G'day all.

I generally run off Brighton in Brisbane and Cooroibah lake on the sunshine coast.

Currently run a 12m Slingshot Turbo Diesel (am 85kgs) and am getting fed up with the sinking feeling when the wind drops below 15knts (142cm board).

There is a guy there riding a 16m crossbow and he is always cruisin and havin fun.

The question is to get the most out of this place, grab a 16m kite for $1800+ or grab a bouyant board (eg160cm +) for starters.

your advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks Elizabith,

I for one think that the 16m for the Brisbane conditions is the way to go. Am keen on keeping with my current manufacturer (id Sligshot) as I think their bar is the best on the market.

Maybe a 16m turbo diesel is on the Christmas in July shopping list.

I must admit that the Crossbow looks totally solid in the air and provides some awesome lift, I am yet to see the 16m equivelant in diesel to get some comparison.

Hopefully someone out there has piloted both and can provide some comparative feedback.

My mate has the 12m crossbow and I don't like the bar as much as the diesel, the inability to trim quickly and the constant bashing past the stopper ball irritates me too mcuh even though I love the form of the kite. Maybe Diesel bar on Crossbow 16 is the answer

Sounds like you are mostly in flat water areas. But if you were nearer the waves I would say get a surfboard or directional. In the low wind it is a lot more fun to stay on your small kite and play in the waves then fly a big kite and just tack back and forth.

I got a 206 Stonker for $200 and have loved using it.
Can go upwind when even the biggest kites are doing the walk of shame.
Even though I am Cr@p in the waves it is fun learning something very challenging and it is defenatily improving my toeside riding.

With a surf type board I have ridden many days where before I would have been sitting on the beach. With a 12m TD and a surf board, your weight should still be going upwind even in 11knots.

Well I do both, bigger boards and kites. The logic being if I have put up the wrong kite I simply change my board (these range from 130 to 190 twin tips, and the two [170 & 220], oh no now one directional {lost the 170 due to a nasty incident with a harness}) kites range from 7m to 20m.

The bigger kite will appear to turn or behave slower no matter who makes them (assuming you compare same models). If you can adjust your flying style you will be happier with a larger kite and same board (don't get hung up on turning etc). I can turn a 20m kite fast enough to do all I want to do with a 10m kite.

If you want to use the same kite and try a bigger board there are a lot of these for sale second hand in all states.

The key is what are you doing. If you ae wave riding then go the surfboard path or larger twin tip. If you are flatwater tricks, bigger kite. But try before you buy many people I know whole tried different combos (kite /boards) get upset and end up with gear they want to sell.

Some design principles will make some boards perform better in light winds, but lets not open that can of worms.

Hope this helps.

Hey Viffer,

I pretty much always hit the pool at Brighton - was driving there so much I somehow convinced the girlfriend we needed to buy a house in Sandgate.

I reckon a bigger kite's the go. I picked up a 2nd hand 18m Naish X2 a while back for $300. They were a great model for their time (02/03) and I've had loads of fun with it - used it as my main kite when my 14 died. 18 is a good size for the lighter days at Brighton.

As a newb I'd say you should think about a 2nd hand kite, there's some bargains around and you'll put more damage on your kites in the 1st year than you will later on. Plus the longer you wait the better kites become - the technology is still progressing fast.

I've now added a Best 21 BFK to my collection, which will get me going happily in the 10-15kt range at 80kgs on a 122cm board. The BFK's are a great kite: powerful, stable in the air, light bar pressure, depowerable. There are some 2nd hand 18's around for about $500. They are 5 line only as they have a bridle, so you would need one with bar included if the Turbo Diesel's aren't.

Some people don't like the feel of big kites, mainly because they turn & accelerate slower... not to mention more pumping on the beach. Once you get used to the timing they have their advantages though. I call the BFK my 'park & ride' kite because one dive and I can generally let it go with just the occasional trim correction on the bar. Also the bigger the kite the more glide when you're coming down from a jump.. it's a nice feeling to land so softly, seems like you have to stretch your feet down to touch the water else you'll just hover a foot off it all day.

Anyway, just another opinion for you to think about

get urself a 16 caus you will ride it from 12kts and be powered up nicely in 16 kts and still hold it in 20 kts. Once you have got over that learner stage you would rather be overpowered than under, see kurt and buy the 16 warroo. A surfboard will get you going but WHO wants to just back and forth all day (boring sh#t in flat water)

nah mate wat ya want is a 30m naish v4 grunty kite.. super fast turning execelent top end and and huge wind range of 3 knots..

Oh yeah, got Surf FX to change the Cabrinha bar to have the be like my diesel bar. Don't like the crossbow setup. The bar pressure is less than my 12m turbo diesel. Go figure.