I have 40kg kids that I want to teach. Am thinking of a 3m trainer that they can use on a stonker once their handling skills are ok. Any suggestions as to what would be best? LEI or foil style? What would be good for kite handling training and then also good for water relaunch once onto a stable board or even a waxed body board on sand?
Also, suggestions on where to buy. There are no kite stores nearby. Also, only interested in full bar type not handles.
Cheers, Steve.
hey burkey boy try to get a uno or a reo 4 meter just my 2 cents worth . they did tell me that the uno dose need a fair bit of wind though some where 15-20 to work properly but the reo is good from 10 kn so i have been told .
This question pops up regularly, here's my 2 cents worth. I had a mate who bought a 3 metre trainer to learn with (around the 70 kg mark) . I watched him get dragged around like a rag doll with that thing, not much fun outside the top end of moderate wind. I would suggest a 1.5 to 2.0 metre trainer.
You can have a lot of fun with those kites in light, as well as heavy wind and develop your kite flying skills without having to be hooked in. Hope this helps, cheers, J
Top of the NYear Burkey - LEI for water - before You buy get your youngsters to harness up and use the bar. The critical element is their reach..
Certainly get a small power/trainer kite - but not for water use - most are simple ram air and have zero relaunch from water once wet.
Did you read this thread...
www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Kitesurfing/General/kid-bar/?SearchTerms=kids,bar
Will pm U.
Cheers
AP
I just saw that airush do a 3m inflatable trainer kite with bar and lines, check them out on westozkiteboarding.com 
a local here has had his young bloke on the north buzz, i havnt seen him on it for ages so it might be up for grabs, the reo and catalyst should be worth a look both have near 100% depower , also shinn do a kids twinny called the master jack , another option is speak to mike walker from kitethrills colundra he runs groms camps im sure they are on ozone kites and he will point you down the correct path
Hi burkey
Epic Kites do a 4m junior pro kite and bar/lines for kids. See the topic aquaplow posted. PM me if you want some more info. Trainer kites generally won't have a decent bar and lines, can't be trimmed or are two lines.
go epic ^^^^^^ i tred to remember them in earler post but they have got it down pat . the problem with small kites that they are design for high wind not lite wind small people . if you are after a trainner for a test fly for a while come and see us got a b2 slingshot you could borow but not for long as son still gets on it with boggie board and dose some sweet rides (downwind) in the lagons still .
+1 for Ozone Uno 4m. I flown it the other day on short lines (15m) in barely 15 knots and was very impressed. The great thing about it is it will fly better than a standard 4-5-6m multi strut kite in lighter winds, due to it's design and light weight. I tried it next to an Ozone Catalyst 4m and 6m and found that the 4m and 6m Catalyst were unresponsive and hard to keep stable clock positions (again in 13-15 knots).
I did find it helped to remove the short (10cm ish) line extension from the wing tip attachment points of the Uno 4m to make the kite more powerful. It helped in avoiding to have the bar pulled in all the way to control it and surprisingly didn't choke the kite at all when I did pull the bar all the way.
With inflatables trainer kites improving in design and performance, I see less point in buying a foil trainer kite to train someone to then switch to inflatable kites. There is too much adaptation to do from a foil trainer to an inflatable depowerable kite to justify its true training purpose/potential over extended hours of practice.
IMO you could use the Uno all the way till downwind and upwind body drag, but should then consider upgrading them to slightly bigger multi-strut kites
Hi,
we use North Evos in our school and the 5m Evo is awesome for a kids learning kite.
Stable, easy to relaunch, big range and you can adjust the bar throw trim-line so the kids can reach the bar after they let go with their short arms.
The Evo is the toughest kite we have come across so the kids can bash it around without breaking it.
Hi im 11 and i started learning on a 3m trainer kite when i was 8 and then moved up to a 5m inflatabel kite when i was 9.Now I weigh 38kg and ride a 7m and a 5m C4.
Good luck
, J
My 10 and 12yo daughters are learing at the moment. They weigh approx 40-45kg. They started on 2m foil kite and have been mucking arond with it for the last couple of years. its a "NEW" brand and is really stong. brilliant foil kite that will be fun for years..hard to find now cause NEW has stopped making them .. but i saw some Kite Surf Sup in Scarborough ( WA) have some in the shop for $179 .
3 months ago bought a 2.5m Ozone Uno from Jason at West Oz Kite Surf in Saftey bay ( WA). Was around $300. Grom harness as well for approx $90. The kids use the kite with the bar from my 6m or 8m Switchblade.. That has gone realy well as long as the kits have plenty on time on the floil kite first. Have used it on the land on 14- 16knots wind and in the water on 16knots plus. Have put kids on it who havnt flown on the foil kite first and they realy struggle and get pulled around and freaked out.
After appox 3 months with the 2.5 UNO they have now moved to a 6m Switchblade which im finding is too big .. its basically lifting them out of the water and freaking them out a bit . May need to get the 4.5m Uno or 5m Switch to fill the gap..
My general advise is " baby steps". 2m foil then 2.5m UNO .. before going for a bigger kite.
hope this helps. Cheers Jim.
