First off, have you had lessons? These kites, and I kid you not, are killers if you don't know what you are doing. A simple mess up when conecting the lines could be enough to send you and your kite out of control across roads through people and into power cables. Get lessons first.

Now to the kite - It depends a little on the size - the Rhino 2 is famous for being a slow grunty kite, which can get pretty powerful if the wind picks up. The smaller sizes are OK, but 12 and above and you are going to find that the upwind ability and depower are greatly reduced. I imagine that the price point is a big seller for you, but you might want to look at 2004 kites and later, as issues such as depower and relaunch have been better addressed. That said, as a beginner you would be better off on a Rhino 2 than a Rhino 4, as the newer Rhinos are much more efficient and require a more skilled rider. Kites you should be looking at have a deeper foil for stability and easy relaunch. Nowerdays that doesn't have to mean reduced performance - the Slingshot Diesel, North Vegas, Airush Flow and Pilot, Naish Boxer, Cabrinha Co2 to name a few are all excellent entry to intermediate kites. Hope this has helped, cheers, Nat

awesome thats exactly what i was after, i have read things about the north rhino 2 like, being not a learner friendly kite etc etc, pulls to much. do you think the 12m is too much kite

awesome, responses on here are quick and more than anything usefull. I was looking at it mainly because i tend to pick up activities fairly quickly and dont want to be buying another kite in 6 months becasue my newbie kite cant get me the lift im after.

Hey Dork, you can't be talking about a Rhino 2 surely!?

Burretoe, have a great kiting time - the Rhinos jump, and how, especially 04 and beyond. See you on the water sometime.

A Rhino 2 is not a kite to learn with. These are great kites but they will punish you if you make a mistake. Get a lower aspect ratio like like a Vegas, a Naish Boxer or similar. You will get hurt eventually if you try to learn on a Rhino 2. Powerful, grunty, very limited de-power. Not worth the risk. Be sensible and most of all, get some lessons from a qualified instructor.

I think you're crazy to learn on a kite that you may want to keep for 2 or more years and pay top dollar for.
There are heaps of good quality kites available on this forum, or in your local kite shop. They will cost you less than half as much, be better suited to your needs, and you can sell it for close to what you paid when you are ready to move on later in the season.
Its plain silly to take a new kite and work it over as only a beginner will do. Enjoy crashing your kite, its the best way to learn.

Few cardinal rules of learning:

1. Smaller kite bigger board....kiting is 90%+ kite skills, so if you are getting 1 kite only, fly it in as wide a wind range as possible for practice. The smaller the kite and larger the board, the wider the wind range.

2. The rule used to be to go low aspect for stability reasons - however they are compromised by a lack of ability to edge them to the edge of the wind window. Case in point my old 12m Aero 2 was almost impossible to get to the edge of the window in 20+ knots...I can ride my 14m Nemesis in up to 30 knots safely by crippling it with a tight 5th line. If I was learning again I would go for a small high aspect kite as they handle Melbournes typically gusty wind conditions much better than medium or low aspect.

3. If you can afford it - get a new Bow style kite - or a 5-line C arc style kite with safety features inbuilt. Its all good & well have quick releases on your chicken loop, but when you are upside down, underwater and winded, they can be hard to find !

With a bigger board you will have a lot more margin for error - you dont have to go out powered up to go upwind - you can ride out the lulls due to the increased flotation etc etc.

My 2c worth !

For starters I would doubt that the existing pump leash attachment is strong enuf to handle a 5th line, so you would need to get a sailmaker to retrofit one for you.

Second part of the equation is why you want it. 5th gives you:

- much more top end wind range if you rig it tight (or have the ability to dynamically sheet it) as it pulls the nose of the kite upwind a few more metres.
- easier water relaunch (supposedly, but I havent used it for this yet)
- safer if you get overpowered by say a building seabreeze or a squall in that you can pull in a few handfulls of 5th and get massive depower.

Cons are - yet another line to rig up wasting valuable minutes when scrambling to get on the water & also that traditionally landing a 4 line kite by landing face down on the opposite site of the wind window to your leash attachment and then pulling the kite to face into the wind is not possible with a 5th line...you need a handy bush to dump it behind or a willing catcher

If a 5th line would provide the Rhino2 with more depower and top end wind range, any suggestions on how to go about converting an 03 style North scepter bar? Guess I would also have to have the existing pump leash loop repositioned and reinforced...

F**k dude even Stevie frigin Wonder coulndn't work that ** out. Weirdest lookin brail iv ever seen

Space chimp 2 things 1/ you dont have mates
2/ Tell ur mate to put the rhino3 on E-Bay caus ive never seen one and he will make a lot of money from a one off masterpiece.
Im in a bad mood so dont p*ss me off, all of ya.
Psylor cook me something!!!

Congratulations! You have chosen the best kite I have used in the last six years, they are power machines but when you know how to use them you won't look back. I have four Rhino 2s and am still looking for kite to match them. Stick with it and good luck.