Is my instructor bias regarding buying gear?

[Hugh2]

And eventually you will end up with a 14/15m kite for light days, and a 8/9m for occasional strong days or when traveling. Along with an 11m, that makes a nice quiver. When you come to Cape Town you can get a 5/6m! As noted above repeatedly, you want a freeride kite that is easy to re-launch. Every kite company has one, and most are three struts, and everyone on this board has a favorite. If they still made them, I like my Cabrinha Vector, but love my Pivots. Don't go for anything prior to 2012, and even those are getting worn if used regularly. My Vector panels are nearing tissue status and I will replace it with a 12m Pivot.

[slim_charles]

People recommending 12s in 8-14knts on a tt wtf... am i missing something? I'm with Mossy n foilholio... sub 20 on a tt isn't worth getting out of bed for!

Hey, slim. For a beginner, still trying to figure things out, a 12 m LEI in 14 knots (especially a light weight beginner) is just perfect. If the OP said his typical wind is 20+ knots, I'd definitely recommend a 9 m. He's a beginner.

Op supports this message. It will be my first kite, I'm a begginer, I'm light weight, got a lot to work on and improve, not going out to large jumps and speed runs, just sail and get a feel for it, in the average 10-12 knots a nice day at my local beach has to offer, I'm thinking a 12 but since there's not many of those up for sale and my budget is limited, I'll probably get a nice 11, bar included.

Fair enough but 14 is not 8-14, in the lulls he'll be screwed. Too my mind a beginner more than any needs to be powered, not over, not under but the correct size for the given wind. To op, maybe your knots are diff to mine but i don't know your beach/conditions nor does anyone else behind a keyboard, as has already been mentioned your best bet is to speak to locals and see what the other beginners are on. have fun. (ps i did take the weight into account myself being lightweight also)

[Yuvallahav]

Hey, slim. For a beginner, still trying to figure things out, a 12 m LEI in 14 knots (especially a light weight beginner) is just perfect. If the OP said his typical wind is 20+ knots, I'd definitely recommend a 9 m. He's a beginner.

Op supports this message. It will be my first kite, I'm a begginer, I'm light weight, got a lot to work on and improve, not going out to large jumps and speed runs, just sail and get a feel for it, in the average 10-12 knots a nice day at my local beach has to offer, I'm thinking a 12 but since there's not many of those up for sale and my budget is limited, I'll probably get a nice 11, bar included.

Fair enough but 14 is not 8-14, in the lulls he'll be screwed. Too my mind a beginner more than any needs to be powered, not over, not under but the correct size for the given wind. To op, maybe your knots are diff to mine but i don't know your beach/conditions nor does anyone else behind a keyboard, as has already been mentioned your best bet is to speak to locals and see what the other beginners are on. have fun. (ps i did take the weight into account myself being lightweight also)

Well, most beginners I see on my beach use 12 meters, taking into account my light frame, I thought an 11 will do my right, and when I can afford another one it will be larger, a 13 or 14 M. And the last, after I'm good and settled, a 9M for windy days, which I shouldn't even consider going out on until I get my act together. Sounds good?

[iriejohn]

Sounds good?

If the 11m has a good low end, yes.

[FLandOBX]

Hey, slim. For a beginner, still trying to figure things out, a 12 m LEI in 14 knots (especially a light weight beginner) is just perfect. If the OP said his typical wind is 20+ knots, I'd definitely recommend a 9 m. He's a beginner.

Op supports this message. It will be my first kite, I'm a begginer, I'm light weight, got a lot to work on and improve, not going out to large jumps and speed runs, just sail and get a feel for it, in the average 10-12 knots a nice day at my local beach has to offer, I'm thinking a 12 but since there's not many of those up for sale and my budget is limited, I'll probably get a nice 11, bar included.

Fair enough but 14 is not 8-14, in the lulls he'll be screwed. Too my mind a beginner more than any needs to be powered, not over, not under but the correct size for the given wind. To op, maybe your knots are diff to mine but i don't know your beach/conditions nor does anyone else behind a keyboard, as has already been mentioned your best bet is to speak to locals and see what the other beginners are on. have fun. (ps i did take the weight into account myself being lightweight also)

+1 - I agree. For a beginner, 8-10 knots is a no go (stay on the beach), and 10-12 is probably just working on kite control and body dragging in the shallows. 12-14 is enough to work on waterstarts with a board. It's harder to kite in light wind than moderate wind, and can be very frustrating for a beginner. Hopefully, the 14 knot days are the most prevalent for Yuvallahav.

[foilholio]

10-12knots, 11m tube, tt , 65kg. Good luck. If after however long you struggle on that 11m and per chance don't give up, you will be on a much more powerful kite like a 15m foil, or... a hydrofoil.

Riding underpowered is much harder than overpowered. Riding overpowered is easy you just need strong legs. Riding underpowered you need skill and finesse and good gear.

[Yuvallahav]

10-12knots, 11m tube, tt , 65kg. Good luck. If after however long you struggle on that 11m and per chance don't give up, you will be on a much more powerful kite like a 15m foil, or... a hydrofoil.

Riding underpowered is much harder than overpowered. Riding overpowered is easy you just need strong legs. Riding underpowered you need skill and finesse and good gear.

For the duration of my cours (10 hours over a week and half with instructor plus 5 hours of solo riding using the instractor gear) I rode on his 11 meter kite in winds between 09 and 12 and I was riding just fine, logging good distances and speeds (as far as my non existent experiance allowed me of course). I spent one session with a 17 M in a 10-11 knots wind, which wasn't a big success yet I did manage it, if slow, by the end of day. The other 3 students with me at that point were just starting to manage getting up on the board, while I was already going down wind to the confines of the marked kite zone, and coming back up wind to my starting point to the delight and clapping of the rest of the kiters on the beach. I'm athletic and good on my feet and hands (I scuba dive, hang glide and also a past cliff climbing instructor) so I have some theoratical advantages and coordination. Your advice is sound, but as it looks at the moment from what I have aviliable to me, and in my budget, the 11 M is the most viable option if I want to start surfing on my own, and I'm convinced it will suite me better than the 9 M kite I was offered.

[slim_charles]

10-12knots, 11m tube, tt , 65kg. Good luck. If after however long you struggle on that 11m and per chance don't give up, you will be on a much more powerful kite like a 15m foil, or... a hydrofoil.

Riding underpowered is much harder than overpowered. Riding overpowered is easy you just need strong legs. Riding underpowered you need skill and finesse and good gear.

I rode on his 11 meter kite in winds between 09 and 12 and I was riding just fine,

No chance. Ignore wherever you read those numbers from. Just start recognising the conditions for what kite you/others are using, in time you will immediately know what you need upon arriving at the beach, sea state, sky, trees, flags etc.

[iriejohn]

10-12knots, 11m tube, tt , 65kg. Good luck. If after however long you struggle on that 11m and per chance don't give up, you will be on a much more powerful kite like a 15m foil, or... a hydrofoil.

Riding underpowered is much harder than overpowered. Riding overpowered is easy you just need strong legs. Riding underpowered you need skill and finesse and good gear.

I rode on his 11 meter kite in winds between 09 and 12 and I was riding just fine,

No chance. Ignore wherever you read those numbers from. Just start recognising the conditions for what kite you/others are using, in time you will immediately know what you need upon arriving at the beach, sea state, sky, trees, flags etc.

The OP weighs 65kg.

[Yuvallahav]

I'm getting mixed signals here about windspeeds that I state. If I can't get correct reading from the local weather station, and I can't get a correct reading from the windfinder site, and I can't trust what my instractor tells me the wind speed is, and I can't trust myself for lack of experiance, so I can only assume you all carry a wind messuring device you've calibrated in a wind tunnel every time you go out to surf, which I doubt highly, so how am I supposed to ever know the actual wind speeds so I wouldn't be put down by you guys for stating all of these sources? I'm no freaking wind wizard, and I guess you're not one as well. I can only repeate these stats and nothing more. But, in fact, knowing the wind speed is not important at all, so let me repeate the basics I've said without stating a number or source. I've used X size kites in Y wind speeds, and I surfed just fine, had a lot of fun, didn't stress myself out, didn't burn out, didn't crash the kite, didn't flew up in the sky in high arial tricks, and didn't sink into the water. Can these stats be any more vague in helping me choose the right kite? That said, I just picked up a used Slingshot RPM 12 meters kite, bar included, on ebay, and damn it all to hell, it will either work for me or not, I guess I'll find out next time I'll be on the beach.