What to look for when buying used

HI Kendall007,

Shopping for second hand gear as a complete beginner is your first mistake.

Regardless of where you live, you need lessons first. Even if you need to take 1-2 weeks of holiday to learn with a proper school in a safe environment, do that. Lessons are the most important investment for your safety and progression. Every kitesurfer will tell you the same thing.

Avoid trying to teach yourself at all costs. Flying a large kite on land is the most dangerous thing you can do. You will also develop some bad habits doing that which will be hard to fix if you get lessons later.

Kitesurfing is not a cheap sport. $200 for a whole setup with 2 kites...probably means the kites and bar are good for the bin. Gear has evolved a lot and is much safer and much more user friendly these days. If the board is the correct, size, you may want to keep it, but the rest of the package is probably worthless. I'd be very surprised if those kites are still holding air. Also 6m and 11m makes no sense as a kite quiver, it's best you get only 1 kite that is suitable for the average wind in your area based on your body weight, which will most likely be something like a 8m or 9m.

I suggest your read this post as well: www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Kitesurfing/General/Gear--kite-surfing-?page=1#7 you'll see useful links to our website where we talk about inspecting second hand gear and selecting the correct size of kite and board.

Plan $600 to $1000+ for lessons, then at least $1500 to $3000 for a decent modern gear package in good condition (doesn't have to be brand new, but never shop for used gear as a complete beginner without an expert kiter shopping with you and inspecting the gear in person with you).

If you can't afford that, I'm afraid that you can't afford to kite.

Hope this helps.

Christian - KiteBud

I really appreciate both of you taking the time to respond! Thank you.

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Chris_M said..
Christians advice (as usual) is spot on. All the best with learning to kite, its worth the effort, time and money! Stick at it!

I tend to agree with everything Christian says he has alot of experience and I've seen him in all sorts of places well prior to 'kitebud'..and he didn't just turn up at my local turf

But kendall0007 hello I don't really agree with it being necessary to spend so much on your first set of gear.
I've seen dozens of people loose kites out to sea or have them damaged or ripped after 5hrs of lessons ..or end up on marketplace two months later after an injury..loosing well over a two thousand dollars..
I've also seen people being coerced into buying brand new gear after lessons with a shop...particularly one of them I know of...and low and behold six months later if not lost or damaged they are on marketplace...thousands$ lost to the learner kiter.....who didn't even know what was happening to them at the time...it's as predictable as ever....

I was and still am a dive instructor for many years it was the same thing!..
It became 'try and sell them this brand of bcd' 'try and sell them these type of fins and regulator). Etc etc. It became "sales"
I've also seen very efficient kiters going round on $1000 worth of gear as Christian said..
I've also seen very efficient kiters going round on 2011 slingshots etc. Even two.mnths ago.. They are not embarrassed by it..they are perfectly happy with their simple 'non sales based' sessions..
These slingshots are maybe valued at 150/ 200$ maximum..if that..
I was even given one about seven years ago
The difference is that these kiters probably know how to maintain them themselves.they know their stuff
As Christian said somewhere....
.shop with someone who knows their stuff and don't buy with no knowledge yourself
V true
Actually I have two 2011 kites for sale
(No...I am not trying to sell you them)...and they are brilliant and cheap& maintained by myself and past owner)...but i know they work I've used them myself..

And after your first incident on your own journey (which we all have so don't worry).. after doing lessons....you would not be loosing $1500 out to sea etc
Plenty of people agree with this and are happy with $300 full working kites with a decent bar
And the best shops don't just sell their brands they have cheap kites of other brands there for other people also and don't push $3000 of equipment onto 5hr long lesson kiters!..

There should be a "rule" ...as with padi ssi and naui.. where there is for tank fills ....'shops cannot sell brand new equipment to #anyone unless they have three months more or so experience...'

But there isn't...

Best of luck

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ExSurfCentre said..

timmybuddhadude
As Christian said somewhere....
.shop with someone who knows their stuff and don't buy with no knowledge yourself
V true
Actually I have two 2011 kites for sale
(No...I am not trying to sell you them)...and they are brilliant and cheap& maintained by myself and past owner)...but i know they work I've used them myself..

Quick question, do you think that it would be acceptable to sell a kite with strut hoses like this to a total beginner described as 'good to go' and 'a great learner kite'? Is this your brilliant, cheap maintained 2011 kite? The guy that bought it was devastated by the way, I really hope you do the right thing and give him his money back

A) what's it got to do with you??

See this is the idiotic control freak nature of a new shop who doesn't engage their brain before they speak..
That the police and shire are aware of
A shop that bullies people and coerces people with no care about the damage done to ningaloo.
Probably never studied physics maths or chemistry just lives on pure adrenaline.. who turned up and just sells everything for his own personal gain unaware of the damage thathas done to ningaloo

A shop which has upset dozens of people and is on the verge or being closed down

who actually just wants to rip people off with eleveight or crazyfly
There are a bag of hoses with it ...
See in image
Precise example of a new person/shop turning up in Australia ..sticking his nose in everywhere upset because he didnt sell the hoses himself or eleveight
Three hoses here are fourty dollars from the shop
Actually..Here..They go with the kite
And it doesn't cost 80 dollars to put them on...people can do it themselves..

As I said before
You are an idiot who turns up up here
There are hoses that go with it.did you not consider that??
No you didn't did you..

Yet another example of you thinking you know everything
Your a pest who turns up up here constantly promotes everything even though theres no accommodation for people any more as you sold it all off.
Thinks you were the first in carnarvon etc where's people were there before you..
got the lighthouse caravan park closed sells off beaches constantly and ruined the beauty of exmouth as it was its that simple

As you already know the police are already aware of you and your true bullying nature
I advise you to stay away from me or they will soon be arresting you for assault on the beach
Thankyou

Did someone say live on adrenaline....... now we're talking. Fxxx I love Kiting Exy !!!

Great work on avoiding the hard questions, you should be a politician

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Spitfire said..
I'm getting the feeling that old mate Tim is unhappy with said Exmouth shop fellow.....For "turning up"

How dare he.

Yeah I'd hate to have a shop in town. I prefer to wait three months for parts to come from Thailand via Germany.

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Timmy, your sentence structure has my creative juices flowing.

Here's a haiku I title "Newbie"

Breezy summertime
A complete, duped newbie wails
dodgy operator

Splash

With the state of that building id say he's more turning down than up.