G'day guys, i've taken a keen interest in kiteboarding recently and am definately keen to go into it, went down to a kite shop the other day and enquired about prices and such. And i just wanted to ask for some different opinions.
The overall price i was quoted for all equipment was around $2800 brand new everything (kite, board, harness, lines n ropes etc.) Now since i havent taken any lessons yet, but definately will, im a tiny bit worried about spending so much money on something i know very little about (though i do trust the kite shops quotes and advice). Is buyin 2nd hand gear a bad idea for beginners? or is it just best to go all out on new gear knowing the it will last. Im sure i'll love the sport and will be dedicated to it. But yeah for a beginner just wanting some advice please. The gear was 9m slingshot kite $1700, (dont remember size of board, im 70kg n 177cm if that helps) the board was $800 and i was told rare as gold for my size board.

So yeah any advice or tips for a beginner would be great.

Cheers Tooks

What PR said!

Hey mate , if you decide to buy brand new gear your quote $2800 sounds like someone is getting an extra $300 out of you . (kite 1700,board 800)if you look around a lot of shops will throw in a free lesson and harness. so it definetly pay to look around and try as much as pos and dont fall into the ride what everyone else is ,ride what suits you and be prepaired for sickies when the winds up . good luck

or just keep borrowing other peoples gear till they tell you to fek off.

Newbie ...I was a newbie this year I went to a kite shop had lessons and bought brand new gear. I would suggest buying a second hand good condition kite like a rebel 07 12m,5th line kites are great to learn on as you make friends in the sport you will get to try other kites and then you can make an informed decission to buy new gear.Buy your lite wind board first again buy it second hand Try and ride as many boards as possible before you make your choice on your main board you can get some really good buy off the buy and sell on this site. Above all talk to guys who look like they know what they are doing .....and listen to the advice they give you. This will shortn up your learning curve as well, learning this sport is gonna frustrate the crap out of you at times, but everyone has gone through it, you struggle to get started on your farvorite front foot and then relearn all over again on your other foot then you get to walk alot until you can go up wind then the fun part starts. There is no short cuts to this don't radically modify your gear because someone tells you its the way to go. The designers and manufacturers know far more that some loadmouth on the beach.
Lotofwind is right your life is about to change. But you will luv this sport, good luck.

Cheers for all your reply's people.
Apparently the size board i was told is rare as gold to get, let alone 2nd. I dont remember the size unfortunately but im 70kg 177cm if that helps. Another big question was i got told i would need a 9m kite....whats the big diff in sizes? other then what wind conditions they are suited for. After all the advice (much apprieciated) i think i'll just go for the new equipment n try take care of it. Since buyin 2nd hand without knowing much will be too difficult and the new gear will last longer (hopefully). So any other people on here from newcastle? I usually go down n watch the kiters out on nobby's beach.

Tooks, Sambo is right. Go secondhand for gear that's been recommended in this post. At least you may only lose couple hundred bucks instead of big bucks.

The other thing I'd like to add, if I may.... IMPO you will progress quicker. I would not be going for some of the tricks I'm attempting if I was flying $2000 over my head. It would just be to heart breaking to put a new kite through what my 2 have been through in 4 months.

Yep, good advice here Tooks. Welcome to Seabreeze. Bad advice given free of charge too, but looks like the collective wisdom is trying to help you out.

My advice,
Get a lesson.
Do some research about kites and gear, or ask for recommendations...
Buy recently second hand gear. With winter coming on it should be a buyers market.
I agree a 9m (even a SLE, bow, hybrid - if you don't know what that means, you should after a lesson or some time with google) would probably be too small for average newcastle conditions at your weight.
I suggest a 10-12m high depower kite, board 130-140 ish. Sounds like you've been given the hard sell on the board.
I'm about your weight, my most used kite is an Ozone Instinct 11m.....
Hope that helps, enjoy!

that does seem to be a good deal from surfconnect-even though they are ex-demo kites- but still $1500 for everything is a good place to start.

the havoc does get good reviews- like the others have said depower is important when learning.

brand isn't really that big a deal- it would be hard to buy a crap 2007 depower kite. don't know any I would definitely steer clear of.

i would get the wlf 140x46 board in the package to learn, and keep it for later as your light wind weapon.

good luck, and safe kite-ing...

tooks as i said earlier talk to guys who know what they are doing and ....LISTEN to the advice given, 100%of the response you have been given is buy second hand first, if you have heaps of spare money then whos cares.Buy new. You will not know exactly the kind of set up you want until you have been kiting for a while. Don,t believe the bull**** that a board to suit you is rare.135 up second hand will be a good board to learn on and make a good light wind option later on .
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