How much have you spent so far into kiteboarding?

[wjb]

it's a small price to pay for happiness.

amen! :mrgreen:

[Bulldog]

Adam and Bobby are obviously the target demographic that kite companies are shooting for

You guys are equating new gear with happiness, which is just, um, warped.

All my kites were new to me.

Yuri, you prove my point exactly: It's easy to know which "late model" kites to buy if you watch everyone who buys new stuff (Much more important than listening to what they say) and try the kites yourself. Interesting how at the start of the season, there are always certain new kites being flown that noone is flying anymore by the end of the season.

It's also interesting to see how fast certain kites lose value in the Ikite classifieds. There are alot more 07 Rhinos currently for sale than Rebels. Hmm. Wonder why?

When you buy a brand new kite based on industry reviews, you are beta testing the product at full price. If that makes you happy, that's great!

[bounceback]

You guys are equating new gear with happiness, which is just, um, warped.

i dont think they are saying that. rather, the joy of kiteboarding is not something can be evaluated on monetary terms. besides, like you point out there are markets (first and seconds) for wallets of all sizes, so to each their own... c-kite, bow-kite, hybrids, new or used... why hate? love them all.

[adamrod]

oh no, I'm not saying new gear = happiness, i'm saying "kite gear = happiness" new or used. Some people spend $3k per year, some pay $500, both should be happy with their decision.

I used to buy only used, got burned a couple times. I think the key to buying used is what Bulldog says, pay attention to what they buy and not what they say.

in the end, you can't look at kiting as an economic decision. It's an emotional purchase. If you really wanted to save money, you wouldn't be kiting at all. So, whether your spend $500 or $3000 it's not really fiscally sound either way.

[CdoG]

ok now the fun part.
put monetary terms on your ses.. ie how much would you PAY
to get that tule time or cruz da bay all day,...?
i like to judge my ses buy a number..
100 $ ses
200 $ ses
as you facter in the fun part...
it gets ez er to understanD how it gets fiscally sound....

to just kite.

[zgur]

This thread is comparing apples to oranges. How much you spend on a sport, which as Dave points out includes opportunity cost - $ you could have earned whille not kiting........

How much is your stoke worth?

You know that great feeling you get after a good session - be it butter in the delta, swells in the bay, a new trick w/your buddies, big jumps, thumping waves, whatever gets you going - what else in the world gets you that fired up???? be honest.......

Kiting reminds me of being a small kid - they experience complete and true unbridled joy......(come hang w/me when I play w/my son Jared in the delta sometime if you want to observe this in real time)......

.....as we grow, we forget how to exprience and feel it, and many people turn to self medication (food, drink, prozak, oprah, shopping, whatever) in a failed attempt to re-capture the feeling.....

....kiting turns many people back onto the magic and joy that one call feel....it connects us with nature.....makes us use our bodies....enables us to harness the power of nature and feel like we are flying.....it puts a big smile on our face and makes the good chemicals flow in our brain, organically......

It's mo betta.

So how much is that worth to you????

Priceless.

Get some, Z.

[Blackbird]

right on z

[elli]

Yep, you have to consider the alternative cost, like any other budget analysis. Buying used is cheaper, but takes a lot more time. If you price that lost time, it may not be as cheap as it appears. That of course changes from a person to person, if you are a student, then its definitely worth it (unless you fail classes because you spend more time on the classifieds then on the books!)

I never had luck with new gear. I bought brand new kites twice, didn't like them and got rid of them almost immediately, while the kites I got used I still have. Maybe just bad luck. This year was not too bad, only two boards, both keepers.

[michael]

Zgur - VERY nice post! VERY!

By the way, about demoing new kites, reading biasedf reviews, and beta testing at full price of new kites - there is one company where this is not a problem. As far as I know BEST kites all come with full 30-day guarantee, and you can return it with no questions asked. I don't have any connections to them, just never heard of any other kite companies that allow this.

[KiteRider]

damn good post zgur!

love it all.. love kiting!

now the real question is how to get new gear cheap.... who got the hook up for below msrp prices?

;-)