Have always bought my kites complete for years but now as the money gets a little bit tighter have been thinking of getting 3 new kites with just the one bar. Does anyone else do this to save some money? Planning on keeping the kites 3 to 4 years and was wondering if you end up perhaps loosing more money down the track as nobody really buys second hand kites 'kite only'? Mostly thinking in terms of resale value i guess...

Thoughts?

In 3 years your bound to find a secondhand bar at a reasonable cost no need to spend 600 x3 for new bars imo.

I'd also recommend 2 bars 3 kites. I always like to have a spare bar just in case something brakes, especially if/when you travel. 2 bars will also make it easier to sell your kites and you won't put too much wear on a single bar. If you choose a single bar I'd make sure you can get some spare parts easily, sometimes spares can be hard to find as the bar gets older.

When I've bought 2 or 3 kites of the same brand/model, I got the matching bars too, but that was largely because kite shops and dealers used to heavily discount the bar if you bought it at the same time as the kite.

In practice, I'd end up using one bar and the others would sit in the shed with tags on until I sold the gear. That definitely felt like a waste of money as you don't get the value back when sold used. Not sure whether resale is better with or without a bar however...

Given bars are now more expensive (or not being discounted) and I'm pickier about which bars I like, I'm starting to just go with one bar across multiple kites (and not necessarily the same brands). That said, I always have have a spare.

When you guys talk about getting 3 kites and 2 bars are we all assuming the 3 kites are the same brand and the 2 bars work with all three kites. I've always been under the impression that certain bars are only compatible with certain kites.

Are you guys just talking about different bars and using the lines that are compatible with the kite. For example: Ozone lines used with a Naish Bar???

I'm a bit confused and would love if someone could re-lay me some kiting knowledge!

Cheers :D

I use a

PaulyOS said..
When you guys talk about getting 3 kites and 2 bars are we all assuming the 3 kites are the same brand and the 2 bars work with all three kites. I've always been under the impression that certain bars are only compatible with certain kites.

Are you guys just talking about different bars and using the lines that are compatible with the kite. For example: Ozone lines used with a Naish Bar???

I'm a bit confused and would love if someone could re-lay me some kiting knowledge!

Cheers :D

I use a slingshot bar and/or a cabrinha bar with ozone edges. Works a treat.

PaulyOS said..
...
Are you guys just talking about different bars and using the lines that are compatible with the kite. For example: Ozone lines used with a Naish Bar???

Um, not quite. To clarify I have a spare bar and lines set which I can swap between kites as they are all 4 line setups.

To keep the same lines and swap only the bar can be really easy or a PITA depending on the set up.

With my Epic kites system you can just slip the knot off to seperate the bar and lines. However with my Slingshot system I have to totally deconstruct the safety and depower systems to seperate them. It's possible but not something you want to do often. Not sure about Ozone vs Naish.