Power Kiting for Beginners

Power kites, or traction kites, are huge, powerful kites capable of catching enough wind to power a kite buggy to speeds in excess of three to four times the wind speed at the time. Power kites can also be used to move skiers (snow kiting), surfers (kite surfing) and mountain borders (land boarding). In general, these activities are referred to as power kiting. Gaining familiarity with sport kites is a good place for beginner power kiters to start.

  1. Sport Kiting

    • The best place to begin learning how to power kite is to gain familiarity and comfortability with handling a sport kite. Power kiting is 80 percent kite skills and only 20 percent movement with the board or buggy so operating a kite is essential to safe recreational power kiting.

      Sport kites are strong, two-line foil kites that are much stronger and create more traction than a traditional kite. Purchase a two-line foil sport kite and practice handling at a large public park with wide open spaces that is clear of trees and buildings. Perform turns, loops and, eventually, learn to move the kite in a controlled manner. Once you've mastered the operation of a two-line foil sport kite, you can move on to a four-line one.

    Good Trainer Kites

    • Select a trainer kite that supports your ultimate goal of the type of power kiting you want to perform. If you ultimately plan to use a kite buggy, go land boarding or snow kiting, Beamer or Scout kites are the best types to choose. If you want to kite surf, try an HQ Hydra or Rush Pro training kite. All of these kites provide constant power, safety latches and handle bars that make it easy to both relaunch into the air and let go of the kite without losing it when you feel in danger or out of control.

    Basic Technique

    • Practice basic maneuvering with a training kite by releasing the kite into the air and holding on to the handle bar. When you feel the kite start to pull, don't run with it but let it pull you by leaning backward and sliding on your feet. Practice basic 4 or 5 foot jumps by pulling down on the bar. Relaunch your kite by pulling on the center line and turning the handle bar slightly. Check your local weather for wind speed conditions and experiment with more power by taking your 3 meter training kite to the beach or park with 20 mph winds. Understand that the stronger the wind speed, the smaller kite you need and the more power the kite will generate.

    Next Steps

    • After gaining confidence with a training kite, locate a professional kite training company to help you gain confidence with kite surfing, kite boarding or snow kiting. Let a qualified instructor teach you proper handling techniques or at least watch an instructional video from a professional kite surfing or boarding company before trying to power kite on your own. Always have someone present with you when you go power kiting in case you become injured and need help. Even after you progress past needing an instructor for kite surfing, you should always kite surf only the distance out from shore that you are comfortable swimming as you could get too far out and become abandoned at sea.