A new battleground for the age old debate.

Most people who learned on trainer kites learned on 2-line foil trainers (or that's the impression I get). But there are also 4-line foils and 4-line inflatables. Are these (especially the inflatables) worth the extra money?

It seems to me that the cons of the inflatables are that they are more expensive and they are easier to damage. But are there advantages to them? I am in a position to buy either a 2M or 3M Sle bow kite made by Ocean Rodeo from Canada.

Would they behave more like the real thing, and if so, would it have a worthwhile effect on my ultimate progress (I've done nothing so far and will be taking lessons in may). Also, would they be good for practicing water relaunches and drift launches?

Anyway, would love to hear everyone's thoughts.

If you are a fast learner, the trainer kite portion of your kiting evolution may equate to one hour - ie the first section of a kiteboard lesson with a certified instructor (ie IKO). Then depending upon the wind you'll progress to a larger
kite to practise body dragging etc.

IMO, spend your money on lessons in May, and then the actual gear you can use
to get up and going, and not a training kite. Your instructor will be able to
advise you on the most suitable equipment for you.

Modern kites are no-brainers with respect to relaunch and drift launches - you
don't need to practise this stuff for 5 months.

Good winds and safe kiting

ive flown the airush DNA 2m, its like an and ferret on speed. just stick with the 2 line foil, i can only see people breaking a 4 line inflatable. on the other hand if you have a 6 year old...

Don't bother to buy a trainer kite of your own, I did and only ended up lending it to friends to trash. Any good school will teach you on their gear, maybe even hire a trainer kite for that few hours flying it on your own without the expense of you buying one. Trainer kites have a place but it's limited. Go with spending the money on lessons and a good DVD like "Progression Beginner", you learn far more and progress quicker.

I'm just a noob myself but I reckon I got a lot more value from my lessons
having already learned how to fly a trainer beforehand.

The main thing flying a trainer teaches you is how the wind window works --- how to move the kite to generate more or less power, and so on. For this a two-line foil is all you need.

A four-line foil might be interesting for experimenting with how the bar pressure affects stalling, rate of acceleration and so on. But only if it has a single kiteboard-style bar. Those double-handle rigs that people use with four-line stunt kites let you twist the kite in ways that you can't do with a single bar, so it seems likely they'd just teach you bad habits.

In terms of flying I don't think there's any advantage to having an inflatable trainer. In the air they should behave pretty much the same. The one advantage to using an inflatable trainer I can imagine is that it would allow you to practice unassisted lanches and landings using the same techniques you'd use for a real kite. On the other hand, if you have to worry about popping your bladders in a crash you're probably likely to be more caustious and learn less with your flying.

Trainer kites are not very exciting anyway and even less interesting once you've started flying a real kite. So you might be better off hiring one or buying one from a shop that will buy it back off you when you purchase a real kite.

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didi said...

IMO, spend your money on lessons in May, and then the actual gear you can use to get up and going, and not a training kite. Your instructor will be able to advise you on the most suitable equipment for you.

Just to make a liar of myself, I bought a 2m Ozone Imp power foil last week (from Kitepower). Not for myself, but for my 6yo son who is showing an interest in kiteboarding. It may have enuf power to get him up and moving on a surfboard too I hope. I reckon the foil will be quite handy when I take friends to the beach - to give them a safe taste of power kiting.