Has anyone?

waverider* · Outlaw Joined: 02 Aug 2004 Posts: 145 City: Pickwick,Tn

Has Anyone tried kite boarding, ya know where u are on a wakeboard and u have a kite pullin u , ???

aloharodeo · Posted: Aug 03, 2004 8:15 am Post subject:

I've wanted to, but those kites are just way too expensive.

colefooter · Posted: Aug 03, 2004 4:16 pm Post subject:

I saw one at a beach once, i saw the guy ride and it looked pretty fun. Guys can get huge air and stuff. Only problem i see is that you need wind to ride one, which would make the water choppy i guess

DavidHoff · Posted: Aug 03, 2004 4:28 pm Post subject:

colefooter, its normally done in the ocean. You're not going to get much butter in the ocean. I heard it was dangerous if you don't do it right, like the wind can whip you one way and then the other and get outta control.

WhirlyBird5 · Soul Rider Joined: 27 Jun 2004 Posts: 261 City: Belmont

Hmm I don't see how it would work tho. When you fall do you get dragged through the water, cuz I cant see you letting go of the rope lol. Probably what happens is the kite falls in the water, but how do you get back up then?

Chad H · Posted: Aug 03, 2004 8:06 pm Post subject:

Whirlybird i have never seen how it works either. I think jason ssr is big into it

aloharodeo · Posted: Aug 03, 2004 8:41 pm Post subject:

voodoo1 · Criminal Joined: 04 Jan 2004 Posts: 72 City: Charlotte

THis sport looks awesome, but how do you start out? Do u just throw the chute up and go?! It is probably hell on the ol' knees.

Numberone_Newbie1 · Criminal Joined: 26 Jul 2004 Posts: 73

How do you stay on the water when your kiteboarding? If the wind is strong enough to pull you wouldn't it pull you right out of the water when your jumping off of the waves?

WhirlyBird5 · Soul Rider Joined: 27 Jun 2004 Posts: 261 City: Belmont

How do you get started? When you fall does the kite stay in the air or fall in the water? Cuz if it stay in the air I guess you gotta get up while it drags you, but if it falls in the water then how do you get it back in the air when you want to get up?

Edit- just found out bmp is not supported so I can;t give visual.

waverider* · Outlaw Joined: 02 Aug 2004 Posts: 145 City: Pickwick,Tn

I don't know, it's like they just popped up out of the water, any ways, I saw it on OLN, channel....... And it was a camp in North Carolina i think, and they said they had invented or something....

hyperrider · Addict Joined: 06 Aug 2003 Posts: 613 City: Edmonton

my uncle has a kite thing like that and we tried it out on a windy day and it didnt work too well . once you got up it was hard to stay up cause of the wind. and when the kite falls, even if you le go of the handle it wont fly away ....its hook to your arms with straps so that wont happen. and it doesnt keep dragging you because once your down it pulls the kite straight down into the water

bvilleboarder · Newbie Joined: 11 Jul 2004 Posts: 38 City: Bartlesville

Sounds like that would b alot of fun to try sumtime! If i ever go to the ocean again maybe I will try it! Sounds pretty complicated and hard though...
Daniel

aloharodeo · Posted: Aug 05, 2004 7:38 am Post subject:

Wakebrad · Ladies Man Joined: 11 Dec 2003 Posts: 12257 City: Dallas

Why not make the title of this thread "Has anyone tried kiteboarding?"

I haven't so I have nothing to add... I would have known that if the title was a little more explanitory.

aloharodeo · Posted: Aug 05, 2004 7:50 am Post subject:

Wakebrad, the back button works wonders.

8824 · Posted: Aug 05, 2004 8:47 am Post subject:

waverider*,

Waverider, where are you in FL?

My buddy is a pretty hardcore kiter and lives in deerfield, he used to wakeboard and now just kites,,,,,

If your close I can hook you with him.

check out this link

http://www.kiteflix.com/wipeout.html

Shannon Best just started a kite company, he was and still is a great wakeboarder that just rips,,,,, check out his site

http://www.bestkiteboarding.com/movie.asp

I was very close to doing it but the winds where close to 35 knots so I passed, I really want to do it, but due to some upcoming financial commitments I have to wait til next year

let me know if you have any questions and I will put you in touch with my guy in FL that will answer all your questions and if your not a dick he will most likely invite you out with him

astro209 · Soul Rider Joined: 09 Oct 2003 Posts: 279 City: Nor*Cal

holy crap, that dude fell forever...that was crazy.....

savage3221 · Posted: Aug 05, 2004 3:48 pm Post subject:

you have total control over the kite, and the different posistions in cooperation with the wind do different things for you. if you fall, the kite crashes in the water and you launch it again once ready. there are trainer kites for learning how to fly it and what to do in different situations, and the feel of the different pulls. we messed around with a trainer kite when I went with my friend to wisconsin, at lake michigan. we would get the kite into the "power zone" and then jump, you would get prretty high and travel about ten feet just from jumping straight up... DAMN FUN. we also jumped off of ledges into water..the hangtime was AMAZING and one of the coolest feelings ever Shocked

8824 · Posted: Aug 06, 2004 4:37 am Post subject:

astro,

I think that site also has some footage of Shannon Best ripping it up at ODUB I think.

I haven't really looked at those vid clips lately, but they have some great footage on their site.

Yeah, that dude got f upped.

jason_ssr · Posted: Aug 09, 2004 5:48 pm Post subject:

I do kiteboard quite a bit. Shannon's gear is sick, I got one of his kites free, and got hooked up with a board! insane! I have about 7 or 8 kites right now. Kiteboarding is like driving a car, lots of things going on, but once you get enough repitition in, you can do it without thinking about it.

If you fall the kite flies out of the powerzone to either a side position or above your head. So when you fall, you are dragged for a second til you come to a stop. Its pulling up, so, it isnt the underwater drag you associate with wakeboarding. its more like dragging on your knees. You dont have to crash the kite when you stop. If you do crash it, you just work the lines until its in a relaunch position, then when you are ready, up it goes!

you jump two ways. One is just loading the lines like on a cable. You just edge hard and pop. The other is whipping the kite above your head to create lift and mega air.

The kite only pulls you the direction you positoin it to. It lifts, period. If you have it out in from of you it pulls like a boat, if you have it at a 45 degree angle off the water, it pulls like a cable, and if it is above youe head, it pulls like an elevator. If you are on the right kite, when its above your head, its only a slight pull while sitting still. if its picking you up, then its too big and you need to rig a smaller kite.

Any more questions? Very Happy

jason_ssr · Posted: Aug 09, 2004 6:19 pm Post subject:

This is me jumping

Fredrick Eisenhauer · Posted: Aug 11, 2004 3:19 am Post subject:

jason_ssr, thats a nice grab you got going there.

AndyAndy · Addict Joined: 09 Aug 2004 Posts: 660 City: cutchogue

i live in eastern long island and its mad windy most of the time.....theres alot of kiteboarders around here.....it looks pretty fun especially when they launch up cuz theyre in the air so long and rather than coming down hard they float down so they can really go huge.......id like 2 try it but a kite runs about 2 k plus u need a special board and u gotta get lessons so..........

Mitch3 · Criminal Joined: 24 Jul 2004 Posts: 80

i've seen that it looks sweet

jason_ssr · Posted: Aug 12, 2004 10:36 am Post subject:

$2k would get you 3 kites. You dont need a special board, its just easier to learn on one. You can ride your wakeboard. If the wakeboard is giving you trouble, then just go rent a kiteboard for a day til you get it down, then go back to your wakeboard. Controlling the kite is easy, and wakeboarding is easy. However, controlling the kite while you wakeboard takes some practice.

8824 · Posted: Aug 12, 2004 1:23 pm Post subject:

jason_ssr,

you ride in TX?

did you go to the contest where they banned Best Kites from participating?

how long you been riding?

I need to get a rig!!!!!!!!!!!!!

jason_ssr · Posted: Aug 12, 2004 2:33 pm Post subject:

Yeah, I ride here in TX. I was also there at the South Padre event that BEST was banned from. I was wearing a bunch of BEST gear that Shannon had sent me to wear to the event. Did you see the plane they sent over with the BEST advertisment in tow? CLASSIC!!

BleedingDead · Outlaw Joined: 15 Jun 2004 Posts: 110 City: Granbury

jason_ssr · Posted: Aug 12, 2004 3:28 pm Post subject:

Hitting waves is only one of many ways to jump. It IS big enough to pull you out like that. You can have the kite pick you right out of the water on flat water if you want it to. There was no wave in the pick above. Its just edging and doing an ollie while you zenith the kite. The harder you edge and the faster you zenith, the higher you go in a given wind speed. That pic was in very light wind, so thats about as high as I could go that run. Ive jumped over twice that high.

sh0rtyme · Soul Rider Joined: 08 May 2004 Posts: 345 City: Portland

I've done it a bit. I don't own any kites, but have gotten some time on the board through lessons. If I had money, I'd definately invest.

First thing is learning how to fly the kites. The basic setup is a harness (there are many styles..I liked the ones that went around my legs best), either a 2-line or 4-line kite (most come with the proper line length for that size of kite), and a board. You basically launch the kite on the beach (assisted launches are always nice), hook the loop of the bar into your harness, and control the kite with the bar. I found it to be much like riding a bike, but a little more sensitive depending on the length of the lines and the size of the kite.

Second, you get the basic feeling of dragging through the water with the kite. This includes learning how to control the direction that you're going, and being able to slow down and stop when necessary. You also need to be able to control the kite with one hand.

Third, you get out in the water with the board. I found that the hardest part was actually getting the board onto my feet because you need to concentrate on keeping the kite directly above your head to minimize movement through the water. Once you have the board on, you use what is called a power swing to pull you out of the water, where you usually don't last for a very long time at first.

I never got to the fouth step, but I'm sure it's just perfecting your skills on the water.

BleedingDead · Outlaw Joined: 15 Jun 2004 Posts: 110 City: Granbury

ahhh... jeez i wish i knew what i was talking about sometimes