Hi,

Anyone got any thoughts on buying a second kite?

I weigh 90kg and KS in Perth. I am a beginner and bought my first kite a 10m Naish Park which I really like. However, I have been out a few times where the wind isn't quite strong enough and now really want to get a bigger kite (maybe a 13m?).

I was told that if I wanted to KS in winter I should get a smaller kite (7m). But I was under the understanding that the winter winds are not as good so should I not be looking for something bigger?

Also, how important do you think it is to have the same model of kites in your quiver?

Thanks for any help

Hi Giles89,

Obviously everyone needs a couple of kites, and winter is a frustrating time for kiters in WA. You have a couple of options but first we need to understand the conditions you'll be looking at.

April - Lighter winds with plenty of days of 'off rather than 'on'. You could get a lot from a bigger kite in this month. With a 10m, a new line of thinking we have been promoting is if you are going to go bigger, go proper big. Skip the 12, 13 or even 15's, you only gain a couple of knots lower end with anything until you get up bigger than a 15. I'd suggest a 17! It sounds big, but it will work in your favour and you'll have more fun, more often.

May - Learn to surf, there is generally no wind at all in May. Glassy days with a bit of decent swell. You may get an Easterly down at Point Walter if you can get out of bed early enough, but don't delay as the winds drop to nothing by 10am usually. Pt Walter will be chaos with almost every school trying to complete lessons down there as well as every kiter in Perth going there. Crazy!

June - Not a lot of wind in June. Aim for the morning Pt Walter Sessions.

July - We sometimes get a few stormy sessions in late July. Wind is generally gusty and quite frontal. you need to get good at reading the weather that approaches from upwind. Watch for the grey clouds and rain squals. Use as small a kite as you can get away with, rig for the maximum wind speed, not the minimum.

August - Tends to be very frontal winds with strong squals and rainy gusts. This is not good wind for beginners and people with only one kite. A 7m is a good size for this kind of wind. You need to exercise extreme caution and never kite alone in these conditions.

September - Still get the odd storm winds and the beginnings of the first seabreezes. You need a big kite for this time of year, bust out the 17 again.

October - Lots of good 17m wind in October with seabreezes becoming more regular but often at around 12-14 knots.

In having said all that, I'd be looking for a bigger kite. Either try and pick up a 17m second hand or we have a few great LW kites in our store. Forget the 7m if this is your first winter. Getting used to a zippy 7m in frontal and gusty strong wind puts you squarely in the realms of dangerous kiting scenario's.

I reckon you'll advance faster, learn more and ride more often with a big kite rather than a small one. Look at a smaller kite in November!

I hope this helps.

DM

Hi Giles89,

It's not necessary to stick with the same brand when you are looking for a BIG kite. Although, having said that, finding one which is compatible with your current bar will save you some serious coin if thinking of buying one new.

Flying BIG kites is not like kiting with a 10m so the differences in feel and speed are not so important. You can augment the incresed bottom end of the kite with a wide twin tip board or a directional.

We have a 17m demo Core LW for demo if you want to see if it is worth buying big. It will get a lot of demoing over the next few months I'd think.

Quality Big kites to consider are Core XR2 LW 17m or 19m, Ozone Zephyr 17m, North Fuse 16m or 18m, North Dyno 17m, or Ozone Edge 17m or 19m. There are others also but these are the top quality ones you'll see most often on the waters around Perth.

DM

all decent kites as dm mentioned but i havnt flown the dyno, naish have just brought out the draft their lw kite, my lw kite is the zephyr, is it a kite youll have fun on under 12knts no, but anything above its a blast, around 18knts and it starts to get heavy and struggles upwind , i can handle mine in the low 20s they are also a great trick learning kite giving you the time and float to nail it without the heavy stacks, if however you get a race board thatll open up the sub 10knt range, good luck whatever you choose

This whole subject of choosing the right kite does my nut in. I used to have a 12m and 9m and found I always choose the wrong kite on the day (despite looking at the 'as-it-happens' wind reading, and weighing up other people's kites and estimated body mass). I.e. I'd choose the 12m and the wind would pick up, or the 9m and the wind would drop out of a usable range.

I'm toying with a 10m North Rebel as my one size fits all.... this is based on my first full season in Victoria, I think this will be a good fit (on a twin tip).

puppetonastring said...
Wouldnt go adding a 10 to a 9 & 12 quiver. Way too much overlap there.
Its just one of the frustrations of the newb. We all went thru it
Dont sweat it - as skills expand so the wind range for each kite. There will be few days that your first choice wont cut it & when that does happens just switch over. No biggy - just a waste of a few minutes.
9M & 12M is already a close quiver with plenty of Xover.

Thanks for the encouraging words, Puppet. Yeah, it's just that frustration of wasted time of picking the wrong arrow... so to speak. But you are of course right.

I don't thing a very large kite is suitable for beginners. They can generate a lot of power due to their size if the wind increases. They also turn more slowly.

Experienced riders can handle an increase in wind strength better.

If you fly a smaller kite (e.g. a 12) more by sining this generates more power as the apparent wind increases.

Better still, if you use a bigger board (e.g. Sector 60) you can get going in lighter winds too.

My large kite used to be a 14, now its a 12. I can get going in 10 knots with the Sector 60.

Cant agree more with Darren.
We always lean towards bigger kites for our newbs.
1) easier to learn in lighter winds with slower kite
2) leaves the way open for when its too strong for your big kite but you are still keen to get out. Probably means you are ready to try a smaller faster kite - they do require more finesse with skills.
If you go with the best "right" size 1 kite for weight then where do you go when you want a 2nd kite? Too Big or too small or too much Xover!
Fact is we all end up with 2 kites so you want a well balanced 2 kite quiver which will almost always straddle that "right' size for 1 kite only.

But thats all to do with your regular wind quiver where you are trying to cover as much as possible from 15 to 30 kt winds.
When you are talking Light Wind kites you are talking about chasing the 8kt days up to where your regular kites kick in somewhere above 15kts.
These kites are in a league of their own. There are not too many brands around these days that scale up their regular kites to 15M+M and flog it as a Light Wind kite. Butb they still exist.
What you need to make yourself aware of with anything +15M is those brands that have developed a kite specifically designed & tested for Light Wind. An oversized regular Delta or Hybrid just doesnt cut it with the modern Light Wind kites out there.
There are a few legit contenders to consider. One Id like you to include is the Ocean Rodeo Flite.
There are 2 sizes from Ocean Rodeo - 15M & 17.5M. Both have been developed individually, specifically for lightwind performance over many years of R&D - in total isolation from the regular product range.
Demos are available & Id suggest this is definitely a LW option to try before you buy.

PS - same same for small kites - dont get sucked into buying a 5M version of the regular wind kites & expect it to perform like its big brothers when things go nuclear. There are options now specifically designed to perform differently & at their best in cranking conditions.

Kites are evolving - we now have brands working hard at satisfying a range of needs
- your regular 15kt to 30kt quiver options - already including the choice of 'C's, Hybrids & Deltas.
- Light Wind kites ie <15kts
- High Wind kites ie >30kts
- Race kites - only ever buy the red ones ;-)
All now backed with design excellence & experience to suit the end use as long as you do your homework on who is doing the footwork in new directions.
Very exciting rumours around atm about race kite options due for release 2013/14.