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GuyR
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Beginners kite

Sun Aug 02, 2009 11:01 pm

Hi all, I'm after recommendations please for a reasonable beginners two line delta, does not need to be trickable, needs to be stable and not too fast / not too strong a pull if the breeze gets up. Heck, even something that flies / comes with a tail to slow it down a bit (!!!). Say up to GBP50 budget.

Question comes about because my lady and I had a cracking afternoon at the Royston Kite fest. I've probably found the best site close to me at last, yaaay. Wind was lovely early evening and I got the best axel to fade I've ever done. Could have sat down and eaten my sarnies while the kite floated there :^) Yeah I know, basic stuff but I'm a basic flyer.

Anyway, in the interest of interesting my better half I let her have a bit of a play with my Outerspace. As a new kite flyer she did really well I reckon but was struggling with the OS a bit due to over doing the inputs. So I thought I'd treat her to something she can just pole around the sky getting used to left and right and *not* crossing her arms :^)

Any ideas please? I know little about what trick kites to buy (I'd just go and get a Deep Space if I were after a new one) and absolutely nothing about what "normal" deltas to buy.

TIA
Guy
 
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Jest_of_EVE
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Sun Aug 02, 2009 11:32 pm

Axel to sarnie-eating fade is more than Basic, it's a trick to do in front of a festival crowd! :lol:

You're a god already!

Mark
 
Phillip
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Re: Beginners kite

Mon Aug 03, 2009 9:19 am

GuyR wrote:
Hi all, I'm after recommendations please for a reasonable beginners two line delta, does not need to be trickable, needs to be stable and not too fast / not too strong a pull if the breeze gets up. Heck, even something that flies / comes with a tail to slow it down a bit (!!!). Say up to GBP50 budget.


I'd say at £50 budget you'd be better looking for something
second hand, and I'm not saying that just because I need to
sell some kites soon...
 
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SteveC
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Mon Aug 03, 2009 10:11 am

Why don't you look at the HQ Salsa or Bolero ? both around £50. They come with a good case and a decent set of lines. Neither is a 'trick monster', but they will both do basic stuff, they fly well and are tough as old boots when the inevitable nosedives come.
 
GuyR
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Location: Swindon

Mon Aug 03, 2009 1:12 pm

Thanks Guys. OK Mark, maybe just a teeeensy weeeensy exaggeration on my part, but it was a nice one :^) Sadly the randomness of any such event with my flying would have any festival crowd fast asleep.

Steve, I'll have a look at those, basic and robust is all we need at this time, no tricks. Some of the nosedives the OS took yesterday had me asking Julie to carry on flying it as I was hoping for an excuse to buy a new kite for myself but sadly the OS held together ;^)
 
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SteveC
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Mon Aug 03, 2009 6:46 pm

GuyR wrote:
...some of the nosedives the OS took yesterday had me asking Julie to carry on flying it as I was hoping for an excuse to buy a new kite for myself but sadly the OS held together ;^)


...Well if you fancy a change, I'm trying to swap my Gemini for a Outer Space if you're interested.... ;) ( ad's in the sales section)
 
GuyR
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Mon Aug 03, 2009 7:33 pm

LOL, thanks Steve but I plan to hang on to the OS. Sentimental value and all that :^)
 
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SteveC
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Mon Aug 03, 2009 7:58 pm

Oh well, worth a try :)

If you aren't bothered about tricks, the Bolero is a bit cheaper - I have one I use when the wind really gets up and I haven't broke it yet.
 
GuyR
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Mon Aug 03, 2009 8:14 pm

Yep, the Bolero looks like the one to me too. I'll (hopefully) always have a trickable kite in the bag - must try something NS soon - so this really is for those days when someone else fancies a go.

Thanks for your help with this, it's always nice to have pointers. :D
 
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SteveC
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Mon Aug 03, 2009 8:27 pm

I don't think you'll be disappointed. Just be aware that, unlike the HQ ad says, you really need 6-7 mph to get it flying well.

Check this out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubYyXv2BjRM
 
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Aeri
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Mon Aug 10, 2009 8:51 pm

I'd go for a second hand with that budget...

find an old gemini or something like that...
Old school was a great school
 
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kevspilly
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Mon Aug 10, 2009 9:48 pm

I'd go for a second hand with that budget...

find an old gemini or something like that...


I'll second that.
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DaveyH
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Tue Aug 11, 2009 10:27 am

I started out with HQ kites and agree they come with a decent line set and the build quality for the price is very good. Bought a Bolero for the kids to use as it is very strong and a good flyer, but the kite I used to learn how to keep up in the air was the HQ yukon. It's a nice size and flys very smoothly. Have bought kites from this site and found their delivery super fast. Do not want to take business away from dedicated sellers but they are another option.
http://www.activetoys.co.uk/shop/kites/ ... 60247.html
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Flying Fish
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Tue Aug 11, 2009 11:26 am

Yukon was also my very first kite, and I've still got it in my kite bag to give friends who've never flown a kite before a first taste. In two cases recently, this has led to said friends buying kites for themselves ...
Last edited by Flying Fish on Wed Aug 12, 2009 10:46 am, edited 1 time in total.
 
GuyR
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Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:16 pm

Quote:

I'd go for a second hand with that budget...

find an old gemini or something like that...


I'll second that.


If it were for me I would but it isn't, it's for a complete beginner, someone who still needs to get their head around the fact that it's OK to cross the lines a few times :^)

And yes, I still haven't extracted digit and got anything yet - payday Friday, roll on!