Hi all,
I'm looking to get into kiting, and I'm now trying to decide what kite to buy. I've had the opportunity to try out a Hornet II 5m and sort of fell in love with the control system, but I felt it was too big a kite to start with. I'm not planning to get into kitesurfing, I'm mainly interested in static flying and not much else at the moment.

The thing is, I'm located in a beachy area, so a kite that can relaunch from the water would broaden my choice of locations quite a bit (in addition to opening up the future possibility of using the kite for water activities). If I understand things correctly the Hydra would be a good choice for this, but I'm unsure about the control system (3 lines + bar) as compared to the Hornet's 4-lines + handles.

So the question is, do I go for a 3m or 4m Hornet II, or the 3m or 3.5m Hydra?
I only weigh about 160 lbs, so maybe a 4m kite is still too powerful for me to begin with?

Cheers!

A 3.5 Hydra is a lot of fun to fly and be dragged through the water. When the wind picks up, you will be impressed at its power.

-joedy

The hydra will get you ready for depower, but the hornet will be more entertaining to fly static, and eventually move into buggying (if thats what you want to do)

I love the low aspect kites like the hornet.

Either kite is a great choice.

That's a tough one. My first 4-line was a Hornet 2M. Be warned these kites are addictive. Within 2 months I got a Twister IIR 5.6M. Now in order to do that I have a situation where I'm able to get out and fly a lot so I did have quite a bit of practice before making such a jump (no pun intended).

Now to the point, my best and favorite static kite is my DP 3.5M.
I'm 124lbs and if I had to do it all over again I would skip the 2M and start out with at least a 3M. For you I would say you could even start out with a 4M Hornet as they have very good manners if you don't get in out in the higher winds until you are comfortable with it. You have an interesting dilemma in that the Hydra would be super cool to have at the beach a give you that extra versatility. So ok, here is my opinion: I have seen Hydras come up in the resale market quite a bit. So if it were me I'd go with a Hornet or similar right off the bat while keeping an eye out for a gently used Hydra. Getting the 4-line skills with handles down first will pay-off later. Just FWIW...

If you are sensible, you can start with a 5m. You would have to choose when to fly conservatively until you get some experience. Once you have some experience you can slowly increase the wind speeds you chose to fly in. Telling us where you live might give us a better idea on what would be a good size of kite for you to start out with. Are there people around you who can help you learn to fly?
As a beginner, if you are flying static on a beach, you will generally do not want to fly when the wind is blowing from land to sea: off shore breezes tend to be lumpy and if you let go of your kite you are more likely to lose it, especially if the tide is going out. If you live by the ocean, the winds should be onshore later in the day as the land heats up. The wind should much smoother then.
A low aspect ratio kite like the Beamer or Hornet will be easier to learn on, but will be less fun as your skills develop. A more advanced kite will cost you more and have a steeper learning curve, but you are more likely to want to keep it.
my two bits,
S

p.s. If you're not sensible, 5m can/will kick your butt.

The hydra could be a grea option for the reasons your quoted. However, be carefull and follow the rule of not flying in an offshore wind..

You may be able to handle a 5m as a 1st kite, though most of us will recommend 3-4m for a 1st rig. The power/wind atio takes time to learn and the smaller kite keeps you out of trouble.

As mentioned let us know your area. If your windsare notmally only 5-10mph and smooth, then a 5m would work ok.

4line will give you more control than the bar does by being able to add independant brake for turns.. But the bar is fun too..

Quote:

Originally posted by lamrith You may be able to handle a 5m as a 1st kite, though most of us will recommend 3-4m for a 1st rig. The power/wind atio takes time to learn and the smaller kite keeps you out of trouble.

I have to agree. 5m will be to big if your winds aren't right. a 3m or 2m would be great. I recommend hornets or ozone flows.

5m is too big.
I understand in kiting money is always an issue but DO NOT bite off more than you can chew.

I jumped in from a prism trainer (hardly a traction kite) and went straight to a 5.6m thinking I was a big dog.
long story short;(I'm cool, I'm cool, I'm cool) freak gust, HUGE air, lots of bleeding.

I roared with satisfaction after I was done bleeding all over myself (triumph of first flight)
All said I sliced the tips of my fingers off, and hobbled home to scrape off flesh/ inch deep gashes
I slashed the tendon over my knee, it took about a month to move faster than .5 miles per hour

Start small, you'll be dissatisfied after a month or two of consistent flying; but you can always resell it or use it to teach others (they'll want to learn once you go big, believe me)

4m might be ok, you'll get some awesome skuds off/get the rush

^^^^OUCH^^^^ I got lofted with a 7m ozone riot. landed cool and calm but knowing what I know now I was lucky very lucky. 20 feet up and back down like a feather. Start small trust us on this one.

Me too. Static flying a 5m is, for me, like hanging on to a slow moving truck. Smaller kites are faster and much more fun to fly static and a lot less tiring to fly. (of course, everyone has quite different opinions on what is fun for them). And don't think a 2-3m won't pull you all over the beach in the right wind.

Hornet 3m would indeed be a lovely kite. And I think the idea of watching out for a second hand Hydra is a good one too.

Beamer, Flow, Rage, Buster, Zebra Checka/Z1 are all good.

Just to share my example. I am 6'4, 225lbs and started with a 3.3m buster, great kite, very affordable. For flying static this kite flies from about 6mph up to about 15mph ish. I can hold it closer to 18/20, but it is not enjoyable. 6mph it takes work to keep it flying, have to keep it moving all the time.

That said my current "go to" kite is a 8m Pepper2. The only reason is because the winds at my flying field are often below7mph and are super smooth. The pepper I can static fly from about 4mph to 8mph. It is a NARROW window to fly safely due to it's size.. 8mph and I am sitting down scudding acrost the field if I send her low acrost the window.

Given your weight I think a 4m would be about max, but highly recommend the buster 3.3 They are priced very well and make a great starter kite as they are 100% RTF with stakes, sandbags and all. I will not get rid of mine as I can even put my kids on it while I fly the pepper.

Quote:

Originally posted by lamrith The hydra could be a great option for the reasons your quoted. However, be careful and follow the rule of not flying in an offshore wind.

I want to stress that this is PROFOUNDLY important!

When water dragging, the Hydra is so much fun that it is very easy to become distracted if you are flying in off-shore winds.

-joedy

FWIW from one newbie to another .... These kites have a so so reputation .. (getting better).. and I will probably take some friendly ribbing for suggesting it ... but have you looked at Pansh kites? - www.panshkite.com

for a newbie starting out, they are a low cost option ... I got a 3m Blaze and 4.5m Ace and they threw in a free flux 6.0m ... they still have a buy two get three promotion on ...

Blaze 3.0m aspect ration is 3.2 and hornet is 3.15 so similar and not "lifty" .... you can always upgrade after you have learned some skills .... then you will have a low cost kite for high wind or for the "can I try that?" people.

I fly the Blaze 3.0 static a ton ... the Ace has sneaky power and will lift if you get careless (gave me my first feed of grass) ... and the flux 6.0 can pull my 230lb a$$ on a snowboard.

Don't be too afraid of the online shopping ... I got my Pansh online from China and paypal to living room was only 8 days to western Canada .... and as promised, all shipping was in the original purchase.

Of course if you have your heart set on water, Pansh can't help you.

Enjoy the sport

Thanks for all the replies!

Right now I'm leaning more and more towards a 3m Hornet II, or possibly a 4m. The idea to keep an eye out for a used Hydra is a good one, and people keep telling me it's better to start out on a 4-line kite than a 3-liner.

I'm located on the western coast of Sweden, the coast is a bit rocky but there are still lots of good spots. Afaik average winds here are about 10mph, but I'm thinking I'll stick to very light winds until I know what I'm doing.

3m will be a blast in 10mph. That is enough to have it fully filled sand moving along, but should be low enough to not quite pull your arms off.

Don't forget the PKD Buster Soufly 3.3 as an option...

Don't know if you're still considering a Hydra, but there's a nice used Hydra 3.0 for sale on eBay right now. Has something like two days left to go before end of auction...

To correct my above post, the kite is actually "new with tags."
Should be worth checking out for someone...

I used to use my open cell trainer kite in the water. It won't relaunch so I would have to roll it up , take it to shore and start again when I crashed. Added incentive not to.
No problem as far as getting the kite wet.

If you have the extra cash the Hydra sounds like it will serve you better. It is a true kiteboard trainer and it sounds like that is the direction you plan to go.

You are correct in your understanding that static flying 4 line is more entertaining.

Tough choice !

If money is super tight I suggest you look for second hand gear. Kites are like cars and drop in value the moment they leave the shop. Pansh is also worth looking at. They are budget kites but they will get you going. What you save going in you lose when trying to sell. The other kites you are looking at will resell easier at a better price.

While a 3m kite will leave you wanting for something bigger down the road you will learn a whole lot faster starting out with one. Most folks find out that a 5m kite tosses them around and they are just trying to keep from getting hurt. A 3m leaves you with a nice blend of power + control. Being in control is when you start learning and really having fun. That happens fast with a 3m ! At 3m I find kites slow down and act like larger kites. Any smaller and the are overly zippy !

Followup:

Thanks for all the advice! I ended up with a 4m Hornet II, took it on its first flight yesterday and had a blast!

Cheers!

4m hornet is awesome!
so stable