Bow vs Older design - newbie

Hi all,

I am a newbie (have only just had my first lesson )

I had a plan to get into it, on older gear to make sure the sport was for me but during my lesson I used a couple of kites including a new Cabrinha CrossBow and was very impressed by it's depower ability, safety and ease, during the learning phase are my priotities right now.

I would appreciate some advice on the pros and cons of the bow design vs an older 4 line design with some depower ability, any model recommendations and cost estimates would be great. Anything that can make my first equiment purchase decision an imformed one!

Thanks in advance!

Head down to the beach and try as many different kites as you can.

My mate has only just upgraded to a bow after 5 years of kiting. I am a newbie and would suggest... as my mate suggested to me to buy 2nd hand gear because it is inevitably going to cop a bit of a thumping here and there. Leave the bows alone for now and stick with the C kites which are tried and tested and readily availably second hand.

Have a look around... you can pick up some really cool gear a couple of years old for some really great prices!

As for types of C kites.... and again speaking from experience in using a couple of different kites while in the early stages, keep well clear of high aspect.. more high performance kites... they suck to learn on, I have a Naish X2 (second hand and in good condition) which sucks for me 'cos it's schizophrenic to fly without having experience behind me..... go for something with more width from leading edge to trailing edge, like the airush pilot or naish boxer.

I am still pretty crap and can only give an opinion on my experience so far! It is tempting to fork out and buy Gucci new gear with all the trimmings, but wait till you have something to compare it too so you make the right decision with the big dollars.

Mark my words... now that the new line of Bow kites have flooded the market, watch to see how many dudes sell up their older gear to upgrade (not that it's a bad thing!)

Best of luck sheriff!

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Like any product the name brands are by far the better option eg naish,cabrinha,slingshot, north- ring around and im sure youll get a good deal on one.
mike

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tribal f-one dont worry youll like it,very comfortable ride

The Tribal f-one is the easest kite to learn then progress tame as a kitten then you get to unlock it in good strong wing and it amazes you raises hairs on the necks of the most seasoned kite surfers a they secretly say "i want one"

Hey wetchook!!

ive tried the GK sonic and the Slingshot Turdo Diesel, both are wicked kites.... The sonic has very light bar pressure much lighter than the Slingshot Fuel that i learnt on and most C kites i have tried.

In saying that, light bar pressure in my opinion isnt always a good thing. I prefer a more solid bar pressure cause it gives me more feedback as too where the kite is in the sky, when i,m not looking at it, n doen other things like looking where i,m going

The Cabrinas are a nice kite and do perform well, so to are the Sonics (they are the best of the cheapest in my limited opinion) but i ended up buying a Turbo Diesel because i beleave theyre are if not the best, one of the best built bow kites around.. and yes it can take a good hammering.

All!! and I mean all new generation bow kites invert, twist n do all sorts of crazy things especialy when youre learning to use one, so do C kites just not quite the same way (5th line C kites rock cause the relaunch is way easy). either way you,ll still get hammered when ur learning, thats just the way it is.

The biggest bonus of a bow kite is the depower in gusty conditions it,ll help you go upwind way easyer, and will give you the confidence to learn new things easyer because of the depower.

Its very hard to choose a kite these days cause theres so many good kites around... just try as many as you can before you buy cause generaly theyre not cheap....

regards

Merman

ps who got my fart sound board????

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Originally posted by crakas

Wet Chook,

I too am a newbie and had purchaced and been learning on a C kite. Recently I decided to go the bow route and purchased a 2006 11m GK sonic and reckon its great to learn on, the reasons being,

Simle Bar.
Able to go up wind in my first session.
Stuff up and just let go of the bar and no getting dragged by an out of control kite. It will save alot of injuries, especially in shallow water.


Able to haul my 95kg upwind on a 147 stonker board in only 15knts.
Wind range seem's to be good. Only had it out in up to 26knts.
Only need one hand on the bar most of the time.
Heaps of depower.
Only about $1500 new, and worth it.
Simple to rig up and and simple bridle.
Allows you to progress quickly.
Realitivly easy relaunch when leading edge down in more than 15 knts.
Very forgiving and doesn't crash very often due to the fact that you can fly it higher in the window and still get plenty of power.

Things I didn't like,
Long throw on the bar for depowering. Need to get a pair of longer arms.
Wear marks on the leading edge where the the end of the bridle is attached. Mine is 2006 model with the upgrades over last years model, but it wears through the scuff guard very quickly.
Can't afford an 8 & 14 metre.


I've had about 8 sessions on this kite now ( two yesterday ) and I absolutely love it. It feels very different to a C kite which I was not impressed with at first but once you learn how to get the power out of it, you'll never look back.


Crakas........

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wetchook!!

if you can bend ur wallet enough go for a new kite, theres nothing like that new kite smell plus u know ur covered for warranty if anything goes wrong.....

I,ve unfortunely had a bar bar n main line recall on my TD, n Slingshot are replacing the faulty parts, no cost to me . Yaaayy!!! for service Cheers SS! but, hey thats what you get when you buy a new kite. n i know the sonics have had similar issues with good service.

If you buy a Sonic for gods sake please dont go for the fluro colors they burn my retnas every time i look at one


...ur black n dirty orange Turbo Diesel friend

Merman