TractionKiting.co.uk

ok folks and folkessess?
i've been flying a fleifoil 6 for about a year and would like to get into "proper" kites. initially i'd like to scud and try to jump on land. ultimately i'd like to get to kitesurf
so the question is.......what kite or kites do you all recommend? i am a total newbie and will have a taster day soon and probably go for some lessons too. help is most appreciated many thanks
ps anneski i stay along in balloch just a couple of mins away from you :shocked:

Well helloooooooooo then!

Do you have a local (ish) flying spot? I pop down to Dumbarton Castle for an occasional static flying fix, though there's not much space!
I take the train down to Stevenston (North of Troon) on some weekends. You're more than welcome to come and join the fun and interrogate people about their kites. Pretty much everyone will let you have a go, depending on the kite and conditions.

I'm still a newbie really, so I''l let other more experienced people do the advising - and watch out for Owain pimping Ozones at you :wink:

Welcome to the TK forum Ned...

lol! I only pimp Ozone cause I really like the kites and I haven't had much experience with the newer Flexifoil or other branded kites.

You say you are wanting to get in to kitesurfing, my advice you be this :

If you buy a good branded kite (Ozone, Flexifoil) which have good resale value then you buy the kite and sell it when you want to upgrade to the water. To get you scudding the Ozone Samurai would do the job (so would the Flexifoil Rage) or the PKD Buster2's. The only problem with buying the PKD Buster2 is that because they are already cheap to buy, not many people will buy a second hand one unless you are selling it for almost nothing!
For jumping you would be wanting something with lift such as the Ozone Riot or Flexifoil Blades but neither of these kites are good kites for learning on because the lift can be unexpected at times. The other option is to get a depowerable kite which will prepare you for using a bar on the water, kites such as the Ozone Frenzy or Flexifoil Sabre or even the HQ Montana would be suitable for this, all three of these kites have plenty of lift for jumping.

With depower kites you do need to use a harness as well though, again this would get you ready for the water.

Now sizes of kites, I wouldn't jump with anything smaller than 5m. Smaller kites will lift but you will not get the all important float. For depowerable kites you would possibly want to say no jumping with anything smaller than a 7m.

With the stronger winds coming (we hope) it might be worth you starting with a 2m or 3m kite (not suitable for jumping) but gets you used to the basics of flying a 4 line kite and will get you scudding really well. The smaller kites will also fly around the sky a lot faster than the larger ones so you will probably have a lot more fun with a smaller kite to start with.

Hope I haven't pimped too much since I seem to be getting a reputation for it

If anyone who has flown other brands of kites could post some advice that would be good

O.

hey anneski i'm not sure if the place i fly is ok but i go to balloch castle and fly there. i've only got a flexifoil 6 which is a small kite dunno if it would be ok for the larger kites. if you want i can drive you down to steventon sometime in exchange for grilling you about kites and maybe a wee shot of one of your kites.
owain thanks for the advice i have in fact been thinking about the pkd range plus harness and bar as opposed to handles

I do love people who drive ...

Sure, I'll let you have a go with my kites in exchange for transport - I'd prefer to meet you locally first though, my mummy always told me never to get in a car with a strange man :wink:

To be honest, I'd be very reluctant to fly a kite in Balloch park - there's way too many trees for my liking. I just know my blade would be attracted to them like flies to shhhhhhhhhhh ... sugar :rolleyes:
Would be good for learning to landboard though.

By the way, if you get a Buster2, I WILL want to play with it

wooooohooooo
i just got a letter through for an offer of job that i applied for a few weeks back. more money to fund my new found hobby

Nice one Im hoping I get news of a job I have applied for soon as well....

Ned, your avatar....is that the beast that sits on the road to Oban? Im useless with names of places....

O.

yes owain it is near a place called killin i spotted it when out on my motorbike its anothe hobby of mine landrovers. i aint an anorak landy fan but i own and drive one even go offroad in it too. i've been speaking to anneski who lives about 15mins away from me and asked her if she wants a lift to stevenston on sunday where hopefully i can have a wee shot of her kite/kites

Thats it
I used to spot it every time we headed to Glasgow from Tiree (where I grew up) and I still try and spot it when I head back to Tiree....never seen it in action though....

O.

no i've not seen it move either
anneski is going to talk to her boyfriend about going to stevenston on the weekend. i hope they agree to it as i'd love to have a go at big kite flying. i'll take my lil flexifoil6 along and have a larf with that depending on weather too i suppose :grin: