The newbie question Im sure you guys get constantly
 

Ok So I picked the summer to try to get into kitesurfing so a whole lotta waitin and readin and not a lot of actual time to give it a go. I have taken a few hours of lessons so far, plan on getting more but waiting for a sting ray wound to heal from last time(very ouch).

So I have a friend that kites but uses all very old equipment, back when huge kites were the norm. In my lesson we used a 12m and I found it to be extremely powerful (15 mph winds gusting to 20). I am trying to decide on a first real kite to pick up. At his guidance I found a cheap 19m PL Venom but have quickly decided that newer/smaller/LEI makes a lot more sense, and he is more than happy to buy that from me.

I have not gone through a winter season to see what a 'normal' wind range is, nor am I very familiar with the newer kites and what is hype and what is real windrange wise.

I am 220 5'10 and currently ride a litewave wing. I have my eye on a Liquid Force Envy both for its stability, good reviews, and a good deal. Both 12 and 15 are available. I am under the impression that the smaller that will work the better, the friend is insistent that I should go for the 15. Both sides of the argument make sense to me but I thought I would put the question out to those that know the gear as well as the weather. The hope is to get something that will work as much of the time as possible until I can get some epxerience and know what I want to pick up a second kite to fill in the gaps.

So what would you guys go for with this delta kite? 12m or 15m?

Thanks for the help

Newbie kite thoughts
 

Hey, I just started kiting last year. Seems to me at 220 lbs, you are going to need a bigger kite. I have a 2009 LF Havoc 16m and weigh 215. It has been my primary go-to kite. I will say that for really light winds it can be a bear to relaunch, but otherwise a very nice ride up to 20kts. 'course, I'm new still. At 215 lbs I rode a 16m mostly and a 12m Session for those 20+ days...Those aren't so frequent here in Tampa in my limited experience...

This year the economy has picked up for me and I'm buying a 17m Zephyr for really light wind and a 13.5 Core GT for breezier days. I am selling my 2009 16m havoc and 2008 12m session for crazy cheap. Each will include everything you need. 16m has absolutely no damage or repairs and looks brand new. The 12m has one small repair in the canopy, with a silver dollar sized patch.

If interested, shoot me an email. I'll be craigslisting them soon and I'm sure they'll disappear...

I have an 08 15m Waroo. I learned on an 07 and bought the 08. It's barely used and I think many people on this forum learned on that kite or a similar. I know its no delta, but if you're interested I can pull it off of ebay.
Here's the link to it

http://cgi.ebay.com/2008-Best-Waroo-...item4152618124

Try a Cabrinha 14m Switchblade 3 (2009 model) about $400 to $600 used. Before you buy anything. You need to have a kite that is user friendly (one pump, great safety device, long life, takes abuse) that relauches very easy and will pull your weight up and get you going, then depower when you need it too. There are other kites that will do this, however it has been my experience that nothing does all these tasks as well as the model above IMO. Check around and get a lesson with someone that has this kite for you to try then make your decision based upon your own persional experience with the kite. For that matter try out what ever gear you are going to buy before you plop your money down based upon others advice (mine included). Don't be in a hurry to buy something until you have sometime on the gear. Have a blast in the wind.