Trainer Kite Questions

This forum is for new kiters/beginners to share info and experiences and to get answers to kiting questions. All questions are valid.
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This forum is for new kiters/beginners to share info and experiences and to get answers to kiting questions. All questions are valid. Please provide proper answers (no sarcasm/joke replies, etc.) as we'd like to avoid any confusion or misinformation.
g00mbs
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Trainer Kite Questions

Post by g00mbs » Tue May 21, 2013 12:08 am

Hey,

I'm new to the area and the sport, along with my wife. The goal right now is to hit the trainer kite hard and get 10 hours under our belts before a land/water lesson. It would be awesome to schedule that lesson for about 2 weeks from now.

We live in San Jose area and would like to use the trainer in parks around our condo that would give us the closest feel for a larger kite. I'm about 220 lbs and my wife is about 110 lbs. Knowing that info are there trainer kites we should look at or stay away from? Also, it would be awesome to have the kite readily available in the area and in the $150 to $200 range.

We have seen there are 2 line kites and 3 line kites. The one trainer we have used is a 1.6 M Ozone Ignition. That seems to run for $200 at a local shop. There is a Naish Xeon that is $150 and is 1.3 M as well.

Do all trainer kites have a safety strap that you attach to your wrist? Does the 2 vs 3 lines really matter?

One thing we are conscious of is wanting to have enough trainer kite time before the land/water lesson. This will allow us to get the most out of the lesson and feel confident with a large kite. Come to think of it, the biggest thing that we want to have is safety and confidence.

Thanks in advance!

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Re: Trainer Kite Questions

Post by kitenaked » Tue May 21, 2013 4:56 am

Most will come with a safety leash. The 3 line kites are reverse relaunchable, though most of the newer 2 line trainers are also relaunchable if the wind is strong enough.

Too small of kite and they won't have a lot of pull which I think is important to feel.

Hope this is helpful.
Chris

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Benicia, CA 94510

209-304-2200

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Re: Trainer Kite Questions

Post by rvv » Tue May 21, 2013 7:00 am

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Last edited by rvv on Wed May 22, 2013 12:51 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Trainer Kite Questions

Post by kitedancer » Tue May 21, 2013 8:16 am

...
Last edited by kitedancer on Thu May 23, 2013 2:46 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Trainer Kite Questions

Post by JRaut » Tue May 21, 2013 8:28 am

rvv wrote:kiting straight to a 4 line kite without ever flying a trainer. Trainer kites are an older antiquated teaching method designed for learning back in the day before fully depowerable 4 line kites and is not a prerequisite to learning kiteboarding.
I've got to disagree here, though I didn't learn at KGB.

Pick up a $100 trainer kite and fly it, keep flying it, and fly it some more. After that $100, you can fly your trainer for hours and hours and hours to get a feel for it and won't have to pay someone to stand around and watch you.

After you get comfortable with the trainer kite, that's when I think it's best to take lessons. You won't be starting from absolute zero and you'll pick up concepts much more quickly.

J

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Post by jwest21 » Tue May 21, 2013 8:38 am

I have to respectfully disagree with you, Royce. As a student of KGB, I found that flying the 4-line trainer kite and full sized kite were a cinch for me and my friend because we had plenty of hours on our own with a large trainer kite.

Not only was it buckets of fun that propelled me take the next step of getting lessons and a full sized kite, but it does teach you a lot of basics like: steering skills, rigging, reacting to crashes by letting go (with a wrist leash or similar), holding the kite at a position, looping or stepping back to save the kite in lulls, and reading kite position without looking.

If you can go into your lessons with a far better understanding of how a kite reacts and steers, you'll be able to focus on sheeting and the safety aspects without wasting the first hour accidentally turning the bar like a steering wheel.

I would definitely recommend a 3-line setup if you'll be practicing alone, it'll double your time actually flying.

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Re: Trainer Kite Questions

Post by androka » Tue May 21, 2013 9:10 am

here's the site I used, was very helpful.
When you can fly a trainer kite with one hand while you take your shoe off and put it back on with the other, you are ready to leave the temple, grasshopper....

http://www.kiteboardingevolution.com/trainer-kites.html

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Re:

Post by rvv » Tue May 21, 2013 9:30 am

jwest21 wrote:I have to respectfully disagree with you, Royce. As a student of KGB, I found that flying the 4-line trainer kite and full sized kite were a cinch for me and my friend because we had plenty of hours on our own with a large trainer kite.
A 2 or 3 line kite teaches nothing about the depower systems only basic steering and as such a bit of relearning steering with this depower component now added in the mix is almost always needed.
2-3 line trainers are fun and easy way to learn basic steering and may help some with learning to pilot a 4 line depower system but is not essential.
The point I am making is that that step can now be safely bypassed if you really want to get straight to the real deal and without the expense and extra time and training. Many kite schools around the globe are no longer using 2-3 line kites to begin training and instead are opting for small depowerable 4 line kites. We are one of them this is a very safe, fast and effective method of creating kiters.
Is your dentist still using a hammer and pliers? Techniques and methods are fluid and change/improve with time, or so we should hope. Even tho some still prefer the hammer and pliers.
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Re: Trainer Kite Questions

Post by Red_Element_Andy » Tue May 21, 2013 9:40 am

Cabrinha Spark and Ocean Rodeo Rise 2M seem like good options!

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Post by jwest21 » Tue May 21, 2013 10:56 am

Actually most dentists do still use pliers, and pokey metal sticks that have been around for centuries.

All I know is that the three other people in our 4-hour class spent a ton of time crashing and getting frustrated while the two of us who had spent our own time flying a trainer were able to focus on learning the depower aspects and REACT to steering aspects. Actually, it kind of worked against us since we probably spent very little time at the bar accomplishing what the instructor asked of us to while the absolute newbies got to practice relaunching and trying again and again.

If you think 2-line trainer kites are hurtful to the learning experience, why do you sell them?

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