not too sure the course will be much help… But hey.

Have fun, watch out for the groynes 😆

Another kite flyer here!

I fly a 4m ozone which was also my first kite. Good size. Not too much in lower winds but still pretty exciting in big winds.

After a while a bought a trampa kite board and a harness. Managed to roughly go one way and ocassionally back the other way, but not been out in ages. Slightly different experience using a harness too.

Learn to fly the kite with a bit of sliding around and get used to using the wind window. ie strongest in the middle, weakest at the edges.

Its great fun on its own anyway. And as others have mentioned. Start on handles rather than a bar and Use the kite killers as even in weakish winds I have had to let go of mine.

You’ll easily be able to spot Kiterists, they have no ears!! 😀

Have had a few goes as a beginner, heed the words of wisdom above.

ok. what will a reasonable kite, handles and kite killer cost me?thats the basic starter kit right?

I picked up a 2.5m HQ beamer with kite killers, handles, lines etc for £40 off eBay.

But do heed the warnings above, you can do yourself and others a lot of damage if you’re not careful.

Peter Lynn Hornet is a very good beginners kite but will see you right as you advance. Very predictable and easy manage.

It was the first I bought (a 4m with handles and killers) and I still use it now more than anything else. It’s taken an absolute beating too (as a novice you will undoubtably slam it into the ground a few times) but other than grass stains is perfect.

£199 though for a 4m with handles, kite killers etc.
http://www.powerkiteshop.com/peter_lynn_hornet_kite.htm

Might be more than you want to spend to get started?

I kite surfed for 7 years and jacked in work to do it for 6 months ,it was awesome .I met my wife whilst on a Kite Camp in Asia before going to Brasil. Lessons lessons lessons- and be prepared to spend big .it is a crazy sport and really Zens you out .You harnessing the wind .Awesome – and then there are the spills they hurt. i smashed my knee cap in 2 and spent 1 1/2 mins under water in a deathloop before being dragged up some volcanic rock in Tenerife whilst my wife video it EPIC. Then i stopped and got a ATB

no 200to get started seems fine. though 4m sounds too big.

Well my wife had a 3m hornet too. Still great fun, plenty of power and would very easily get me airborne in a decent wind. The 4m just gives you a little more scope if the wind is low but quite honestly both will do you fine. If the wind is really up a 4m could be intimidating I suppose but common sense will kick in for those days.

…. I wouldn’t go for anything smaller than 3 though, not if you want to move onto traction sports with it. To be honest over time you will end up with 2 or 3 kites anyway to cover you for all conditions.

my 3.5m flexi rage is an ace kite and the quality is fantastic. have a 2.5 and a 1.8m as well which are also great in higher winds. the 2.5 and 3.5 will both drag me along no problem without a board or buggy. well worth a look. the hornet is a nice kite too. only flown one for a short time but enjoyed it. although i preferred the flexi. you cant really go wrong with any of the bigger brands. and kite killers are a must. your natural reaction is to hang on for grim death, especially when you remember it cost you a couple of hundred quid. kite killers allow you to let go and not stand and watch your investment disappear across the field or into a tree.

i have a purple bullet 2.5 all mint plus a blade 4 mtr in red for sale if your interested. both with lines and killers and bags.

I was watching some kite boarders at Westbury White Horse a couple of years or so ago, and one of the blokes had a really stylish arrangement of metalwork protruding from his arm. He’d stopped the board, but hadn’t dropped the kite, and a big gust took it, and him, back into the air and then dumped him on the ground some metres away.
There was another bloke there getting some serious air, too, so definitely a sport that needs treating with respect.
I like the look of buggying, but I’m too old, and got too many joint issues to be going boarding.

awesome fun, but as above, expensive and takes a lot of time, I had to give up as I just didn#t have the spare hours to make it worthwhile and had to pick which sports to focus on in my limited free time.

Still have a flexifoil airdeck in the loft and a few other bits and bobs if you are interested. Kites were sold over 2 years ago… 🙁

Dangerous

End of.

I have an amusing tale of messing about with a kite on the beach in Oz.

I have made my own kites from an early age, comfortable with big ones in decent winds, jumping about and stuff, so no newbie.

Went down to the beach after work one day, fantastic wind whistling down the beach, which was a over a mile long. Was a bit strong for my 12m kite, but I thought what the heck, it’ll be a laugh. Pumped it up and the leading-edge bladder burst, quite annoying. Also in my bag was a 17m, so I had a bit of a think – ‘the wind is really too strong for a 12, am I stupid enough to attempt anything with a 17?’ the answer was yes 🙂

Pumped the 17 up and set it up with some sand on the wingtip, about 1/3 of the way up the beach from the water, and got the lines sorted. A little Portuguese guy asked me if I wanted a hand, I told him that he was best off watching from upwind as it may be quite entertaining, but he wouldn’t want to be trying to assist! With the kite right on the edge of the wind window I gently tensioned the lines and it instantly started pulling very hard, dragging me fast up the beach. The beach was a decent size, with at least 100m of sand between the sea and at the other side, a fence, trees, and beyond that a road. I was being pulled pretty rapidly towards said trees, and when I hit a slight ridge on the beach became airborne. I didn’t really fancy flying over the trees and the road, so steered my kite left, towards the centre of the wind window, thus taking me in a nice gentle arc over the trees and back to the middle of the beach, at an altitude of around 5-6m.

I briefly touched down on the sand, but the kite was now pulling pretty hard, and I was up in the air again, climbing to about 10m or so. I had moved about 100m down the beach from my original starting point by this stage. On the way up, you have to consider how high you are likely to go, and is it sensible to eject. I didn’t really want to fall like a stone from that height, and there was plenty of beach left to play with, so I hung on for the ride. I decided that I should probably prepare to bail as soon as I touched down for the second time as I was going to run out of beach fairly quickly, and if I was being entirely honest, although I was controlling the kite, I wasn’t 100% in control of all events. So in the second bound I covered around 200m in the air, and as soon as I hit the sand again I pulled the eject, and the kite then fell gracefully to the ground with the only tensioned line being one wingtip.

Quite an exhilarating few seconds, and the Portuguese guy certainly had been entertained. At this stage I called it a day and packed up 😀

Who said anything about kites being dangerous? 😆

Cheers, Rich

Tremendous.

😯 😆

Pacef8, i don’t see it