Kiteboarding....does anybody do this?!?!

[hooked 0]

Okay, I came across this video and wondered, does anybody here do this???? You have to watch this video.

http://media.bestkiteboarding.com/videos/wipeout.wmv

J

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Sometimes we're just being Humans.....But we're always Human Beings.

[AggieDave 6]

FlyingFerret is getting into it, and it looks really cool.

does that count?

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[Zenister 0]

iirc Jason (pilot, jumps at Kapow on occasion) does, and there was another guy i met at kapow (there with a jumper) who was SERIOUSLY into it... a bit chilly on the sound, but apparently there is a fairly large community (given the size of that sport) out there as well...

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Those who fail to learn from the past are simply Doomed.

[Stumpy 284]

I teach it. (well i did before skydiving took over my life!! ) What do ya wanna know??

Never try to eat more than you can lift

[flyingferret 0]

EVERYTHING!

I have a 2m trainer kite and have been flying the snot out of it. The recommended approach is:

Flying a trainer kite for 30-50 hours...learn it inside and out, fly it with one hand, eyes closed, etc. Learn to work the power zone and wind window (11-7 o clock and 1-5 o clock) You are looking for the wind lift in a 45 degree angle kindof.

After that, go take a lesson, within a few hours you will be body dragging without a board, and be ready to add the board to the equation. The lesson is essential, so you don't get hurt or hurt others. These kites generate a LOT of lift.

Then there are a million options...but you will likely get a kite between 8 - 16 meters depending on where you live and how windy it is, a board around 160cm, 60cm spread bar, 4 or 5 line kite setup, and a harness of belt, seat, or vest variety. You will spend between 1000-2000 bucks depending on the setup.

Also, pick up a copy of kiteboarding mag, it is FULL FULL of information. You will know way more aobut the sport after one reading than any whuffo could reading parachutist. It really is one hell of a mag.

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All the flaming and trolls of wreck dot with a pretty GUI.

[TallGuy 0]

I did it for a bit. In fact does anyone want to buy some gear cheap?

I had a hell of a time getting started. When you have the skills you can go out to the spots that have the heavy winds and rock out with your cock out (unless of coarse you are female in which case I suppose you could rock out with your vagina out?).

However, as a beginner you really have to find a easy steady consistant winds. Plus you have to be warry of all the other beginners. If you don't respect that kite it will school you and potentially hurt you or even worse someone else. I guess I just got frustrated with the dependancy on the weather and packing up the kite I never used that day. In the end I just gave skydiving another try and now I just hang with you clowns.

[Stumpy 284]

Thats pretty good - covers a lot of the points.

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After that, go take a lesson, within a few hours you will be body dragging without a board, and be ready to add the board to the equation. The lesson is essential, so you don't get hurt or hurt others. These kites generate a LOT of lift

Can't stress this enough. These things are very dangerous and CAN kill you. A few small points and safety lessons will make the world of difference. There is (unfortunately) nothing to stop you going out and buying the highest performance high AR kite on the market.
The other thing i will mention is that the people who learnt quickest could (a) fly a kite and (b) wakeboard. These days the boards aren't generally exactly the same as wakeboards any more but the principle is similar.

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Then there are a million options...but you will likely get a kite between 8 - 16 meters depending on where you live and how windy it is, a board around 160cm, 60cm spread bar, 4 or 5 line kite setup, and a harness of belt, seat, or vest variety. You will spend between 1000-2000 bucks depending on the setup.

hmmmmm yes and no. First kite size depends on weight more than anything else generally. I have 8, 12 and 16m kites. I would generally, (except for very small people) recommend around a 12m, medium aspect kite as a first kite after a lesson. The smaller kites are horrendously twitchy - i have on occasion been halfway through a backloop on my 8 to suddenly find it disappearing off in the opposite direction and giving me the smackdown , and the bigger kites need some degree of anticipation to fly properly, so are a little harder for the newbie.

As for board, again it depends on weight but current thinking is moving a little smaller than in the past - 160 sounds around the right region - but then again i learnt on a 148 and i'm not the lightest guy around. Talk to your instructor on this one.

and....

GET A HELMET!!! If you are using a board leash when you are learning, it needs to be mandatory because you fall off and the board comes after you at 300mph. I try and wean people off leashes as soon as they can body drag competently upwind, but initially they save a lot of swimming after the board.

The body armour vests and stuff are good, as well, but your costs are mounting and i would stress a decent suit (if its cold) and a helmet more.

The other handy hint is if you can find a friend to learn with you, so much the better. you can split your first set of kit (its like anything, you will probably want to upgrade once you know what you are doing) and you can take turns in that first bit of trying to get up on the board.

Any other questions, post again, or feel free to PM and i'll do my best. Hell, if you pay my flight costs i'll come and teach you myself!!!

Never try to eat more than you can lift

[BGill 0]

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(unless of coarse you are female in which case I suppose you could rock out with your vagina out?).

i believe the correct term would be "jam out with your clam out"

[flyingferret 0]

Thanks for the insight.

The size ranges I listed were based on a few things, and of course my knowledge is very green:
a. I weigh about 200lbs.
b. the wind in S. Texas (Corpus) is pretty consistently between 10-20 knots. The historical data says an average of 13mph, but down on the beach is is more than that in my experience. So down there you fly a 16m and you will be gone. On the flipside, I live in north texas and to do this with any regularity, I will be riding lakes. That means my wind could be more like 5-10 knots, from what I hear I will need a 16m to harness that.

Again, I don't have any lessons, and am just flying a trainer so far (which is pretty damn twitchy itself). But I was doing some half ass boddy dragging behind it in the lake this last weekend. The wind was low and irregular, so I could drag 50 feet and wade back. Had it been a lot stronger it would have been impossible without committing to crossing the lake.

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All the flaming and trolls of wreck dot with a pretty GUI.

[TallGuy 0]

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(unless of coarse you are female in which case I suppose you could rock out with your vagina out?).

i believe the correct term would be "jam out with your clam out"

noice

[Dougiefresh 0]

I'm taking a three week class starting next month. I can't wait, it's gonna rock.

Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so. --Douglas Adams

[Stumpy 284]

Ok - once you are off and running, a 16 would be a good choice. I would still recommend your first couple of days you use a bigger board and a slightly smaller kite - maybe 12-14m. There is nothing more frustrating and likely to put you off than learning on low wind days, so try and initially do it when you are up to 15kts or so. It does depend on temperature too - here in mid winter in the uk a 12kts breeze is made of rocks but in midsummer in texas? 12kts may feel like only just enough to keep the kite flying.

I think if you are looking at 5-10 kts, you are going to struggle, but YMMV
Just for info, my ranges are (very) approximately:
16m - 10-16kts
12m - 15-25kts
8m - 23 - the point where i need the brown wetsuit.
That is just an idea as i very rarely knew what the number was, it was more done by feel.

Is your trainer kite LEI or foil? i am guessing foil

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Had it been a lot stronger it would have been impossible without committing to crossing the lake.

So cross the lake??!!

Never try to eat more than you can lift

[flyingferret 0]

Yeah, there is a group of people that board the lakes in north texas, I have talked with one of them, they said 16s get the most use, occasionally 20s, but a big investment for minimal time on the water. It is hard for me to tall because based on skydiving wind experience, I would say the wind is stronger on the lake than a weather site reports it.

I will be taking lessons on the coast, so wind will not be an issue there.

My trainer is a foil...I have been flying it off the beach or waist deep in water, which means you need a second person to drain it to relaunch and it also keeps you motivated to keep the kite up.

I could actually cross the lake, but with a bit more wind. The weekend before we had problems not letting the train pull us off the beach. This last weekend at times, I was really working the kite ti keep it in the air. So, I would want a steady breeze before I decided to body drag across. And...it looked like maybe a few trees/obstacles. I would like to check my path first. But if we get a lot of wind I would try it. It just means it will suck if the kite goes down.

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All the flaming and trolls of wreck dot with a pretty GUI.