I am sure this question has been asked before but....

I am just getting off the sidelines and into the game of Kiteboarding. I have been using a foil trainer kite anytime the wind can keep it in the air for a year. Last month I spent some hours with an instructor and was able to get up on the water (and wipe out a million times!). We used a Cabrinha switchblade 10M kite.

My question is which kites (I don't have any brand loyalty yet) are best for a beginner? I have learned that relaunch is vital for beginners!

I am 165 lbs and 5-10". I am going to be living on the coast of Ecuador for a year and expect to kite in their steady but light (7-15 KPH) winds.

I will buy used, of course.

Any advice welcome.

The Cabrinha Convert has amazing relaunch , and great beginner kite, but will probably bore you to death once you get a bit of skill behind you- Revolver is a bit more exciting (only just) and still relaunches easily. Waroo is good for beginner and experienced, with good relaunch- but that's just my opinion and I've only tried these 3 kites in the last year- there are lots more opinions out there.

With winds at 7-15km/hr you arnt going to be doing much kiting. Most people find 13-14knots about the minimum.
You will need a BIG board, and a bigish kite. Anything hybrid/bow that is relatively new will work fine. The vast majority of them have good relaunch, good depower, and stable flight.

7 to 15 KMH is only 3 to 8 knots. This is not kite-able. The absolute minimum would be 8 knots with maybe a really big kite and a really big board. And forget about relaunching in this wind - it can be done, but it's extremely difficult

Hey Dr Rob
I did a little googling of kiting in ecuador, seems conditions are much better than you have been led to believe, the word seems to be 18-25 knots in Manta year round!
kiteforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=3486
www.humboldtkites.com/

On the strength of which I would suggest a 9-11m ish SLE-hybrid-bow style of kite, again, google is your friend, look in the buy n sell and then look up reviews of that kite, and bear in mind that everyone thinks the best kite is the one that they fly.

Thanks for the advice and insight. Now it is off to e-bay/buy and sell etc to find some used stuff! Think wind!