Kitesurfer wannabe

higbee · Joined: 29 Dec 2000 Posts: 7

Im an advanced windsurfer wanting to try kitesurfing. Do you have any tips on what gear I should purchase? Should I wait until the gear evolves more? How about other windsurfers-turned-kitesurfers? Do you like it enough to give up windsurfing for kitesurfing? Jim

spyder · Joined: 24 Sep 1996 Posts: 2790 Location: oahu

kiting is super fun. Its got a fast learning ramp up, but has higher risk. Suggest how to rip video as a must. Also pick up a stunt kite and learn to fly that. This is before any gear.

Take a lesson. The big difference is that with windsurfing you just fall in the water when learning, but with kiting you can get launched big time and get hurt or hurt others.

I still windsurf when its really windy and kite when its not that windy (12 mph-17 kiting wind). I think both sports are awesome.

As for gear, I highly recommend inflatable kites, such as the Naish AR3.5 or AR5. Note the AR5 is a bit tricker, but higher performer. Boards, start with directionals first, then when good at that, go for wakeboards if you want.

Think big board, smaller kite at first, then gradually going to a smaller board with bigger kite.

isobars · Joined: 12 Dec 1999 Posts: 20935

While I can see ADDING kiting to ones repertoire, I cant see REPLACING windsurfing with kiting. Kiting is mostly straight lines plus air, while WS usually (once we reach your advanced level) graduates into B&J sailing -- maneuvering, swerving, swell- or wave-bashing, carving high-speed ant tracks -- things you see very little of, if any, on kites ... plus air. And you can slkog back in on WS, unlike most kiteboards. A bud had to pay a guy to drive him 60 miles one way back to his van when the wind quit - which was in plain sight but on the wrong side of the icy Columbia -- a couple of weeks ago cause Kites Dont Slog. That bud sold his WS gear after the conversion, but now wont klite unless its 5.0 wind, so it hasnt addad any water time to his season. In fact its CUT his water time because of things like that; he wont go out if swimming back in is risky, so he had to sit out yesterdays 60-degree-air, 40-degree water 4.2 session.

Mike \m/