Thinking about buying a kite and parting with some of my light wind sailing gear.
5years ago my son at 14 years old wanted to give kiteing a go so after giveing up trying to get him sailing i bought him a 3mtr best grunt trainer kite and two 10 mtr kites to learn with ,one lesson later and some coaching at a demo day and boggy lake,between dreadlocks,girlfiends and thinking he was going to jump on a board straight up it all went by the way-side.I kept the 3mtr because it was fun to fly ,but havent used it mouch because if its windy enough to be flying it i would rather be sailing.
The plan is now to buy a kite that i can learn on [flying skills beach and some body dragging,relaunching etc] over winter when i could be sailing the light wind kit but tend not to saving for the high wind days on the smaller kit.
I would like to buy a kite that will be big enough to get me going on,with a floatier learner board[hope to borrow],i weigh 95 kgs.After as many winter training sessions as i can manage get a lession or two and if it all clicks sell of some sailing kit to update to better kite and board.
I've got $500 put away that was going to go towards a SUP but i'm not sure about going down that path,done a fiew sessions on an old windsurf board and not getting a lot out of it.
Done a search through the clasifieds and theres heaps of kites out there that fit that budget.Heres a fiew between 10-14 mtr
07 slingshot fuel
06 ''''' turbo diesel
07 '' octane
07 havoc
06 north rhino
07 north vegas
07 naish torch 2
07 naish boxer
06 naish shockwave
07 airush flow
06 '' halo
07 '' dna
06 '' lift
o7 '' vapor 1 [and many more]

Not sure I entirely agree with Walks. I learnt on 07 Flows and DNA's and thier safety was no worse than most out these days. 07 was really the first year the SLE's and large bar throws came in. 06 was definatley more sketchy in the safety department as very few SLE's in 06.

I would agree there has been progression from 07 (airush anyway), but mainly in kite refinement and behaviour, not safety. I would not hesitate to recommend an 07 Flow or DNA as a first kite provided it was in reasonable condition. You might end up with popeye arms in the larger sizes, but apart from that I see little other advantage for a learner with the latest gear apart from it being shiny.

Forget any 06's and a Vapor is not suitable (except perhaps a VapII - if you can handle a bit of speed they are super stable and safe). The other kites I can't comment on but if any 07's were SLE's they may be OK too. Many are C types, so avoid.

Thanks for the tips so far.
several flows ,dna's,a fiew vegas in classifieds under $600,07 and even a couple of 08.Like a fiew more tips on makes and models from those that have had expierience
What size in those mentioned for 95 kg rider to limit my searching even more?

12m bow or hybrid
13-14m c

either should see you from about 15 - 25knots
your 10m should also see you going from around 19-20 knots up to 30knots

board 140cm + would be good ... Most at this size will also have reasonable width.

Lastly, start kiting now don't wait for the season to start again... Start now and by summer you will already be comfortably riding and jumping... Practice when there is wind. Practice when there is hardly any.
When I first started I spent many a marginal wind day flying the kite in the water only trying to get on the board each time a gust came through.

Hi Steve

A move to kiting........wonder what prompted that thought

Invest in lessons, the dividends paid from this may just save some serious damage.
You also get to try their gear, (and recommendations for sizing of gear ).

Wise words said in the posts above, when recommending gear newer than 2008.

Plenty of good kites available, but you may need to be patient.

As for boards,

I have a big 166 floaty available soon you can borrow. Big 'n' floaty is not neccessarily always the best option.

Many experienced, (way more experienced than me) people on this forum have recommend around a 140 x 42 for a beginner of your size.

I know that you are good with GRP/epoxy layups.
PM me and I will forward the info, I have gathered, to you, on how to build a board around 140 x 42.

Your own build can be exactly the colour / design you want , will get you started & then some, and if you trash it, it won't break the bank.

Welcome to the dark side.....and you thought beer, smokes & windsurfing was addictive

Regards
Fossil