I copied this from the Okanagan forum.




‎, 2012 12:00 pm Interested in kiteboarding - Read this First
As summer is supposed to be here and people will be wanting to get into this sport I figured I'd post this, hopefully get it sticky. Just as a clarification, I am new, this is my first year, and I've got to get this out to the new people interested in this sport before the spam arrives on this forum. If anyone has other good information for this I'll edit the original post.

New or want to get into Kiteboarding/Kitesurfing? Please read this before posting such threads as "How can I get in to this on my own", "I bought a kite, where should I go", "I don't need lessons", "There are no instructors near me so I'll learn on my own", etc. etc. That will get nothing but flames, smart ass remarks, and bad advice just to give other members a laugh because your more than likely a troll.

I absolutely love this sport, but following some of the basic rules/etiquette and gaining the knowledge to be safe is the top priority. Also be prepared to spend $2,000-$3,000 to start with. After that initial hurdle the cost will become less over time, unless you like the latest and greatest every year. The gear you get should last you a few years as long as you keep them in good working order (repairs as soon as they are needed, etc.).

You will hear 99% of kiteboarders say "TAKE LESSONS FIRST". Even if they didn't take them. This sport is fairly new, safety has improved dramatically since the beginning of the sport in the mid/late 90's. (Twin tips really started early 2000's and kite safety systems have improved even up to recent years). Plus buying a 16m kite because your a bigger person, but plan on kiteing the gorge, would just be a waste of money. Until you gain the knowledge (from the lesson) a decision on a kite to purchase would be like buying a car based solely on a picture. If you want to hang it from a ceiling or on a wall go ahead, but if you plan on using it on the water don't waste your money, get the lesson first.

Reasons for taking lessons:

1) Keep our launches available - one or two people could shut down a launch location if they don't know what they are doing.

2) Keep your self alive - Kites we fly are extremely powerful, and larger than what you'd use typically on just land. There have been deaths, and even with good training serious injuries still happen (even when not on the board).

3) Keep others safe - don't impale someone with a kite moving at 40+mph or cut them bad with your flying lines

4) Kite control - If you land board, or snow kite you'll have the majority of this down except the water aspect. The kite can fill up with water which makes it difficult to relaunch, and other water relaunching skills are NEEDED. You can't just walk up to the kite, fix it, set it for launch, walk back to your bar and launch the kite. You'll need to learn how to recover and relaunch in deep water along with self rescue in the case of major tangles, inversions and other unrecoverable situations. YOU WILL SELF RESCUE, even the best have to do it from time to time.

5) Understanding of the kites power - lift, drag, etc. even with a trainer you can feel how much power can be generated by doing a kite loop in the power zone... if a 2m drags you a couple feet a 10m kite will launch you a good 50+ yards.

6) Understanding of the wind on the water. It's different than on land. You don't have barges or huge car carrying ships that cause a HUGE wind shadow. (these have destroyed many kites and caused many self rescues).

7) Save you a ton of money and time - People that didn't taken lessons (more the early adopters of this sport) typically took a year or two to get comfortable. With lessons (private you'll go at your own pace) I was up and riding in 5 hours and comfortable after 3 more sessions. If you do not, you'll end up spending a lot on gear replacement or repair (you'd make the repair shops happy for the added business) or just give up and sell your kites on this forum (make a lot of people happy for cheap gear). Plus during the lessons your beating on someone else's gear, not yours.

Advice: if you want to get into this sport, not end up in the Emergency Room, or send someone else to the ER.

1) buy/borrow a Training kite and fly it to hell and back (2-3 meter). Feel free to ask for some good locations to practice, and what patterns/skills you should learn. (you won't get laughed at for this on this forum)

2) buy a training DVD
DO NOT USE THIS AS YOUR INSTRUCTION. This will help you understand some of the concepts so when you are ready for lessons, some of the basics will already be in your head. Also techniques have changed even in the past few years and instructors are up to date where the videos could be out of touch of current equipment and techniques. Nothing is better than having a live person there and ready to bail you out of trouble, answering your questions, holding you in place instead of getting dragged down the beach, or the like.

3) Ready for lessons and serious about it. Buy a wetsuit - NO MORE unless you want to spend twice as much as you would have needed after a lesson.

4) Head to a kiteboarding spot when there is some wind (with your trainer). Talk to the locals, tell them your interested, ask for their advice for instructors/schools and other locations they think would be beginner friendly.

5) Research instructors and kiteboarding schools.
Feel free to ask people on this forum their advice. We will give our opinions, especially if you have a location in mind (i.e. Jones Beach, Hood River, Lake Floras or where you live (we have found places for people on the NE coast)) Look for insurance, personalities, instruction styles, PASA or IKO certifications, and other things they offer such as radio helmets, jet ski assist (more important for swift current locations) They will provide gear (sometimes wetsuits, other times hit up some stores for rentals if you haven't purchased one yet)

6) Book and take the lesson (try for one of the 4-6 hour courses most places offer)
The instructor will go over you flying a trainer and try to correct your bad habits, get you flying a traction kite in the water (much safer than on land), get you body dragging (this is fun), body dragging up wind (board retrieval skill), body dragging with your board, how to self rescue (with practice), how to bail (toss the bar, release the chicken loop, and release your kite leash), and how to recover from these situations. More than likely you'll get your first few tacks in.

7) Talk to your instructor and locals about kites, styles, sizes for the primary location you'll be flying to find out which would be best for your first few kites. You will eventually get a full quiver, but different locations have different typical winds and different kite types have different wind ranges. Everyone has an opinion on what the best kite is, but finding one that is right for you to learn on is key. Instructors/Schools will typically have some good deals for packages, or some in good shape used gear available for purchase. Once you're comfortable doing transitions, maybe doing some small jumps, start looking for demos of the gear you are interested in as you progress.

Find some people that are into the sport and kite with them (hit up this forum and you can meet up with people). ALWAYS kiteboard with someone else. They will be able to help if things go wrong (they can and will) and give you advice to learn and get more comfortable in this sport. Going Solo is a bad idea until you are extremely comfortable, even then it's still better to have someone else around, at least in some sort of rescue capability (boat/jet ski).

Also while your learning please:

1) keep your distance from anyone or anything else (at least 2x your line length)

2) Look around you often. Try not to hog the landing areas (especially during the current fishing season some spots get cramped)

3) If the wind is dying and your having issues flying your kite near the common landing area get to shore and land your kite or at least give them enough room to land, the people on the water will probably be heading in as they don't want to be stuck in the middle of the channel without power.

Good job finding it .......
.... well written .... good advice .....

it reads like a recycle + other recycled parts. whats with the compelling spam pressure thing?

and it is not well written, besides the mechanics it has contradictions

but for a forum and basic delivery of a message it is suitable despite its written language errors.

general content is good, and gives emphasis on safety...with a TON of assumptions which ain't so good...jet skis, boats, kites just don't mix well, without "knowledge" or certification of those around wanting to help you and your junk, could get you killed.

where it fails, it starts with gear, where it should be CONDITIONS. without understanding the elements a huge gap of knowledge is left out.

its a sailing sport ...this word was not even mentioned.

a good novice attempt at expressing compelling reasons FOR LESSONS or SELF TEACH. kinda hard to tell what they 're advocating.

Even the IKO stuff is SO poorly written, with knowledge errors in the certification text, along with mechanics. ...and some actual joking because they (EDITOR/ WRITER) really dose not know what is correct. funny til you read /remember about things like the accidents
...the one in france comes to mind very tragic.

caution and warnings are NEEDED like this ..BUT the inherent responsibly truly has to come from within the eager student or the outcome is poor....and a careless instructor will only pass it on.

the best advice mentioned ...hangout with those doing it! collective is safer and better.