Kite Newbie- Educate me!

[ryro327]

Hi everyone!

I just got into kiting due to my friend allowing me to play with his Symphony 2.2, a lot of fun so now I want a power/traction kite!

I've seen a bunch of youtube videos, read reviews & it looks awesome.

I never knew kites were so expensive nor there was an entire culture around them. Regardless I want to become part of it!

Basically I'm looking for a kite that would allow me to do those crazy jumps I've seen in videos. People being lifted up up to 10feet! (doesn't have to be that high) when they jump.

What size kite would I need to get that kind of pull? I'm 5'8" @ 190lbs

As I mentioned, I don't have much money so I'm also going to have to buy it from the forums or ebay, etc as I've seen such kites costing $300+. The max I can pay right now is maybe $220.

Can you guys educate me?

[ricki]

Kiteboarding is not unlike steering an airplane, it is fairly easy particularly absent waves. Now that you can steer an airplane, taking about ten minutes to accomplish that, now land it in an emergency. That is where knowledge development, training and practice come into play. Kiting can go from easy to complex and prone to injury you in very little time in emergencies. The less you know, the more likely it is that you will fall into emergency situations. Read over some of the accident summaries at:

http://fksa.org/forumdisplay.php?f=29

There are eleven pages of them however there are a lot more than that, worth understanding and more importantly learning how to avoid.

Instead of worrying about what sort of kite to buy at this point, or airplane for that matter, your interests would be FAR better served by finding the best pro kitesurfing instructor you can find and taking an adequate quantity of lessons. After that you will have a good idea about what sort of kite to get all on your own. It is easy for you to buy the wrong kite at this point, there is lots of old stuff out there, incorrect sizes, etc..

Some tips on how to find an instructor are at:

http://fksa.org/forumdisplay.php?f=45

I would start with the top three stickies.

By not taking adequate quality pro lessons, you are not only putting yourself at risk but potentially bystanders and our access to kite. It really is important to get good training first.