Kitesurfing Noob... Need a fair 3-Line Trainer Kite first?

[Chainfire]

Hey everybody,

My name is Mike, I'm 28 y/o. I'm relatively new to the bay and I drive by Berkeley marina all the time and I see people out kite surfing and it looks like a blast, so I've decided I'm going to do it. I'm fairly athletic, although a bit on the skinny side. I'm 6 foot tall and 185 lbs.

Anyway, after doing some preliminary research, I've found that I should truly use a 3-Line Trainer Kite to get used to manipulating and controlling the kite first and foremost. Would you all agree? I've found a used Hydra 300 for around $200 on Craigslist. Would this fit the bill or would you suggest something else? Money is not an issue. If anybody has a "best bang for buck" or a few suggestions on what I should look at, please let me know.

I was going to take lessons first, but I have been told by numerous people that I should get a practice kite, watch some YouTube videos and read a bit, and practice a bit before I go into lessons, because I could save money and learn this on my own. Then once I understand enough, I can take a more advanced beginner lesson. What do you think? Also, just a thought, if anybody out here in the east bay is willing to help me out learning, I'll be more than happy enough to throw ya some money, pick you up or whatever. Thanks in advance for any insight or help you can provide!

- Mike

[g00mbs]

Seems like you have done some reading, which is good. Picking up a trainer kite is a great idea. I was able to find a 2.5 Meter for about $250 from a local kite retailer. $200 for a used kite might seem a little high, but it seems that the retail cost of the Hydra 300 was higher than mine as well.

Trainer kites are fairly harmless, just make sure there are no people, trees, etc around you when you practice.

Talking about lessons - the first lesson with many kite schools is getting you up and going with a trainer and could be useful to you. I found it helpful and it was fairly inexpensive for that first lesson. After that, log some hours on your trainer and go back for the full size kite land/water lessons.

[Chainfire]

Thanks for the response. I will definitely be taking lessons as well.

I've been reading that I should get a kite that can depower, or even a four line kite that can depower.. Is this necessary or should I snag this one on Craigslist?

[hellosugaree]

As a reference, I bought a 3m trainer kite for 100 bucks on Craigslist. It took me about 5 minutes to figure out how to fly it on my own, so getting a lesson to fly a trainer kite is a huge waste of money no matter how cheap. You're on the right track. The internet is a beautiful thing, my friend.

[jjm]

You may already know this, but the Hydra 300 3rd-line looks to be for a safety leash (maybe reverse launch) and not for sheeting. More convenient but not necessary, a 2 line would be fine.

You can use a smaller kite, but something in the 3m range is going to be more fun to fly afterwards (e.g. with a skateboard).

That said, searched craigslist and found this Ocean Rodeo 2m inflatable trainer: http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/spo/4471706737.html

Not in any way affiliated with the poster, but might be worth looking into.
See: http://oceanrodeo.com/products/trainer-kites

[jjm]

Just to elaborate on the inflatable trainer, I haven't flown one but assume:

Pros:
- get the rigging experience
- sheetable
- can practice water relaunch in shallow water. body dragging?
- can practice self launch/land

Cons:
- probably less power vrs same sized foil
- probably need more stable wind / windspeed to keep in the air
- less durable
- probably more difficult to self launch

[ozreiuosn]

2 line vs 3 line trainer at this point in time isn't a big deal.

Keep it simple. You'll have plenty plenty more to buy and take in later.

[ozreiuosn]

And don't waste your time on buying inflatable trainers unless you want to spend the $$, and plan to use it out on the water.

That's what I wanted to get at with the "keep it simple" bit.

Find a cheap 2 line, weight the trailing edge for self-launching, etc.

[Chainfire]

You may already know this, but the Hydra 300 3rd-line looks to be for a safety leash (maybe reverse launch) and not for sheeting. More convenient but not necessary, a 2 line would be fine.

You can use a smaller kite, but something in the 3m range is going to be more fun to fly afterwards (e.g. with a skateboard).

That said, searched craigslist and found this Ocean Rodeo 2m inflatable trainer: http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/spo/4471706737.html

Not in any way affiliated with the poster, but might be worth looking into.
See: http://oceanrodeo.com/products/trainer-kites

Thanks for the post. I might jump on that one. I basically just want to finish the training, take several lessons and get out in the water soon enough. I don't care about any kiting on land with boards or trikes or w/e at this point in time. I really just want to learn how to manipulate the kite itself, and then go ahead and try some body dragging and then get up on a board with a full size kite..

If I can cut costs, but not cut essential knowledge before I get into the water, then that's fine. I just don't want to gimp myself by training on a 'trainer' kite that doesn't have the full features, or is completely different than the real deal when I'll be out on the water.. As I understand it, even though I could learn some of the basics on a 2 line foil kite, I'll be missing out on others.. For $200, that Ocean Rodeo looks pretty good. Would you advise against that and still go for the cheaper 2 line foil? Money isn't a huge issue. Yet Thanks for all the replies!!

[WindMuch]

Good stuff here:
http://thekiteboarderschool.com/beginner/

Specifically:
http://thekiteboarderschool.com/the-imp ... g-lessons/

and

http://thekiteboarderschool.com/basic-k ... ng-skills/

Kirk out