Buying your first equipment.
You took hours of kitesurfing lessons, you are up and riding safely and think it is about time to stop spending lots of money renting equipment? Now it's time for you to buy your first kite, tune it to your needs and start understanding your own equipment.
The
first thing you want to know is how strong is the average wind speed
at the spot you plan to kitesurf more often. Than you need to know what
size of kites are being used by people with your weight at this conditions.
But take in consideration that an experienced kitesurfer, with a small
board, can use a much bigger kite, than an unexperienced kitesurfer
with his same weight and / or with a bigger board. This means that you
have to buy a kite taking in consideration, not only your weight, but
also your level of ability and the type of board you are planning to
use.
I personally think that it is easier for a begginer, to start using big (16m or over) or intermediate (12 to 14m) kites on light winds, than buying a small kite and having to wait for strong winds to get started. A big kite is more stable and slower, making it easier to pilot. Since it has a lot more power, you will not have to move it so much, and after one or two dives, you will build apparent wind speed, and will not need to move it so often. You will also, not need to use the power zone so much, and buy piloting it more to the lateral of the wind window, your sailing will be more comfortable and under control.
Without any doubts, the best person to help you choose the best kite for your level, ability, local wind conditions and pocket, would be your instructor. He will take in consideration your needs, the problems you had during your lessons, how well you can pilot a kite, what are you main objectives (riding waves, jumping, riding on flat water, etc), and with all the information he gathered during your lessons and from the place where you want to kitesurf, he will be able to help you choose from a wide variety of brands, models, sizes, designs and aspect ratios.
Once you decided how many kites and what sizes you are willing to buy (with two kites you can have a wide wind range and be inside of the water in many different conditions), you have to know what aspect ratio will be best for your level and objectives and even for the style of kiteboarding you are planning to practice (wave riding, wake style, freestyle, etc). Low aspect ratio are very good for begginers, as they are easy to relaunch, are slower and easier to fly and will generate more power on light winds. But depending on how you went during your lessons, you could save time and money and go straight in to a moderate or even a high aspect ratio kite. They are faster kites, and will help you a lot to get out of overpowered situations and to control speed, giving you a better performance during jumps, among other things.
Now you are ready to go shopping, you know how many kites you need, what sizes, which aspect ratio, but you have to choose among many different brands with a wide variety of prices. Some kites are known to be more durable than others and have a better re-sale price, others are a little cheaper and will give you a good performance but will not last that long. Try to find out which brands offers a good guarantee and after sales service. You also want to buy an equipment with a reliable safety system, and from a well stablished company, that will keep on offering parts and accessories in the future.
So if your cousin or brother-in-law is not in the kite retail business, trust your instructor and let him help you to take a very important decision, which is buying the right equipment for you.
Eduardo
Graf - info@kitenews.com.br
(Eduardo is involved with kitesurf since 2001 as the editor of kitenews.com.br,
is an IKO instructor level 2, speaks english fluently and is responsible
for Buzios Kitesurf School).
