Hey guys,

I just got back from Costa Rica where I got my ass kicked as a newbie but fell in love with the sport.

I live 5' from Dallas Road, but won't be kiting there anytime soon for lack of experience and the fact that I prefer warmer water.

The places I will be kiting over the next couple of years to hone my skills are: Nitinat Lake and the Okanagan. I'll probably spend a month every winter in some place warm (Vietnam, Baja, Caribbean).

Currently, I've only got the budget for 2 kites, so my questions are:

1) which two size of kites would you recommend for Nitinat and the Okanagan for a rank beginner?
2) which kites would you recommend that will be durable enough to take the abuse I'll probably give it as I learn this sport. I've noticed some kites have Dacron leading edges and seem more durable.
3) For someone 5'11" and 80kg, what size board should I be looking at? I'm ok with the kite handling part because of my paragliding background, but have zero board experience in other sports so balancing on the board and finding that sweet spot is my weakness.

I know that's a lot of questions, so I really appreciate any advice you guys can give me to get going in this sport.

Cheers
Amir

At your size a 9 or 10 will be the go-to at nitinat with a 7 or 11/12 splitting the rest. Ocean Rodeo is based in town and that's a great place to start your kite search especially with the exchange rate.

You'll probably progress a bit quicker at nitinat than Bahia Salinas (unless you were at arenal, in which case I have no idea) as their conditions are tough for newbies, BUT their conditions will make you a better kiter.

I'm a bit bigger than you (~92kg) and my go-to at nitinat is a 10m, as 'moo said a size up or down are used equally there (though considerably less). Since you're planning to do the okanagan, caribbean, etc... You'd probably be served much better by a bigger kite, and obviously models that do better in a broader range would help.

Something like a 9.5 and 12m OR prodigy would probably be a good fit (I can't really comment on their durability, but I see a lot of them around and haven't heard any complaints), or a 9 and 12 rebel

Board size: a bigger board will be more stable/keep you up while going slower, and get you riding upwind faster. There are a zillion options out there, but keep in mind width and shape also have a huge impact in how the board rides.

The OR origin is a great board to get you going. I used a demo board for the day a couple years ago (142x45ish if I remember correctly?) and I was very impressed with the board, its big enough to be good for beginners, but the shape, flex, whatever else make it a decently fun board (it will last you a while, you won't want to get rid of it as soon as you can go upwind like some of the other options out there). If that doesn't tickle your fancy look at boards in the mid to low 140's x mid 40's.

SmallWaveSteve wrote:You'll probably progress a bit quicker at nitinat than Bahia Salinas (unless you were at arenal, in which case I have no idea) as their conditions are tough for newbies, BUT their conditions will make you a better kiter.

I'm a bit bigger than you (~92kg) and my go-to at nitinat is a 10m, as 'moo said a size up or down are used equally there (though considerably less). Since you're planning to do the okanagan, caribbean, etc... You'd probably be served much better by a bigger kite, and obviously models that do better in a broader range would help.

Something like a 9.5 and 12m OR prodigy would probably be a good fit (I can't really comment on their durability, but I see a lot of them around and haven't heard any complaints), or a 9 and 12 rebel

Board size: a bigger board will be more stable/keep you up while going slower, and get you riding upwind faster. There are a zillion options out there, but keep in mind width and shape also have a huge impact in how the board rides.

The OR origin is a great board to get you going. I used a demo board for the day a couple years ago (142x45ish if I remember correctly?) and I was very impressed with the board, its big enough to be good for beginners, but the shape, flex, whatever else make it a decently fun board (it will last you a while, you won't want to get rid of it as soon as you can go upwind like some of the other options out there). If that doesn't tickle your fancy look at boards in the mid to low 140's x mid 40's.

It was Bahia Salinas in Costa Rica and the gusty and strong conditions were not easy to learn in. Looking forward to something less radical.

As for kites, I found the Cabrinhas a little more docile for beginners and some of them seemed to have Dacron leading edges which could take a beating. Do you know if any other manufacturers have that type of construction?

Thx

Raztec, forget about the beginner board, I have a "Door" here that is just waiting for newbie to try on weekends at Nitinaht. You spend two days on it, you "overgrow" it, then you are ready for a small board. Someone did that with me, so just passing the torch. (I was going to quit that sport because it was difficult to stay longer than 4-5 seconds on the board, but when I tried that board I wasnt able to go downwind for the first two days, my board skills were extremely bad, so I had to body drag downwind every 4-5 tac at Nitinaht, I was smiling at first because finally I could go upwind, but kind of depress/sad at the same time because going downwind was too scary/difficult, and body dragging downwind every 4-5 tac wasnt super pleasant)

Done that to lot of different people, a weekend or two on that board give them that extra experience that spent kitting instead of walking back, preparing you for a regular board. Not selling it because its too much in bad shape, and it will only benefit one person, not worth the little money. It will save you lots of headaches, and maybe other newbies as well. .

"It's complicated, what if I want to go there a weekend that you dont?" ...

Easy, give me a call, come pick it up on week evening, or ill bring it to Dallas road week evening if windy, you take it, bring it back after. No prob if you need two weekend on it. Will have an agreement on what happen if you lose it.

Then try some OR boards, or North board from Mark and Marry and decide which board you want. Or simply go with a cheap used board for starter, regular size.

Nanmoo what is your board size for twin tip OR?
Same size as Nanmoo for board should be good.

I cant comment on kite size but for brand if I were you I would go with either OR or North once again because if something brake, well easy to replace, not far to go for replacement and or advices/help into replacing the tube or whatever. Once again definitively used. And OR is in town as well.

Dont bother buying a big newbie board, you will overgrow it too fast.

Teabag wrote:Raztec, forget about the beginner board, I have a "Door" here that is just waiting for newbie to try on weekends at Nitinaht. You spend two days on it, you "overgrow" it, then you are ready for a small board. Someone did that with me, so just passing the torch. (I was going to quit that sport because it was difficult to stay longer than 4-5 seconds on the board, but when I tried that board I wasnt able to go downwind for the first two days, my board skills were extremely bad, so I had to body drag downwind every 4-5 tac at Nitinaht, I was smiling at first because finally I could go upwind, but kind of depress/sad at the same time because going downwind was too scary/difficult, and body dragging downwind every 4-5 tac wasnt super pleasant)

Done that to lot of different people, a weekend or two on that board give them that extra experience that spent kitting instead of walking back, preparing you for a regular board. Not selling it because its too much in bad shape, and it will only benefit one person, not worth the little money. It will save you lots of headaches, and maybe other newbies as well. .

"It's complicated, what if I want to go there a weekend that you dont?" ...

Easy, give me a call, come pick it up on week evening, or ill bring it to Dallas road week evening if windy, you take it, bring it back after. No prob if you need two weekend on it. Will have an agreement on what happen if you lose it.

Then try some OR boards, or North board from Mark and Marry and decide which board you want. Or simply go with a cheap used board for starter, regular size.

Nanmoo what is your board size for twin tip OR?
Same size as Nanmoo for board should be good.

I cant comment on kite size but for brand if I were you I would go with either OR or North once again because if something brake, well easy to replace, not far to go for replacement and or advices/help into replacing the tube or whatever. Once again definitively used. And OR is in town as well.

Dont bother buying a big newbie board, you will overgrow it too fast.

That's awesome. Thank a bunch. I'll need a big board for sure to help me go upwind since I haven't got that down yet. If you can pm me your number, I'll try to get in touch some time in the summer.

As for kites, I know OR has an excellent reputation internationally and make great kites, but I wonder if they are suitable for a beginner. I rented one for a day and compared to a Cabrinha I found it a bit too agile for my skill level. Also, they didn't have the Dacron leading edge like some of the Cabrinhas had. I know that as I get more experience, I'll want the agility and pop, but as a beginner without the kiting skills and who will probably abuse the kite I'm wondering if they are the best choice.

OR prodigies are the way to go for learning up to advanced or intermediate riding... their president and son are always riding them!!

you'll want a 9.5 and 12m... cabrinha aren't any better built and they both are made with quality dacron but Ocean Rodeo build their kites for the canadian beaches... rocky and rough coasts where cabrinha's are mostly dealing with sandy beaches...

trust the locals they know their shit.. cabrinha's will probably cost way more too

Raztec I'm not advanced to expert like the others here but it's sound advice. I have ocean rodeo gear. Last year I used my prodigy 9.5 17 times, my flite 14.5 just three times (and at least one of those was when my 9.5 was in fir repair). My 7 prodigy I used 7 times. If you are trying to kite in the Okanagon a big kite is going to get a lot of use.

raztec wrote:

As for kites, I know OR has an excellent reputation internationally and make great kites, but I wonder if they are suitable for a beginner. I rented one for a day and compared to a Cabrinha I found it a bit too agile for my skill level. Also, they didn't have the Dacron leading edge like some of the Cabrinhas had. I know that as I get more experience, I'll want the agility and pop, but as a beginner without the kiting skills and who will probably abuse the kite I'm wondering if they are the best choice.

When I was down there two of the three schools were using cabrinha school edition kites, which are built much heavier duty (and lower performance, due to the extra weight, I would imagine), if those where what you were using youd be hard pressed to find something that beefy.
That being said i think we're getting to a point where all the major brands are pretty well built, and there aren't many "bad" kites out there. the biggest factors towards longevity being how you treat the kite (not sitting in hot cars, soaking up hours of UV on the beach, or spending hours flapping in the wind) ands long as youre not crashing your kite into the beach all the time whatever you get will be probably be fine.

Definitely take Ian up on the door, getting stuck upwind is a problem I ran into briefly as well when was using a huge board. Its a way better problem than getting stuck downwind.

I still think using a bit bigger (not necessarily huge) of a board for your first season or two will help you progress faster, especially without a board sports background, as you don't have to worry about holding your ground or making up ground as much, so you can focus on other things (like riding and having fun).
I used a 140 for my first season and a 132 from then on, and probably would have been better served by something a bit bigger like the OR Origin. you'll learn either way, it's just varying degrees of how much easier you want to make it for yourself. I have an inexpensive forgiving 133 for sale if you do decide to go smaller


***EDIT***
Check out Ned @ OR's thread here: http://bigwavedave.ca/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=8031

9.5 Prodigy and 140 Mako would both be good for you

SmallWaveSteve wrote:
When I was down there two of the three schools were using cabrinha school edition kites, which are built much heavier duty (and lower performance, due to the extra weight, I would imagine), if those where what you were using youd be hard pressed to find something that beefy.
That being said i think we're getting to a point where all the major brands are pretty well built, and there aren't many "bad" kites out there. the biggest factors towards longevity being how you treat the kite (not sitting in hot cars, soaking up hours of UV on the beach, or spending hours flapping in the wind) ands long as youre not crashing your kite into the beach all the time whatever you get will be probably be fine.

Definitely take Ian up on the door, getting stuck upwind is a problem I ran into briefly as well when was using a huge board. Its a way better problem than getting stuck downwind...

I see. You are probably right about them being school edition kites. I'll ask those guys about it.

I do know that several kites which weren't as beefy tore on impact when students crashed them into the water on power. (I being one of them ) So that's why I was asking about getting a super beefy kite as my first. I don't mind the weight and actually prefer the slow turning feature. They were simply a lot easier to handle for a beginner like myself who has to focus on so many things at once. I'm sure as I gain more experience I'll want a faster, more agile kite.

As for a board, I'll definitely go big at first and take Ian up on the offer of borrowing his. But I'd like to also have my own. Not sure what size would be a good compromise for my first board that's not too big.

there's a 9.5 prodigy (great $) and Flexifoil board ($$) or North board($$$) in the buy and sell right now that would be good for your size..

Thanks. You mean the first gen prodigy? I'll look into it.
How about this set up? Any good for a beginner?
http://bigwavedave.ca/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=7948

raztec wrote: I see. You are probably right about them being school edition kites. I'll ask those guys about it.

I do know that several kites which weren't as beefy tore on impact when students crashed them into the water on power. (I being one of them ) So that's why I was asking about getting a super beefy kite as my first. I don't mind the weight and actually prefer the slow turning feature. They were simply a lot easier to handle for a beginner like myself who has to focus on so many things at once. I'm sure as I gain more experience I'll want a faster, more agile kite.

As for a board, I'll definitely go big at first and take Ian up on the offer of borrowing his. But I'd like to also have my own. Not sure what size would be a good compromise for my first board that's not too big.

Keep in mind those school kites are getting abused by students daily, in strong winds, and baked in pretty intense UV.

Don't worry, your desire for a dead slow kite will be pretty short lived (you can also adjust turning speed on the attachment points most of kites, and by using shorter bars)

Something in the high 130's or some boards in the low 140's will be the ticket. Some of the 140+ boards are going to be really flat rocker, lighter boards though, and there are a zillion variables, combined with personal preference, so you have to be more careful, but something around 138ish (+/-) in a good all-around freeride board should last you a long time.
If you're kiting in the carribean, and interior of BC alot you're doing yourself a disservice by getting something too small anyways, as it will typically be lighter wind where a big board makes life so much easier (or even saves your sessions)

*edit*
Keep in mind these are just my opinions/experiences. There are a lot of kind folks who work at OR who have also been kiting a lot longer than I have that probably have opinions based off of more time, and more peoples experiences

Try the 9.5 from this Guy http://bigwavedave.ca/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=8019

Teabag wrote:Raztec, forget about the beginner board, I have a "Door" here that is just waiting for newbie to try on weekends at Nitinaht....

I sent you pm. Would love to give this "door" a try this weekend.

Many thanks
A