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it's a 04 Cabrinha nitro 12m, may not be the best beginer kite but it is better than nothing! now I take my water lesson sunday and hope to be getting my seat harness and board soon.

I miss doing things that are active in the water and I am soo ready to learn cause I know I will love just riding across the water and being in tune with nature of course eventually jumping and learning to do tricks will be fun too I am just not sure how my body may react to that part.

I haven't even got on the water yet and I am already stoked!!!!

Dude, I hate to say it but the nitro is not a beginner kite by all means and you'll have a tough time learning on that kite. This kite needs to be flown and has a very narrow wind range.

I would recommend that you go buy a bow kite, used or new depending on your budget. Any bow kite is way much better for beginner to learn on than a C kite, especially a high aspect kite like the nitro.

Learning how to kite is like the mastercard commercial, new or slightly used gear $$$$, board $$$, getting on the board and riding for the first time and not being drag around like a rag doll....priceless.

-clint

I have a 10m 07 Rebel with your name all over it. Get it while it's hot.

Dirtydbz wrote:it's a 04 Cabrinha nitro 12m, may not be the best beginer kite but it is better than nothing! now I take my water lesson sunday and hope to be getting my seat harness and board soon.

I miss doing things that are active in the water and I am soo ready to learn cause I know I will love just riding across the water and being in tune with nature of course eventually jumping and learning to do tricks will be fun too I am just not sure how my body may react to that part.

I haven't even got on the water yet and I am already stoked!!!!

What did you pay for that kite. If you ever need a second opinion in the future about purchases, feel free to email me. Also, I'm generally at 3rd every day after work.

thats funny cause the first kite I was ever going to get in 03' was a blacktip. The owner of the kite actually talked me out of it since i was learning. But before you get discouraged from all the following hate on old kites like that one, this is the reality. We only know what we know. When guys were flying those 2 line kites with a 5' bar and a disc brake in the middle to reel in the lines, they were stoked! the only difference is that we have the technology to make the sport safer and more enjoyable at a slightly higher cost. This sport really should not be introduced with prehistoric gear but you will still learn and progress. Inevitably you will get newer gear the second you try something new but as long as you dont fly something other than your 04 cabrinha you wont know.

Back in 2001 when I first started this crazy sport I couldn't have been more stoked on my 6.5 meter 2 line Wipika kite and 7' directional. By the way, the kite was made out of tarp material, no joke! I learned over a summer how to get up and ride, and eventually to stay upwind on that gear before upgrading. The kite you bought is light-years ahead of what we had back in the day, but still far behind todays' standard. This means you will need to be extra, extra cautious! Which is not a bad thing!

The false sense of safety people get from todays phenomenal gear often scares me. I hate to say it, shit can still hit the fan no matter what kite you are flying. To a certain extent I believe using this prehistoric gear almost 8 years ago made me a safer rider in the long run; although I would not wish it upon anyone getting into our sport. What it boils down to is have fun on whatever you ride, and most importantly be safe! Technology will constantly render our gear safer year after year but nothing can replace common sense.

My first kite aslo was an 04' Nitro, and like Mr. Clints said, not a beginner kite; that kite can be a little scary in high winds as you have very little depowering... not to say that you can't learn on it but the learning curve is steep for that kite, you should have got'n a bow dude;

I bought the kite for $270 and it is in very good condition unfortunatly I don't have the money now for more updated gear so yes I have to cope whith what I can find that will work. I know I will have to work a little harder but you have to have a kite, board, harness, and wetsuit bare minimum to kite in the bay area I realy don't want to wait till next year to save the money and get the best beginer gear I would rather be out on the water failing (when it is safe of course) then watching you guys have all the fun. oh yeah I forgot about the cost of the lessons too buy the time I have gotten everything I will have spent close to $1500 (I had to buy a new wetsuit it's kinda like buying used underwear to me) and I paid for a package lesson deal to get the best rate I appreciate the input guys and I look forward to meeting some of you in person possibly I will be the guy who is out there not giving up looking lika a fool at times!!!

Well, I give you credit for at least making sure you get lessons first. So many people will get on ebay and end up buying as cheap a kite as they can and wiping out a whole beach with it. Ultimately you will be fine, you will just have to match the wind more accurately for the kite.

I agree with Tai. I learned on old Naish X2 and X4, and Cabrinha Black Tip C kites a few years back. Last year I bought new Boxer Bows and while it is clear how much (relatively) easier it would have been to learn on a bow, I think you learn more about the wind range, harnessing the power (or not!!), and safety on a high aspect C.

The learning curve on a C is a little steeper, but if you have good instructors and follow some sort of safety mantra -- mine was given to me by an expert as "no matter what happens, ALWAYS FLY THE KITE" -- you'll be fine. The seat harness will keep you out of a lot of chest pain and do your best to lose the leash as soon as possible for head and leg injuries. I feel lucky this bruise on my leg was the only leash-inflicted injury while learning.