Looking for some advice for a first trainer kite. I'd like to work up to kiteboarding, and want to practice on a smaller kite. I have little flying experience, but want a lot more before getting in the water.

I'm about 145lbs, and looking at 3 kites:

HQ Hydra H20 3M (ram fill)

Prism Tensor 3.1
http://prismkites.com/products-pk-tensor31.php

Ocean Rodeo Rise 2m SLE
http://www.oceanrodeo.com/products/rise_2m_sle_trainer

Biggest question is do I want inflatable, or ram fill? Any other things I should know about?

Any advice is appreciated!

either would be good starter kites for what you want to do. It really depends on your budget. if you are close to the water already, the Hydra will be fun. If not, one of the other two would be just fine.

im for the HQ or Tensor......i think you will have more of a use for them latter on..or they would be more attractive for resale

so, you guys think the inflatable (with a pump) option doesn't really matter? The ram fill (or whatever it's called) is good enough to learn on? I was hoping to try some water dragging with this kite - would that make any difference?

thanks!

If the wind is high enough the Hydra will body drag a bit.

Great little trainer kite IMO.

the Hydra will drag you before the OR 2m does. The tensor looks like a decent kite but don't get it wet.

If you buy the Hydra wait for the new version to come out its got a smoother turning ratio on it and was improved a good amount. The Hydra 2 will also come in a bigger size

I have a Tensor 4.2, and I have to say, I love it. It can be kind of finicky at times, but for the most part it's great. I really like the option to convert between handles and a bar. I put a d-loop on mine so I can fly in the hook with it, something to think about.

James also flies his tensor with an ozone turbo bar. It works pretty good and is a nice way to start thinking about how to fly a depower kite.

Some kites don't work well with the turbo bar, but the prism does. That being said, the build quality of the prism just isn't quite as nice as an ozone or flexifoil or Peter lynn. Probably about the same as an HQ.