Re: Ozone Flow 5m as beginner kite
Hi,
Good post Matt. I agree. I think your experience is pretty common. Get a trainer kite, either 2m or 3m 2-line kite, learn to fly it, then look into a 4-line depower kite. Some people make this jump within a few weeks or a month, other take 6 months or more. Still others skip the trainer and go straight to the 4-line depowerable foil. I would not suggest this for the true beginner but those with really safe areas to fly, decent wind and some self control (take it out first in light wind and see how it feels, then a little more and a little more etc) it can work quite well.
Regardless of when and how you move into a 4-line kite, what size and what style you get will depend on a number of factors including you future goals (cruising, freestyle, etc), what your average winds are like, snow conditions, terrain and your weight. With this information many of us should be able to tell you with reasonable cerainty what size, style and brand to get. For many beginners, kites like the HQ Apex III is a wonderful kite. Another great option is the Ozone Access XT. Both are beginner/intermediate snow/land 4-line depowerable kites.
The best thing to do is to find an instructor to hire, even if only for one hour. Either a PASA or IKO certified snowkite instructor will be able to give you huge amounts of information on getting started, launching, landing, safety, windy theory, flying techniques, gear, and much, much more. As I said, although hiring an instructor for a day or more in the best way to learn fast and safely, hiring one for just an hour or two will do wonders for you. To find instructors in your area check out PASA () listings or IKO () listings. Although the organizations would probably not say this, many certified kiteboarding instructors are also extremely knowledgeable snowkite instructors so dont look only for a snowkite specific instructor. But, do be sure to find someone you like, who has at least a year of solid teaching experience and appears fun, easy going and safe.
I hope this helps.
Traveler Terpening
Desert Wind Kiteboarding
http://www.desertwindkiteboarding.cominfo@desertwindkiteboarding.com907.299.1119