Rider: Beginner
Height: 5'10"
Weight: 80kg
Weather: 15-20Knot winds from SSW
Water conditions: Small (<1m) to medium (1-3m) waves breaking close to beach. Wind chop out the back.

Hi all,

My partner wants to start Kiteboarding in WA and is currently looking at purchasing all the necessary gear, however with so much on the market it's hard to know where to begin.

He wants to go all out and buy top of the range as he wants the best quality possible and wants his gear to be excellent for tricks and getting maximum air (he is fairly extreme).

So, if anyone could post some recommendations/reviews for kites, boards, even harnesses & accessories that would be suitable for him that would be fantastic.

Also what size board/kite would be best for him?

We have been in contact with various kiteboarding stores but of course they tend to be a little biased. A couple have recommended Blade kites (particularly the 2010 Blade Trigger) and for boards the 2010 Nobile NHP or Nobile 50. What do you think? or is there better out there?

Any good recommendations for waist harnesses? Brands?

Thanks heaps.

The nobile NHP is a good board has lots of grip for learning and is great for freestyle riding and big airs lands really soft and handles chop better than any other nobile board. at 80kgs while still learning i would recomend the 134cm as the 132 would have to be ridden with a lot of power. The 50 fifty is allso a good board it gets on the plane a lot easyer has less rocker and is a bit more skaty but when you get on the edge it drives up wind efortlessly and rides really fast compared to the NHP. the 50 fifty is a great wake style board that loves flat watter and a low kite it has great pop meaning you can keep the kite low in tricks and you can bolt a set of wake boarding boots to it with no mods if you like. try the 139cm 50 fifty.

I regualy ride both of these boards depending on conditions and being an advanced ridder that likes wake style ridding i normaly would ride the 50 fifty with boots as i love going fast and ridding flat water with lots of power and doing all of my tricks with the kite low. The board still handles chop well but not as well as the NHP so when in chop i normally grab the NHP and go out for a freestyle session and do some loops and other kite high tricks the board lands a lot softer even when you smack in to the back of a waves or have hard fast landings when un hooked.

I would recomend the NHP for you for starters as the board is a lot easyer to ride and get up wind with the larger fins. But see if you can demo both and see what you like.

If I was in the position you are in I would do the following.

1. Buy your gear along with some lessons from your local Kite shops. Reason is because you will need their assistance to get into the sport quickly and safely. Some Kite shops are biased to the brands they stock, but at least the backup service is there when you need it.

2. Have a squiz through the Australian Kiteboarder magazine (KBM). I feel you will be adequately looked after in service, quality and warranty if you stick with the major brands advertised in here. Being a major brand they have the systems in place to make your purchase of new gear is a good expreience and offer great service through your local represented shop. Most of the major brands have a range of kites to suit both experience and the back pocket.

Australia host a lot of kick ass shops, equipped with some very knowlegable people that I think you should take advantage of.

Hi,

If he wants a Freestyle kite to go big I would say go for the Blade Prime 11m not the Blade Trigger.

As for a Board I can recomend the Blade Scalper. The board is/was made buy Nobile it's basicly a Nobile T5. Recomended size 132 or 136

Like Waxman said ALL Nobile boards are excelent quality.

As a learner the Blade trigger 12m is a great choice. This is more of an All round kite. Good for everthing.

Look at the overseas reviews.

Don't take my word for it.

I have a connection with Blade.

Danny

Thanks so much for your replies so far guys (especially your review waxman - much appreciated)!!

Just wondering Danny, if I was to go with a blade kite do you know where I can purchase a 2010 from at a good price?? I'm located in WA.

Cheers.