gavin
Grommet 
Member #: 469 Posts 8
Registered: 10-12-2003 Member Is Offline Mood:
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| posted on 4-8-2005 at 16:26 |
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land based or water based kite?
i've been playing about with a 3.6 hq beamer for a while now, and fancy getting something a bit bigger with more lift for a bit of
jumping about on the sand.
is it better to get a used kitesurf kite (about 9 - 10m, seen a few cheap recently) which gives me the option of heading into the water
at some stage or stick with land based jobs?
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Pluto
A Force-of-Nature * 
Member #: 598 Posts 281
Registered: 20-3-2004 Location: Shrewsbury Member Is Offline Mood:
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| posted on 4-8-2005 at 22:00 |
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Jumping about on land when attached to power kites is not really a recommended past time. It hurts when you get it wrong (And you
will!!)
If land based is what you're after, stay away from LEI's(Leading Edge Inflatables). They maintain their shape and therefore can be
difficult to depower. Foil kites are much safer as they collapse more easily and therefore tend not to drag you into hard
obstacles.
If you fancy getting into the water side of things, get lessons first. You'll learn so much which may well help you avoid any nasty
incidents in the future.
www.kitesurfteacher.co.uk
IKO/BKSA Instructor
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rob
A Force-of-Nature ** 
Member #: 550 Posts 375
Registered: 19-2-2004 Location: aber Member Is Offline Mood: tired!
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| posted on 4-8-2005 at 22:01 |
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using a kitesurf kite for land based activities is asking for trouble really - stick to the foils until you are definitely heading onto
the water. otherwise you'll end up either injuring yourself badly or a hefty repair bill when you wrap your inflatable around a tree
and burst bladders! (which hurts just as much as being dragged down the beach by your kite - i should know after just trashing my
13m!!)
a big kite will punish you hard when you inadvertently bring it down into the power. a foil around the 5m mark will suit you well for
a pretty reasonable wind range, especially when used with a harness, perhaps something along the lines of a buster would be a good
starting point. or if on a budget get a peter lynn peel 5m, two lines but so user friendly, they're also very cheap to buy now. i
have one and i fly it between 5-30kts, though anything above 20kts would be silly if you're still learning.
hope that helps!
rob
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shem
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| posted on 5-8-2005 at 07:37 |
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You should consider a depowerable foil. Ive used just one kite for all my land kiting in the last year and its a 12 meter peter lynn
phantom. Obviously I cant comment on your experience or weight but for me it has a wind range of 5-25 knots in a buggy, meaning its the
only kite I need. It saves on owning 3 different sized open cell foils as well. Try and demo fly a few kites before you spend your
money.
Have fun.
Kite & SUP wales
Caravan decking wales
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