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Advice for a Wanna Be


airin
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I'm pretty intrigued by kite buggying and am interested in getting a little more of an idea of how I could get into the sport. I'm comfortable flying foils and have had a summer of quad line flying as well.

There's not loads of space at out local kite field but I was thinking that if I could get a feel for the sport I could mix it into some holiday destinations in the future like Long Beach on Vancouver Island and the Oregon Coast.

Is it possible to get into it without totally breaking the bank? How much does body weight play into the type of gear needed? I am a 130 lb woman of average fitness and with a big dose of enthusiasm for things that zip along.

I'd appreciate any advice and also any links to sites that you'd recommend for a wanna be like me.

thanks,

Erin

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Your best (and cheapest) option would be to contact someone down in Oregon (Sunset Beach area) and meet up with them to try out their buggies. If you can make it down here to Vegas we would be more than happy to do the same. We have all the gear so you would only need to bring yourself. :)

Another option would be to contact your local shop where you are at and talk to them about buggiers or places that people may be buggying. If you can hook up with local people then you will probably be able to get a test run in their gear to see if that is something you enjoy.

Hope that helps.

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How much does body weight play into the type of gear needed?

Hi

I would say weight shouldn't be much of an issue - you can always change foil size to get the maximum out of the wind speed.

As a petite flyer myself I have found that leg length has been more of an issue - reaching to turn the wheels. :)

Try before you buy is the best thing

enjoy your ride :D

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  • 1 month later...

I agree. Try and find someone that already has the gear and give it a go first. I love the buggy and use a Peter Lynn mk2. They are a great buggy that you can adjust to suit you and with the new options from PL, the adjustments are endless. There are so many types of buggies out there so try and find one that suits you best. The main area I fly is only about 150m long so I have gone for a small buggy that I can do some freestyle with, but can also be used to get some decent speed when I hit big open beaches.

As for price, I dont know what the second hand market is like in the US, but here in Australia you can generally pick up second hand buggies for less that AUS$500 (about US$450).

I hope that Helps.

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  • 1 year later...

Don't know how the availability is in your part of the world, but I've received countless recommendations for a second hand Flexifoil Standard buggy as one of the best options for a beginner.....I think they may have stopped making them these days, so worth keeping an eye open for one.

I'm about the same size as you and I fly:

3m & 4.9m Flexifoil Blade IIIs (Awesome kites, but shockingly aggressive, the 3m was my first kite and I'm now looking for a purple 6.6m at the right price! :ani_giveup: )

2m, 4m & 6m Mac Para Bego (Very lifty, but oh so twitchy!)

5m Ozone Haka (Very, very powerful but quite gentle about it in more wind than I'd dare to fly the 4.9m Blade.)

2m & 4m Pansh Flux (Super stable, great beginners kite, decent buggy engines in 15mph+ winds.)

4.1m Peter Lynn Twister II (Simply awesome, I learned to fly with the 3m version but wanted a slightly bigger one.)

I've also just bought an old Peter Lynn Guerilla II 13m to learn depower (& boarding).....Hopefully it'll absorb the worst of the gusts here in the darkest Midlands, I'm about as far inland as you can get in the UK. Taming the Haka in the buggy is my next major project, but that means putting it on a strop which could be bloody scary as that thing certainly does lift some, more so the faster it's going! :group:

The most money I've spent on a kite was £230 for the Haka (new via eBay), I paid £125 & £165 for the Blades (secondhand via eBay), £45 & £65 for the Fluxes (new via private sale on Kitecrowd & Panshfans) and £125 for the Twister II (secondhand from Kitecrowd), so as you can see, it's possible to get quite a quiver together for not too much money at all, in the UK at least. The 13m Guerilla cost me £120 (about the same as I paid for my secondhand B-Series REV 1.5), so even huge depower kites can be had for very reasonable prices if you pick older designs (but choose carefully as some of 'em can kill you be a bit feisty).

Main recommendation.....Give it a try!

HTH & All the best

Andy S.

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