been kiting for 14 years and surprised to see that new kite prices are now $2,000 to $3,000 each!
would have thought with time/innovation the price of kites would have tended to around $1,000 which seems plenty for some sail, strings, stitches and a carry bag.

anyone know of any brand/shop/online whatever which produces reasonable gear for $1-$1.5k.
I want a small kite for my gf to learn on...around 7m she only weighs about 45kg

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I have purchased a few new and used kites from realwatersport.com The only problem is shipping and the exchange rate. Definitely no warranty or returns. Sometimes I have people bring them to AUS and other time I have paid a mate to post it to AUS. It is about US $100 to ship a kite and a bar. Also, there are a lot of kite shops in AUS that offer last years gear for a good price. Furthermore, second-hand gear at Seabreeze and gumetree you can find a bargain.
cheers

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hawaii said..
been kiting for 14 years and surprised to see that new kite prices are now $2,000 to $3,000 each!
would have thought with time/innovation the price of kites would have tended to around $1,000 which seems plenty for some sail, strings, stitches and a carry bag.

anyone know of any brand/shop/online whatever which produces reasonable gear for $1-$1.5k.
I want a small kite for my gf to learn on...around 7m she only weighs about 45kg

switch kites

Check the Griffin website: http://www.griffinkites.com.au

The Griffin AX (ArgoX) is an affordable all round kite for all rider levels with good reviews on the gear reviews section.

You can source a 1-3 year old new Rpm for great price's and you really can't go wrong with 1... But I'm sure there's different opinions out there. On here! Good luck..

7m Switch Element5 inc Controller3 & delivery $995.00AU

I'd suggest dropping into any kite store local to you. Shops like mine have some older model kites still brand new and going for a song. Easy to find kites under $1000 if it doesn't have to be latest model.

who knows? You may even forge a relationship with your local shop and they may be able to help you in all sorts of ways you're not aware of, like warranty, tidy repairs, clinics, loan kites, demo gear, rigging and tuition and much more...

DM

Going to need a photo of her in order to properly recommend a kite..

Varial X 6m 2015

standuppaddlesports.com.au/?ID=479

Takoon kites look cheap if you sign up for the family discount scheme. No idea what it entails but they are a known brand.

I second the switch element 5 7m. I've owned 5 switch kites including element 5m and 9m kites I surf and foil with. I've rolled my 5m more than any kite I've ever owned and it's still going strong. Build quality is great, although at times I wish they'd sacrifice some durability for lightness but they are comparable weight and performance to other brands so that's me nit picking. They also have quick and personal customer service if you have any issues; I had a valve delaminate (admittedly probably from hot sun car storage) on a Saturday, had a response within hours and warranty replacement including spares received that week.

Fluid kites,

Ikon is local and cheap
they do a great 7m. If they made an 8 I would have bought it

www.panshkite.com/index.php?gOo=goods_search_list.dwt

Check out these prices mate. Im thinking about getting an Aurora 2

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Greenarrowz said..
www.panshkite.com/index.php?gOo=goods_search_list.dwt

Check out these prices mate. Im thinking about getting an Aurora 2

Only problem with pansh is you are rolling the dice for whether you get a kite that flies properly without modifying it, and nonexistent customer service. Check the thread on kiteforum

Switch is definitely the way to go if you can't find something on sale imo

Go your local shop, it's likely they'll have superseeded kites, new and cheap

Interesting ...
there seems to be a bit of a two tier system thing going on.
All the "brand" name kites like North, Ozone etc, etc ( it's a long list ) that are now charging $2000 or more for a kite. Then there's a few other brands that are mostly not in shops and a little harder to get your hands on, that are charging $1500 or less !
If you're running 2 or 3 kites, that's WAY too much money to be out laying every few years!
Gotta admit I LOVE my Ocean Rodeo kites that cost me $1450 and $1550 complete.
I've had them 3 years now and absolutely ZERO signs of wear and tear. ( and they get a good flogging )
Sounds like these switch kites might be worth looking into, or really anything you can find some good reviews on.

There is a kite brand called Adi Kites which you can get in Mui Ne in Vietnam which is into there 6th season now,they are very cheap but good quality kites and there are DSD Intel and Ilokano Kites from the Philippines which are very good cheap kites,they only make wave specific kites,I have had Adi kites and have a 5.5m Ilokano kite which I bought this year for $400 US,crazy paying 2 grand for a kite

+1 for Switch Kites,I have never owned one but have demoed a couple and they are great and a very good price

i have 2 switch kites 15 metre element and 12 metre nitro . both great kites . i cained the 15metre while learning to kite and it's still flying 18months on. both kites cost me less than $1000 each. i also use the switch bar which is about $350. You have to order them from there website . I think it took about 10 days delivery. Spare parts for their kites and bars are quite cheap also. the only thing you need to worry about is the taxman when they come through customs. A friend of mine had to produce his invoice to prove that his kite was less than $1000. Both my kites came through customs without a problem

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daggy said..
Interesting ...
there seems to be a bit of a two tier system thing going on.
All the "brand" name kites like North, Ozone etc, etc ( it's a long list ) that are now charging $2000 or more for a kite. Then there's a few other brands that are mostly not in shops and a little harder to get your hands on, that are charging $1500 or less !
If you're running 2 or 3 kites, that's WAY too much money to be out laying every few years!
Gotta admit I LOVE my Ocean Rodeo kites that cost me $1450 and $1550 complete.
I've had them 3 years now and absolutely ZERO signs of wear and tear. ( and they get a good flogging )
Sounds like these switch kites might be worth looking into, or really anything you can find some good reviews on.

Good to hear Daggy
Ocean Rodeo kites & boards are pretty easy to get hold of here now, soon even easier in WA & NSW

Don't touch Pansh kites. Barely reasonable quality but none....absolutely no after sales service.
I decided to give them a go about a year ago. A 12 with the super light fabric and lines. First fly the bridle lines (and there are a lot of them on the foils) separated. Kite was at 12 then on the water a second later. Many separated bridle sewn joints and torn canopy. Pansh basically said tough. Refused to honour their warranty.
Applied for a refund thru Paypal. They said no. Kite was as advertised. I needed to get warranty from Pansh.
Ended up disputing the transaction through my VISA card. Product was not fit for purpose. Visa agreed. Full refund.

I know you said new, but there is a massive oversupply of 2nd hand kites advertised right here on seabreeze, page after page after page full, many of which are in great condition. Find one you like and offer them 50% of what they're asking. It may seem rude, but there are pages of kites that have been for sale for months - supply-demand balance has to kick in sooner or later.

Last summer I saw one of these no-brand Chinese kites down at my local. Quality seemed OK, flew well, but you would be on your own with warranty, and I'm guessing, resale value would be very low.

www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Professional-kite-surf-kitesurfing-made-in_60592906216.html

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ActionSportsWA said..
I'd suggest dropping into any kite store local to you. Shops like mine have some older model kites still brand new and going for a song. Easy to find kites under $1000 if it doesn't have to be latest model.

who knows? You may even forge a relationship with your local shop and they may be able to help you in all sorts of ways you're not aware of, like warranty, tidy repairs, clinics, loan kites, demo gear, rigging and tuition and much more...

DM

Sorry, just using this comment as an example. This is a comment to all shops from someone who doesn't have the cash to drop on a brand new season kite, but would prefer older brand new to secondhand.

Saying to drop in to your local shop cause they have kites under $1000 that are still brand new, albeit older years models - well I find this talk a bit misleading.
Sure you may have a brand new older model kite for under a $1000, however it'll more than likely be a small kite, 6m or so. So whilst the statement might technically true, it's not really representative of what is realistically available.

If you (sic) have these kites for cheap, I'd hope you could list them on your websites. Not everyone has time to go shop to shop looking for these older stock kites.
The thing is, you may not have a kite model/brand that I want and I hate to disappoint and waste someones time by walking out without buying - I absolutley hate being a tyre-kicker.

I also don't like having to make a decision on the spot on a kite that I haven't done my reasearch on, so chances are even if I'm interested in a kite on the day but don't know much about it, chances are that I'm walking out to do some homework on it first - this also comes across as tyre-kicking.
Sure I'm going to listen to what you have to tell me about it, I don't doubt your knowledge, but I like to gather info from a few different sources when I do my research.

The ideal situation as I see it, is being able to look up on a number of shop websites for these older kites, find a model/s that interests me or that I know about and then go and buy that kite. No mucking around physically travelling to lots of different stores to see what they have, no tyre-kicking.

Once I know where I'm purchasing from, then the 'relationship' can start, I'll come in, buy the kite I want, shoot the breeze and probably buy some other associated gear and be more likely to come back to you first off next time I'm looking for gear.
The other way round - coming in to shoot the breeze and try and make friends in the hope you'll have something out the back you could show me, or hope our relationship building will make you feel inclinded to give me a discount, just feels disingenious.

I'd love to know where I can find some of these elusive older 9m kites that are brand new for under $1000.

I understand you have a business to run and need to make sales and getting people in the door is half way to a sale, but I think not displaying items on your sites is doing you a disservice, if it doesn't look from your website, like you have these items in your shop, people are less likely to come in or contact you if that's what they are looking for.
Cause everyone has the brand new, new model kites for sale.

Saving money on kites means I can buy other items I need/want.

Kiterboy - if I owned a shop you would be last on the list for any killer specials. Need to learn how the world works, rather than how you think/hope it should work.

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wishy said..
Kiterboy - if I owned a shop you would be last on the list for any killer specials. Need to learn how the world works, rather than how you think/hope it should work.

Care to explain why?

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kiterboy said..

ActionSportsWA said..
I'd suggest dropping into any kite store local to you. Shops like mine have some older model kites still brand new and going for a song. Easy to find kites under $1000 if it doesn't have to be latest model.

who knows? You may even forge a relationship with your local shop and they may be able to help you in all sorts of ways you're not aware of, like warranty, tidy repairs, clinics, loan kites, demo gear, rigging and tuition and much more...

DM

Sorry, just using this comment as an example. This is a comment to all shops from someone who doesn't have the cash to drop on a brand new season kite, but would prefer older brand new to secondhand.

Saying to drop in to your local shop cause they have kites under $1000 that are still brand new, albeit older years models - well I find this talk a bit misleading.
Sure you may have a brand new older model kite for under a $1000, however it'll more than likely be a small kite, 6m or so. So whilst the statement might technically true, it's not really representative of what is realistically available.

If you (sic) have these kites for cheap, I'd hope you could list them on your websites. Not everyone has time to go shop to shop looking for these older stock kites.
The thing is, you may not have a kite model/brand that I want and I hate to disappoint and waste someones time by walking out without buying - I absolutley hate being a tyre-kicker.

I also don't like having to make a decision on the spot on a kite that I haven't done my reasearch on, so chances are even if I'm interested in a kite on the day but don't know much about it, chances are that I'm walking out to do some homework on it first - this also comes across as tyre-kicking.
Sure I'm going to listen to what you have to tell me about it, I don't doubt your knowledge, but I like to gather info from a few different sources when I do my research.

The ideal situation as I see it, is being able to look up on a number of shop websites for these older kites, find a model/s that interests me or that I know about and then go and buy that kite. No mucking around physically travelling to lots of different stores to see what they have, no tyre-kicking.

Once I know where I'm purchasing from, then the 'relationship' can start, I'll come in, buy the kite I want, shoot the breeze and probably buy some other associated gear and be more likely to come back to you first off next time I'm looking for gear.
The other way round - coming in to shoot the breeze and try and make friends in the hope you'll have something out the back you could show me, or hope our relationship building will make you feel inclinded to give me a discount, just feels disingenious.

I'd love to know where I can find some of these elusive older 9m kites that are brand new for under $1000.

I understand you have a business to run and need to make sales and getting people in the door is half way to a sale, but I think not displaying items on your sites is doing you a disservice, if it doesn't look from your website, like you have these items in your shop, people are less likely to come in or contact you if that's what they are looking for.
Cause everyone has the brand new, new model kites for sale.

Saving money on kites means I can buy other items I need/want.

Action sports had brand new
gts3 core kites just prior to the gts 4 release
7/8 were a touch under $1000 and 10/12 a touch over
maybe contact your local shop and get on a mailing list, pre release is a good time to start looking

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wishy said..
Kiterboy - if I owned a shop you would be last on the list for any killer specials. Need to learn how the world works, rather than how you think/hope it should work.

Wow talk about killing the messenger. What a stupid comment Wishy.
Your opinion about how the world works is rather myopic. How about looking at how it could work better for the majority who wish to part with their cash? And ultimately better for the Seller.

That make sense to me kiterboy it's the way people want to do their shopping now days. I think if your in retail you need to keep up with how people are shopping and it seems to be online

+1 for switch kites. Current models are all under about $1000