Buying your first kitesurfing kite can be tricky. Here we are going to talk about what size of kite you should aim for when you are a total novice. It’s easy to get talked into buying the wrong kit so stay tuned and we will help you make the right choice for you.
Buying your first kitesurfing kite – What Size Is Right For Me?
Around 10 years ago I used to recommend that most people start with a 12meter kite, unless very light, then I would suggest a 10m. However over the years I have slowly changed my mind and now will recommend an 6,7,or 8m depending on weight. My thinking used to be that by purchasing a larger kite it would force the student to stay in lighter winds as they first went out by themselves kitesurfing.
Buying your first kitesurfing kite – Should you stay in lighter winds?
The idea is that by staying in lighter winds the weather is generally nicer and the consequences of your mistakes are generally much less. Just like weight training as you get stronger you will slowly begin to add more weight to your exercise. Kitesurfing is the same, except rather than strength it’s about skill and rather than weight its wind strength. When you are first starting out you will be making lots of mistakes all of the time and it is important to have a level of power in your kite that does not punish you to the point at which you will either become scared or injure yourself. Confidence is key to becoming an awesome kitesurfer.
Buying your first kitesurfing kite – Go Small, trust me…
As I said, I used to recommend staying in lighter winds for the reasons stated above. However I slowly came to understand that by kiting in lighter winds you are generally kiting by yourself and most other kite surfers will wait until the wind picks up a bit.
Nowadays I recommend buying a smaller kite first, this will mean that you will be able to kite with and among other kite surfers building confidence and adding to the safety of your session. Being under powered will mean that you have to concentrate on technique to ride and great technique comes from practice.
Most People Ride OVERPOWERED
Riding overpowered is something that we see all the time. Riders are trading power to cover up a lack of skill and what this generally means is that whilst they may get up and go along, they will often struggle to ride upwind, they will also form all sorts of bad habits as they won’y have top apply proper technique to generate power, which will end up biting the rider in the bum later down the line.
Ride Underpowered.
If you buy a small kite first you will:
- Be forced to use proper technique during your power strokes, and board starts.
- Have a far greater wind range if the wind picks up.
- Be able to slowly go out in stronger and stronger conditions as your experience grows.
- Be able to manage mistakes much more easliy than a over-powered situation.
- Gain better reaction time and kite skills from a more responsive kite size.
- Go upwind easier.
- Feel confident in the fact that as a beginner holding less power means much less liklyhood for injury.
