equipment for beginners

[lucaaaa]

Hi guys. I hope i'm asking in the right place. I'd like to purchase equipment, i have 3 questions:1)I saw on some sites a lot of sets(board,kite, strap and bar) which come with a discout. I saw that duotone set is the most expensive is it worth to take over other options? Is the price proportional to its quality? If not which other brand is recommended? Is it economicallybetter to purchase a set? 2)There isn't a spot near my area and i'd like two kites with a lenght of 9 and 12m Is the size ok in general? 3)I'm a beginner but i'm very passionate about the sport and i'd like to focus on freestyle as soon as i will become better at freeride. Is the freestyle kite so different from the freeride and easy to relaunch one? Same thing with the board. Cause i don't want to spend money for a freeride kite(ex duotone evo) and in some months change it to one more suitable for jumps(ex duotone dice). Thanks for the attention.

[Beardytello]

We can get to the gear question shortly.

Firstly, have you taken any lessons?

[lucaaaa]

yes i'm independent, i can go upwind, i also know how security sistems work and things like this

[lucaaaa]

i took 2 weeks lessons and i rent the equipment (rrd) for some days after lessons

[lucaaaa]

We can get to the gear question shortly.

Firstly, have you taken any lessons?

@beardytello sorry for being annoying but would you mind resuming our last conversation?

[joriws]

1) price of gear is based on market price expectation. "Brand X kites in general should cost 2000 money units". Labour-cost, material-cost, central-office-cost etc are minor per kite (if brands sell big number of kites) relative to consumer price, most cost for you is the profit for importer and kiteshop. Sure with higher price you might get more quality kite. But for example North Kiteboarding (NKB, ancestor of Duotone) kites have valve delaminating problems for 10y according to my friends using North. So no. But everything is a combination cost-wise. You list "Duotone" in your profile's gear-section, so if you already have their 5 line bar and 5 line kite, you could stick to it to use multiple kites with a single bar. You could buy older model year or 2nd hand NKB kites too. But on 2nd hand check that it is ok, not wakestyle-bombed to pieces and patched together for 2nd hand cheating sales, IMO don't buy blind from source you don't trust.

2) You don't give much background info so no-one could really say about 9m and 12m. What kind of wind profile your area of kiting usually have (10-16kn, 10-20kn, 20kn+). What kind of twintip you would be running, slow or fast because it relates with wind profile your kinetic energy levels for tricks. How much do you weight. Everything relates to kites sizes you should select. Then between kites there are power differences on same sizes. I.e. some jump better than others, others turns better than others. Some are more downwind trucks which feels more powerful but they are not, they are just draggy wind bags when riding speed gets higher.

Our area we have 70kg Duotone importer and he uses 12m-16m kites mostly. More windier area he would mostly be on smaller. Basically simple as that. I am 40kg heavier than he is and I don't need 9m kite at all. I've 8m kite but I use it very rarely, mostly snowkiting.

3) If you have the wind (we are not talking light wind? Ref. question 2.) all kites will relaunch. In general with more swept LE at wingtips you can easier roll kite to relaunch position. I'd suggest go directly with a kite aimed to your style. If you want to do wakestyle, and you have wind, buy heavy kite to endure the coming crashes. If you can demo a kite near-by use that opportunity. If you have been on course with Duotone kites they might feel most familiar to you but also other kites do the same - pull you through the water. So be open. It is very fast on a demo to note bar feel if you can ride 3 kites in a row, which you that time like the best. Buy older model kite (2017-2018) as new from outlet with A-quality, like kitepirates.de if you are in EU. Quickly looking you save 400e in between 2018 and 2019 models. New thing on 2019 versus 2018? 1-2% change on same charasteristics, fabric colors and printed year in fabric.

[HALF]

While price can reflect quality it is not to such a big degree, most companies use the same materials sourced by the same suppliers.
Also most brands have good kites, after 15-20 years of development, all kites are well developed and comparable. While some models may be better at one thing, others from different brands may have 98% simillar perfomance, for half the price.

Do not buy the most expensive gear, also don't buy the cheapest ones. Also I think that a beginner cannot feel the difference between a great and an okay kite, even advanced kiters may not be able to do it, if you blindfold them and ask them to tell you which one they prefer.

[HALF]

New thing on 2019 versus 2018? 1-2% change on same charasteristics, fabric colors and printed year in fabric.

Yeah, I want to point out that I really believe that year to year kites do not have improvements to their characteristics, but changes(if they have any at all).
2017 - now we are faster(but less stable)
2018 - new and improved stability(but slower)
2019 - better low end (worse high end)
2020 - amazing high end in our new model (add one knot to the low end)

[lucaaaa]

thanks to everyone, my biggest issue with purchasing 2nd hand kite is that there are very few sellers in my area (northern italy) so checking the quality is a major problem. One last question: what are the differences between duotone dice and evo? I'm still unsure about the style I want to pursue but I'd focus on something which is decent in both freeride and freestyle.
Weight is around 65 and because I'm not gonna practice in a pre-established spot I think it's a good idea to buy 2 kites depending on the area. What are the generally recommended sizes in most spots?

[Exal]

While price can reflect quality it is not to such a big degree, most companies use the same materials sourced by the same suppliers.
Also most brands have good kites, after 15-20 years of development, all kites are well developed and comparable. While some models may be better at one thing, others from different brands may have 98% simillar perfomance, for half the price.

Do not buy the most expensive gear, also don't buy the cheapest ones. Also I think that a beginner cannot feel the difference between a great and an okay kite, even advanced kiters may not be able to do it, if you blindfold them and ask them to tell you which one they prefer.

A beginner will be able to tell a hard to fly kite from an easy one and will progress with different speed accordingly.

Not sure what freestyle is for op and I don't know how one would go about learning it as fast as possible. Probably go for the Dice and then on the Vegas and buy a board that is a bit bigger and can be ridden with boots and straps? I would say go one season for the evo or a smililar EASY do it all kite that has good resale value, develop solid basics and maybe try your first unhooked tricks if you have enough time on the water and progress. Then go onto the Dice/Vegas (or other brand ofc) after demoing both.