I had a good old lol at what Wishy had to say in another thread.

"Its great after spending thousands on kiting gear to tell everyone how great it is and they totally agree with you. Justifies your purchase! Particularly when deep down you know your old stuff would have lasted another two years."

At what point do you all decide to replace an old kite for a newer model??

I always purchase good quality 2nd hand kites. The last kite I replaced was my 9m. It was starting to change shape in the leading edge and had a few fixed rips in the canopy.

Does anyone buy new kites simply because one year is now obsolete?

Once they disintegrate

My current vegas is more repair tape than kite now hahah

God I love that kite though

About 3 years if there's been more improvement than a colour change...

Some kites are "already" designed well - so not much needs to change...
If it ain't broke - dont fix it

YES I do, but I'm in a special situation where I have to always have the latest. In saying that though my small kite (7M reo) is a 2015, because the 2015 and 2016 were the same and I never lend that size out for demo anyway.
But this also means some lucky (generally local) kiters get to buy my not heavily used, always unrepaired, last years kites. I'll be selling 12/10/9/8 2016 Reo and that 2017 7m reo in approx 1-2 weeks when I get my hands on the new V4's.

Some people seem to place a lot of value on their used kites. By that I mean they actually purchase a brand based on how well they think this brand will hold its value, these people tend to trade up to brand new gear every 1-2 years, because thats when they get the best price.
Others find a model they like and just ride them to death. If I did not have my job, I'd fall into that category. Some of my early 2 line power kites and trick kites are now more than 20 years old, guess what? They still fly the same and give me the same fun! I've even got a line set that I use on a favourite power kite set up, its 2 line x 300lb spectra and its at least 20 years old and still going strong as of a few weeks ago. Kite stuff does last quite well if you look after it, but of course if you don't or accidentally get your kite munched in waves or eaten by sharp rocks, then its often game over for that one.

Ride them to disintegration or perceive their major failure and purchase the runout model. I’ve never purchased the current model kite or board mostly new but superseded…

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windreams said..
Ride them to disintegration or perceive their major failure and purchase the runout model. I’ve never purchased the current model kite or board mostly new but superseded…

Yep.

I have 2 schools of thought.

1) buy as new as you can afford then ride them to death. Currently i'm at 4 years for my 8m and 6m.

2) buy second hand 1year old or ex demo for $800-1000. Sell the next year for $600-$700. Buy the a year newer $800-$1000 and carry on the cycle.

I prefer option 2 as kites are getting updated often. But other sports and funds have got in the way of that. So i'm riding to disintegration.

Only If the new years model has better graphics or the colours change ....

I buy new when the bank account allows me to .

Usually treat myself at the beginning of summer or when going on a kitesurfing holiday.

About once every couple of years.

Have only ever traded in (2) old kites once in 16 years.

More important than replacing the kite is replacing the lines. Particularly the front lines.

When they've got more than a couple of years on them it's really damaging to the confidence to really load them up thinking they might break. I had both front lines snap mid-jump and it kind of hurts.

Even worse, the safety system works off the front lines. It's fine winding in the kite on the rear lines when you're in the water. Once you feet touch bottom there's enough tension in the back lines to make it a hell of a tug of war. Even winding in a single back line the flagged out kite bucked enough to be very hard work. I didn't have the choice to release because the wind was offshore in the place I ended up.

Having said that, it's pretty easy to splice up a set of lines and depower line.

I bought a bunch of kite line from this guy: www.customkitelines.com/

I use this for depower line: ropegalore.com.au/dyneema-r-high-strength-rope/

When ever I want to.... cause I can

Last couple of years I have traded my 3 kites in on new ones in September. Costs $2-2.5k which seems like a reasonable cost for another year of kiting. 1 year old kites seem to hold their value quite well. Its exciting getting new kit, and nothing wears out across the season.

Works for me.

I tend to buy kites a year or so old now. Just seems better value for money.

But ride em until either they fall apart or you decide you dont really like them.

Several years on the one kite makes you super familiar with your gear, how it behaves in a range of circumstances which will give extra confidence and make you a better kiter i reakon.

That said, riding lots of different kit is fun too.

New kites are so expensive - so I love the people that can afford to update regularly - and as for me as a middle child cast offs are the norm, so I generally buy 2nd hand !!

Its kind of amazing how the pressure is on the kite companies (and every other merchandiser) to come up with something better every year - but that approach just builds in immediate redundancy and lower value for the previous years model ! That's the capitalism model working so well I guess ? - and it is a bonus to those of us that don't need the latest and greatest (and the 0.005% improvement) !!.

That said - it is important that the leaders in our sport are given the motivation to try to find that incremental improvement year by year - god help us if we were still using 2 line bars!!

I'm very happy that there are the people in the kite surfing community that have the ability to buy the latest and greatest each year - I salute you !! Cuz I simply can never afford (or justify) to buy a new kite.

And to respond to the thread - I sell my kites when they still have a market value !! So maybe 3 yrs old? But I always look after my kites so they usually don't look it !! My 2013 kites are due to roll over but they are still in awesome condition so its hard to part with them cuz the new ones just don't seem to have changed that much ;-( colours don't get me into a buying frenzy!!

Went over the falls a few weeks back in 3m+ and my 2013 rpm is now in three pieces
still have the bar
no f*cking wind in brissie anyhow

only replace when you can no longer fix the one you have, quad-tex or whatever the f*ck you call it
still made from oil
anyone got a cheap bws I might be interested

poor communicator though
would be interesting, if any engineers out there, to calculate the total amount of kites you could make from fossil energy
or otherwise sustainably...

Pps. Colo colo - free 10m RPM in three pieces if interested, have scavenged the pig tails

Hay Rails
I've got a 2013 Bws 10 m you can have for $250 with bar if your interested ,couple of Motti repairs, holds air and lines and pigtails are good,Replaced the p lines a couple of months ago

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Underoath said..

At what point do you all decide to replace an old kite for a newer model??

I think it's a gut instinct that can't be ignored.

There's a little voice in your head that's telling you that you must tool-up.

Your intuition wants to guide you ... it never lies.

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[Quote]TerryMcTool said...
Some of my early 2 line power kites and trick kites are now more than 20 years old, guess what? They still fly the same and give me the same fun!

Startn to sound like Sanz there steve

I buy my kites second hand a year old if that makes sense, e.g. I will buy some 2016 kites at around September just after the 2017's come out. I find this is the time that a lot of people that update their kites to the newest models update every year sell their last years models with about 30-40% off the price or if i find a bargain at around 50% off . I would much rather have 3 or 4 kites of last years model then just 1 or 2 kites of the latest model for the same price. As Dave said, kites a year old hold their value a lot better also.

When a mate of mine told me my canopy felt like one of his wife's silk nighties !!