Gettin in

[bryanleighty]

Hey,
just a quick note from a guy thats in the same situation.

heres what i did, as i didnt have much money at all, and i at least wanted to give the sport a try before plunking down the few thousand dollars for a complete setup.

1. trainer kite on ebay 45 bucks. used this for about a year and got OK with it.. (see pt 2)

2. lessons.. found local guy with lots of great recommendatios and put down the 200 dollars for lessons. realized that i should have got the lessons before spending a year on the trainer as some of the techniques i learned during the lessons, i had not practiced as i should have in the prior year. so i had to start fresh with the trainer...

3. found 2 super cheap kites on ikitesurf.com classified. emailed EVERYONE that had sub 200$ kites and finally found 2 that were old, but in good shape. perfect for learing / crashing and all that. got an 18 and a 12 for less than 300 total cost!!

4. homemade kiteboard! 3/4 inch ply with 3/8 inch laminate expoyed together with a rocker (2 2x4s) and store bought bindings.. or just look around .. i saw one this weekend at a pawn shop in st. pete!

5. Bar came with the 12 m kite, but i need a different one. it is fine to test fly the kites, but its much too large and does not have release on harness loop..so i will not lock in..

...all in all..it was a gradual spend of about 700 dollars for 2 kites, lessons, homemade board, etc.. not cheap.. but i think i got some great deals along the way.
considering 500 was spent before i even got more than the lessons.. it is not cheap.. but the money i saved on the kites and board are well worth it.