You could get good second hand ten and twelve plus board for 3k.

U don't want a.New kite when u start kiting u will kill it . Get last year's kite at.a.superseaded price

Does sound a little steep for a beginner. But the switchblade is a good kite for a newby if you want to go second hand.
Look also (IMHO) for Blade trigger, Naish Park, Best Kahoona, Ozone Catalyst or Airush DNA.
These kites are (advertised) to be stable. I've only had experience with the switchblade, trigger, park and kahoona (or waroo...), but have heard good things about the others.
In my experience spending money is beneficial (beware of cheap crap) but 3k sounds high for a beginner set up unless in includes lessons.

Good luck

A switch blade is nice kite to learn on.Its steady stable doesn't turn like a Ferrari .It doesn't front stall and has plenty of depower.Just be careful in its upper wind range as it has some serious grunt and can loft with hang time.Robby Douglas has the world kite board speed record on this puppy and has got very fast straight line speed.If you are going to pay top dollar for it ask if you can get the lines shortened to 20 m lengths with 5 m extensions.That way when the wind is strong and in the kites upper range you cans dramatically lower the power of the kite with 20 metre lines.You will enjoy this kite in lighter winds . That's where it's a good beginners kite.Definantly buy a kite , bar and lines and harness brand new.A super seeded model that's never been used before is a good way of saving a little coin.
With the board on the other hand you could get 2x 2nd hand boards for the same price as a brand new one.Get a larger board for light wind and a smaller wind hungry board for stronger wind.Board swapping is easy when the wind changes in strength .
2 boards and 1 kite with line length options will cover most of you wind range and stop you from having to buy another kite .Kites drop in value quick , but kite boards are strong and last and hold there value.
I hope that helps!
good luck!

Mate, if i was you i would look a second hand stuff in the seabreeze buy and sell section.
Ther are some good bargins on kites that are a couple of years old. 3k is way too much.

you should pick up a kite and board for $1500. If you can, make sure you eye ball them first.

I would buy a 12 at you weight. And also look out for a 8 or 9, you are going to need it.

All the best.

2015 bar is 100% better btw.

When I started last year I brought a brand new 10m Ozone Catalyst (I'm 90kg) as part of a package. Everyone who I spoke to was saying if you got the money get a catalyst, if you don't then get a switchblade. I ended up spending the money and getting the catalyst was because I knew it would last me 4-6 years from beginner to advance.

Once you've got your gear and been kiting for a while you'll probably want another kite or board. The great thing about 2nd hand gear is the resale value is really good. If you buy a 2014 2nd hand kite for $1000-1200 now, you could sell it in a year for $700-900 and go buy another kite!

I'm actually looking at getting a 9m and a 12m as that will cover a really good wind range as aposed to just the 10m I got at the moment

That board size is way too big!

A 136 is much more like it for your weight
The average board size is 132 then up to a 136 for a bigger guy
Any larger is just less fun, not really any easier to learn on.

Hey, I started in November and bought an 11m Switchblade 2013 (2nd hand), Gaastra xenon tt 145 x 43 (new) and an NP Mirage harness, all from a shop for $1,600 which might give you something to relate to - a good deal in my opinion. I still currently only have the 11m and am comfortable between 15-22knots
I do wish I bought the 12m so my next kite choice would be a 9m. I can hold the 11m around low to mid 20knots, fully depowered. An 8m is maybe a big stepdown as I have formed an opinion (right/wrong?) that this size is very twitchy. I think I could hold a 9m nudging 30knots but until that actually happens I could be proved wrong. How often is it 25-30 where you live? Not too often I bet..
Now I've had a few months action, I would go the 9m, 12m and a 16m eventually (if I had the choice again). I struggle in less than 15knots in the 11m, I am 6'1 and 87kgs to give you an idea. Perhaps a surfboard with some volume and better technique will help in <15knots but it is nice to have a little more power than not enough..go the 12m in my opinion
Hope that helps dude.

SkipSkip said...
Once you've got your gear and been kiting for a while you'll probably want another kite or board. The great thing about 2nd hand gear is the resale value is really good. If you buy a 2014 2nd hand kite for $1000-1200 now, you could sell it in a year for $700-900 and go buy another kite.

What people ask for kites and get are 2 very different things. 2nd hand kites are worth bugger all. 50% of its value after the first season is fair but anything older than that and it's realistic value plummets. Throw in a professional repair, a couple of seasons of wear and tear and a bar that's a model or 2 old and you have a kite worth a few hundred at best.

That's why there are so many 2nd hand kites going unsold.

My purchases this year:
( first spend in about 3 years)
(9 years kiting)
8m ocean rodeo Razor $1650 complete
10m ocean rodeo Razor $1850 complete
Shinn Dundee TT 132. $800
North waist harness $280

Awesome gear that I'm super happy with
I demoed 10 kites ,6 boards and a few harnesses in the store
Everything was bought without consideration of price and still cheaper than your offer


Your price does seem over the top
Unless it includes unlimited lessons which was offered by some of our Perth shops a while back

Did he tell you to touch you toes when he gave you the price, you could safely cut that in half with a near new or ex demo gear, and $800 ish for new, the buy and sell has loads of minimal use kit , IMHO most brands do great starter kites, safe and well put together, it's only when you come to sell them that you'll notice the difference between a lesser known brand and main stream brand

1 year old second hand kite and bar - $900
Second hand board ripe for a beginner- $450
Total $1,350.00