I have been kiting on an off for a few years, learning when I am on vacation and finally want to get my own set of gear. I am looking to go mostly in the caribbean and florida. I was using a 12m crossbow the last time I was in Aruba this summer. I am 6'2", about 220 lbs. I have been reading up on a variety of kites and as I live in New York City away from decent shops, I am mostly relying on opinions of dealers and riders for this decision.

I am leaning towards a 12m bow/flat/sle. I know that at 14 would get me more places, but I am worried about being over powered when things get good.

I am looking for opinions on the following.

RRD Hypertype
Flexifoil Atom
Best Waroo Pro
Best Waroo
Switchblade2

as well as boards

Crazy Fly Proline, Underground and Skywalker

Also, what do people think of the warrior harness? Is it worth the price?

Thanks

Josh

Tough call on size...if you were like 170lbs or less, I would definitely say go for a 12m, but at 220, you may want to go bigger. What type of winds will you mainly be kiting in? If 15knots or less most of the time, then go bigger: 14 or 16m bow. If you think you will only go out in 15knots plus, then you could get by with a 12m. Either way, don't get some small narrow board. Go with something with good length and width(underground 152, the wide crazy fly board, one of the new light wind RRD boards, one of the big Skywalkers, etc..) In terms of kites, any of those brands are good. I personally like RRD the best, but I have also flown most of the others and liked them too. I would say the Flexifoil is my next favorite, then probably the Waroo. Don't think the Waroo Pro is worth the bang for the buck...the normal Waroo works just fine. The Cabrinha was "okay" in my opinion, but it still works. Any of them you will have a blast on. Anyway, that is my 2 cents.

Damn good answer. Have you ever considered dispensing kiting advice as a job?

I agree, the wind speed decision is crucial, unless you are going to "splurge" and go two kites or consider yet another kite (Instinct). But, that's just complicating the whole conversation even more.

Hey,

I am 6'2" and weigh 220. I started this sport in July. I purchased a Crossbow 16 and Slingshot sx151. I have enjoyed this kite and I feel it has been an easy one to learn on. I found it was easy to get up on this board and ride. I think the larger size boards make it easy to get up and go. I have used it off the Georgia coast and on a lake in N.C. Winds probably 10-24mph. I think you would need a 16 if the winds are 10-18.

I am thinking about purchasing a 12 for my second kite. I am undecided which one; however, I am planning to do some travelling and I want a second kite so I do not have to sit on the beach.

Good luck and keep on stoking.

Clew In

Both of the above answers are dead on, IMO. Thanks KitenB and Clew in.

I think your ultimate decision on the kite comes down to the wind you anticipate (want to) ride in and the style of riding you hope to pursue.
I am assuming (maybe wrongly) that you are still at the earlier stages of learning, given the on and off nature of your time on the water.

In terms of the board (basically regardless of the kite) both KitenB and Clew agree, and so do I. Go with the larger board.
It makes progessing SO much easier. Plus, you are a big guy. You will NEVER outgrow a good larger board (in Florida) or anywhere it drops below 15knots. Trust me on that

You can easily "grow into" a smaller one. But if you start with a smaller one, there is a good chance it will slow down your learning curve. I've seen that scenario so many times its mind boggling.

My take is this: you can always spill some of the power off a kite (especially most bows/hybrids), but it is hard to snap your fingers and get Mother Nature to turn it up a notch. So, to err on a larger board is better than to err on too small and schlogg around out there. Also, in general, going upwind is much easier on a larger board (when properly powered up). The boards you nentioned are all good and have slightly different characteristics.


In terms of which kite "make/model" to get.

That has everything to do with rider preference and what you would like your kite to provide you. Since we get to ride all of these kites and also let a bunch of other guys in the area ride them (just happened tonight with the 15m Atom) we get a great feel for the kites ourselves and get alot of input on them from other riders, both local and spread throughout the country.

We know the kites, so I feel we can do a good job of matching riders with kites here at this shop.

My take is that all the kites in the shop are great (they are). Why so many then?, and isn't one BETTER than the others?

The kites vary in what they provide the rider. You mentioned all great kites in your post, Strickon. They are all good.

Which one to get depends on what you want to get from your kite (your style and approach to kiting).

I think what I love most about kiting is that it can satisfy SO many different styles and personality types. To me, its like motorcyles.
Some people love to cruise and look at the scenery. Some people love to ride crotch rockets, etc. Bikes satisfy a very broad range of personality types. Kiting is like that, too. I love everything about it, myself. I love the cruising, the jumping, high winds, light stuff. Kiting is awesome

So, some of the kites are adrenaline performance oriented for KitenB.
Some are more geared at stability and ease of use. Some are a blend. Most kites these days blow the doors off of kites just 3 years ago. Now you can pick and choose to accomodate your style.

Neat stuff, but I agree, without riding them all first, how would you know which to pick? Talk about a catch 22!!

Hopefully this forum is helping with information exchange and hopefully you trust our opinions here at the shop.
We want you to be very happy on your gear.
If you are, you will most likely buy more in the future

Oh, the warrior is definitely top of the line.

I'm 6' 220 and have been up over 240..... been riding year and a half here in FL. Your question is a little open ended as far as budget. Obviously the more gear you can get the better your chances of riding are, but if you are budget restricted or as it sounds travel restricted (I don't know personally but I hear taking the gear over to the islands can be a hassle so the less the better (anybodies thoughts on that?))

All that aside, talking to guys over 200lbs and not just the scrawny 180 ones that fattin up in the winter... But those of us that stay in the club, I think we approach this a little different than the lighter guys. I always find I'm on a bigger C shape than anyone else, and I personally feel like I need that little bit more than the smaller guys. I'm looking at the 20M waroo to start replacing my C shapes, a lot of folks don't care for it, but for me I like. The 16 waroo is great too, just I can eek out a little more on the bottom end with the 20. Lighter guys can get away with less... as I said, i've gone 20lbs up before and that's a kite size, more lead in the anchor to drag around...

For the kite it really comes down to the wind you are expecting, and can you count on that wind to be there when you are? No sense buying a 20M or 16M if you can count on 20+. The bows have really opened up the wind range on the kites but, overpowered still sucks and it's no fun at the very least and dangerous at the worst, even on a bow.

Board is a huge impact also, I picked up the Underground XXXL that the guys have at the shop and I gotta say that thing is fantastic for a light wind board (or when you need to rig smaller than what the wind conditions are) and a big guy. It's helped me ride in conditions that I couldn't ride before, but the lighter guys could (which really can tick you off when all you can do is go downwind while they are holding their line). That runs back to budget though again, price is great on it, but you really do need another smaller board to back that one up...

That's some of my thoughts, don't want to babble on.... But ask away if you want to know more.

Thanks for the advice so far. To give a little more feedback about where I am skillwise, I can consistantely get up on the board and am starting to stay up wind. I think a few more sessions with a stable set of gear and I will be in good shape. I have also been getting excited about the new surfboards that are emerging and looking to getting into wave riding. I got some advice once that I should think about getting 1 kite and 2 boards. I was thinking I can use the surfboard with the bread and butter kite for low winds.

I also have been looking at the kite breakdowns in size for the various models. Some brands jump from 12 right to 15, others go in smaller increments. I looked at kitebeaches to get some ideas of average windspeeds in the areas I will go and most are 15 knots and above.

Here is the kite size summary for the various kites
Flexifoil Atom 12,15
RRD Hypertype 12,15
Best Waroo 12,14,16
Best Waroo Pro 11,13,15,17
Switchblade2 12,14,16

So there is probably some overlap with the RRD and Atom that make their 12m have much more low end than a 12m waroo or switchblade.

How often to people swap gear? What is the lifetime of current kites? The waroo has really good pricing, but I don't really like the bar. The switchblade is getting good reviews but the price is really high and I heard the quality of cabrinha isn't like some other brands.

I don't know if this info helps at all, but if people have more detailed recommendations or can answer these questions, it will help.

thanks again.

Josh

I will stick with two of them.

The lifetime of a kite. I haven't ever had a kite die on me. Seriously, I usually sell long before the kite actually becomes non-useful. I think most people take that approach. If you take reasonable care of a kite (even if you kite alot like me) your kite should last two seasons without major repairs necessary.

I don't consider patching a bladder or changing the pigtails major.

Turnover. Everyone is different, but I would guess on average, your average rider replaces half his/her quiver every season. One season might be one size and the next season two sizes (of 3 kites). Or maybe every two seasons the whole quiver. Every one is different, but that is my guess through observation.

Anyone else have a guess on that?

Sounds reasonable.

I just asked Daryl. He said every year and a half for quiver turn over.
He said some guys every season, some take three, but on average total turnover in about 1.5 seasons. About the same guess.

He also said he saw a kite die one day. He said it was a gruesome sight.

I placed my order with Darryl this weekend. It was pretty amazing to get great prices along with great knowledge and service. I ended up going with the 12m hypertype with a 137 crazyfly. I also got the warrior harness. I am excited for my first trip out in about 2 weeks to Great Exuma.

Thanks for everyone's help.

-josh