My daughter has been expressing interest she is 42kg wringing wet so wondering what might be a good kite.

im thinking I wouldn't be taking her out in greater than 15 knots (ball park) so have pretty small wind range 10-15 I guess.

Need a kite that would launch and fly well in that wind zone but guessing 6-9 m. Would be as big as should go?

any thought?

ps was looking at a slingshot rally 6m
And maybe my 9 m rpm, but it doesn't seem to fly great under 15 knotts

I think the safest and sound thing to do is to get her lessons at your local kite dealer. They are the best people to advice, not arm chair kooks like us.
Weight is not everything and her style could also dictate the style of kite, line lengths, etc

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NorthernKitesAUS said..
I think the safest and sound thing to do is to get her lessons at your local kite dealer. They are the best people to advice, not arm chair kooks like us.
Weight is not everything and her style could also dictate the style of kite, line lengths, etc

Sorry I don't accept that, I'm asking on here as I think many have lots of years experience kiting from a participation level not sitting watching as armchair advice would be suggesting. There seems to be many trained instructors commenting on here and to me seems to be the point of a forum like this is to discuss gear and stoke.

She will get lessons but not to a degree a life long style will be identified and won't be sold a kite someone has an agenda to move, there will be many kites that are nearly right and most likely be safe in a trained beginners hands. But to narrow that list down to the parameters I've given is the right kite.

6 cat or reo imho
bar throw is the real big one though on certain brands, especially when you take a harness position into account, your daughter
would struggle to fully throw the bar on a north set up with a waist harness
A seat harness brings it closer and makes flying the kite a more comfortable experience , the ozones amongst other brands have shorter throw which means she will have control on a fully depowered kite not on a partially depowered kite
But most important is ensure your 110% in your ability to teach her if that's the case

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cauncy said..
6 cat or reo imho
bar throw is the real big one though on certain brands, especially when you take a harness position into account, your daughter
would struggle to fully throw the bar on a north set up with a waist harness
A seat harness brings it closer and makes flying the kite a more comfortable experience , the ozones amongst other brands have shorter throw which means she will have control on a fully depowered kite not on a partially depowered kite
But most important is ensure your 110% in your ability to teach her if that's the case

Thanks yr comments, no I'm not 110% I could teach her to kite board. So she will get some pro lessons for sure. I am 110% sure I can teach her the points of wind and insure she knows to keep the kite low and be very methodical in set up and preparation. I have a very strong respect for the dangers of this sport but also believe the need to be taught how to be independent and have the knowledge set to deal with situations must also be addressed. At a 10-15 knot level I think I can help her. But need a kite that will fly in that range.

throw noted as important point, ie able to get rear lines slack at comfortable arms length.

Might add although only 42kg, she's all legs and arms at 15yrs of age so throw maybe not a huge issue.

got me thinking about it tho, thks

Hi Richoa

learning in 10-15 knots is actually much more challenging than learning in winds above 15 knots. From experience, this can easily lead to frustrations and a sense of lack of progression and disappointment from the learner.

Getting lessons is important so is finding the right equipment. If you really aim for her to learn in 15 knots or less you really need to consider a single strut kite. Any kite with 3 or 5 struts in the smaller sizes will fly worse than a single strut kite in 15 knots or less.

Ozone Uno 4 or 6m is something you should seriously consider. I've had this 5m single strut kite custom made that fly's and relaunches amazingly well in sub 15 knots, even with shorter lines.



There are many example of very light weight kiters learning and riding around on single strut kites. In my experience this would be the best and safest option for her.

As far as teaching and lessons goes, if you aim for teaching in sub 15 knots, I hope the instructor has A LOT of experience and success teaching in those winds, as this is very challenging for the instructor as well and requires a TON of patience and positive reinforcement.

Christian

I bought my daughter, also same weight as yours, a wainman mr green 7.5, it flys in 10-15 knotts, pulls her out of the water, only downside is its tricky to relaunch in sub 10 knotts.

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Richoa said..

NorthernKitesAUS said..
I think the safest and sound thing to do is to get her lessons at your local kite dealer. They are the best people to advice, not arm chair kooks like us.
Weight is not everything and her style could also dictate the style of kite, line lengths, etc

Sorry I don't accept that, I'm asking on here as I think many have lots of years experience kiting from a participation level not sitting watching as armchair advice would be suggesting. There seems to be many trained instructors commenting on here and to me seems to be the point of a forum like this is to discuss gear and stoke.

She will get lessons but not to a degree a life long style will be identified and won't be sold a kite someone has an agenda to move, there will be many kites that are nearly right and most likely be safe in a trained beginners hands. But to narrow that list down to the parameters I've given is the right kite.

Richoa, you didn't mention anything about getting pro lessons, so hence my original comment. The alarm bells started to ring for me, reading a dad trying to teach his kid to kite and asking here, in a forum with both experienced and non-experienced commentators, for advice on a kite size, etc. I was just been cautious. Obviously you're more savy than that, so that's a great start for your daughter to have you as a mentor. But like Christian said, learning on sub 15knots is more difficult than what most people think, unless you're wanting to teach her basic kite mechanics, the wind-window and how to launch and self launch (assisted of course). But to really get her to learn kite surfing, you're going to need a 7 to 9m SLE type kite that is stable, won't hindenburgh out of the sky and with say 15 to 19m lines, and of course 15-18knots of wind to get a good quickly with water starts. Plenty for sale here at great 2nd-hand prices. The UNO is also a great kite to learn on, but it's really meant as a trainer kite - not to really do kite surfing on it, as it has poor upwind features and pulls like a truck in strong winds. That's just my opinion of course.
I've started teaching my 8yo son who weighs around 30k, kite surfing and I am using a 5m kite, and it's not the UNO. Just a cheap Slingshot really. The down-side is these small kites are super fast and spin on a dime, but that's ok too as it teaches better kite control IMO. He's doing fine.

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NorthernKitesAUS said..

Richoa said..

NorthernKitesAUS said..
I think the safest and sound thing to do is to get her lessons at your local kite dealer. They are the best people to advice, not arm chair kooks like us.
Weight is not everything and her style could also dictate the style of kite, line lengths, etc

Sorry I don't accept that, I'm asking on here as I think many have lots of years experience kiting from a participation level not sitting watching as armchair advice would be suggesting. There seems to be many trained instructors commenting on here and to me seems to be the point of a forum like this is to discuss gear and stoke.

She will get lessons but not to a degree a life long style will be identified and won't be sold a kite someone has an agenda to move, there will be many kites that are nearly right and most likely be safe in a trained beginners hands. But to narrow that list down to the parameters I've given is the right kite.

Richoa, you didn't mention anything about getting pro lessons, so hence my original comment. The alarm bells started to ring for me, reading a dad trying to teach his kid to kite and asking here, in a forum with both experienced and non-experienced commentators, for advice on a kite size, etc. I was just been cautious. Obviously you're more savy than that, so that's a great start for your daughter to have you as a mentor. But like Christian said, learning on sub 15knots is more difficult than what most people think, unless you're wanting to teach her basic kite mechanics, the wind-window and how to launch and self launch (assisted of course). But to really get her to learn kite surfing, you're going to need a 7 to 9m SLE type kite that is stable, won't hindenburgh out of the sky and with say 15 to 19m lines, and of course 15-18knots of wind to get a good quickly with water starts. Plenty for sale here at great 2nd-hand prices. The UNO is also a great kite to learn on, but it's really meant as a trainer kite - not to really do kite surfing on it, as it has poor upwind features and pulls like a truck in strong winds. That's just my opinion of course.
I've started teaching my 8yo son who weighs around 30k, kite surfing and I am using a 5m kite, and it's not the UNO. Just a cheap Slingshot really. The down-side is these small kites are super fast and spin on a dime, but that's ok too as it teaches better kite control IMO. He's doing fine.

mainly concerned with me or a pro that @ 42kg she will just blow away!

man 30kg, its like putting my lunch box at end of kite to hold it down.

Hi Richoa,
I teach hundreds of folks every year.
2 of my current students are 11 & 13 year old girls. 31 & 42kgs respectively.
In the 10-14kt range I use a 10 or 12m kite for the bigger girl & 7 to 10m for the 11yo.
15 - 20kts both girls are on the 7 with the 11yo moving to the 5m around 18kts. We haven't had more than 20kts for our 42kg student, but I anticipate the 5 will be used around 22kts for her.
I had a 42kg adult student who was generating more than enough power with the 5 to go in around 24-28kt and haul me around at the same time.
The kites used are ocean rodeo prodigys (their 9.5 is basically a 10) for 10,7&5m.
Also both girls own 7m drifters which have been good.
It's very tidal here, so in favourable tide they use the 142 x 47 origin or an F-one 150 x 50. In lighter wind or negative tide (with wind) I pull out a flydoor xl. Both girls have no problem doing solo runs on any of these boards and they are now doing their first turns, on the xl!
To be honest the big board is the secret as it a) allows a smaller kite, which is safer & b) enables easy and early planing so they can practice actually kiteboarding in any wind strength. This kills the boredom factor that disheartening many kids on regular boards.
If you could see the air these students can get in hardly any wind with a small kite you would question getting a 9 or 10m. The prodigy has the edge for 3 reasons
A) it has more low end for the light wind
B) it relaunches better.
C) lighter bar pressure
The drifter is a little faster.
The older x-ride bars & other Cabrinha bars with the spring retard launching as you can't push the bar all the way out.

Good luck with this. The first day the 11yo went along, (day one with me) , she told her dad that night, '' today was the greatest day of my life''
Pretty cool hey


PS, seat Harness everytime

Zephyr, they have awesome wind range

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theDoctor said..

Zephyr, they have awesome wind range

awesome, one less kid to feed. why didn't I think of that.

One thing to consider is line length, small kites fly faster which can be problematic when learning. You can slow it down by changing the line length.

Core xr4 or free is something to consider. Huge wind range and low end power.

At your daughter's weight at 4.5 or 6 RPM would be an awesome kite for her.
I've got a Turbo 2 5m that's perfect for my daughter and very user friendly...

Thanks fly, won't worry about it till summer now, but might just pick up a 7 for myself at some point and go with that.

she's interested but not chasing me on it so will just take it slow with her holding me in body drags etc and see if she is still keen then..
I would like her to but not unless she is fully keen not just luke warm as seems the case at the moment, to much safety at stake for me to let her go thinking she can shortcut the boring stuff.

For a light weight rider in light winds I would suggest a 1 or 2 strut kite with a swept leading edge. The problem with many smaller kites is they suit adults in higher winds so the weight of the kite and relaunch isn't much of an issue. The value of a lighter weight kite can't be under estimated here. Also very frustrating for kids to have their kite stuck on the water because it won't roll off the water in light winds.Plenty of 1 strut options around these days.

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BrisKites said..
For a light weight rider in light winds I would suggest a 1 or 2 strut kite with a swept leading edge. The problem with many smaller kites is they suit adults in higher winds so the weight of the kite and relaunch isn't much of an issue. The value of a lighter weight kite can't be under estimated here. Also very frustrating for kids to have their kite stuck on the water because it won't roll off the water in light winds.Plenty of 1 strut options around these days.

Not this one though

Ive taught lots of kids as light as 26 kgs ,so at 42 kgs she's not really that light my advice is to make sure you have a kite with the safest safety system you can find ( full flagging system ) and teach in probably more like 14= 17 knots with shorter lines and a bigger kite (7=8mtr maybe even 9) .
My wife is 52 kgs and i taught her on a 13mtr even now her big kite is an 9mtr mono,the main thing to remember is to be carful and get her some lessons after you've taught her to use a trainer kite .
If you have any questions don't hesitate to message me