looking at getting my first depower kite.I have been flying 3m and 5m fixed bridal foils for 2 years now and would like to get either an 8m or 10m depower.I weigh 200lbs and would like something that will pull me nice for snowkiting in winter on skis/snowboard.I have downhill skied for 15 yrs. average wind speed here of about 10 knots year round. suggestions and thoughts on brands or sizes would be greatly appreciated.thanks

I am 195 lbs... and looks like .... so far most used kite size for me was 14m in ~12mph wind .....

I have a 10m Flysurfer Psycho 2 in the for sale section

You don't mention water only snowkiting?

This winter even though I much prefer the performance of a 15m arc when it is up and flying I found myself tossing up the Flysurfer . The easy lay out and launch beat out the pre-inflate lay out + check lines + potential blown launch when alone option that gets an arc up. It is worth it for gusty winds though, no doubt .

If you want to simply get out and going my #1 ski partner gets by with his 10m access most days. He almost never has to trade down in size + gets going on it pretty early.

If you want to jump then the Manta / Frenzy would serve up better. Flysurfer is pricey but you do get a more technical kite for your money. I ablsolutley LOVE my 7m Pulse. If I don't end up buying ( or trading ) Arkays at NABX it would be a good fit .

From what I have seen lately the cost of second hand Pulse kites is way down and one of the best deals on the net lately .

P.S. I owned a 10m Psycho II when I was too green to handle it and it was a dangerous choice. Kiteboyza knows this and yet offers his to you ? He has a 10m Blaze that would better suit ??? Beware that the Psycho II has too complicated a bridle for some folks to figure out if it gets tangled!

it's a free market Bladerunner, I have no use for it, maybe he is a faster learner than you? Manta and Frenzy will also kick your butt:dunno:

On PKF we try to avoid hooking folks up with the wrong kite .
I KNOW the Psycho II , Oz apex and older Frenzy . I happen to know that the newer Frenzy and the Manta ( + most kites post 2005 accept Blaze II ) have become far better flying kites. I suggested the Pulse and Apex UNLESS he was going for air.
Pansh works on the free market, if the kites too much you are at fault as an uninformed buyer, "too slow a learner" attitude. I am only educating the buyer.

I am simply giving my personal experience. If you think the newer Frenzy or Manta will kick your butt compared to the 10m Phsycho II you REALLY need to get out and fly yours in some nice gusty winds. I have to wonder if you have ever flown 1 of the 2 POST 2009 ? Yet you knock them ?

Grab a 2006+ 14m frenzy, they occasionally jump around on fleebay for about 400-600. It's a slow enough kite that if you know what you're doing, it shouldn't kick your butt. And it has enough grunt to pull you around.

Kiteboyza i like the kite and the possibilty of crossing over into water,but would the pyscho 2 10m be able to pull my ass out of the water as a beginner kiteboarder. Have done some wakeboarding behind a friends boat but only maybe a dozen times, able to get up cross the wakes stay on the board but no tricks or air.Definitely dont want something to complicated as i usually ride alone. i figured start with the snowkiting something i have more related experience in and learn to control the bigger depowers before crossing over to water.although the crashes on the frozen lake im sure are going to hurt alot more! looking forward to it though lol!

Blade and Ike just wondering if your both winter and summer riders and if you think with my related experiences,the snowkiting is going to best my safest bet for learning to fly the bigger depowers? thanks!

I bought my P II about 5 years ago because I wanted to continue to try on water. My couple of experiences ended with loftings and a sea anchor. I am just not cut out for water and the board due to my background and age although I try. I am most at home on snow and skis.

The P II has an over complicated bridle, doesn't fly well in under 10mph and nearly spanked me real bad a few times. Back to the complicated bridle and tangles ...

GO WITH WHAT YOU KNOW !!!!!!!!

If like me skis are your strong suit enjoy them for sure. 70% of the world is water and odds are that's the best location near you so don't give up on going for it ! Frozen or not !

Ike' is a young natural who learned almost everything on an older Frenzy and ATB then moved to water. Great Mentors on Sunset Beach for both for him! I have big respect for him !

yeah snowkiting made the most sense to me as the self taught way to go.what do you think of me maybe hitting up a lesson in kitesurfing this june when the wife and i go to cabarete? money well spent or wasted, probally cost me as much as a new kite i am guessing?

where in souther Ab are you... there are kite lesson places in calgary and an organization working on Keyho lake... Where there are many Kitesurfers in the summer.

www.highasakite.ca has the forum for the Keho lake crowd.
If you are in the southeast section of the province I'd let you have a go on a couple of my depower kites...(I'm in Medicine Hat). We have nice thick ice (almost 3 feet thick) - so we've got a few weeks left.

there is a 14m 2007 ozone frenzy on Calgary Kijiji for $650 that looks good...

I'm 200lb too and ski. My 8m Access pulls about the same as my 5.5m fixed bridle but takes more wind to keep it up. It is often blowing 10kph gusting to 30 or 40 in Calgary so the Access makes me feel more in control in the gusts. Go for at least a 10m depower. I decided to get a 13m and 10m PL Venom to use at Keho and have been using the 10m instead of a 3m fixed bridle for snowkiting in big winds.

Quote:

Originally posted by canuck I'm 200lb too and ski. My 8m Access pulls about the same as my 5.5m fixed bridle but takes more wind to keep it up. It is often blowing 10kph gusting to 30 or 40 in Calgary so the Access makes me feel more in control in the gusts. Go for at least a 10m depower. I decided to get a 13m and 10m PL Venom to use at Keho and have been using the 10m instead of a 3m fixed bridle for snowkiting in big winds.

That 14m Frenzy sounds good. PHREERIDER's 10m Venom + 15m Phantom for US$400 might work for you too but self-launch can be frustrating at times.

I'll second the self launch frustration
I am real close to trading of my v16 for a 12 frenzy
:bouncing:

I've owned or currently own, synergies, venoms, and phantoms. The only launch difficulties I've ever had were no wind, or I was too eager to preinflate it well enough. You got wind and the kite full and it ought to almost self launch once you tug on the downwind lines.

Southern AB, and you have average speeds of only 10knots. really?

flysurfer pulse2 12 would be a good choice too for you - goes on the water too when you want to do that, no need to buy a 2nd kite like you would if you went for Ozone.
Bladerunner made a good point, flysurfers can be expensive BUT the pulses are going for a very reasonable price lately. There should be a LOT of flysurfer pulse2 coming for sale with the release of the new unity kite April 1.

Dh live just down the street to the east from PrarieWinds house 2hrs in Lethbridge.Keho is something i will definitely look into for summer since it is litterally right in my backyard 20 mins.Appreciate the offer Prairie of trying out your kites but with work schedule and dwindling ice conditions probaly run out of time this year.Would definitely hit you up for a group ride / lesson next year if you dont mind dragging along a beginner.Kitedelight yeah average year round 10 knots with 116 days a year being 20 knots according to the wind gods/acrhives for the area.Thanks everyone for the help and input glad i joined this forum so informative and friendly!!! cheers beer 30

20 minutes to keho...nice!

Prairiewind, what do you find you're pulling out in the winter most often?

Honestly I didn't have the attention span to read any of this. So I didn't. Buuuuuuutttt, here's what I think.

The go-to sizes for most people seem to be around the following:

~8m depowerable open cell foil

~12-14m LEI

~15m FS

~13-15m ARC

ARCs perform the best in inland gusty wind. The other kites just suck at that to a degree.

Finding a good size that you're comfortable with as a beginner is key. However... overpowered riding is the BEST I'm 122 lbs and I don't have much fun with my 13m modified Venom unless the wind is over 20 mph.

Every winter is different due to the super variable conditions caused by the Chinooks. This year was a wacky one with soooo much snow. Past years we've had more ice, but this year with the volume of snow my most used kite was the 10.5m Concept Air Smart Kite. It will be interesting to see how long the tail end of the season will last. Last week the ice was almost 3 feet thick, with only a wee bit of rot on top.

There are some kiters in Lethbridge that you might meet up with sometime. Here is a short vid of them at Park Lake, not far from you. www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkAEr5wm5MI

You'd be able to contact the lethbridge guy via the facebook page that www.kitesource.ca has.

Chinook, there is an HQ dealer in Taber if you didn't know that already. He may have a demo depower that you'l be able to try out. Mike at www.canadiankitecompany.com is who you want to talk to, not far away at all...

Just wanted to toss this out there for you... I'm a 195lbs and my most used kite in the winds you are describing is my 15m S3 Deluxe. If your average wind speed is around 10-15mph, I think you will be really struggling with anything that is less than 15m in size. Unless the surface conditions are either hard ice, or something else that is quick to move on, you are going to need the power to get up and go.

On the water, in the same conditions, I use the same kite. My 12m Outlaw comes out when the winds go over 15mph, and over 20, I grab the 8m (on snow only, dont have my water kite yet for higher winds...)

Hope this helps!

ya, good call, if it's between 10-20kph, the 15m would rule the day. I don't really pull out my 12 unless it is 15kph and higher, and between 15-20kph I am just putzing around though. That's on snow though...don't do ice riding myself.

That being said....from asking around, guys say 12 and 8 are the most used kite sizes on the water at Keho. I know July and August are a bit calmer, but makes me wonder how much a 15 would be used on the water.

Either way....I would be leary of putting you on a 15 as a first kite. Considering you guys get so many stronger wind days too, might want to pick up your common higher wind kite first, and then get the larger kite after that. Something like a 8-12 combo, 9/10-15 combo, or 9-13 LEI combo (if it's recent LEI). The smaller sizes will give you a ton of range to play with cause you'll be able to fly them in far less winds than you can ride powered up...which means....you can fly the kite without as much risk of scaring the pants off yourself.

But, no matter what you do, think of getting a lesson or having personal instruction on your kite from a local rider, whether it be on the water or snow. It will kick start your progress (less frustrating for yourself), and give you the safety tips you need to know to keep yourself and others around you safe. That's my 2 cents anyway.