I found this on another forum (link at the end) and thought it was perfect advice for beginners out there, especially the bit about wanting to jump! In a word - DON'T.
The article explains (which is important to know for any kiter IMO) the differences between DEPOWER and FIXED BRIDLE/POWER kites.
Leading Edge Inflatable (LEI) kites (the ones you pump up with a pump are not mentioned here) but are DEPOWER kites as well.
The point being - know what you want out of the sport of either kite surfing or power kiting (ATB, land, buggy)
before you decide on what kite is right for you!
Disclaimer: some of the kites mentioned are specific to other markets/overseas countries. You won't find some of them here in Oz!
=================================
Before you ask, What kite Should I buy?
First WELCOME to the wonderful world of powerkiting. If your question is
"What kite should I buy?" The answer is "it depends." What you will be asked by most of us is,
Where are you?
Where do you fly? (or want to)
What kiting experience do you already have?
What aspect of powerkiting are you interested in? (Buggying, Landboarding, Kite Surfing, Jumping, etc..)
What are your local winds like? (Averages, gustiness etc.)
How much do you weigh? (Not trying to be personal, Bigger people are less likely to be overpowered by marginally bigger kites and most of us want to start you on a kite that will teach you without hurting you.)
What kind of budget are you looking at? (just to narrow choices) On average, the most popular answer if you are looking to START in the sports of power kiting is a 2-3M Fixed Bridle Kite. It can be flown in low winds as a static kite to learn on and will most likely be a kite you keep as your moderate to high wind kite as you progress in the sport..
If you are a stunt flyer, let us know up front because you might not be happy with a 3M kite if you want to do spins and dive stops. That's where kites like the Spiderkite Smithi most often enter into the conversation.
If you want to jump, STOP, wait a sec and listen to the wisdom of the advanced kiters here. To safely jump you'll want a kite at least 5M square with some float so you can land safely. DO NOT be tempted to just start with a 5M kite and think you can jump.. You will get yourself hurt or worse. The advice here is still a 3M or so kite and once you know EVERY characteristic of how the wind affects you holding the handles, then move up and seek the advice/counsel of our experience Kite jumpers. (Skydiving reasoning seems applicable here. It doesn't take a parachute to sky dive.. It takes a parachute to sky dive twice.)
(Disclaimer: These lists are not by any means comprehensive. They are merely first-hand examples. Sport Kite Most often these are 2 line foils and are sized by span (2.2 being 2.2 meters wide) This is the kite you find in stores very often and is a great first exposure to foils and a great place to start if you've not flown a multiline kite before.
Examples of Sport Foils are:
*HQ Symphony (Multiple sizes)
*Prism Snapshot (Multiple Sizes) ** the 2.5 size is already bridled for four lines
Trainers These are often Sports kites geared towards learning to fly on a bar. Sometimes they are sized like sport kites others are sized in Square meters like Power Kites.
Examples of Trainers are:
*HQ Hydra
*HQ Kites Rush Pro
*Ozone Imp Trainer
*Peter Lynn Impulse TR
Fixed Bridle Power Foils These are 4 line kites measured in Square Meters and are geared towards pulling and/or lifting. These are powerful kites and the dangers here are complicated by new fliers assuming the sizing is consistent with the Sport variety.
It is not!! A small power foil can really do a lot of damage to you if you aren't ready for the big difference in pull. These kites are most often used for buggying but are not limited to that aspect of the sport.
Examples of Fixed Bridle Foils are:
*HQ Beamer
*HQ Toxic
*Peter Lynn Hornet
*Peter Lynn Reactor
*Peter Lynn Voltage
*Skydog Powerfoil
*Buster Soulfly
*Ozone Flow
*Ozone Octane
*Flexifoil Bullet
*Flexifoil Rage
Depower Kites These are multiline kites most often used for Board Sports, WaterSports and Buggying. They are able to be depowered (or sheeted) and are flown with a control bar. A fixed Bridle kite on a bar does not make it a Depower kite) Depowers are generally larger than Fixed bridles for the same conditions and tend to be able to ride out gusts more gracefully. Depowers also tend to be more expensive due to materials and control mechanisms.
Examples of Depower kites are:
*HQ Apex
*HQ Montana
*Ozone Access
As for the bottom line, On average, the most popular answer if you are looking to START in the sports of power kiting is a 2-3M Fixed Bridle Kite. It can be flown in low winds as a static kite to learn on and will most likely be a kite you keep as your moderate to high wind kite as you progress in the sport.. The suggested starting size can go up or down based upon your weight , experience and local flying conditions..
Wear a helmet and above all BE SAFE!!.. ==============================================================
Source:
www.powerkiteforum.com/viewthread.php?tid=28759
. Newbies please do yourselves a favor and DON‘T READ THIS INFORMATION.
.
