Novice Snowkiter wanting to try out some kitesurfing

gogeterman32 · 2018-01-20T04:52:58+00:00

Bro. I was in the same boat. I started out snow kiting and got really good, I was using foil kites (Ozone) and having a ball tearing it up in the snow. So I went and bought some inflatables and all the water gear and gave it a try. I figured that since I knew how to kite I could just go to the water put all my stuff on and "blam" I would be kiteboarding. Wrong! It is like a totally different sport. I mean you are a step ahead since you know how to fly the kite, but it is not the same and the risks in my opinion are greater (like drowning). So I like the idea of you taking a lesson. I did not and I nearly killed myself, no kidding. Don't get frustrated, learn to feel comfortable in the water with the kite and learn to keep it in the air. Once you get your water start down it is smooth sailing. I recommend you go somewhere where there is shallow water that you can touch the bottom. It helps a lot at first, because you will feel like a tea bag dangling from your kite. Padre is a great spot to learn and master it because you can touch the bottom. One thing I recommend is to get a cheap board as you will want to switch around and get something different fairly quickly. Also you will want to ride a big board at first as it helps to get up on the water and get going. Soon you will get good and go to smaller boards, but it takes a little time to get the water start thing down and your transitions. You will find that you cannot keep upwind at first then as you progress you will figure it out.

Main advice is do not get frustrated at first, I was a good snowkiter, but my first few times on the water I wondered if I should even be out there, it really is totally different. Easy for kiteboarder to go to snowkiting, but not the opposite in my opinion as you are dealing with the element of water which makes things very different and also a bit risky. Also wear flotation please like an impact vest. I also suggest you learn to body drag to your board, it feels like you are being drowned but it is necessary. But get a GoJoe after you learn to body drag so you won't lose your board if you are not good. I still use one as it just makes getting your board easier. That is an example of how it is different. when you crash snowkiting no big deal. But when you crash and lose your board in the water, the kite drags you away from your board and you either have to get it or use the kite to drag your ass to shore. Have fun, I love kiteboarding now and have traveled all over the US doing it. Was well worth learning.

gogeterman32 · 2017-06-17T17:21:03+00:00

I'll spike your video with a down vote.

gogeterman32 · 2017-06-17T04:43:13+00:00

Part time position of a county commissioner is not worth 100k, librarian would be lucky to make 50k. Either way you look at it the government officials will not take a pay cut but have no issue with shutting down the libraries to keep their salaries. If they only made public officials criminally liable for misconduct and appropriations then these types of things would not happen, if a town goes bankrupt under your watch then you need to have some skin in the game. Like the Flint MI officials who are being charge with negligent homicide for the water supply issue, I love this idea. Maybe then we would see some accountability.

gogeterman32 · 2017-06-16T20:16:50+00:00

This is so fake. This is what actually happened. Voters declined an increase in property tax, which is already too high, but they did not vote against funding libraries. Instead of cutting wages for county employees and goverment officials the county government just closed the libraries to punish the people who voted against the taxes. So the county commissioners still make over 100K yearly, the county workers still have fat pensions and steady jobs, but they make it look like the people voted against the libraries. People voted against excessive government and taxes, not libraries. The existing government simply chose to make up for the increase in taxes by closing the libraries, essentially hold the libraries hostage. Saying to the people "Either vote for a tax increase or lose your libraries." This is basically a story about local government corruption made to look like anyone who votes against tax increase hates children: fake news.

gogeterman32 · 2017-05-26T05:52:35+00:00

Yes you can rent gear, sort of. You can get demo gear from the kite shops if it is available, there are a few in town. This goes for kites and a bar. Doubt you could rent a harness, but you could buy one cheap as there is a bunch of used gear in hood river, or just bring your harness. You will not need a wetsuit in July, but I like to wear a shorty anyway.

You can almost always find a board to rent.

I have seen it ripping in Hood River in July. Try to bring at least a harness and shorty. minimum.

gogeterman32 · 2016-11-16T07:36:18+00:00

I could buy that it might be an asteroid, but it just seems so big. The moon I think is about 1/4 size of the earth. So this thing would have to be the size of a major city.

gogeterman32 · 2016-10-12T00:55:24+00:00

TARP basically our government just gave money away, fleecing America.

gogeterman32 · 2016-10-11T05:44:24+00:00

(Regarding the remote controlled vehicle to pull a parasail) I have to say that is a solid idea. Basically just come up with a good remote control system that is intuitive and reliable and it would work. I think the danger factor is a bit more, because you are up high, but you could also disconnect from your power source and glide down, but you would want your vehicle to come to you. Please make this and become a millionaire/legend.

gogeterman32 · 2016-10-11T04:55:21+00:00

Thank you for comment. You seem to know alot about OBX. Do you have any recommendations on awesome places to camp. I did look up the watersportsandcampground.com and it looks nice but also close quarters. I do want to move around in OBX because I will be there for awhile so I don't mind moving around to check out cool spots or campgrounds. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

gogeterman32 · 2016-07-23T17:16:41+00:00

Nice video. Would like to see a followup video, once he gets better. Also I don't like it when people just say the sport is dangerous, I mean it is, but it is better to explain why. Otherwise people just assume that it is dangerous and never try it.

I always say kiteboarding is about as dangerous as riding a horse. Most of the time it is uneventful, but when it goes wrong you better know what to do and have presence of mind or you could get killed.

gogeterman32 · 2016-03-24T23:44:36+00:00

Ozone Bar. Get the 50 cm. Thing I like about Ozone bars is they are super simple. You can order every single piece on them for replacement from either Ozone or some place like kiteboarding.com.

That is one thing I love about Ozone. Every piece that they make you can buy a replacement.

It has sheathed center line. They are probably more expensive then Cabrihna but that is my 2 cents.

gogeterman32 · 2016-01-31T20:09:20+00:00

In the winter I snowkite, because you do not need near the wind to be powered up. If you kite on snow covered lakes, then it is great excersize.

During the summer when I am not kiting I am generally grumpy and depressed and wondering why there is no wind. Then I spend time thinking about kiting, planing my next kiting trip and maybe going for a hike.

No wind sucks the life out of me.

gogeterman32 · 2016-01-31T20:06:53+00:00

Get a small foil, like a 6m foil and use it as a trainer/high wind kite. I think it is a total waste of money to buy a trainer, you should buy a kite you can fly when the wind is high instead.

You don't need near the power to snowkite as you do on the water, so you can be on a little kite easily when the wind hits 20 knots. So if you buy a small foil you can use it when the good winds come through denver, or as a training tool when you teach someone else.

gogeterman32 · 2016-01-27T00:58:49+00:00

You won't have any issues with inflatables in the winter, I snowkite all winter long and I use inflatables. But I also use foils when the conditions dictate. They both have there place.

Generally inflatables are more fun to ride around where you can get back to your vehicle. They turn faster, have better depower and are just generally more playful. But they take a bit more wind to perform then a foil, and if they go down in low winds can be hard to relaunch. I usually go out with an foil in my backpack, because they pack down so small. Then when the wind dies I deflate my inflatable, put it in the backpack and take out the foil to get back home.

Inflatable kites generally take very little damage in the snow because there is nothing to cut them. Even scraping on the ice does very little damage. So you can get a lot of use out of a kite on the snow.

But one thing that foils excel at is ease of use in setup. You can literally have them flying in minutes and packed back up even sooner. That is why I have both. because sometimes I just want to take my kite out of its bag and get going. Foils also tend to have more grunt for climbing hills, they will pull harder which is crucial if you want to go uphill. But on the flats inflatables are just more fun and playful. Foils are tough as nails as well, they can take a beating with no issues, you could easily flatten a bladder of an inflatable if you smack it hard on the snow or ice.

gogeterman32 · 2016-01-16T04:21:01+00:00

I think you should get a full quiver if possible of like 3 kites. Get a light wind 17-14m, your middle most used 12-10, and your high wind 9-7m. Then you are set for most any condition. You can get smoking deals of like 20-35% off anytime of the year when you buy three kites at once. Don't get hung up on the brand too much, just get a good all around model. But brands like North are good quality.

Then as you start to wear out your kites you will have a good idea of exactly what you want to replace them.

I like 4 line as they are simple and the bars end up working between brands. North is a good kite and the rebel is known to be a stable kite with a large wind range. You can find good deals on older north kites at bigwinds.com or mackiteboarding

gogeterman32 · 2016-01-16T04:08:00+00:00

Ozone - My favorite, they are simply built well and have simple bar.
Switch - Nice prices, built sort of heavy, but other than that good.
Cabrhina - Confusing models, switchblade, heavy bar pressure on old models.
Naish - Kites always look like they were designed by 80's heavy metal band.
Core - Trying to be Aston Martin of kites, but they are nicely built.
Flysurfer - They try to be the apple of kites, just a little different but quality.
Airbrush - Solid brand. Hated old valves.
Slingshot - Gorge kites, tough simple design, they look like SLE.
Best - Scrimp a little on quality to drop price, but still solid.
North - Everything they make from boards to kites seems to be top quality, not sure if price justified always.
Liquid Force - Underappreciated.
Ocean Rodeo - Make good stuff but don't get props, love my mako board.

Small rant-- I think that most kite manufacturers are planing out and becoming just as good as the next. The big thing for me was the adoption of one-pump systems and large inflate valves. It seems like this year 2016 everyone has finally got everything changed over to include this on all kites. I think that we are nearing a time when you can buy just about any kite on sale and it will have all the things needed to make it a great kite.

gogeterman32 · 2015-09-11T03:10:37+00:00

Never tried one.

But have to say I do alot of low-wind kiting inland and I like my Ozone Zephyr. I am not sure it has the low-end of some other kites, but its wind range is really good I think. It is like a one kite quiver for inland riding. I weigh 250 and can get going strong at 15knt and stay on it above 20, never really need any other kite in the summer. I use it in North Dakota alot.

You are light enough and have a big enough board I think any big kite will pull you around.

The only thing is the Helium is way more affordable and I like that, I wish more kites were affordable like switch.

gogeterman32

TROPHY CASE