BigSiler
Posts: 125
Registered: 7-9-2006
Location: Florence, Oregon
Member Is Offline
Mood: BREEZY
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another newbie question
Howdy.
okay,I been wanting to learn..Been spending months reading forums and looking at sites.. lol.. No schools are close, and I havent seen anyone to ask
questions.. And I got lots..lol
What is a ball park figure of total cost? I have nothing( my Tabu harness), so,...
kite w/lines and bar, board,wet suit.. Thats all I can think of..
What else would I need ?. I know classes of course  .. Just
trying to get a $$ figure to it before Spring..lol.. Hell,Xmass..lol
Thank YOU all very much.
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code
Posts: 225
Registered: 11-23-2005
Location: MD
Member Is Offline
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Big,
Depending on what you're looking at getting kite wise my guess would be that you're going to end up spending close to $600 to a couple $1000 depending
on what deals you find and what you're looking for. For instance I picked up a used Slingshot Fuel 13m this past summer for $250 complete. Of course
it wasn't brand new, actually a 2004 model, but for starting off it was good enough. I sold the kite at the end of the summer due to not using it
nearly as much as I thought I would and having a child on his way for the same amount as I bought it for. You can typically find a used board for
anywhere from $250 up as well. Then a $100 or so for a wetsuit, depending on what kind of suit you're talking about getting. I highly recommend
getting boots, aqua socks or something to protect your feet from sharp rocks, etc. as well. That also kinda depends on where you're thinking about
going. Out here in Maryland there's always a lot of broken bottles and such to watch out for. Ebay generally has some pretty decent deals as far as
LEI's and if you look up some of the kitesurfing forums you can typically find someone that's wanting to sell a decent kite complete for a reasonable
price.
The other option is check out ikitesurf.com They have a for sale section with a load of used Lei's that people are trying to sell. You may even get a
decent 2005 / 2006 model now that the 2007 models are out. That site is also good for checking out the wind conditions in your area too. Here's
another more localized forum to you to check periodically for used kitesurfing gear...
http://www.nwkite.com/forums/?sid=ecb06ffae09100131673e67feb...
and another based in seattle...
http://www.seattlekitesurfing.org/forum/
Hope this helps some,
Joe
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Bladerunner
Posts: 9679
Registered: 10-17-2006
Location: Vancouver
Member Is Offline
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A HELMET............. PRICELESS !!!!!!!!!!
Kites: 2.5m Profoil , Quadrifoil XL kitesurfer, NPW 5 Danger.
Flexifoil: 1.7m Sting, 4.9m Blade 3, 9m Blade 2.
Flysurfer : 19m Speed 2 SA, 7m Pulse
Peter Lynn :18m Phantom, 15m Synergy, 10m Synergy, 1200 Farc, 460 Sarc, 130 Tarc, 5m Peel, 4.2m , 6.4, 8.5 C-Quads, 3.5 LS2 single skin.
Rides: Flexi / P.L. Frankin'Buggy , Shaped + straight skiis, sand skis, Coyote blades. Core 95 ATB. RKB R2 ATB .
Ken (K2)
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BigSiler
Posts: 125
Registered: 7-9-2006
Location: Florence, Oregon
Member Is Offline
Mood: BREEZY
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Helmet is a great thought.. cant belive i forgot the brain bucket
thx
and Joe, Ikite is a good little site.. Thanks.. Already found bunch of affordable kites, Way better then the new ones I was looking at  ..
Thank YOU both for the Help..
also, have any of ya used paypal?? New to the idea and wondered how to make sure the sell goes through smoothly..
Ya know, I actually get the kite..lol... Thanks
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code
Posts: 225
Registered: 11-23-2005
Location: MD
Member Is Offline
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Yeah.. I'm glad that snowbird mentioned the helmet..definitely a good thing to get. Even a decent life jacket that's not too bulky isn't always a bad
idea either. Not sure if the impact vest has floatation in it, but that could always be an option if it does since it would have both the harness and
floatation. I know my harness is semi floaty, but if I did pass out for whatever reason, it wouldn't hold my head above water. In the summer you'll
probably want a rash guard of some kind as well.
My take on kites, and ecspecially when you're entering a realm you're not sure if you're going to like, what to get, etc. is to buy used. That way if
you don't like it or even if you do like it, you didn't spend a butt load of money to find out. I would've loved to of kept my fuel, but to me it
just didn't seem like the greatest purchase after I bought it. I don't make it to the bay enough and with a newborn baby, my chances to get there were
even going to be less, so it wasn't really going to make it worth my while to keep. Have plenty of farm land around me that I can kite on, so figured
I'd stick moreso to the land stuff til the baby gets older.
Also, If you haven't pumped an Lei up yet, when you do, you'll know what I'm talking about. That's gotta be one of the most exhausting parts of the
sport..haha.
Glad you found a few good deals. If you buy new it definitely tends to break the bank pretty quick getting into the kitesurfing stuff. And yeah..the
ikite site is pretty slick. Quite a few kiters and windsurfers tend to use that for wind readings as they're pretty accurate and far moreso then most
of the weather websites.
As for the transaction..Your best bet would be to talk to a few people you find that have the kites and boards for sale. Ask a bunch of questions,
even if you know the answers.. the more you ask and talk to someone, the better you'll feel about making a purchase from them and /or you'll get a
better idea about how the transaction will go too. So shoot'em a few emails and phone calls aren't always bad either.
We use paypal quite a bit, but when purchasing things like kites from some of these forums I tend to do just like I stated above. Get the persons real
name, phone number and address too, give'm a call and ask some questions that way, even if it is long distance to call..it gives me peace of mind.
Typically the buyer pays and then the seller ships the object upon recieving payment. Similar to ebay. Paypal speeds that process up quite a bit. If
you have any concern about that, you may be able to work something out with the person upon contacting them where you pay half and then the rest upon
receiving. You can see when the transaction is complete on paypal too..which is nice, so that you know that the person did get the actual payment,
rather then sending a check via regular mail and hoping it made it there..of course there is always certified mail too.
I did have one bad experience with selling myself..never had one buying though. The guy said he sent a check via mail and was expecting me to send the
kite the same day after he emailed me that the check was sent. I had told him how I liked things to work as far as the transaction goes before hand,
but he apparently forgot. Anywho.. I never did receive payment and he never did get the kite. I emailed him several times following to see what was
going on, and never did get a response. So you do have to beware a bit with the whole buying and selling thing.
Btw..What part of Oregon are you from? Use to live in Idaho and have some friends that live near Mt. Hood, Portland and Corvallis.
I've seen a few people in some videos online kitesurfing on the Hood River too. Not sure what parts, but it definitely looked like good times. Quite a
few people windsurfing too.
~Joe
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BigSiler
Posts: 125
Registered: 7-9-2006
Location: Florence, Oregon
Member Is Offline
Mood: BREEZY
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I went out today to try some KGB after talking to you all.Winds were too high at 25 to 30 mph (for me as I like it 12 to 20 for now ) .. I drove down
the beach aways farther and saw some KITESUFERS.. I guess its cause the wind was higher then when Im normally out there flyinig..So I watched them
till they landed and went over and talked to them..
They Helped alot with what I'd need for Here and where I cant and can ride.Opposite from where I was thinking.. All very helpful.. That with YOUR
help, this has been a good day.
The way paypal sounds,they Do get my money for sure, but no guarantee I get the kite.And thats the Important part..lol.. Lucky on ikitesurf there are
lots for sell here in Oregon and All under $500 and the right sizes.. hell,Id drive there for same day..
As far as classes, told me to go to Banding, and they start classes in March.. Thats the plan for now.
Im out in Florence.. South of Seaside by a Good Drive.. The town is known for its Big Sand Dunes..
Thanks
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code
Posts: 225
Registered: 11-23-2005
Location: MD
Member Is Offline
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Good to hear you had a chance to meet up with some locals! You'll find that doing what you did yesterday will help you when you actually get out
there..as it helps to know someone that can help you launch and land your kite. Far better then trying to self launch, and also far safer for both
yourself and others too.
I've noticed that quite often on the ikitesurf there are quite a few people from oregon and washington selling stuff. Figured that would be a good
site for you. And probably not a bad idea what you're talking about as far as just going to pick the kite up.
Classes will definitely help as well. You'll find they'll go over stuff you already know since you KGB, but you may actually find that your KGB'ing
will improve with what you gain from the class. I know mine did, even though I never got into the actual surfing part of the lessons, I did gain a lot
of knowledge for my land stuff.
If you get into the kitesurfing and even end up doing some snowkiting with the lie or foils, you should check out the montana snowkite rodeo sometime.
They do a lot of kitesurfing at the same location in montana during the summer months too. A lot of big names head out there for the rodeo event. I
believe Shasta was there and Skyline, utah last winter. I'm hoping to get out there for the event not this coming up winter but hopefully the one
following.
Good luck and let us know how your journey goes with the lessons, getting a kite, etc. Am interested to hear how it all pans out for you.
~Joe
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