Beginner Help

[Guest Jazz]

I am new to kiting and am having trouble finding the best kite to start on. I am considering:

The Beetle

Addiction

Cherry Bomb

What would be the best to start out on and learn basic tricks?

Any help is appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[Geoff]

I haven't tried anything but the Beetle. But I'd give it a thumbs up. I've taken some pretty harsh crashes and not broken or torn anything. and as far as tricks, I'm new, but I have gotten it to axel and snap stall so far....havent really tried anything else yet until I master those two techniques...

[mirecat]

What would be the best to start out on and learn basic tricks?

Actually that's tough to get. The 1st few hours of dual line kiting are very hard on a kite. Usually there's a lot of crashing. Normal stuff. A Beetle is good for that, it probably can handle the most abuse. It's not the easiest kite to learn to trick though. A bigger kite like the Jam Session or Elixer that are made more for trick flying would be better for learning tricks. (There are many others in this catagory as well.) Now finding the cheapest, easiest to trick, and most durable kite is quite a feat.

[ikky68]

I am new to kiting and am having trouble finding the best kite to start on.

What would be the best to start out on and learn basic tricks? 

Dude,

If you can fly around without crashing a kite then you can skip the Beetle. If your controls are slightly off and you crash on occasion, then the Beetle is the kite to buy. That kite is bullet proof.

For trick flying I would start out with the Addiction. As for Mirecat's suggestion, you can't go wrong with the Elixir. I've had both and liked both for different reasons. The Addiction behaves very similar to the Elixir. BUT the Elixir has a wider useable wind range.

There are a bunch of kite under $150 that are coming into the market. You might want to look at those and read up on what they are capable of.

[atcman42]

I have recently gone through the same delema. The first qustion is...have you flown a dual line kite and do you know how to fly. I got the addiction by the advice of this forum. best kite for the buck is what most of the people have said. I do agree. I love the addiction. (although i have not flown anything other for any amount of time) BUT!!!.....It was a tricky kite to learn on cause it was fast for the beginer. I broke the spine on the first flight(the winds were about 25kts gusting to 30 was a very interesting day!!) but i got a stronger spine and have crashed numerous times and have not broken anything else on it. It is a blast to fly and i would really recomend it to anyone. Plus comes with bag, lines, wrist straps and a winder. good luck have fun!!

[Dragonsbain]

For what it's worth I to am relatively new, only about 8mos. flying time. I have found that the New Tech, New Jam has been a very solid performer. Actually it's probably better than I am, I have been able to get it to axel,stall,side slide and to lazy susan with relative ease. Also another kite to consider is the Level One, Jack in the Box, this kite I have flown in a complete circle and on less than 3mph wind. It tricks with ease and is forgiving enough to allow close ground flight without worrying about crashing at the least little control movement. Both have been very robust and an absolute blast to fly. Hope my opinion is helpful.

[kitepilot]

Jazz - You've probably bought your new beginner's kite by the time I found this post. I'll add some advice for other stark rookies. The replies following your post are all valuable information. Three months ago I started with the Flying Wings Beetle. A real beast of burden, cleverly designed, easy to assemble/disassemble, robust, and a wide wind range. It's truely a training kite for the beginner.

Of the utmost importance, buy your kite from an established local kite shop. Customer support can be phenomenal! The sales personnel know their products and have good advice for improvements, techniques, repairs, and upgrades. Hanging around the kite shop is like sitting in with a group around the pot-bellied stove at the general store in the days of old. Those other customers have kiting experience and are often eager to share advice and the good flying locations.

I bought my Beetle based on an article that sits in the Kitelife archives. If you live in San Diego, the kite club (www.sandiegokiteclub.com) has members that range from beginners to champions and all have been helpful to newbies. Seeking advice from the websites is also a smart move. Websurf some more.

The fun of kiting is not just putting a sail into the air, it's the comraderie of the kiting community! Kitepilot