Choosing a kite
Kites come in many shapes, sizes, and control configurations, and it can be difficult to choose without a little info about the flying experience each type provides. Let's take a look at some of the most common types of kites and what each one can do for you:
Single-Line Kites
Ideal for...
- Marking your spot in the sky
- Beginners and younger kids
- Socializing outdoors
- Gifts for non-kiters
Single-line kites are perhaps the most popular style of kite out there, and for good reason! They offer a huge variety of interesting shapes, bright colors, and eye-catching accessories that allow flyers to mark their spot with a unique piece of flying art - all while being simple to launch and easy to keep in the air. As most single line kites are designed to fly steady and stable, holding their position in the air once launched, they're a great option for flyers who want outstanding visual impact that they can kick back and enjoy without the need for constant input to keep it aloft. Their simplicity and ease of use also make single line kites a natural fit for children, and can be a great tool to engage them in enriching hands-on learning about wind, weather, and the science of flight!
Framed Dual-Line Kites
Ideal for...
- Grownups and older kids
- Fully controllable loops, spins, and tricks
- Folks who enjoy the challenge of learning new skills
- A fully engaging sport you can enjoy for years
Framed dual-line kites, also referred to as sport kites or stunt kites, are the quintessential dual-line flying machine. They consist of a fabric sail, typically made from rip-stop nylon or polyester, stretched over a rigid frame of carbon or fiberglass rods. The frame and sail work together to provide a taut surface that channels wind into a lifting force, propelling the kite forward. The pilot (that's you!) is connected to the kite via two control lines - one in each hand - that allow the kite to be guided left and right as it moves through the air.
Beginner pilots start out with basic controls - learning to keep the kite in the air as they perform loops, spins, dives, and wide passes along the horizon. The addition of a tail can add extra flair, especially for novice fliers, as it traces the path of the kite through every turn. With experience you can take on the challenge of freestyle flying, also known as trick flying. This involves manipulating the kite beyond the standard left/right controls, allowing the pilot to pull off some incredible acrobatic feats; flying the kite on its back, flipping it end over end, spinning it like a top, or even floating it side to side with an eerie ghost-like calm.
While many framed dual-line kites are designed to do a little bit of everything - flying in a range of wind speeds and offering several ways to fly in a single package - they can also be intentionally designed to be very good at a specific kind of flying. As you look through the kites being offered you'll find that some have been designed primarily for use in light winds, while others may be dialed for maximum speed or to make trick flying easier - some are even capable of flying indoors, with no wind at all!
If you're excited by the idea of a kite that will offer a captivating flight experience, with basic controls that can be learned in an afternoon and a path to advanced skills you can follow for a lifetime, then a framed dual-line kite is where you should set your sights.
Dual-Line Foils
Ideal for...
- Learning basic dual-line control
- Occasional flyers with less time to invest
- Travelers with limited luggage space
- Teaching a friend to fly
Dual-line foils differ from framed dual-line kites in that they are made entirely from fabric, with no rigid support structure to give them their shape. Instead, the wind pushes air into the inlets along the leading edge of the sail, pressurizing the chambers inside to form an aerodynamic wing. An assembly of lines sewn into the sail, called a bridle, holds the wing into shape while providing attachment points for the control lines. Because foils lack a rigid frame, they aren't able to pull off the wide range of acrobatic tricks that a framed kite can, but they still offer a number of features that make them an ideal fit for many fliers.
In general, dual-line foils are more forgiving for new fliers than their framed counterparts. With no hard parts to break or replace after a crash landing, foils can provide a more relaxed atmosphere when learning basic controls, and can be more approachable when sharing your kite with friends as there is less risk of them damaging your kite. Foils also react less sharply to a pilot's control inputs and move a little more slowly than a similarly sized framed kite, so steering feels more forgiving and you'll have more time to react as the kite moves through the air. As a trade-off for speed, foils also tend to have a bit more pull than framed kites. When the wind comes up, larger sized foils can even drag you along the beach on the soles of your feet - a fun way to engage with the wind that you won't find in many framed designs.
Dual-line foils tend to be grouped into two categories: Speed Foils and Power Trainers. Speed Foils share the tight turns and zippy speed of their framed counterparts, and are controlled in a similar manner to framed dual-line kites, with two flying lines ending in wrist straps held by the pilot. Power Trainers take the opposite tack - moving more slowly and delivering greater pulling power instead. In place of wrist straps, they come with a control bar connected to the flying lines that allows them to hold on, lean back, and balance their body weight against the pull of the kite as they guide it back and forth through the power window.
Power Kites
Ideal for...
- More experienced pilots
- Pulling yourself on land or snow
- Traction sports like bugging, land boarding, and snow kiting
Power kites are controllable like dual-line foils, but they're designed to generate maximum pulling power rather than performing spins and other acrobatic feats. While dual-line foils typically range from 1 to 2 meters in wingspan, power kites can be much larger - starting at about 2 meters and going up to 5 meters across or more! This increased size gives the sail much more surface area, and allows the kite to generate enough pull from the wind to power what we call traction sports - activities in which the kite pulls a pilot along the ground on a kite buggy, over snow on a snowboard or skis, or across the beach on bare feet.
To make this power more manageable, power kites often offer more complex control configurations than speed foils or power trainers. In addition to the basic left/right control lines, a third group of lines called brake lines allow pilots finer control over these large kites. Brake lines allow a pilot to tune their kite for the day's wind conditions, and also provide a method to quickly de-power their kite if they feel unable to safely control it at any time. Some power kites also offer the option to convert the control configuration from dual-line to quad-line control, where brake lines give the pilot the ability to not only steer their kite via left/right inputs, but also to finely control the amount of power generated by adjusting the angle at which the kite's sail is presented to the wind (called angle of attack).