Noobie in the Water

[The_Only_Raja]

Hi y'all,

I just moved up here from Texas and looking to get into kiting. Trying to go about everything the right way, since I heard it can be a dangerous and intense sport. I am currently taking lessons and haven't bought any equipment yet. I live in North Seattle so I figured Golden gardens or maybe even jetty island are good place to start of. If anyone has suggestions about equipment or places to go that be awesome. I heard this is a create community and looking forward to having a lot of fun

-Gautam

[Loki]

The season is winding down for those beaches. Here's a topic someone created about this a little while ago:
http://pskite.org/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=10763

[rhoff]

Thanks for the link Loki.

Gautam, have you found anyone willing to get into it late in the season? Either way, I'm at a similar place too. I just finished my lessons. I'm finishing getting my gear together this week. Let me know if you're still trying to get into it this year.

Thanks,

-Ryan

[The_Only_Raja]

Great! I'll see if I can check out DB. Would you recommend any particular brand to buy as far as kite gear goes? I am 170lbs and 6 ft. I heard 10m would be good?

[Brian]

For your first set of kites, Look for used gear for a decent price because you most likely will destroy them. I believe its best to look for kites of the same brand/model so they act closely like each other when you change kite sizes. For size, with winter coming, i'd recommend 9m and a 12m to start...or plus/minus a meter. For a board, hit PMCD up if he has any he wants to depart with, i think he's hoarding them.

[BBQ Jim]

A 14m & 10m will cover most conditions in Seattle.

bbq

[IslandKiter]

I started off with 10m and 14m. That works pretty good most of the time. After that, I got a 7m. 7m is key in Hood River and you can use it some during storms. 12m is the final piece. Once you have those 4 kites, you will wonder if you should have a 6m and 8m vs. JUST the 7m...... if you kite light wind, you will start wanting a light wind specific kite too.

At some point you may need to check into kite buyer's anonymous for some counseling.