OK I consider myself as intermediate snowboarder, but recently moved to Yellowknife (has a lot of snow but no mountain) so I am going to get everything from the ground up, if you guys can shed some light of whether I am getting the right tools, it will be most appreciated! By the way, I am about 155lb and 5'11 tall.

The average wind speed for Yellowknife is here: http://yellowknife.weatherstats.ca/metr ... speed.html

The followings are what I am thinking to get, please let me know if they serve well for snowkiting purposes (I would to do both freeride and a bit of jump and tricks):
* NEW 2012 DC Judge Snowboard Boots Mens Black Camo Double Boa
* NEW 2011 RIDE MANIC ROCKER SLIMEWALLS MEN TWIN 158 SNOWBOARD
OR
BRAND NEW 2012 NWT BURTON SHERLOCK SNOWBOARD MENS 157 157cm flying V
*Peter Lynn Twister IIR 7.7m Power / Traction Kite New
OR
Prism Tensor 5.0 power kite 4-lines bar/handles NEW
* 2012 K2 MEN'S CINCH CTS BINDINGS

Any suggestions of quality products which don't cost an arm and leg will be most welcomed! Thanks.

Kites - Ozone and HQ make great kites that are perfect for snow. I use almost exclusively HQ kites on the snow and they do everything I need them to do. My recommendation is for you to get foils if you have no experience with inflatables. If you already have experience with inflatables, then stick with them.


2 depower kites are usually the minimum that you will wind up with. So I would suggest you buy the small 4-7m kite first. It will take you a long way. Later you will want a 9-12m kite for light winds and full power in medium winds.


If you have no experience with kites, do not try to skip the trainer kite. I tried that and almost did not continue in the sport. Now I own 2 HQ Rush Pro 250's and one 350 plus a Hydra 350. These trainers are just that good. The 250 is the size I would recommend. The 250 even works great for kiteskateboarding. They may be more expensive than a POS $50 trainer, but you will get than much more out of them. I know a guy that went the $50 route and now has that and a Rush Pro IV 250 too.


Back when I started, I too was not smart enough to listen to this advice and it cost me lots of money in the end. My $300 4m "Trainer" is soon to be cut up for a set of short lines for my larger kites. That is a lot of money to pay for a little bit of line. Do not get too large of a first trainer kite or too large of a non-depower kite. They become worthless later on.


Boards - It looks like you want to get a pretty high quality board. I try to keep the quality low on the boards and have a few of them. I use 5150 or Morrow. These boards have not failed me yet. A nice board will just get trashed kiting. So, at least with your first board, get an el-cheapo. Cheap bindings are nice too since they flex more. This is what you want when kiting. Boots can go the same way. I like a little loose for adding some flexibility to the bindings and the whole system.


Lakawa, a Minnesota kite forum has lots more knowledge for you to draw on. Check it out.

I am also looking to get all new equipment. My husband just got me some and suit but now I need real equipment. I realize the specifics of the stuff you need for your body type and the conditions in which you snow kite are different than mine but I still took some things from the thread. My boyfriend is buying at all though so I might as well splurge hehe.