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new kiter curoius on trainer

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laminac
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new kiter curoius on trainer

Postby laminac » Tue Oct 30, 2012 9:09 pm

I've been wanting to get into kiting. I'm leaning toward the hq hydra 350 or the Viron 4m

I'm about 170lbs.

I'm leaning toward the hydra because it is cheaper and I won't need to purchase a harness.

I'm curious on your thoughts.

I would like a trainer I can use on both land and water.

I want to be able to learn how to fly a kite with it, and possibly do body drags. before I take lessons.

I would also like to try it out with my canoe as well.

Let me know what you think and why.

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Re: new kiter curoius on trainer

Postby TheJoe » Tue Oct 30, 2012 9:48 pm

You will out grow it very fast unless you do end up doing a lot of land boarding. Might want to ask the local kite shop if you can play with theirs before you take a lesson. They might be ok with that. If your serious about spending the money go with viron. This way you can learn about sheeting and trimming. 2 lines really only show you how to steer a kite not control and properly fly a kite.

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Re: new kiter curoius on trainer

Postby laminac » Tue Oct 30, 2012 10:00 pm

I forgot to mention I live in Utah which would give me the opportunity for some snow kitting as well.

looking at Utahwind riders forum it would seem for water here large kites are needed 15-17m, so unless I do land I don't know how much a 4m would come in handy as opposed to a 3.5m

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Re: new kiter curoius on trainer

Postby KiteCulture » Wed Oct 31, 2012 12:49 am

Get the Epic tutor. You'd benefit from a harness, but I've used a belt and a little webbing or carribeaner. You can use it on land or water and with strong winds you might be able to get a little use out of it snowboarding. I've used it a lot with kite skateboarding, and if you use a leash, you can do it unhooked just as well, so no harness really.

That all said... If your really into it, buy a harness as well. It's a tool you'll get a lot of use out of.

I found the tutor to be better than the hydra in a lot of ways, one of which is relaunch.
Take care

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juandesooka
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Re: new kiter curoius on trainer

Postby juandesooka » Wed Oct 31, 2012 1:24 am

If your goal is to learn to use a typical SLE kite on water, then using a trainer first is a great idea. Seems the schools pooh-pooh the need for this -- more like 20 minutes on the trainer, then onto bigger kite with short lines, then into the water, up and riding by 3rd day. That's great, but you haven't really been fully trained in what a kite can do, the problems it can experience in varied conditions, and how all the safety systems work.

My kite mentor advised me to do a minimum of 20 hours on the trainer before doing lessons. Learn how to self-launch, fly it without looking, with your eyes closed, pick up a stick and throw it or tie your shoes without losing control, run down the beach with it in powered position, let go of the bar and see what happens, release your safety see what happens and learn to reattach it, learn to self-rescue on land and in water, practice water relaunches, try looping kite and how to unswivel bar, practice power sweeps and see how far you can drag your feet in the sand, sit on your butt or kneel and do power sweep up to your feet. Then you can do downwind body dragging, even with a 2m.

With all that done, when you do your first lesson you will probably be able to do your first body dragging session without ever crashing the kite. And when you finally go solo, you'll have an indepth understanding of the safety systems, not have to be afraid. Major climb up the learning curve!

The 2-line trainers are ok for learning how the kite flies and how to hot launch, but you'll outgrow it in 2-3 sessions.

The 4-line trainer simulates a full-size SLE kite, especially if you use a full-size bar with all the normal safeties and connections. For example, this is the one I have: http://www.oceanrodeo.com/products/rise_2m_sle_trainer It is a scaled down version of OR's Rise. Buy one used for $200 then sell it to the next newbie for $200. Worth every penny!

Good luck!

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Re: new kiter curoius on trainer

Postby Anabatic_co_nz » Wed Oct 31, 2012 2:27 am

Hi, I teach Kiteboarding and this is my approach.

Grab any trainer around 2.5m and fly it a lot.
The idea is to master it in light and strong conditions.
Build up instinctive reactions and good muscle memory skills.

It does not matter if it is not depowerable, as where you place the kite for power is what you should master first.

The 20 mins you use a trainer for before you enter the water teaches you the absolute basics. But the most important thing you are learning is how to react to the communications and directions coming from your instructor.
That way once you are flying a larger kite in the water you understand what he means when he says things like release the bar, or raise/lower the kite etc.

I highly recommend you buy at least a 2.5m 2 line trainer foil kite.
Just add a 3 line kill line if you can't find a 3 line trainer from your local shop.

Fly it every day you can between lessons. They are heaps of fun.
Once into kiting you can put it up to test the wind strength too.
Works better than a wind meter. As you will soon come to recognise what a good days wind feels like.

Regards Lee

laminac
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Re: new kiter curoius on trainer

Postby laminac » Wed Oct 31, 2012 5:07 pm

thanks for all of the tips, I found a great deal on a new hydra 350 ($250) which I couldn't pass up, I was very hesitant to buy a harness since it might not fit me right, or might not be the one I like (I figure I would use a school's harness first maybe try a couple before buying one so I know what works for me)

I figure I could possibly sell this kite for a $200 when I'm done, I'll probably keep it for the kids to fly though or for me even to just goof around.

I'll probably try to master flying the kite first before getting lessons. Just try flying and experimenting and the best thing is the safety is just let go of the bar, don't need to worry about a harness or anything.

It is also a little easier for the wife to swallow $250 as opposed to more. I had to buy a new TV for her to let me buy the trainer... I think for a kite quiver and board and everything I'll probably be getting her a new bedroom set!

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Re: new kiter curoius on trainer

Postby dyyylan » Fri Nov 02, 2012 12:48 am

i think that was a great choice, the hydra is a good kite

really you cant learn a whole lot with a trainer but it's what you need to build up reflexes, and just understand how the wind window works. like other people said fly it for a while (5-10 hours and you should have it mastered), learn how the power gets generated differently in different parts of the wind window, and then take a lesson. hang on to it if you think you might want to get anyone else into the sport, I've taught 2 people since i started and it's a great tool if you want to show people how kiteboarding works

one other thing i would do is get the Progression beginner dvd and watch it a million times before each lesson. it will help everything make sense when you take your lesson. watch it again after the lesson and you'll learn even more

good luck and don't get discouraged if it seems difficult, kiteboarding has a weird learning curve but you'll be up and riding in no time if you keep at it

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Re: new kiter curoius on trainer

Postby Flight Time » Sun Nov 04, 2012 3:34 am

My trainer was a douche that took a bunch of my money up front and left the area after teaching me up to how to body drag (poorly) a 2 meter 2 line foil kite.

That's when professor youtube kicked in and taught me how to self launch a kite, and I went out and bought my 16m SB, and learned alone the retarded, dangerous way.

I busted my ass a bunch, got superman slammed, got ripped off my board and taken downwind of it (tried to correct that with a board leash - MISTAKE!), had to hike me gear a mile back up the beach after dark, got dragged on the beach, jumped involuntarily, got smashed by rolling waves, damned near got towed through a bridge after not being able to water relaunch the kite, got my finger nearly cut off with the lines while trying to wind the bar the wrong way in the water when the kite powered up and relaunched, swam a soggy kite a thousand yards through deep water over reefs to the beach while bleeding heavily... Through some freaking miracle, I'm still alive. God I was such a tard. :rollgrin:

Do it the the right way. Buy a harness first. There are many good ones out there to choose from. Fly your trainer kite, learn all the things previously mentioned by juandesooka. Find a reputable trainer, and learn on his gear and find out your style so you know what kite to buy when you get your gear. Buy new gear, or If you buy used, buy locally and bring an experienced kiter to help you make an informed purchase.

Don't let your wife watch you bust your ass while learning or, besides looking like a weenie in front of your wife, somehow, magically the household budget will never, ever, ever allow you to buy your gear. *wink, nudge* :thumb:

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Re: new kiter curoius on trainer

Postby Billy B. » Sun Nov 04, 2012 7:41 am

laminac wrote:I forgot to mention I live in Utah which would give me the opportunity for some snow kitting as well.

looking at Utahwind riders forum it would seem for water here large kites are needed 15-17m, so unless I do land I don't know how much a 4m would come in handy as opposed to a 3.5m
Why not ask these questions on your local forum, you would then get answers from people who know what it takes to learn and kite were you plan on kiting??

The hydra kite was a total waste..you could have got a trainer for 50-75 bones, Had plenty of money to burn on other kite stuff like lessons...if you took a intro coarse for 50 bucks a instructor would teach you how to fly a trainer, what skills to work on, where the wind is best, how to be a safe member of the community...

BB, former pres, Utahwindriders....


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