Kiteboarding kitesurfing2/19/2024 Starting on a 17m kite is going to be the best choice as that's what will get them the most water time. A good example would be someone who might weigh 190 pounds and their location only gets wind speeds up to 15 miles per hour on a regular basis. This is usually something three sizes larger than your mid-range and is designed for light winds. If you live somewhere that almost exclusively has light winds, you might need to start with a light wind kite. When to consider starting on a different size Build your quiver based on maximizing your water time. This should give you an idea on the average wind speeds you can ride in and how to choose the right size kite for the conditions. Chose your kite size by the conditions you will be riding in. The center column is mid-range kites and the right is high wind kite recommendations. The left column is light wind kite recommendations. I've included a kiteboarding size chart that you can reference. How to pick a mid-range kite by your weight Locations like the Florida Keys need a light wind kite This is where your location comes into play. There are some circumstances where you might consider starting with your light or high wind kite. That said, for some, this still might be the best option. For light winds or strong winds, I would add on another 15 hours of learning time for someone to become efficient. That is the amount of time it takes to learn how to become an independent kiteboarder. In kiteboarding, we have the 30 hour rule. How long does it take to learn kiteboarding? That said, the smaller the kite and the stronger the wind, the more skill it takes to keep the kite under control. Those of you using this size as your weight-appropriate mid-range kite are lucky because they are the most fun to use. You'll often hear that people's favorite size is their 9 or 10 meter. The faster kites are really fun and responsive. Wind tends to be gusty and less consistent. If you start on something smaller in stronger winds, things happen a lot faster. In stronger winds, you'll eventually need a high wind kite. If you start with your light wind kite, you'll be spending more time working on this. Launching a kite also takes more skill and practice in lighter winds. You have to think two steps ahead when steering your kite to be effective. Once you get riding on the water, for someone who is new, it can take more work learning to subtly sine the kite to generate more apparent wind. If you learn on a light wind kite, there is a benefit from the standpoint of not over-steering the kite. This is because larger kites are less responsive. Once you try getting up on a board, it's going to take a lot more work to learn to ride in light winds. Any less wind, and you can still make great progress flying the kite safely while standing. This is the easiest range for learning kiteboarding. Your mid-range kite is going to be used at roughly 16 to 21 miles per hour. This is because there are different skill sets for different wind ranges. The reason most would benefit from starting on a mid-range kite is that these wind ranges take more time to learn. It will be the easiest kite to learn on: not too fast, not too slow, and you'll be using it in the safest wind range for learning.Įventually, you'll probably want another couple kites, a light wind kite and a high wind kite. When I say mid-range kite, what I mean is that kiteboarders have a quiver of kites:įor most, the mid- range kite is best for starting. If you're new to kiteboarding and you are looking at your first kite, you'll want to pick a good all-around mid-range kite for your weight, the goal being to maximize your water time in the conditions that you'll be riding in. What kind of conditions will you be riding in?.Is this your first kite or are you adding to your quiver?.When picking the correct size kiteboarding kite, there are four things to consider: I wanted to cover a question we get almost daily: How do I pick the right size kite? This video is aimed at new riders, but I will address intermediate riders at the end of this blog. This is going to be another quick, information-packed blog.
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