What Gear to Buy After Learning to Kiteboard
Most kite schools provide gear for your kiteboarding lessons for multiple reasons:
Kite gear can be expensive, and most people want to try it out before investing.
Lessons from a professional, IKO-Certified instructor are essential before going out on your own.
The right gear depends on the weather conditions.
At our schools in Corpus Christi, Texas, and La Ventana, Mexico, we offer gear for rent. If you have graduated from lessons and/or traveling, renting gear is a great option.
Here is our gear guide for Kite & Wing Academy graduates:
Choosing the Right Kite (or kites)
To find the right kite, you'll want to factor in the average wind speed for where you plan to kite and your body weight.
iKiteSurf is an excellent resource for finding the average wind speed by location and time of year.
Say you weigh 80 kg and the average wind speed is 20 miles per hour, you could buy a 10-11 meter kite, or a 4.5-5 meter wing. If you purchase new gear online, it typically includes charts to help you choose the best size.
Beginners usually learn to kite at popular locations that differ from their home spot, so before making a purchase, consider the size(s) you'll need.
Most kiters and wingers that travel will have at least two different sizes to accommodate varying wind speeds. So look at the average wind speed plus your body weight for wherever you go.
Kites are typically not sold with pumps or control bars, so you will likely have to buy them separately.
Our recommendations for beginner-level kites
Free-ride and all-around kites are the most beginner-friendly. You will want to buy a three-strut kite with rounded wing tips, which is easy to relaunch in the water.
Here are links to some kites we love:
Control Bar
Control bars are usually sold separately from the kite. Since control bars come with lines, you’ll want to buy the bar that’s intended to go with the kite for best performance.
Beginner Control Bar Suggestions
Duotone Trust Bar Quad Control
Beginner Boards
You can kite on a foil, surf, or twintip board. Twintip boards are most common for beginners because your feet are attached and you don't have to balance on the foil.
Look for twintip boards that are 132-140cm in length, depending on your height and weight. The smaller and lighter you are, the smaller a board you need.
If your home spot has mostly light winds, you can go for a bigger board to make it easier to ride.
Beginner Twintip Suggestions
Twin tips are very similar to each other; perhaps, for the beginning, you’d want a board that is primarily flat with little rocker. The rocker can make it harder to learn how to go upwind if you haven't learned that yet.
Good Beginner Twintips
Harness
The harness is very much preference-based; often, people try out a few to really find the one they like. The main difference is seat harness vs waist harness.
As a beginner, it's often more comfortable to use a seat harness, as it pulls from the top of your legs, or just behind your butt, like a seat.
The waist harnesses will feel like they’re coming off over your head if you don’t have the perfect stance, which takes time to master even after lessons.
Beginner Harness Suggestions
Don’t Sleep on Used Gear
If you are just getting started, you don’t have to buy everything brand new.
Used Boards and Harnesses are Great
If you are looking to buy used gear, boards are easy to find and plentiful; even really old boards can still be ridden and are practically indestructible. Used harnesses are also usable.
Be Careful Buying Used Kites and Bars
When buying used kites, beware of wear and tear around the tips, at the connection points, in the pigtails, along the trailing edge, and in the general condition of the canopy. If the canopy of the kite is smooth and faded, it’ll be too old to buy.
The bar and lines can be ok, but sometimes it’s hard to tell how worn the lines are. Check the connection points and look for fraying.
If you have any questions about gear that you are about to purchase, please don’t hesitate to reach out. We want our students to have the gear that's right for them, regardless of the brand.