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General Gear Reviews Newbies The Hookup Foiling Lost & Found WA NSW QLD SA VIC TAS

Gracey

5 posts

Gracey

5 posts

16 Mar 2011 5:52pm

hey all,

posted in general before didnt see the newbie section, so im completly new to kitesurfing want to get into it so thought id find a forum and see where i can start ive got a 2000 budget from what ive seen its best to find a school or something like that to learn. im down in vic and just wanna know how everyone started?? im keen to go second-hand for gear as im sure will be fair rough on the gear i buy. i dont know much about what to go for so any info from you guys would be sweet
cheers gracey

yeehaa

QLD

123 posts

yeehaa

QLD, 123 posts

16 Mar 2011 9:13pm

Firstly- Get lessons!!!!

Go for a bow kite mate, size will depend on your weight and general wind you have in your area- eg i'm 85kg and the wind i ride in is usually between 15-25kts. So i ride an 11M kite.

And definetly go second hand for the kite, check out the buy and sell section, you're sure to trash it. If they have had repairs, thats ok. You'll prob add to it.

CABRINHA switchblades/SLINGSHOT octanes/F-one Bandit's (go the bandit mate

) etc, there's plenty of selection. You can use these types of kites to get you riding until you figure out how far you want to take it and push yourself. These are very "general" kind of kites and after a while you might find they'll hold your progression back (bar the F-one), but they have good de-power and are safe and easy to fly.

Go for a new harness, make your selection carefully. This is something that you can have for years if you look after it, if you are comfy in it you will ride longer in the water. Shops will let you try them on for size etc. Should cost about $300- $350.

The board I would suggest go new as well. If you have a good board you will find it easier to learn and progress. CARDBOARD tempo's are nice boards. New boards will cost roughly $1000.

This should leave you 700 odd dollars for a kite, which would be about right for something 2008/2009. Hope this helps.

Gracey

5 posts

Gracey

5 posts

17 Mar 2011 1:10pm

cheers man that helps heaps thanks for the reply.

ill sus out all that gear and also the buy and sell section the wind down here would be about 15 kts and im around 68 kgs amped to get started
and yeah gonna get a few lessons first and go form there again cheers mate for ya help.

ryebloke

VIC

54 posts

ryebloke

VIC, 54 posts

17 Mar 2011 8:59pm

lance

if you are in melbourne there a few schools down St Kilda way, KR was my school and i got a great kite package with extra lessons with them, after lessons you can make a 'better' informed choice what you need, but its all a learning curve and everyone has an opinion, you can good deals on gear with the schools also.

oh and with the lesson best to put a lesson off if there is no wind instead of getting mega frustrated with the kite falling out if the sky all the time

good luck

Gracey

5 posts

Gracey

5 posts

17 Mar 2011 9:18pm

hey man

yeah ive seen a couple in st kilda im in rosie mate im gonna check them out not sure which deal to go for maybe a 4 or 5 hour one. how did you go with it do you get out much down here? cheers for the input mate.

Freddofrog

522 posts

Freddofrog

WA, 522 posts

20 Mar 2011 8:49am

Buy a second hand board. That'll leave you money for a 2nd kite which you'll appreciate A LOT more and get you out a lot more. I've now got two cheap ($150 & $100) boards. They are 3-4 seasons old and a bit rough but I'm now old enough not to give a rats ar$e what people think of me let alone my gear. As long as you get the right size it won't matter. Kites are different and you need something no older than generally 2008.

Depending on how much you are going to spend on a secondhand kite, Epic kites are selling last years 2010 ones cheap. eg 7m is $550 (no bar). Bar is $220. So for $770 for complete kite and bar plus around $100 for postage. I tried a mates one and loved it so ordered a 9m and 12m. Should be here in a week or two. Actually just thinking about it, they are bludy quick so may not be that suitable for someone starting out :(

ff

Trackingtom

VIC

9 posts

Trackingtom

VIC, 9 posts

22 Mar 2011 9:28pm

Hey Gracey,

I too had the same budget. But first thing was to see if 1) I liked the sport enough to fork out 2k, and 2) that I could actually DO the sport.

Lessons's killed those two birds. I knew I liked the look of the sport, that wasn't my hesitation, it was more the 'reality' of the sport. 5 hours is plenty for you to have a real understanding of the sport. You'll learn to fly a kite, what to do in an emergency - a emergency pack down as I believe they call it (and I had to do one for real!), and last but not least you'll fly the kite while trying to ride the board.

Once your satisfied with the lessons, and have an understanding to a small degree of gear and such, you'll feel more at ease with purchasing 2k worth of equipment.

I did mine for $1900. Excluding lessons. $995 for a 2nd hand North Rebel, $600 for a North Gonzales board (apparently an easy board to learn on) and a new harness. I opted for new board and harness as they are things that after some study you tend not to get rid of. Bigger boards are good for learning on and when you get better apparently they also come in handy on those low wind days. New harness, well they aren't expensive and after some thought this is something your going to wear on your person and it needs to be comfortable.

I have written a blog, my first session after my initial 5 hour training. This sport is fun, rewarding and it will take some time to get used to.

kiteboardingtom.blogspot.com

sbray

350 posts

sbray

SA, 350 posts

23 Mar 2011 10:52am

yeehaa said...

Firstly- Get lessons!!!!

^^^^ What Yeehaa said is an absoloute DEFINATE must have.... because:

1. This may well save your life.
2. This may well save other kiters/bystanders/ other beach users asses.
3. You get to use the school gear to help understand the type of kite equipment to buy later.
4. If your choice of school is good, you can also tap into the experience of the instructor for answers to many of your question, perhaps even followed by a demo to help the answer

.

Also take some time to search through the many posts in this section as there is a huge amount of info regarding opinions on board, kite and equipment selection (and avoidance).

You may be able to have better informed purchases if you don't rush in.

Have fun with your kiting odyssey,
stay safe with your new kite addiction.

Fossil

Doggfather

14 posts

Doggfather

WA, 14 posts

28 Mar 2011 9:06am

I agree and disagree with some people.

I agree on get a second hand board. You won't need a top of the line board. You just need one that'll float for you.

I disagree on a second hand kite. The amount of misfortue and wasted money I've seen on second hand kites is ridiculous. Some situations could even have turned nasty.

Get a new kite! Do yourself the favour. Te harness is where you wanna splurge. You need that to be super comfortable.

With your budget I'd recommend buying superceeded stuff online.

I got my stuff from the states at kite-line.com. Very friendly and very helpful. Just email them.

You can find a link on my page kiteboard.weebly.com

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