Kiteforum.com

It's been something that has always caught my eye and would love to learn how to do. I live in California and watch kite surfers pretty frequently and would love to take it up.

Problemo.

No boarding experience..what. so. ever. No surf board, skate board, snow board. Nope. I feel like a lot of people who take on kite boarding here (or i have at least read), have at least some other boarding experience.

Where do i start? I'm at ground zero, but have much enthusiasm to learn. I know it's going to be hard, but that's half the fun right?

I'm about 20-40 mins away from the beach (Santa Monica and Malibu) respectively. Know of any patient teachers out there who don't mind watching a small lady wipeout for an hour?

You don't need boarding experience. Kiteboarding is my first boardsport too. It's 80-90% kite flying.

Pick up a 2m-3m 3-LINE trainer kite and fly it according to the youtube videos. Once you are able to control it well, book a lesson and go from there. I flew my trainer kite for about 20 hours, was lot of fun and it taught me 2 things: 1. if I'm in trouble, let go of the bar. and 2. basic kite control. The real depower kite can take a little time to get use to because of the bar throw but the trainer kite will teach you good kite control so you don't accidentally send it into a loop.

Others may disagree but I think the more u fly the kite the better and safer it's gonna be for you. Took me about 10 sessions before I can ride upwind, was a lot of struggle but also tons of fun doing it too, even without actually riding.

Have fun and stay safe!

mbevo wrote:You don't need boarding experience. Kiteboarding is my first boardsport too. It's 80-90% kite flying.

Pick up a 2m-3m 3-LINE trainer kite and fly it according to the youtube videos. Once you are able to control it well, book a lesson and go from there. I flew my trainer kite for about 20 hours, was lot of fun and it taught me 2 things: 1. if I'm in trouble, let go of the bar. and 2. basic kite control. The real depower kite can take a little time to get use to because of the bar throw but the trainer kite will teach you good kite control so you don't accidentally send it into a loop.

Others may disagree but I think the more u fly the kite the better and safer it's gonna be for you. Took me about 10 sessions before I can ride upwind, was a lot of struggle but also tons of fun doing it too, even without actually riding.

Have fun and stay safe!

Totally agree with everything said.

There are three kite boarding schools at Belmont Shore Long Beach. I recommend http://www.socalkitesurfing.com. Book a lesson and turn up. They provide all gear - You just need a towel and swimsuit. Once you have lessons out of the way, purchase a kite, board, and harness and continue to practice.

Belmont Shore is easy to learn as good thermal flow in the afternoons. Winds in Santa Monica/Malibu are lighter and not so reliable and are considered intermediate sites. Also way too many people at the beach on the weekends. Once you have skills and gear, you can try Malibu and north (a year or two from now).

Thank you for the replies! But would a 2m-3m kite be too small? Idk why i feel like it would be too small
This is all so new. And i will definitely look into the link you provided foilonfoil! It will be a bit more of a drive, but you have better knowledge on the winds at the beaches than i

mikvahnrose wrote:Thank you for the replies! But would a 2m-3m kite be too small? Idk why i feel like it would be too small
This is all so new. And i will definitely look into the link you provided foilonfoil! It will be a bit more of a drive, but you have better knowledge on the winds at the beaches than i

I'm new to this Like you but have a lot of snowboard experience my first and right now only kite is a 3.5 trainer (0zone imp 3.5) and generates a lot of pull. So a 2 or 3 is more than enough to get you started and learning the basics of kites. A lot of people say trainers dont help and are a waste of money but i understand the wind window and control way better now than just watching videos off youtube. I'm trying to find a spot to use a landboard with my smaller kite while i wait for my chance to get real lessons in october. Good luck learning and remember everything takes practice to perfect.

Not sure if this is clear to a beginner- but the 2-3 meter trainer kite others have referred to is not something you will ever kitesurf with. It is a smaller kite you use on land to train you how to use a kite and to prepare you for a lesson. I think it is the safest and fastest way to learn to kite, and while not powerful enough to kitesurf with, you will be surprised by how much power they generate. You are likely to trash your first kite anyways, so better a $100 trainer kite than a $1,000 real kite.

1st question I ask anyone interested in kiting.

Are you super comfortable in the water? If you're not I'd think about getting comfortable in it by taking up surfing or ocean swimming.

and +100 to lots of time on a trainer kite.

Also living in SoCal get use to lots of 15m days