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Like any product the name brands are by far the better option eg naish,cabrinha,slingshot, north- ring around and im sure youll get a good deal on one.
mike

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Originally posted by crakas

Wet Chook,

I too am a newbie and had purchaced and been learning on a C kite. Recently I decided to go the bow route and purchased a 2006 11m GK sonic and reckon its great to learn on, the reasons being,

Simle Bar.
Able to go up wind in my first session.
Stuff up and just let go of the bar and no getting dragged by an out of control kite. It will save alot of injuries, especially in shallow water.


Able to haul my 95kg upwind on a 147 stonker board in only 15knts.
Wind range seem's to be good. Only had it out in up to 26knts.
Only need one hand on the bar most of the time.
Heaps of depower.
Only about $1500 new, and worth it.
Simple to rig up and and simple bridle.
Allows you to progress quickly.
Realitivly easy relaunch when leading edge down in more than 15 knts.
Very forgiving and doesn't crash very often due to the fact that you can fly it higher in the window and still get plenty of power.

Things I didn't like,
Long throw on the bar for depowering. Need to get a pair of longer arms.
Wear marks on the leading edge where the the end of the bridle is attached. Mine is 2006 model with the upgrades over last years model, but it wears through the scuff guard very quickly.
Can't afford an 8 & 14 metre.


I've had about 8 sessions on this kite now ( two yesterday ) and I absolutely love it. It feels very different to a C kite which I was not impressed with at first but once you learn how to get the power out of it, you'll never look back.


Crakas........

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