What kite sizes for beginners

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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.
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SaulGoodman
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Re: What kite sizes for beginners

Post by SaulGoodman » Mon Sep 08, 2014 11:45 pm

I ended up getting an 11m SB and 136 board. Works great at 3rd at that time of the season. Will add a 9m beginning next season.

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Re: What kite sizes for beginners

Post by NewHeights » Tue Sep 09, 2014 8:04 pm

Yes, I was debating between the LF Envy vs. the Cab Switchblade, and I'm definitely leaning towards the Envy for the same reasons biba mentioned, i.e. 3 struts versus 5, and ease of launching in low wind conditions, and figured that the Switchblade would be my reward if I stick with it, and for becoming more proficient with the Envy somewhere down the line.

What are your thoughts regarding the Cab Contra in terms of ease of use and performance? It's light wind specifics, but even the smallest size, 13m., seems to be too big for me.

And perhaps the ladies kiters will also be able to share their insights here, but what do you all think about the women-specific boards vs. the regular designs? I was looking at the LF Bliss, and the Cab XO Siren.

Thanks again for any input that you all can provide.

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Re: What kite sizes for beginners

Post by sanjose_kiter » Thu Sep 11, 2014 3:10 pm

NewHeights wrote:Yes, I was debating between the LF Envy vs. the Cab Switchblade, and I'm definitely leaning towards the Envy for the same reasons biba mentioned, i.e. 3 struts versus 5, and ease of launching in low wind conditions, and figured that the Switchblade would be my reward if I stick with it, and for becoming more proficient with the Envy somewhere down the line.

What are your thoughts regarding the Cab Contra in terms of ease of use and performance? It's light wind specifics, but even the smallest size, 13m., seems to be too big for me.

And perhaps the ladies kiters will also be able to share their insights here, but what do you all think about the women-specific boards vs. the regular designs? I was looking at the LF Bliss, and the Cab XO Siren.

Thanks again for any input that you all can provide.
Hey NewHeights.

Alameda kiting season is pretty much over and done until next spring around March/April 2015. In the meantime, there will be storm sessions over there which you don't want to kite in. 3rd ave season extends till November but seemed like your skill level does not warrant it.

To prepare for next season, and there will always be next season :-), for your weight class - 125 lbs - I 'd get an entry-level used 7 meter (LF envy, cab swtichblade/vector, North neo, Ozone catalyst, switch element ....) to get ready for spring kiting in Alameda which has excellent winds from April till June. Your second kite in your quiver could be a 10 meter. However, the most important aspect for a beginning kiter is the board. Get a board with plenty of width - more than 44 cm - and about 140 cm in length - in order to ease up the water-start & upwind phases. After you can kite upwind, time to get a smaller board - 130 cm length & 40 cm width (+ or - a few cm) or just keep the same board. A friend of mine with 3 kiting seasons still uses his RRD 10 knots board (146 x 46 cm) which is almost as big as my room door and still pretty happy with it. btw, his jumps/boost are crappy but he wouldn't change.

Good luck with selecting your equipment

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Re: What kite sizes for beginners

Post by NewHeights » Thu Sep 11, 2014 9:22 pm

Thanks sanjose_kiter for the additional informations, great tips and sound advice. Yes, I've heard that kiting season is over for Alameda when I tried scheduling another lesson with Boardsports. But 7 to 8 months of waiting(??) :-( Guess I'll just have to continued to enjoy windsurfing until next season. :-)

I agree, from what I've read re. 3rd Ave. area and its conditions, I'm definitely not anywhere near ready for it yet. However, I already went to check out the area, but not sure if I went to the right area or not since I didn't see any main large launching beach area or anyone kiting the afternoon that I was there. I parked along the unpaved area behind the golf course but can only see the smaller beach down a ways. I couldn't get to the edge of the rocky levee to see anything closer since the area was fenced off for some kind of constructions of some sort. Perhaps I was just at the wrong location? All is not lost however, it was definitely a very windy area for a beginner like me at this point.

LOL! I can pictured myself trying to manage a "door" sized board, :-) but it does make a lot of sense however. Anyway, I'll certainly keep those specs in mind when shopping for a board as well. Looking forward to the day when I can get onto a smaller board. I still have so much to learn and to do, but the process has been super fun and exiting so far.

Thanks again, and happy kiting to you.

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Re: What kite sizes for beginners

Post by Xor » Fri Sep 12, 2014 8:41 am

Wow, I have to completely disagree with some ideas here.
First, I don't know if it just me but I hate lf envy, it is not only slow, it backstalls a lot. Switchblade is better. Looks like vector great beginner kite as well.

Also, I can hardly imagine 125lbs edging 44cm board, and without edging it will be bouncy unpleasant ride downwind. If you want to get your board skills go to the cable park or behind the boat and practice on both sides. Then grab some used board for your size, it is huge difference in progress to learn upwind, on the huge board I found fighting not only my lack of knowledge, but also the board, the day I got appropriate board and different kites I went upwind.

If you still struggle to water start- try small dives/strokes, no need to boost 11/1 to 2/8, do 11:45 to 12:15, then 11:45 to 12:45... My wife got on the board at 4th day of 3hrs, first 2 days lessons, and then 3day adapting to super fast BRM cloud (completely different comparing to vector), then on 4th day she did it.

Also, once your upwind bodydrag is good, 3rd is a nice spot, best to have a buddy or be ready to self rescue, but it is fine.

Good luck.
Good-bye... and hello... as always!
Victor

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Re: What kite sizes for beginners

Post by NewHeights » Fri Sep 12, 2014 4:53 pm

Xor wrote:Wow, I have to completely disagree with some ideas here.
First, I don't know if it just me but I hate lf envy, it is not only slow, it backstalls a lot. Switchblade is better. Looks like vector great beginner kite as well.

Also, I can hardly imagine 125lbs edging 44cm board, and without edging it will be bouncy unpleasant ride downwind. If you want to get your board skills go to the cable park or behind the boat and practice on both sides. Then grab some used board for your size, it is huge difference in progress to learn upwind, on the huge board I found fighting not only my lack of knowledge, but also the board, the day I got appropriate board and different kites I went upwind.

If you still struggle to water start- try small dives/strokes, no need to boost 11/1 to 2/8, do 11:45 to 12:15, then 11:45 to 12:45... My wife got on the board at 4th day of 3hrs, first 2 days lessons, and then 3day adapting to super fast BRM cloud (completely different comparing to vector), then on 4th day she did it.

Also, once your upwind bodydrag is good, 3rd is a nice spot, best to have a buddy or be ready to self rescue, but it is fine.

Good luck.
Thanks for your input and perspectives as well Xor.

While I can understand the reasons behind why some companies don't offer rental gears to beginners, I still wish that the industries would have some sort of demo programs for us beginners before we are committed to making expensive purchases.

Thanks again.

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Re: What kite sizes for beginners

Post by Kyle » Fri Sep 12, 2014 5:23 pm

all of the local Bay Area shops demo gear. it will probably be hard in the offseason but I demoed Ozone and Naish at boardspoarts, and KGB has lots of demo days including best and I'm pretty sure Royce would let you take an ocean rodeo for a spin.

only thing is when you are a beginner, it's a little harder to notice the subtle differences between all the kites. sometimes I read reviews and wonder how they come up with some of their claims. but I have noticed some kites are more stable than others and far less twitchy for the same size. I'm also pretty good at sensing aerodynamic qualities, like those that appear to stall more easily than others (could be control system too). but when I was a beginner (we are all still learning) it was much harder for me to sense these things. this is also the primary reason I bought used. learned on a full quiver of '08 waroos for $900 (circa 2011). they worked great for me, but if they didn't, it wasn't a particularly costly mistake. I sold them almost 2 years later for $700 which covered half the cost of a new kite:-/


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Re: What kite sizes for beginners

Post by NewHeights » Sat Sep 13, 2014 12:29 am

BayAreaKite wrote:all of the local Bay Area shops demo gear. it will probably be hard in the offseason but I demoed Ozone and Naish at boardspoarts, and KGB has lots of demo days including best and I'm pretty sure Royce would let you take an ocean rodeo for a spin.

only thing is when you are a beginner, it's a little harder to notice the subtle differences between all the kites. sometimes I read reviews and wonder how they come up with some of their claims. but I have noticed some kites are more stable than others and far less twitchy for the same size. I'm also pretty good at sensing aerodynamic qualities, like those that appear to stall more easily than others (could be control system too). but when I was a beginner (we are all still learning) it was much harder for me to sense these things. this is also the primary reason I bought used. learned on a full quiver of '08 waroos for $900 (circa 2011). they worked great for me, but if they didn't, it wasn't a particularly costly mistake. I sold them almost 2 years later for $700 which covered half the cost of a new kite:-/


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Interesting informations. Thank you. It's good to know that all of the Bay Area shops will allow for us to demo their equipments, as well as how good the resale prices were for your old gears.

I don't know about the other shops, but according to Boardsports's website, and one of their employees that I spoke with, they only rent out their equipments to "Experts" kiters, due to liabilities. Therefore, I didn't think that they would allow for us beginners to demo any of their gears at all. Especially since some of us may, or will most likely shred up all of their kites and equipments up without making any purchases or paying for the damages afterward. :-/ But if they should, I'll be sure to look into it next Spring, and hopefully I'll be able to tell the difference between the ones I'm interested in.

http://boardsportsschool.com/kiteboarding/rentals/

Thanks again.

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Re: What kite sizes for beginners

Post by sanjose_kiter » Sat Sep 13, 2014 1:36 pm

I don't know about other spots, but at Alameda, it 's either go big or go home |}{+ big board + big kite is the norm rather than exception. Boardsports shack sports lots of Blade Fat Lady kites (17 meter) and litewave wing boards for rent/lessons ... Check with them for a recommended beginner package.

For me personally, I was able to go upwind within 1 - 2 sessions after getting a Liquid Force kite fish. Before that , it was many long and exhausted walk of shame.

Another factor about the lightwind board is how the foot straps are mounted much closer to the heel side than the toe side. So stepping in a lightwind board, you 're already edging toward your heels without even trying. Google spleene monster door, rrd 10 knots, litewave wing images to see what I mean.

good lucks

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Re: What kite sizes for beginners

Post by NewHeights » Sat Sep 13, 2014 11:08 pm

sanjose_kiter wrote:I don't know about other spots, but at Alameda, it 's either go big or go home |}{+ big board + big kite is the norm rather than exception. Boardsports shack sports lots of Blade Fat Lady kites (17 meter) and litewave wing boards for rent/lessons ... Check with them for a recommended beginner package.

For me personally, I was able to go upwind within 1 - 2 sessions after getting a Liquid Force kite fish. Before that , it was many long and exhausted walk of shame.

Another factor about the lightwind board is how the foot straps are mounted much closer to the heel side than the toe side. So stepping in a lightwind board, you 're already edging toward your heels without even trying. Google spleene monster door, rrd 10 knots, litewave wing images to see what I mean.

good lucks
Yes, I see what you mean, and the details regarding the positions and placements of those straps are super helpful to know.

I saw a lot of great beginners with 17m over there today, and they still had to repeatedly do those exhausting walk of um, grace |}{+ back up the beach. One guy even claimed that his 12m was too small for today. And yes, I also saw a few of those doors out there as well, and was wondering what they were. Thanks for the enlightenment. :-) Will definitely need to get something much bigger than a two-seater should I choose to go with one of those.

Thanks guys for all of the super helpful tips and pointers, I truly appreciate it.

Happy Kiting to you all. *ju#

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