What Kiteboarding Equipment Should I Purchase? What is right for me?

Chris:
It is very daunting to figure out what equipment to purchase as a beginner. There are a lot of choices out there with new and used equipment. I urge you to first purchase a trainer packages. and video and practice, practice, practice.

After this classify what kind of kiteboarder you want to be.. be honest with yourself. How much do you plan to kiteboard? The more you plan to kiteboard, the more kite sizes you need to cover the entire wind range.

What is your athletic ability? Do you want to jump high and perform difficult tricks? Are you ready for the abuse you may inflict on your body to learn these maneuvers? Only select a high performance kite for your first kite if you are sure you are willing to sacrifice ease of use in the beginning with a kite you won't outgrow.

For most, I suggest a 12.0 sq. meter low to moderate aspect ratio kite for pilots ranging from 140 lbs. to 185 lbs. It is important to get your mid wind range kite first as this will be the easiest to learn on and cover the widest wind range for you.

No one kite will cover the entire wind range. A typical quiver would look like this.

18-24 sq. meter kite for low winds 8-12mph.
16 sq. meter kite for light winds 10-14mph.
12-14 sq. meter kite for mid range winds 12-18mph.
9.0 sq. meter kite for high winds over 20mph.

You should get a larger board to learn as it will allow you to make a lot of mistakes and still be planing. Start with a big board and get a smaller board later.

For your first board.
If you weigh over 200lbs, you should be considering a 170cm + board.

If you are 140-180 lbs, you should be considering a 150-160 cm board.

Thanks
Chris M. Moore