The advice is solid. Go big man.

12m will bore you ****less until at least 20 knots.

I'm 82kg and a 13m is boring for me in 16 knots.

9...14...17...21...

Watermate said...
Well my local is botany bay in sydney. I will give kite power a shot and also check with alliance gear what they have.


Any specific kite/board recommendations?

If you were a mate I'd put you on a zephyr latest model and a shinn king gee at your weight it's perfect for mentioned winds as you progress you'll get more efficient in low winds and better at handling strong winds, I've seen some really good light wind combo deals lately at some shops your getting the board for next to nothing, I've given lessons with the zephyr and find it perfect for underpowered beginers

Dont b put off . . . I'm 130 plus and love the sport. Yes, a zephyr as mentioned is a great choice, but onCe you progress you will need something in the 10-12 range. Boards, well I have a 156, but prefer my king george and hope master a speedball w18 this summer.

Your weight is fine. . . . Come to my world. . . .

I would go with something around 14m.
Just pick something grunty like a Pivot.
A board 145-150 would be heaps.

I am sorry to put my bobs in here, but ....

why are beginners not encouraged to try foil kites!?

Seriously, they ....

* don't need to be that big,
* have great wind range,
* deal with gusts a lot better than inflatable kites; and,
* have the best depower and release systems out there.
* Oh and no bladder issues ever! To me that is worse than dealing with tangles - if any!

Yeah sure, they are a mind-field for impatient people when rolling, packing, unwinding lines, hot-launching, etc, but once you get the hang of it, most foil kiters never look back.

I use both LEI and foils, but I only have at the moment a land open-cell foil so I cannot really kite over water, but even that can be done.

Anyway my point is if a beginner is taught in a foil kite, they are going to learn kite flying and the principles of kite surfing a lot quicker. They will also learn self-launching and landing from the word go - an essential kite surfing skill in my view.

PLUS

Foils are almost the essential ingredient if you want to progress to advanced directional or foil-boarding, which is taking off and becoming extremely popular recently.

Loftywinds said..
I am sorry to put my bobs in here, but ....

why are beginners not encouraged to try foil kites!?

Seriously, they ....

* don't need to be that big,
* have great wind range,
* deal with gusts a lot better than inflatable kites; and,
* have the best depower and release systems out there.
* Oh and no bladder issues ever! To me that is worse than dealing with tangles - if any!

Yeah sure, they are a mind-field for impatient people when rolling, packing, unwinding lines, hot-launching, etc, but once you get the hang of it, most foil kiters never look back.

I use both LEI and foils, but I only have at the moment a land open-cell foil so I cannot really kite over water, but even that can be done.

Anyway my point is if a beginner is taught in a foil kite, they are going to learn kite flying and the principles of kite surfing a lot quicker. They will also learn self-launching and landing from the word go - an essential kite surfing skill in my view.

PLUS

Foils are almost the essential ingredient if you want to progress to advanced directional or foil-boarding, which is taking off and becoming extremely popular recently.

Because they are 3K sleeping bag with strings attached

Watermate, Darren at ASWA suggested another good option worth demoing for us heavyweights is the 18m Juice. Maybe Puetz has demo'd one?

At 15knots you can bet there'd be a lot of 80kg blokes on 13-17's so i wouldn't even bother with anything less than a 17.

MDSXR6T said..

Loftywinds said..
I am sorry to put my bobs in here, but ....

why are beginners not encouraged to try foil kites!?

Seriously, they ....

* don't need to be that big,
* have great wind range,
* deal with gusts a lot better than inflatable kites; and,
* have the best depower and release systems out there.
* Oh and no bladder issues ever! To me that is worse than dealing with tangles - if any!

Yeah sure, they are a mind-field for impatient people when rolling, packing, unwinding lines, hot-launching, etc, but once you get the hang of it, most foil kiters never look back.

I use both LEI and foils, but I only have at the moment a land open-cell foil so I cannot really kite over water, but even that can be done.

Anyway my point is if a beginner is taught in a foil kite, they are going to learn kite flying and the principles of kite surfing a lot quicker. They will also learn self-launching and landing from the word go - an essential kite surfing skill in my view.

PLUS

Foils are almost the essential ingredient if you want to progress to advanced directional or foil-boarding, which is taking off and becoming extremely popular recently.

Because they are 3K sleeping bag with strings attached

Yeah laugh. However, once you try one (properly) they really take your kite surfing to a whole new level of appreciation. And that's why they are so expensive too. They last and have a shelf-life of at least double what LEI kites have.

Loftywinds said..

MDSXR6T said..

Loftywinds said..
I am sorry to put my bobs in here, but ....

why are beginners not encouraged to try foil kites!?

Seriously, they ....

* don't need to be that big,
* have great wind range,
* deal with gusts a lot better than inflatable kites; and,
* have the best depower and release systems out there.
* Oh and no bladder issues ever! To me that is worse than dealing with tangles - if any!

Yeah sure, they are a mind-field for impatient people when rolling, packing, unwinding lines, hot-launching, etc, but once you get the hang of it, most foil kiters never look back.

I use both LEI and foils, but I only have at the moment a land open-cell foil so I cannot really kite over water, but even that can be done.

Anyway my point is if a beginner is taught in a foil kite, they are going to learn kite flying and the principles of kite surfing a lot quicker. They will also learn self-launching and landing from the word go - an essential kite surfing skill in my view.

PLUS

Foils are almost the essential ingredient if you want to progress to advanced directional or foil-boarding, which is taking off and becoming extremely popular recently.

Because they are 3K sleeping bag with strings attached

Yeah laugh. However, once you try one (properly) they really take your kite surfing to a whole new level of appreciation. And that's why they are so expensive too. They last and have a shelf-life of at least double what LEI kites have.

maybe not I personally know the new ozone foils are having bridle isssues, they are struggling to cope in the more powered winds and with the heavier rider, not a biggy as you need to replace the worn bridles, but not maintenance free after little use