hi all ,
i took up kiting in 05 but missed last summer due to commitments . im looking at having another crack but im not to confident with my kite . im about 73 -75kg's and have been using a 10m 05 flow (bought new) .
now i had a dodgy moment back in the summer of 05 and im a little rattled by it. i was out at saftey bay near the island and as i was heading back out (switch for me cause im goofy stance) i didnt de-power when i noticed a stronger gust comming my way . so i headed straight into it ,took of at about 25-30 knots riding switch . not being very experienced i thought the thing to do would be to get the kite above me and try to slow down a bit and switch back to goofy . this didnt happen , my kite dropped straight into the power zone and then im macking downwind switch and hating it. I ditched the bar , creating a massive line tangle , kept my board strapped to my feet , slowed a bit then ladded on my ass so i wouldnt loose the board .
I then sat on my board and wound the lines onto the bar and made my way in sitting on the board , holding a bit of the kite so i could sail in .
this took about 2 hours and i ended up drifting about 3 bays north till i hit the shore . my missus on the beach was more worried than i was as i did have a lesson and i was doing what i thought was the right thing in that situation (as far as getting in that is)
SO now i want to have another crack im wondering if a smaller kite will still work in similar (18 -22knot) breezes and also what model do i hunt for thats still in the beginner level (my spelling sux).
cheers kyle

Hey Kyle. You are gonna love the new kites. All the area's that you had a hard time with, wind range, depower, better safety and relaunch. There's a long list of good new kites, and quite a few suitable things in the buy and sell.
I'm about your weight and could probably get away with my 11m Ozone Instinct as a 1 kite quiver, I liked it so much I bought a few of them.
My tip would be a high depower SLE / hybrid / bow kite (do some research) of about 9-11m.

Hey, this is my 500th post!

I don't know about the Flow, but it's probably not worth a lot anymore. The question should be if you want a one or two kite quiver. Eg. a good 10m might be right most of the time, or you could get an 8+11 or 9+12.

Not sure about SOF-X.
I'd look at Slingshot Rev, North Rebel, Flexifoil Atom, Royal Era, Ozone Instinct, Ocean Rodeo Rise, but there's plenty more good models out there too.

Hi tot,

The old 05 Flow was good in its day, but it has been totally eclipsed by the latest Airush Flows, or even last years.

The new shape has all the good stuff, super safe, easy relaunch, big wind range, more power blah blah blah.

It's worth the expense of upgrading. Demo ride one for yourself or read up on the reviews on the airush forum www.airush.com or on the Reviews pages on this forum.

We have a bunch of last years ex-rental Flows and DNA's for sale through Airborne, give them a ring. (08) 9244 4446

You can also rent one of the new kites from us for a day and ride a few different ones in that day to decide what works for you. After renting, you can have that cost of the rental refunded to you at either Airborne of Windforce when you buy a new one from them.

Hope this helps. Good winds,

Don't worry about the little scar. It could have been worse, and they often were. The safety of new kites will keep you generally out of trouble.
If you want to slow down, just dig into the ocean hard with your board, and plant your arse in the water. This will send your kite to the very edge of the wind window, and it will have very little power.
Get back out there, and be confident, hesitating gets you into trouble.