Contact   Imprint   Advertising   Guidelines

Overweight Kiters

Forum for kitesurfers
BatmanIsABeast
Rare Poster
Posts: 6
Joined: Tue Jul 25, 2017 8:38 pm
Local Beach: Hammanosett beach
Gear: None
Brand Affiliation: None
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Overweight Kiters

Postby BatmanIsABeast » Mon Apr 26, 2021 2:10 am

So I am looking to start a kite school in next year or two. I would like to know what overweight kiters found to be the most difficult thing to overcome, what did the school do wrong or right. What do you experience when riding as well? Does the kitetend to fold on you while kiting or board starting? If you are an experienced kiter, do you find the sport to be a pretty good workout after a 2 hour session for you guys? How worn are you guys, seasoned kiters, after a full session?

Thanks

Blackened
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 1245
Joined: Fri May 04, 2018 4:47 am
Kiting since: 2013
Style: Big Air, Airstyle
Gear: 2020 Rebels
23/24 Orbits
Has thanked: 107 times
Been thanked: 512 times

Re: Overweight Kiters

Postby Blackened » Mon Apr 26, 2021 3:23 am

BatmanIsABeast wrote:
Mon Apr 26, 2021 2:10 am
So I am looking to start a kite school in next year or two. I would like to know what overweight kiters found to be the most difficult thing to overcome, what did the school do wrong or right. What do you experience when riding as well? Does the kitetend to fold on you while kiting or board starting? If you are an experienced kiter, do you find the sport to be a pretty good workout after a 2 hour session for you guys? How worn are you guys, seasoned kiters, after a full session?

Thanks
Not overweight, but heavy:

1. Use a proper sized kite - most of the instructors I've seen are lightweight sticks, and they have no concept of what an extra 30kg means to the size requirements.
2. Use a lightwind board - I think most kite schools have gotten this right now, but doesn't hurt to mention.
3. I wouldn't worry about the kite folding, this only tends to happen when you're powered and fighting the kite, which no one should really be learning in those conditions anyway.
4. For how tired people get when they're learning, it really depends on how often they have bad crashes. If they crash hard a couple times, they're going to get tired quickly after maybe 30min. If they get up and ride, then they'll be fine for a couple hours. It will really depend on the person and the conditions. When I was learning, I was out all day in moderate chop and moderate wind. Although, I was an ultra-endurance athlete at the time and probably not a typical example. You'll need to be able to judge someone's physical fitness.

For experienced riders, it really depends on the conditions you're kiting in and how often you kite. Most of the fat 40-50yr olds I kite with last about 90min in 30kn+, but they kite at least once a week.

Kristan
Frequent Poster
Posts: 265
Joined: Fri Oct 19, 2018 9:50 am
Local Beach: Plescheevo lake
Favorite Beaches: Mejvodnoye, Crimea
Style: Freeride
Gear: Kites: Eleveight XS 14m, Paraavis Smile 3 15m. Boards: Flysurfer Radical 6 144x46, Flysurfer Flydoor4 170x50
Brand Affiliation: None
Location: Russia, Moscow
Has thanked: 10 times
Been thanked: 26 times

Re: Overweight Kiters

Postby Kristan » Mon Apr 26, 2021 5:58 am

Prepare to have big kite sizes like 14, 15 and 17. Also set of "progression" boards 140+ size and doors. Progression boards have flatter rocker, which helps with water starts and forgives lack of power, which is the main case with heavy weight beginners.

Fitness wise it really depends how much will you have to walk around in the water. The most difficult part is going to be during bodydgrag lessons, cuz that's when you walk a lot. As for water start and riding that would mostly depend on the properly picked board size.

1234567Simon
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 532
Joined: Thu Mar 05, 2020 6:42 pm
Kiting since: 2019
Local Beach: Netherland‘s beaches,
Favorite Beaches: Ijmuiden on NW
Gear: Wave Board, Wave Kites, foiling. But Plan to get Back to Twin Tip boosting
Brand Affiliation: None
Has thanked: 460 times
Been thanked: 135 times

Re: Overweight Kiters

Postby 1234567Simon » Mon Apr 26, 2021 8:19 am

Not overweight.... but hey, get XXXL wetsuits and harnesses....😜

User avatar
Havre
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 2176
Joined: Tue Jul 18, 2017 11:38 am
Kiting since: 2015
Local Beach: Oslo
Favorite Beaches: Jericoacoara (area) & Cabarete
Gear: Ozone Edge v11 13m, Ozone Edge v11 9m, Ozone Zephyr 17m, Ozone Enduro v1 12m, Ozone Enduro v1 9m, HQ Topaz 7m, Shinn Ronson Player, Mystic Majestic X Harness, Mystic Stealth Bar
Brand Affiliation: None
Has thanked: 324 times
Been thanked: 411 times

Re: Overweight Kiters

Postby Havre » Mon Apr 26, 2021 9:47 am

Haven't got much to add to Blackened's post. Would like to re-emphasize size of kite. I'm still surprised how often instructors are just way off when it comes to sizing for heavier riders. I have been out with my 17m watching a learner in the same weight class as me trying to get going on a 12. Just not possible. I get the idea of not being overpowered when learning, but they just don't get it many of them.

2 hours kiting is a decent work-out. I'm at somewhere around 500kcal per hour kiting. I remember my first time in Cabarete learning. My diet was mainly toast, pizza, cuba libre, beer, tacos etc., but I lost 6-7kg during 3.5 weeks. And I was hardly fat when I got there.

cor
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 543
Joined: Thu Apr 10, 2014 1:20 pm
Gear: -
Brand Affiliation: None
Has thanked: 214 times
Been thanked: 161 times

Re: Overweight Kiters

Postby cor » Mon Apr 26, 2021 10:20 am

Not sure what you are aiming at with that thread, but if I were you, I would only accept students under a certain weight. In the end, it´s also a matter of accountability and it does make a difference if the person you are dragging out of the water is 90KG or 150Kg. In fact, I´ve seen that quite a few kiteschools have weight limitations.

Kristan
Frequent Poster
Posts: 265
Joined: Fri Oct 19, 2018 9:50 am
Local Beach: Plescheevo lake
Favorite Beaches: Mejvodnoye, Crimea
Style: Freeride
Gear: Kites: Eleveight XS 14m, Paraavis Smile 3 15m. Boards: Flysurfer Radical 6 144x46, Flysurfer Flydoor4 170x50
Brand Affiliation: None
Location: Russia, Moscow
Has thanked: 10 times
Been thanked: 26 times

Re: Overweight Kiters

Postby Kristan » Mon Apr 26, 2021 11:40 am

I believe that people around 150kg are quite aware that they are not nimble butterflies. Besides folks of that weight are rarely interested in kiteboarding at all. Except for Dan from Belarus, who's a hefty lad, yet still manages to pull 10+ meters jumps.

Kerplow
Medium Poster
Posts: 126
Joined: Thu Nov 05, 2020 9:27 am
Kiting since: 2010
Weight: 64 Kg
Local Beach: EU
Style: Allrounder
Gear: North Reach 13, 11
North Orbit 10, 8, 6
North Focus 136+boots
North Atmos 133
Duotone Team 134
Duotone Whip 5'2
Brand Affiliation: None
Has thanked: 69 times
Been thanked: 36 times

Re: Overweight Kiters

Postby Kerplow » Mon Apr 26, 2021 12:58 pm

Had a few overweight students, when I used to teach. Biggest problem was, that they could not bend and put the board on their feet by them self. I had to put it on. It should not be a problem in the future, when you will know how to comfortably water start.
Another thing to mention - limited stamina. Both of them got tired pretty quick.

Matteo V
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Re: Overweight Kiters

Postby Matteo V » Mon Apr 26, 2021 4:50 pm

BatmanIsABeast wrote:
Mon Apr 26, 2021 2:10 am
I would like to know what overweight kiters.....
My preffered adjectives are "pleasantly plump", "BBK (big beautiful kiter), and "extra flotation/insulation positive". Please respect them and me.


I'm big, but we just had a guy start here locally that I'm helping who is 125kg, and 1.93m. He has had a hard time finding a hood, and harness. He is also stuck finding bigger more expensive kites.

Matteo V
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Re: Overweight Kiters

Postby Matteo V » Mon Apr 26, 2021 5:16 pm

Kerplow wrote:
Mon Apr 26, 2021 12:58 pm
Had a few overweight students, when I used to teach. Biggest problem was, that they could not bend and put the board on their feet by them self. I had to put it on. It should not be a problem in the future, when you will know how to comfortably water start.
Teach putting the board on on land. If you do this, there is a big change in how much your students complain about that task later in the water.

The best teaching technique is to sit down on the ground with the harness on.

1. Grab the board by the handle off to the right of the handle a bit.

2. Then put your left foot in the left binding. Let go of the handle and push away the board with your right hand.

3. As the right side of the board moves away, try to catch the right binding with your toes and put your right foot in the right binding.

4. Then sit there lifting the board and wiggling your feet deeper into the bindings.

If you are a skinny "negative buoyancy" kiter trying to teach a "buoyancy positive" kiter, do not show to put on the board with a hand on the handle the whole time. Also, a loose "half way" initial foot insertion is safer than locking in the first foot before the second foot gets in the other binding. This helps with ease of exit should the kiter need to abort putting on the board due to loss of kite control.

For very inflexible students, skip the handle and grab the right foot strap while putting the left foot into the binding at the beginning.

If your student has thier own board, they can practice this at home. And if they get good enough to put the board on on land while looking up at the sky, then they will be way better off once trying this in the water.


Return to “Kitesurfing”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: andylc, Bing [Bot], cmilea, headintheclouds, knotwindy, mrcrss, Puddle Pirate, purdyd, rStorms, vela99, VElars, Vivo3d, vladi elthve, voodoospirit, Windwarrior and 363 guests