In search of a good trainer kite

Hey

I recently bought an Ozone Imp 1.5m ($239) and its doing the job. I was told by the shop I bought it from (kitepower) that size doesnt really matter for training.

Its got 3 lines for easy relaunch.

I've had 3 goes and I can now fly it with my eyes closed :)

Cheers

Jonny

i hope cabrinha dont make trainers..... imagine all the trees

Hi,
Beats me why there isnt a sticky about trainer kites, as this "which trainer is best" comes up very often.
I have tried quite a few and still carry 2 in the car with me at all times (ozone imp & an ocean rodeo rise 2m ).
The imp is the first one you give to people who have no idea what they are doing, as mine seems to be indestructable, and once they are ready to move onto a 4 line kite you pass them the rise 2m.
The three lines makes the imp extremely easy to relaunch, but the rise 2m relaunches the same as any 4 line full size kite, and therefore takes most people some time to master. I hope this info helps you make your choice.
note - I dont sell either of these, and im not some sponsered rider - i just fly for fun

Ive got a 2.5m imp. Had i the choice again i would get the 1.5m.
I usually give it to friends who come to the beach for a go while i am out on the water. The problem is that because the imp is a pretty flat kite with no depower it generates quite a bit of pull- particularly for someone who is only getting the feel of it.
I find that once the wind is above 17kn (what im looking for) it is too high for an inexperienced person to fly the 2.5m trainer safely. Hence id get the 1.5 if i was back again.
Also i dont know if you can get 4 line trainers with depower but if you could it might be worth going the extra for this functionality. It would help with learning the use of depower and make the kite more versatile for mucking around with when you are experienced.
my 2C
keeponsmilin

Smaller kites also handle/fly more quickly so train you to have quicker reflexes and more instinctual kite handling. My Trainer is a T-Foil 2 line with a bar bought from ebay when I was in the States, works well as a trainer (I don't use it now unless someone else wants a go when down the beach). Not sure of the size but I would say it would probably be 1m max at a guess. You wouldn't be abole to use this for much else though.

D

Here's a good trainer-

I've recently bought a 2 line 2m Slingshot "B2". Cost me $169 from Choice Kitesurfing in Perth so pretty cheap compared to some of the other options.

Relaunching is a pain though easy enough once you work it out.

The video that comes with it is pretty basic but at least it's something.

It has no safety or depower so I'm thinking about tying a surf board leash to one side of the bar and the other to your wrist. Saw that system on another trainer kite video on youtube and it seemed to work. Anyone got views on this?

Only had a few sessions with it but still seems pretty solid. It's certainly taken some serious slams into ground and seems none the worse.

It's pretty easy to fly. Flys in 5kn (just), good in 10-15, at it's limit in 20-25, (or at least my limit)

btw my plan is to get to the stage where I can confindently steer the thing single handed with eyes closed and can do "water starts" on land before taking formal kiting lessons. Should hopefully reduce the learning curve.

btw2 - this is my first post so hi everyone!

Shane

ff

Hi guys...
I would like to share my choice of trainer kite (as an absolute newbie)..

I bought IMP 3.5 on the begining of this winter with intention to get into Kitesurfing more progressively (before I took "real kite" lessons, hope this summer). In descision, how big kite will suit my needs, i've been told that 2.5 is ideal 4 me and a bit cheaper, but with 3.5 it's more "fun", so I took bigger one... Now, I can say, that was great choice!!
On IMP by itself is really easy to learn Kite steering and wind window basics and because its 3line kite I never needs any assistance with launching or re-launching after crashes, also 3rd line have got a small, kind a chicken loop, so you can simulate hooked in water starts or one hand steering. About the size,, yeah,, its bigger and flatter kite so in rugh winds can generate enough power to tow U in places U don't wanna be. But if you are not bloody idiot, and take your first sessions in lighter winds (as somebody here says,, this kite can fly from 5knts!! which its absolute true..), you can get the basics and confidence after three sesions and than just try new things (as jumps,...) or just practice water start in higher winds on the near playground and have a heaps of fun with it, before you go to the water with much bigger kite..
Actually im practising in winds around 20Knts, to get more confident with bigger power and also simulations of water starts (with kite attached to harness).

A I said before, This kite (brand and size) suits me(27yrs, 85Kgs) perfectly and I will keep it as loong as possible, just because as great fun tool for me, with my girfriend or with friends..

PS. in my hunt for "best" triner kite, I found this comprehensive trainer kite review, which helped me a lot with final descision (Iam a little bit fussy about style so I chose IMP too, becase its got nicer bar and kite desigh:))).
http://www.kiteboardingevolution.com/trainer-kite-reviews.html
Also there are a hepas of helpfull tips and tricks for newbies (so you dont need any instructional DVD), or just do a bit of research same as me, before you'll try to fly a kite first time.

Hope that will help you guys, and good luck..

cheers Ivan

Bachudo - thanks a million for your input! Great review! I'll definitely go for the IMP :)

I stumbled across this and found it very useful. I'm now up to the stage where I can fly my trainer kite pretty much indefinitely with one hand, hold a beer in the other and with both eyes closed

I also found tracing cloud patterns good practice if there are any around.