I have had the dreaded nipple problem on two of my Naish kites...and have two buddies who have had Naish bladder problems as well. My main bladder on my boxer still leaks...probably gotta replace it.

Have the bladder manufacturers addressed this problem?

maui gets its wind from the funneling effect of the isthmus between the two mountains. the big island is just that, one big island/mountain. its a couple of times as big as maui. Actually, the Big Island gets the venturi or "funneling" effect between Mauna Kea and Kohala when the trades are up. How...

Yep...the winds really are that different between the two islands. Plus the beaches are way different...lots more sand and less cliffs on Maui. For some info on Hawaii check out: http://www.kitebeaches.com/kitebeaches/country.php?country=Hawaii%20(USA) Or just fly in to Kahului and look for kites......

Will be headed to southeast AZ and western NM for a week or so in mid-September. Is it worth bringing kites? Any suggestions on places to try? Sounds like the kite scene is kept pretty quiet...

thanks

October is probably no good for kiting on the Big Island. We can kite most days during the summer at a couple of bays (10-16 knots), but I'm told this usually shuts down in September. You can also kite during sporadic kona storms during the winter...which bring big winds. Difficult to kite the trade...