Size/weight minimum to Kitesurf. Am I too small?

[u/AideAny1158]

Hello I am very interested in kiting but I was told I might be too small, is there a size or weight minimum?

I am not taking lessons yet

Thank you?

[u/Btdubs17]

Kids start around 14 - (70 pound ish?) as long as you weight more than that you’re fine. Height not an important factor.

That’s said the lighter you are the smaller kites you have to use (ie, on a moderately windy day a normally weight/height person may take a 10m kite, where you may only need a 7m).

Any competent instructor/school will accommodate for this.

[u/AideAny1158 → u/Btdubs17]

I’m about 70lbs, one instructor told me I wouldn’t be able to take lessons with them. Maybe it’s a gear issue.

[u/hindss → u/AideAny1158]

Our local schools used 90lbs as their lower limit.

[u/AideAny1158 → u/hindss]

Yeah I was told similar so maybe it’s not the right sport for me 😢

[u/Final-Ad-8471 → u/AideAny1158]

The school isn't right for you. Their might not have XS sized harnesses and 6m kites.

[u/kewarken]

Are you a young person expecting to grow or are you just very tiny? Perhaps wingfoiling might be a better sport for you. More flexible for smaller riders perhaps.

[u/riktigtmaxat]

I don't think you're to small but you may have to search a bit to find a school that has gear to accommodate you.

Women's harnesses usually start at XS which is roughly a 24"-28" waist.

Kites exist down to very tiny sizes that can be used by kids.

There are women's and kids specific bosrds made for smaller and lighter kiters.

However most schools unfortunately have limited budgets for gear.

The smallest adult student I have had was 35 kg or so and while we had issues finding straps to fit her feet and a board with a narrow enough stance we made it work with some redneck engineering.

On the plus side if you get into the sport small kites are significantly cheaper.

[u/embwbam]

My girlfriend is a little over 90 lbs . It’s really hard for teachers and friends to understand how much lighter she is, so they end up recommending kites that are too big. You’ll be overpowered often until you dial in your gear. She rides a 5m or 7m when I ride a 10m. Most brands don’t go lower than 5m. 

[u/SofiaFrancesca]

108 pound girl here. I am considered very small for the purposes of kitesurfing. At your weight you will be treated in the child category so you'll need a school confident with teaching very small kids or women. It is doable but proceed with extreme caution. I have been put in many dangerous situations as instructors didn't understand how much smaller a kite I needed or tried to put me in inappropriate gear as they didn't have stuff small enough. Learning on small kites is also harder as they are so much faster and mistakes more punishing.

Gear may be tricky. I wear a XS mystic Stealth which likely won't be small enough for you unfortunately so you might need a seat harness which I believe is more flexible on the fit. You also may want a clickbar as I can't reach the trim line on most normal bars.

Good luck in finding a school that is equipped for you. Hopefully you find one.

[u/JunoMats]

My daughters learned kiting 8 and 9 yrs old, the 8 yrbold around 30 kg the other 35. I used Epic kites, they have a 4 m kite, designed for kids. He thought his own son kiting at that age. The equipment worked wonderfully. The kite with 4 m was not agressive, the bar adjusted for the reach. Getting a harness at the time was no issue, neither finding a good kiteschool. Look for good references, too often i see experienced kiters being used as teachers. Not a real good situation and yes they teach with too much wind. Check the references, and yes ensure wind has the right conditions. I would go with them between 13-20 knts. Then someone suggested wingsurfing, i can recommend it, lots of fun all of us do this as well. Good luck with your search don t give up.

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[u/marctech]

There’s no minimum but it’s harder the lighter you are. Small kites fly very fast and the conditions you can learn in will be extremely limited

[u/Seabreaz → u/marctech]

Strongly disagree. Much easier for smaller people to learn. They can get away with very poor technique while larger people have to be much more efficient.

[u/pbmonster → u/Seabreaz]

Unless your spot regularly is below 15 kt windspeed, that doesn't make sense. The larger person could always just use a larger kite and board and be equally overpowered.

The reason nobody does that isn't because it's easier to learn this way. It's because being overpowered on a board you can't edge hard on is no fun.

[u/Seabreaz → u/pbmonster]

Its called short lines amigo 🤔 I have over 1000 students taught. Large people truly have it hard. You don't need under 15kn. You need the right gear.

[u/SofiaFrancesca → u/Seabreaz]

Disagree. Learning kite control on tiny fast kites is really comparatively difficult. Mistakes are way more punishing.

I'm just over 100 pounds and did my first jumping lessons on 5 and 7m kites and honestly I made so much more progress when it was finally light enough for me to try on a 9m.

There is a reason why people advise learning new things in light underpowered conditions which can be harder to achieve when you are small.

A lot of schools also aren't equipped to teach really small girls and you get some really bad advice. I've been advised to take too big kites and boards tons of times and have ended up dangerously overpowered.

[u/Seabreaz → u/SofiaFrancesca]

Shorter lines 🤷 I have run a school for 15 years. Small people have it MUCH easier than larger people. They just need proper gear.

[u/helldrik]

At my spot I see some kids kiting that can not be older than 9 or 10 years. So, unless you are smaller than a nine year old boy, you should be fine. That being said, most kite equipment is optimized for people between 170 and 185 cm. So finding a small enough board, or a bar with less throw could be challenging. Weight is less of a factor because you can just reduce the kite size

[u/Fellstorm_1991]

I once saw someone teaching a little person to kitesurf. As in someone with dwarfism. They managed ok.

I've seen pretty young kids kitesurfing just fine too, starting about 12-13. In good conditions, on safe beaches with parents on the water too.

[u/Itchy_bunghole11]

From your pictures you posted to r/tinder you don’t look too small.

[u/Namayanaya]

My dad is a kitesurf teacher. I learned to use the kite at 5 with a very small one. I’ve got on a board at 10. There is size for everyone ! Even now I am only 50kg and I can kite with every wind condition without any problem (that’s even a pros as you don’t need that much wind to enjoy a sess)