Kite Surfing

Mila

Mila

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We had our first lessons this weekend :D

Crazy fun!

The gear is very expensive. Does the 2007/8 model kites differ that much from 2009/10? From a beginner stand point.

And from a beginner stand point will I know the difference between a bandit and a Ozone kite?
I’m thinking of buying a 2007/8 kite and then to save up for the newest. Is this a good idea or should I start with the newest and carry on from there?
 
Welcome to an awesome sport. I hope you live close to the sea, else you will want to move there soon.
You should not notice much difference between this and last year's gear. I cannot comment on the different manufacturers, although there is a lot of fud flying around there as well. Keep in mind that as a beginner you probably want a bow / sigma / flat kite due to the depowering ability (stay away from C kites for now).

I agree that you should try second hand gear while learning - the first few sessions tend to be hard on the gear.

www.ikiteboarding.com is your new best friend. Look for the forums.
H.
 
ThanX!!! I live in Gauteng for now, but we go down to the coast every 6 weeks. Not much but now we will make a bigger effort.

I see that you can kite in Gauteng too but it makes me:sick: Just thinking of the dams water around here:D
http://www.adsports.co.za/

But if i find a cleanish place we sure are going to practice our kiting skills.
 
I have been looking at starting kitesurfing too.
I live in Blouberg strand.
What are we looking at starting costs, 2nd hand gear?
 
Well starting new can cost on average between 15 000 and 18 000. Second hand gear can get you down to 8 000.
A class goes for about R900 for 4 hours. But I would recommend this.

We had our lessons at ocean2air.co.za.
But that was in Durbs.

Prices. http://www.ocean2air.co.za/html/online/onlineprices2010.htm

I believe they get their stuff from CPT so i think they have abranch down there too.
 
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Create some google alerts and watch gumtree for secondhand kit. It comes up regularly and you can get great bargain there.
 
Waaib said:
I've always understood a few extra kilo's to be a good thing for kite surfing. No?
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You just get bigger kites. And when the wind is hectic a smaller person like me will have to stay on the beach while he can take my smaller kite and enjoy the wind.:D
 
Size is not such an issue with kitesurfing - I've seen some pretty big blokes do it. Tend to lose the kilos quickly though...
 
HvRooyen said:
:D. That's what makes kiteboarding such fun - same day, 10m kite.:eek:
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You can't compare foil kites to water kites.. I'd like to see someone try hold on to my FF Blade 4.9 on a very windy day :D.

I'm also looking at starting kite surfing this summer. Was going to buy a Flexifoil Atom 9m but a friend recommended I take lessons first and try a few water kites before buying.
 
Brawler said:
You can't compare foil kites to water kites.. I'd like to see someone try hold on to my FF Blade 4.9 on a very windy day :D.

I'm also looking at starting kite surfing this summer. Was going to buy a Flexifoil Atom 9m but a friend recommended I take lessons first and try a few water kites before buying.
Click to expand...

While that may be true when comparing foils with C kites, there is less difference between the much flatter modern SLE's and foils. Difference is we (almost) never take the larger kites into the power zone. Not to say that I would be willing to play with a 4.9m2 without the benefit of being able to fall on water...

I agree with the train / try before you buy sentiment.
 
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