Hey guys,

Just been on trainer kite for a week now and booked in to a private session this coming weekend.
Now the sales person at this shop is bloody damn good at getting me buying a new gear, unfortunately my wallet is not that thick yet.So I have been reading many forums and articles on how to buy the gear and second hand gear.

My question is, is this the right summary:
- Kite: buy crispy looking kite, line should looks great and also 2012+
-- my weight is 82 but been dieting and hoping to get down to 75 by summer.. I believe my kite size should be 10-11 range.
- harness: get a brand new one, the one that fit and feel great when wearing it. Most likely the seat type for now.
- Board get the twintips one.. don't know the size yet, will ask instructor this weekend.
- wetsuit: since i'm in Syd.. get one that fit well and move easily.

Is this about right?

Much appreciate it peeps :)

xonline said..
Hey guys,

Just been on trainer kite for a week now and booked in to a private session this coming weekend.
Now the sales person at this shop is bloody damn good at getting me buying a new gear, unfortunately my wallet is not that thick yet.So I have been reading many forums and articles on how to buy the gear and second hand gear.

My question is, is this the right summary:
- Kite: buy crispy looking kite, line should looks great and also 2012+
-- my weight is 82 but been dieting and hoping to get down to 75 by summer.. I believe my kite size should be 10-11 range.
- harness: get a brand new one, the one that fit and feel great when wearing it. Most likely the seat type for now.
- Board get the twintips one.. don't know the size yet, will ask instructor this weekend.
- wetsuit: since i'm in Syd.. get one that fit well and move easily.

Is this about right?

Much appreciate it peeps :)

Well firstly, wait until after your private lesson before you buy anything :P

I'm 82kg (from my experience, don't buy anything based on planned weight. It never works. You always end up eating pizza and burgers and staying the same weight). My most used kite is an 11m. So you're on track there. When you can, get a second 8m or 9m kite for those windier days. As for the type and age of the kite, the guys at the shop won't put you on anything dangerous or hard to learn on, so you can't really do anything bad there.

Harness, yep. Get one that is super comfy. It's probably the least exciting and sexy bit of kit you can get, but it's also the piece of kit that will outlast your kites and pretty much all your other gear so take the time to get something nice. If it's between a semi-comfy harness, and a super comfy more expensive harness, pay the extra money. You won't regret it.

Twin tips, get something on the larger side of the fence. I started off with a 136, tried a friends 142, loved it more, so I traded mine in. It was the board I learned on, and I still use it for less windy days. Actually stick your feet into the bindings before you buy it. Make sure you like them and they are comfy.

Wetsuit. It's getting to that time of year where you can consider a spring suit instead of a steamer. Plus, springsuits won't fill up with water at the legs and be a pain in the ass. But, all up to you. Depends how you handle the cold.

If you do buy something before lessons (like I did)
you will at least be committed to learning.

your criteria looks good but at your weight I would go 12m as a first kite and a LW TT . Get your fun Short TT
once you know how to kite.
10 or 11 are in no-mans land because then you are looking at a 13 & 8 to compliment your quiver
12, 9, 7 is the go then get a 17 and you won't miss a thing.

Thanks guys, due to crappy wind in Sydney i/my gf still haven't done our lesson yet, sadly but have been pro-actively looking for gears. Some of the deal i just want to jump in and buy it! Dang.

Hopefully i'll get some wind next weekend with Kitepower and have some experience on the real equipment itself.

whats a definition of a season? 1 year? and that was very awesome knowledge by the way! THANK YOU!

@Pattiecannon what's LW TT? .. i'mguessing.. lightwind .. something?

@glasstraxx - that's a great idea. Get two lessons, 1st the understanding, 2nd get to know the ktie in the water and 3rd - get trained in my own kite. love it.
I'll probably look for 12 and 9 as per a lot of reading/researching then :) thank you for your advice.

i would not go for a seat harness personally

depends if you have much of a board sports back ground, can be ok for the first starting out period, also depends on how cashed up you are- if you have a seat harness you are likely to want a waist harness in future, also depends a bit on which direction you would like to go if its cruising around and or big boosting sessions then a seat harness can be fantastic (im told).