Do not do it! Once you try kite surfing everything else will lose its lustre. You will end up selling all your other hobbies just to finance your kiting hobbie.

True!! It's very addictive..

I did three lessons last year, well worth all three!! You could probably get away with one if you already had heaps of kite experience, but otherwise I'd suggest the learning curve is already pretty steep..

I've got heaps of hobbies and toys and stuff too so I understand the lament... But do it anyway, something else will give and you'll love it

I agree with the last poster:

- Get a trainer kite. Spend time understanding how to fly it re how the wind window / power zone works. A general rule of thumb is spent around 6-10 hours flying time in light wind and in heavy wind, and gusty wind if you can find it. This will teach you oodles. There are good vids on the wind window on youtube and on kitepower's website. You will meet kiters down your beach at the same time and you can ask them questions as they arise.

- Next (if you haven't befriended anyone who's willing to let you try their gear), take a lesson, otherwise try someone's gear if they own a small eg 7m or smaller 4-line kite (you'll need a harness). Do some figure of 8s while in waist deep water and see what happens (how the kite and your body responds).

- if you're liking it so far, either buy a harness and a kite (the board can wait), or take a lesson and try it with a bigger kite under supervision.

Really, depending on how much you put into it, you can do without a lesson up to the point of riding on a board, which comes later.

You need to learn how to fly the kite first (and lessons will help with this, but are not essential).

BTW with a 4 line kite, stick to wind that's 15-20 knots.

Dude read my 2nd and 3rd point. I suggested lessons as options in both of these.
If after 10 hrs of flying a trainer he can't handle a small 4 liner under supervision he should quit (this is extremely unlikely).

I don't advocate learning from YouTube either. That comment was related to learning to fly the trainer kite. Kitepower has put together an awesome vid about this.

Perhaps the last poster should skim (mis)read my previous post again!

And yes you will need lessons once you move to a larger > 7m kite.

Your surf experience will help with the riding, but putting it all together is another story. Find lessons where you have boat support and headphones. It's an invaluable aid to a paid lesson.

Grab yourself a trainer kite and you can have a play with it while you decide weather you want to kiteboard or not.
Get a 4 string 3mt le inflatable if you can,it will teach you heaps and a lot of fun...

Kazan said...
Nah, I don't think you should try it mate - you sound too "timid" and over cautious and simply asking in this forum why you should even get into the sport, rings nooby alarm bells all over the place with you needing assistance out there probably from the word go!
Stick to surfing dude.

haha, tight ass not wanting to spend money... maybe, timid, not likely

Commitment is good. If you commit you'll know for sure if you like it or not.
A trainer kite is not a commitment. 3 lessons and a purchasing strategy with the chosen school is a commitment.
If you don't like it after 3 lessons (about a one in a million chance) you can save your kite dough for a new channel island quaddie.

"anyone can jump on a board and splash around in the water and get a feel for surfing"? haha ur a classic,

surfing is way hard to learn as it takes you ages before you can paddle into the unbroken part of the wave. Then you have a seemingly unending series of 3 second attempts to learn how to get up & surf a wave, by yourself, until it closes out on your head and you have to now learn duckdive and paddling and sitting on your board, lol!

Definitely get lessons and don't waste your money outright on a trainer. Some schools will 'lend' you a trainer for the duration of your lessons after your first deposit. Much cheaper! You can hand it back and bail after the first if you're not happy :) Some schools will start you straight on an inflatable and all have different ideas about what is the premium size to learn kite control with.
Around $500 or $600 will get you about 3 lessons most places and will be credited back to you as payment on your first kit from that schools shop. Work out the deal with the guys and then google the hell outta that gear. Kiteworldmag.com is awesome. as is this place and kiteforum.com
I learned a lot of bad (kiting) habits on you tube and would recommend it strictly for entertainment and inspiration purposes only!
It's possible to get water starts on your first lesson but rare, and rarer still to see crew riding on their first lesson but it has happened.

The key is kite control and the best way to get that is from someone who has it and has been taught how to teach it. 2 vital components you should look for in an instructor. Go with a recommendation from someone in your area who learned there or from folks here who know your closest area.

Kite surfing is way easier to learn than surfing, as once you have basic kite control down from bodydragging, an subsequently a series of board starts in the right wind conditions later, you will be scooting along for tens to hundreds of meters at a time, downwind & 'getting the feel for it' hopefully by the end of your 3rd lesson. With way more board time than surfing, earlier, you get way way steeper progressional curve.

The next trick is finding teachers who will hop in the water with you. IMHO A teacher who won't hop in the water with you and hang on to your harness while you learn body dragging and board starts, is going to impede your progression next to one who will. Bodydragging in all it's variations is IMHO the central and most important lesson in achieving kite control which is the central theme to achieving board time. Also Radio helmets can be a real plus but are better left for the board riding section of the progression. After you're showing controlled water starts, hopefully you'll have some lesson time left to have a crack at boardriding.
Happy sailing