Anyone kitesurf/landboard here?

El Gringo

El Gringo

El Gringo

Soldato
Joined
6 May 2003
Posts
4,807
Location
Aberdeen/London
I´m looking to start, I live in Aberdeen with miiiiiiles of near-safety level beaches, and when the sheep carcasses and tyres have been cleared away I assume it must be a great beach for the above.

Only interested in landboarding, but since it and kitesurfing use similar kit I´m open to any advice. I´m a noob, I´ve looked at courses but seeing as they are 100 squiddles for a half day, I thought it might be better to get the kit myself and get on with it.

Might anyone have any reccs on kit for a beginner? I´m a tall chap weighing in at 15 stone, I´ve heard I need a larger kite, are these easy to get?

many thanks :)
 
well it depends, Kitesurf kites tend to be big with inflatable booms (leading edge) and cost more (I don't kitesurf, I kiteboard (landboard+kite))
I had a couple of hour lessons that cost me about £20 each down in cornwall. thats about all you need to start.
I'd say get a kite, mess around with it so you know how they work. get one with a bar rather than handles as it's what you'll use for boards.
there are places to rent kites etc that may be worth looking at.
I've a 4.4m wind wing and it'll lift me in anything stronger than a breeze but I'm only 13st.
bigger will fly in lighter winds but have loads more power (by and large) and vice versa but some kites are more equal than others.
most bar kites now are de-powerable, you can alter the amout of it's power by moving the bar towards or away from you (mine doesn't and it can be hairy at times) so thats somthin to look for
the bay is a good place to start looking to buy stuff but don't forget safty gear, helmet and harness etc. also insurance is required to fly at some beaches and also some clubs "own" some beaches too to keep the councils off flyers backs.
worth looking for kite clubs that use that beach.

msn in trust if you wanna talk about it more
 
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I did landboard for quite a while but am out of the habit at the moment. Since a house move there's nowhere good around me to go, so neceitates a trip. That and I had my first child and got two dogs!

You should get yourself over to the flexifoil forums - you will get good advice there.

If I were you I would spend some time with a relatively small four line kite to get used to power kiting. I would recommend something around 3m or thereabouts and look for something which is not too lifty (in the time I was kite buying things like little devils, busters, bullets) This will still let you scud along in a heavy wind and will teach you control and make your first mistakes only moderately painful.

After a little while with that grab a board (i've always ridden MBS as a brand and swear by them) and start putting the two together (for me downhill mountainboarding is just as much fun as landoboarding and will give you good boardskills)

You will then want a depowerable kite and for a big chap landboarding something in the ten metre range is likely to be your most used kite. Not a good starting place at all so heed the advice and learn to kite with something smaller. When you get a depowerable you will also need a harness and preferably a helmet!
 
oh and if you're heavy, check your board. just in case! sure it's not an issue as I land on mine and it's fine. as above, MBS are a good make (I've a Comp 16 Pro from years back so I guess they will be cheap ish on the bay)
 
I've recently just started flying my kite (not tried with my board yet) Just getting the hang of jumping and directing it properly.

I've started with a 4.5m² Ozone Cult. Great kite nice and easy to fly but still big enough the have some fun with! I would recommend my friends shop in hinckley along way to go.. but it is online and they do visit kite festivals. They give out really good advice for starters and have loads of kites.

Its a great sport though really gives your arms a good workout and its quite theraputic I find. pm me if you want to know the shops details.

Aero
 
El Gringo said:
I´m looking to start, I live in Aberdeen with miiiiiiles of near-safety level beaches, and when the sheep carcasses and tyres have been cleared away I assume it must be a great beach for the above.

Only interested in landboarding, but since it and kitesurfing use similar kit I´m open to any advice. I´m a noob, I´ve looked at courses but seeing as they are 100 squiddles for a half day, I thought it might be better to get the kit myself and get on with it.

Might anyone have any reccs on kit for a beginner? I´m a tall chap weighing in at 15 stone, I´ve heard I need a larger kite, are these easy to get?

many thanks :)
Click to expand...

then dont kite!!!!!

get lessons or **** off, so many prats teach them selves and get into trouble. leaves the rest of us in the poo + bans at beaches.

and other Q's go to flexifoil.com
 
right, didnt read the op properly. thought you were talking about kitesurfing.

rules still apply tbh. altho a few hours with someone with a few years experience kitelandboarding will do rather than shelling out. start with a small kite, say 2.5 - 3.5 (seeing that your 15stone, go for a 4.5-5m with handles!)to learn the wind window. then after a few months, add a landboard into the mix. only go with larger kites when your ready.

still go onto flexifoil.com tho. and obey the beach kiteflying laws to the letter. ill warn you know, its an expensive sport. once youve got 1 kite, youll want another, then youll want to upgrade, then change board...the list goes on and on. im currently on my 9-10-11th kite. (9m + 11m + 13). but its the best thing ever, once youve had a decent session, leaves a smile on your face for days. so jump right in, there are kites waiting for you.
 
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Guys, thanks a load for the replies, lots of really interesting answers here. I did search beforehand and found nothing related to the topic, so it´s surprising to find so many people who do it :)
Kiteloopy, a little bit too aggressive, wouldn´t you say? There are more civil ways to make your opinion known, and I am looking for advice so I can´t see why you might use that tone. I am thankful for your opinion though, it´s very helpful.

I´ll skip over to this flexifoil place and see what I can budget for, might even look around for cheaper lessons around here...
 
on flexi you're bound to find some kiters in your area to hook up with and show you the ropes with your first kite - there is an excellent for sale forum there (or at least was last time I looked) I bought and sold without any drama and with better prices as a buyer than through the bay.

edit: you should also get insurance through the BBC british buggy club i think - this is important as it protects people around you and is comulsory on some flying sites
 
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kiteloopy said:
then dont kite!!!!!

get lessons or **** off, so many prats teach them selves and get into trouble. leaves the rest of us in the poo + bans at beaches.

and other Q's go to flexifoil.com
Click to expand...

:rolleyes:

Very true though about needing / wanting more and more kites. I plan to sell all bar my frenzies which will allow me to buy a little soft top car for the summer!
 
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