Newbie looking for good low wind kite

[jdg]

Hi all, I have recently become interested in kite flying but haven't purchased a kite yet. I think I would like to start with a single line. I'd like to have something that is a little unique, unfortunately we only have an average windspeed of about 5 to 10 mph. I noticed this is the low end flight range for many kites. Will this make it difficult to fly them? Is there a kite or two that would do better in these conditions?

Since it is my first kite, I don't really want to spend a ton until I know this is something I want to really get into. Any suggestions? Thanks!

[Aerochic]

5-10mph is just about perfect for many single line kites! I would consider 5 and below more of a low wind situation. That being said, you can never go wrong with a delta kite. There are so many sizes, designs, and price ranges for them. While I'm more into sport kiting now, it was my single lines that really sparked my interest in kiting years ago. I still fly my "SLKs" when I just want to kick back and relax.

I've seen some nicely made inexpensive deltas by Prism and HQ out there. If you don't have any kite shops near you, there are some wonderful places online to get good kites: Into The Wind, Gomberg Kites, Flying Smiles Kites, The Kite Shoppe, The Kite Loft...

[Paul LaMasters]

a more moveable/steerable single line kite,...like a low wind SLK or indoor-styled glider might be more to your liking.

You can into it for under $100 and for a couple of hundred dollars you can fly almost any model available. I like one particularly called the Skate, it would OWN your local winds in the ranges you've defined above and flies in a dead-calm

Will Sturdy makes a glider kite that can be flown on a "wand" indoors or outside. Now you arm is suddenly longer, so you can do more, as opposed to just watching it stapled into the sky.

You could fly a delta-styled kite and use "line climber" which goes up and down the string after the kite is high and stationary.

Call one of the shops above and talk to the owner, see what they recommend, or go hook-up with some other kiters and try-out OPKs until you connect with one.

[Reved]

I got one of these Brasington Sky Song kites wheni was starting. It's about $27 and flys nice in light winds. I

was flying it in lighter winds than the 6mph range it says in the specs.

http://www.intothewind.com/shop/Creative_Kite_Designs/Brasington_Sky_Song_Kite

[makatakam]

Don't know how I missed this when it was originally posted. And, if you get tired of flying it as a single-line, you can modify it to be a quad-line!

Additional sail material sewn to bottom, and keels added to stabilize it.

[Tmadz]

For a real light wind kite you'll have to do some research. Being in Kalamazoo, finding open land is more important than the kite. You're not far from the coast, but it's a pain when you want to fly quickly. Michigan has lots of forests. You'll need about 100ft of open land away from trees for every 10ft of tree height. Be careful of wind ranges unless you have ocean beach smooth winds for the low end. Inland we tend to have squirrely inconsistent winds in the warmer months.

That being said, a delta based on a Dan Leigh design are the gold standard and terrific for low wind, but pricey.

BTW, Anything by Robert Brasington is gorgeous.