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- August 27, 2006 at 5:16 am #568013
YodaParticipantOzone Kites will be marketing heavily this season to the BC ski and snowboard market.
Keep an eye out for the Ozone Freeride Demo Tour that goes around to all the “hot” snow kiting spots here in the US.
In addition, I will be doing a backcountry snow kite intro at the Tele Fair at KWood and possibly at the Bear Valley Tele Festival.
TahoeMountainSports.com will also be doing some events this season to promote snow kiting. I’m also talking with another kite dealer about doing some events as well.
I’d like to mention that BC Rider is now interested in the endless possibilites that a kite could offer in the backcountry… think of it as a chair-lift in your backpack!
I welcome you all to check out to the fastest growing snow sport currently here in the US… even over (I hate to say it) splitboarding.
Check this link for more info – http://www.flyozone.com
August 27, 2006 at 1:01 pm #590197lewmtParticipantLooks amazing…could be too much learning curve for the likes of me. showing the pics to my wife all I hear is “NO NO NO NO NO – don’t even think about it”….hmmm
August 28, 2006 at 5:20 pm #590198mtnriderParticipantI’ve looked into kiteboarding in the ocean a bit. Do you have to have mulitple kites for different wind speeds? I was real into wakeboarding until a buddy dumped off his boat.
A guy I work with used to kiteboard…until he got lifted 20 ft in the air and slammed to the ground. He blew his knew up and limped for well over a month. Could have been user error 😆
August 28, 2006 at 5:36 pm #590199KillclimbzParticipantAnything coming out the Colorado way? My general feelling is that there are too many trees to make it practical to use a kite setup for accessing the bc around here. Then again, there are approaches and such where it might be perfect. I would like to test a setup and see how it packs down etc. Could be a reasonable way to access Vail Pass and other like areas without a snowmobile.
August 28, 2006 at 5:56 pm #590200SanFrantasticoParticipant@mtnrider wrote:
A guy I work with used to kiteboard…until he got lifted 20 ft in the air and slammed to the ground. He blew his knew up and limped for well over a month. Could have been user error 😆
Yeah – I know a guy gave it up after airing, or I guess erring, into the middle of the Pacific Coast Highway. Yikes!. Maybe on the snow you don’t use such a big kite??
It would be fun to check out, but my wife freaked out when I brought home rock climbing shoes this Summer… “You are not starting a new sport…”
Putting the poo in swimming pool since 1968.
August 31, 2006 at 3:08 am #590201flatlanderParticipantPeople here in the midwest use them all over the lakes. It can be kind of tricky dodging the ice houses. People drive plow trucks onto the lakes and build huge kickers. It is pretty sweet.
September 18, 2006 at 6:20 pm #590202ReeferMadnessParticipant@mtnrider wrote:
I’ve looked into kiteboarding in the ocean a bit. Do you have to have mulitple kites for different wind speeds? I was real into wakeboarding until a buddy dumped off his boat.
A guy I work with used to kiteboard…until he got lifted 20 ft in the air and slammed to the ground. He blew his knew up and limped for well over a month. Could have been user error 😆
Yep, most guys have 3 kites (i have 5 for some stupid reason)
On water:(Traditional C Shaped Kite)
Large kite (16Meter) – 15 – 20MPH wind
Medium Kite (12Meter) – 18-25 MPH
Small Kite (8Meter) – 22 – 35 MphI have limited experience kiting on snow but I know you don’t need nearly as much power. The main thing is to have an easy way to relaunch. Alot of people like the foil kites because they are way more compact for hiking into the BC.
March 9, 2009 at 6:29 am #590203TozParticipantI’m also looking into getting a kite for some backcountry snowkiting. I currently kiteboard on the ocean and am going to try it out on the snow in July/August over in Chile. It should be great over there as pretty much all of the snow is above the tree line, so plenty of space and plenty of vert to play in too (not many flat snowy areas).
Does anyone know if you have to have a foil kite? I have 3 hybrid kites with bladders which fly great but don’t pack down very small at all. Has anyone got any experience with packing a kite plus all your BC gear? What size pack are we looking at here?
If it is possible to use the bladder kites that would save me a lot of cash as I would already be there!
cheers!
October 15, 2009 at 12:56 am #590204buckchowParticipantcareful there dorothy
October 15, 2009 at 1:18 am #590205buckchowParticipantno wait this one
October 18, 2009 at 5:08 pm #590206largeunbParticipantI’ve ridden with these guys:
Although they’re mainly skiers there’s some sweet spots around there to kite. A splitboard set-up is great for days when the wind dies, leaving you stranded a ways back (tip- always carry your skins/poles!). I carry a 40 litre pack which fits all my touring gear, some warm clothes, lunch, and kite.
I’m riding with an 8 m2 ozone access, great for the southern (Cdn) rockies but too small for up there (where you can do more kite-up / ride-down on a lot of the mountains). This winter I want to pick up a 12/13 m2 ozone, depending on what I can find (and afford).
Kites have all sorts of advantages. You can traverse flats quickly (we did a 50 km downwind point-2-point run one day) or play on large flats, tacking upwind and cruising down. You can kite up-hills, ride or kite down, jump, have lots of fun. Of course it’s all wind dependent, and there can be days spent waiting when the wind’s not blowing…
November 16, 2009 at 9:57 am #590207trondhParticipant@Toz wrote:
Does anyone know if you have to have a foil kite? I have 3 hybrid kites with bladders which fly great but don’t pack down very small at all. Has anyone got any experience with packing a kite plus all your BC gear? What size pack are we looking at here?
For snowkiting it’s no problem using a tubekite (“bladder kite”), but for backcountry stuff they’re not optimal because of larger packing size, more weight and the fact that most of them require an assistant to launch. Newer foilkites have a good amount of deepower (tuneability) in them which makes them able to cover a wide array of wind speeds. On snow I only use one kite, the Ozone Manta2 10,5 meters. It fits nicely in my Osprey Kode 38 backpack, and as long as there is _some_ wind but not hurricane-type of weather it works superwell. Anyone looking for a decent backcountry-friendly kite I would recommend looking into the Ozone snowkite range.
That said, most kiters interested in jumping, tricks and just having fun are using tubekites, since these have a bit more “pop” and are easier to get airtime with.
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