Hey Tyler, welcome to the sport, dont be too put off by the lack of response to your post everyone is trying to decide what the best washing detergent for your kite is.....

everyone will have a different opinion on what is the best kite to start with is based on their own experience and bias. Based on your weight I would suggest a 12m as a good starting size, usually the goto size for all newbies. For me I like Cabrinha but that's my choice... There are heaps of threads on the topic here, do a search and start reading...

whatever kite you choose, when buying have a really good look at it, pump it up and leave it for a while while you run out the lines and have a look for damage on everything. If it doesn't hold pressure it may have leaks.... Have a close look at the stiching particularly the leading edge... Good luck.

PS thought you had mentioned boards also around the 150cm size. You need to look at length, width and board style to make a full assessment, again do a search and start reading...

You will want to get an all rounder something that will do a bit of everything avoid going for something too specialised. A kite that has easy handling but still an bit of punch for when you will start to learn tricks and jumps would be a good idea,

it is also a good idea to look for popular kites from the popular brands, there is always more options to choose from secondhand and the really popular kites are usually tried and tested models that have been going for a few years, every brand has an " all rounder" model and most of them would be suitable. Also don't go too old and cheap you will spend a lot of time on it and starting out with dodgy gear when you don't know what's wrong or how to fix it is the worst ( speaking from experience)

I'm 100kgs and a 12m will not cover the wind range you're asking about. A 12 for me is 18 - 27mph.

At your weight and the wind range you are asking you need an Ozone Zephyr.
And when you improve it will be your lighter wind kite and you will need a 14m, followed by a 10m

12m is a bad choice as a 1st kite, trust me, been there done that.


Only listen to people who weigh the same as you. Anyone lighter will not understand what we as the larger gentleman need

I was advised by many that a 12 was what I needed when I started.
So I got a 12, I floundered for ages.. then I saw someone on a Zephyr and saw that was the answer. I bought one and lived on it for a year, riding a Shinn King George 144x46.

I went from no where near enough power to having plenty. The Zeps have a massive range, esp. for larger guys. I could hang onto mine in 23mph, As I got better I started using a 14m Catalyst, saving the Zep for lighter days. Then using a 10m in 25 - high 30mph days.

Slingshot, been riding them for 7 years, never let me down. Rally. Would be sweet.
12-14m

we are now just about to get out of the 12m weather (maybe 13, 14m for you). winter for us is all about 9m and 17m. its either blowing its tits off or not much around.
problem with learning now being the summer breezes are thermal sea breezes (heating up the land which makes the air rise and cooler air from the ocean comes in to fill the area) so are much more consistent through the session and therefore much easier to learn. if it is 20-25kn it will usually sit there the whole time. Another big factor of this being consistent is it comes across the ocean uninterrupted and is "clean wind" if you are on an east'ish facing beach

winter winds are generally frontal. so they are pushed across the snowy mountains which makes it quite turbulent and gusty. So now location comes into play more.
you need to find a lake and kite somewhere on the eastern side of it so the wind has chance to smooth out a bit and become more consistent before it reaches you.

you really need to go with locals who will give you the low-down of the area along with new site specific hazards. they will also recommend the kite size for the next 2-3 hours. If you see clouds rolling in, or anything else suspicious like fellow kiters coming in you should do the same.

The sad fact is to kite year round in NSW you will need at least 3 kites. for me 9,12,17 keeps me kiting 10-38kn.
once you get the 3 kites it really gives you the best from kiting and also makes it much more safe and enjoyable.
So find your local westerly kite area and look what they are riding and ask them questions.
how often would i get out of a 8m, 10m, 13m , 17m through this time of year. choose the one you would get the most time on. then in 4 months when it starts to get hotter again purchase your sea breeze size 13m or 14m

We not in WA. We get lots of use from 17-21m kites over here.
My biggest was 14m for a few seasons and that went about the same as a zephyr, but miss the power of my 17m

I am about 105 kg - found wind around 18-20 knts on flat water with 12m kite best for learning (2013 cabrinha switchblade). Higher wind becomes a challenge (everything happens too quickly, water becomes choppy, controlling speed is a challenge when learning, etc.). Also when learning one needs a bit of extra power to correct poor technique (I can now kite surf and stay upwind with my 12 m in 16 knots whereas when learning I needed minimum 18 knots).

If the winds are typically less than 18 knots where you plan to kitesurf then Ozone Zephyr saved many sessions for me. For my weight it used to be good from 15 knots when learning (now I can use it with 13 knots wind) and it is quite ok up to 20-22 knots but starts to feel overpowerd above 18 knts. it is slow compared to 12m kite, but Zephyr is much faster than many other similar size kites. None of them in this size will be great for waves (this is why the dedicated wave kites don't come in such big size - ozone Reo biggest size is 12m).