I am relitively new to the sport but am a confident windsurfer! i have had a few lessons and can pretty much go out and back in (within the space of about an hour!!) so i am still very much a beginner!!. I have found a Naish ARX kite which i am thinking about buying as it is cheap but i don't know whether it is suitable. Its a 17.5m flat (13m projected) ARX kite? Also what kinda winds would this be suitable in? Any comments would be great.....Cheers richie

Don't buy it just because its cheap.
Do you know what condition its in?
Are all the bladders ok?
What sort of wind strength do you want to sail in? I think the wind range for that size would be around 8-16 knots( that's a guess though!)

Its a whole lot a kite for a beginer, great for really light winds as dunk said around 10- 16 knot range, but at 16 nknots, itd be well powered. Make sure it has at least 3 safety systems, and if it doesnt, fit them your self, check on a light wind day, that they work, with friends to help you.

Have fun.

Hi Richie.... Long time.

As Shem says, the 17.5m ARX is quite a bit of kite for a beginner, but I wouldn't class you as a complete beginner really. Your windsurfing is pretty good, so your wind awareness etc is as good as it gets. You've also flown a few other kites before (even if only a little bit, you still have the general idea). I tale it you also want a kite for winds of around 10-15 knots to use as a light-wind alternative to windsurfing.

all these things considered (and the price tage) means that the kite should be OK for you. It may make things a little more difficult to begin with as the kite is a little less forgiving than a beginners kite, but I reckon you will soon get the hang of it.

Let us know how you get on.... It'll be good to see you again soon too.

Al.

chers for the replies guys......yer its the usual " only for the light wind days" around 10 -28 knots of wind. The kite is in good nick and only has one repair....Its £150 so can't really go that wrong.

Al- I'll keep an eye on date and try and look nito popping down for the Borth Do!!!!

Happy Birthday Richie!!!!

Have you decided to treat yourself to a new kite for your birthday then??? Which one are you going for??

Although by the looks of the wind for this weekend you'll be out windsurfing with your smallest sail for the nest few days!!

Al.

Cheers Al.....To be honest mate im pretty confused with the whole Kite sizing/ which one best ect. I think ive decided to go for a RRD 180 twin tip(£100)? anyone got any views on this board?
As for a kite the choice is a Naish R3 14m/ Takon scoop / or a flexifoil Storm 1?

[Edited on 18-3-2004 by dunk]

I've never tried the board, but 180 sounds quite big. My Twin Tip (I didn't get on with the directional) is 157cm and that feels pretty big. Mind you £100 isn't bad for a board!.

Can you try the kites before you buy??? I wouldn't get too worried about which is best, as long as you get something that flies OK and will last you a while then you'll be fine. Once you have got the hang of it you might then want to buy particualr kites that perform better for the sorts of things you want to do, but as a first step, as long as the kite isn't super technical and will get you up and going safely then it'll do you fine.

Al.

you might want to search on the bksa forum as there was a thread on there about kites suitable for a beginner. Quite a list was drawn up as I remember
tim

as alan said thats alot of board 180 is big 150-160 is a good size to look for also the kites are pretty high in the inter-expert range the takoon skoop is bit fullon according to the chart listing.
if you can look out for the airrush trio or flexi strike & the north buster good beginner- intermed kites

its important to remember buying any kit to save a few qiud could make it very hard for you to get into the sport
quickly and safely and really injoy it.

craig at the beach house