G'day everyone. I usually hang out over in the Land yachting section here at Seabreeze but I've recently been biten by a bug that makes me want to try kite buggying (parakarting). This said, I dont know much about it, closest experience I have is being able to fly a stunt kite reasonably (although that was a while ago ).

I want to ask is there a difference between kites used for buggying and kite surfing? I've had a look round the internet but I haven't found a good site with info for beginners (eg: 2 lines vs. 4 lines vs. 5 lines, rigid kites(inflatable) vs. flexifoil(? not sure of the terminology), line length), particularly what type of rig is good for starting out. The buggy side of things I think I understand ok (famous last words).

Thanks for your time. You guys have a nice forum going here.

Just spent some time doing a better internet search and found some good info regarding buggy and kite use. Still not sure about the different kite varieties though.

Thanks MartyJ, will check out the info there. Nice software glitch you have there , took me a little while to figure out what was going on

your gonna break something
there is a good buggy and kite for sale in Kalgoorlie at the moment, only had 2 mins use( $ 9000 worth of operations later ) the owner is selling as his boss has offered to sack him if he gets it out again

I figure I better have a go at buggying before I accumulate too many miles on my clock, I find I still bounce without breaking fairly well That said I will be pulling some motoX gear out of retirement to sail in if I do go down the buggy path. Have to refinance before much happens though, just reading for the moment (and drawing buggy designs on scraps of paper).

Also trying to find time to finish fibreglassing and painting my mini explorer, it should be up and ready to go with a couple more hours work

Learn the kite first, practice your quick release drill, get a lesson from a proper kitesurfing instructor (probably easier than trying to find a kite buggying instructor)...

Those things can be dangerous if you don't know what you're doing!! And even if you do they can still bite hard

Got a very healthy respect for mine

Thanks for the pieces of advice. Unfortunately I have other commitments this weekend and cant get to speed week, sounds like a great oportunity missed. Some good news though is after doing more reading I have a better idea whats going on in the kiting world (I hope).

Inflatable kites only used on water (most of the time). Buggy/parakarts use pure foils with 2, 3, 4 or 5 lines. 2 lined kites are the cheapest but dont have braking capability. 3 lines are two line kites with a line added to disrupt kite performance and therefore allow braking. 4 lines allows 'throttling' of the kite to increase or decrease lift. 5 lines allow braking. I see some of the time the 'brake' line is fixed so if the pilot lets go of the control bar (or pushes it away from their body far enough) the brake is engaged (seems logical to me). It also seems widely advised that a person start with a 3-4metre kite.

For someone simply wanting to traverse the landscape and not jump/lift themselves from the ground, is there a considerable advantage to having a 4-5 line kite? Three lines seem like a good mix of simplicity and function to me.

Will have to make a trip south one of these days and have a look at the kiting scene, hopefully hire one to have a go Thanks for the help fellas.

Hi Lach, Flysurfer foil kites are perfect for dual water/land/snow use

For more info see www.flysurfer.com or www.flysurf.com.au