Should You Buy a Kitesurfing Trainer Kite?

Whether you need a trainer kite really depends on what you will use it for. Of course, a trainer kite is great for learning some base skills, however when it comes to actually developing the correct muscle memory for kiting, in most cases its best to simply fly a full size kite in your lessons. The reason is, the differences between a trainer kite and a full kitesurfing kite make learning on a trainer kite run the risk of creating bad habits... so for most people, they only use the trainer kite for the first half -1 hour and then they quickly progress to the full size kiteboarding kite and never use the trainer kite again. 
Why should you buy a trainer kite? What I like about trainer kites is that they are fun to fly. This means if you have friends or family that might use your trainer kite on the beach to play with, then its a good idea to get one. This way you can use the trainer kite for a few days before your first kiteboarding lessons, and then once you progress to the full kites, your friends can still play with the trainer while down the beach while you're out there kitting. I would say thats the main reason i think someone should get a kitesurfing trainer kite... if they plan to get more use out of it in the future. On top of that, if you don't plan to take lessons for a while (as in weeks away), then its a good idea to get a trainer kite and use that time to master flying the trainer. This will help you develop skills that cross over into the big kites, particularly if you get very good at it. But as above, really I've found the main use for a trainer kite is in the first hour or so that gives you the base feeling and concept, after that you are simply learning to to fly the trainer kite, which is quite different to how to fly a full kiteboarding kite. Hope this helps.

[OutForIt]

Thanks Luke for another great video. I personally found owning a trainer kite important. Here are a couple of thoughts in case they benefit smn else. My experience has been that through it:
1) I got rid of the fear of what it is to fly a kite. It helped me understand the basics and gave me the confidence I needed prior to handling the 12 m beast.
2) In my eternal venture to recruit friends to join me kite surfing, the trainer is instrumental. Friends can have a taste of what kite surfing is, in a safe manner.
3) On some days when the strong wind doesn't pop up, the trainer will fly high and I can try more aggressive maneuvers in the hope that one day I can transfer them to the inflatable kites.

[tormodhenryskalsvik]

Another point for using one, with reference to the Downloop/underloop video, is that it is really much easier to train loops, so that one gets confident to commit more when performing loops with bigger kites. Even though I haven't tried with big kite myself, yet :) great video as always!

[trexinvert]

Yes, absolutely. Here's what I did:
a.) Bought a good quality "small" kite(Peter Lynn 2.4) with two line control bar. So, I learned all about the wind window, power eye, looping, self-launch, self-landing. Made mistakes and also mastered the coordination and control. At high winds, you get a taste of the potential power. This kite was around $100. 

b.) Next moved up to a larger trainer kite(Peter Lynn, Hornet 4.0) for $250. Expensive, but now I had more appreciation for quality and cost. Also, this can be used as a power/traction kite for land boarding and even kite jumping. So, at this size and decent wind(8+ knots) it can really knock you down. You cannot simply cross the power eye, or loop the kite without consequences. So, you learn absolute respect and control of the kite. Also, with 4 lines you "will" learn about line management, because it can take you 15 minutes or 60 minutes to finish/wind the lines. The larger kite also stays up in low winds(5knots) when my small trainer couldn't. At this point, I can also put on my windsurf harness/hook and connect to the steering bar. It won't exactly mimic a real kite surfing kite at 10m or larger size, but you will definitely learn to maneuver the kite safely, efficiently and precisely.

Now, I don't live near water, but I know I will eventually have my chance one day. In the meantime, I wanted to just get a feel for it and have full mastery of kite control. I found it addicting and when wind is right I enjoy kite jumping and will be gearing up for land boarding.

[synth]

Agree with all of this. Since I knew it would take awhile for me to save up for lessons and gear (~$2500-3000), I bought a 3.5m 2-line to mess around with for several moths. I developed muscle memory and even practiced body dragging in shallow water. I have also heard a lot that if you can afford it and get right into lessons, it isn't worth it.

[nicolasboudet]

I was so amazed that kiters will master their kites in crowed area, making such incredible colored show, that I purchased my 1rst trainer kite (HQ 3m). I was immediately astonished how easy it was to fly and get fun. Indeed it is different than a 4lines inflatable kite, but far less complex and dangerous without any instructor! It gave me the taste of kite flying, and I moved quickly to lessons, 1rst real kite purshase (14m2) and many other steps...But I must admit that I still own it after many years and as I leave in country side, quite far from ocean, but with a large field behind my home, I often open it and fly it for 1/2h just for fun, sometimes with a harness and some elastic ropes connected to the bar...The flying experience is quite different, more tricky I would say but I could fly on light, strong, gusty days, without any helper and very low risk! It is by sure a very good demonstration step to show to newbies before they start

[hallmountfilms]

I felt like it was a nice confidence builder. Braking it out in high wind speeds and gusty conditions and having a feel for the power of a kite. Of course it's not the same, but at least you had some idea of the sensations.

[tlv]

Luke: I am rank beginner and bought a Ozone 4 meter trainer. Winds are generally light in my area. On Sunday I took a drive to the ocean, as the projection was for 15-20 mph wind. I was alone and set up my lines upwind as you mention in another video to try and self launch. The wind was blowing probably 20-25 mph. I oriented the kite as you mentioned in your video (was launching in stubble grass about 5 inches high) and the kite just sat there no matter what I did with the lines. A good hearted bloke that was watching sauntered over and asked if I would like some help. I asked if he had ever assisted launching a kite to which he answered: "No". I took him to the kite and explained (as in your video) how to hold and orient the kite's leading edge into the wind, and to just step back and not toss the kite when I gave the the thumb's up sign. I got back to my bar, hooked in getting ready for my first real time with the kite and then the excitement began...lol. At the thumbs up, my assistant tossed the kite into the air! The kite immediately headed downwind (fast!) and began to death loop in the power zone. This resulted in a quick trip ending in a perfect downwind one point face plant. It was pretty exciting. I got my bell rung pretty good and there was blood everywhere! It all happened so fast I could not use the safety release (you can bet from now on my launches will feature one hand on the bar and one hand on the safety release!). My assistant ran to secure the kite while I tried to gather my wits! My previous outing with the kite was in too little wind, and the kite (once I got it aloft with a straight downwind assisted launch!) almost took me out with a front stall. All was not for naught though, I now have valuable experience in two wind conditions, and am the proud owner of two black eyes! :-)
So, to my questions: What is a good wind condition (mph) to look for in my next outing? How should the kite be trimmed prior to launch (all the way out on a front trimmed kite??) Do you have any ideas why when I was at a right angle to the wind direction with the furthest kite tip oriented upwind a bit (such that the kite looked like it wanted to fly) that I could not get the kite to roll up on to its tip (or even act like it would get airborn)?? And finally, is this why you don't the want the launch assistant to throw the kite into the air? :-)
Cheers

[SrJFK]

Awesome videos as usual. This is exactly the question I had when I started. Ended up returning the trainer.

[nattikgur-arie]

There are also super cheap power kites on aliexpress that do the job.
I bought a 2.5m for 18usd.
Happy I got one and it did help with learning the wind window and loops.
Would not recommend spending more than that if the goal is kitesurfing, even though the major brands trainer kites are way better in every way.

[jamesgamblen]

great video, thanks. this chestermans beach tofino?

[carlossanchez-etayopacheco]

I hace a north lizard 1.8 and It is actually a 4 line kite, with a bar wich is even longer than a 11m kite bar. Also when you let go de bar de leash pulls a safety line which depowers de kite completely.

[dalin]

yup agree with this.. curious if you guys have tried the aluula kites from ocean rodeo? could be a good video

[ZanyWabbit]

I have a trainer, but use it for fun when bored and keep it in the car

[GarretGrayCamera]

Can you use one of these on the water? I'd like to get into this but I'd just like to glide along the water, I don't care about the "extreme" tricks or anything like that. It seems like a smaller kite like this would be all the power I need.

[kiteboynl]

Trainer kites are always fun i kite voor 12 years en i stil use my trainer kite Some times

[americanescu]

Could I use something like this using a simple SUP just to get around the lake at a 5mph speed?

[Fipsi]

You are referring to a 2-line trainer. What about a 3-line trainer?

[TrevorsCrabs]

If you are light on your feet and only weigh 140lbs... can you use this kite with a foil board or twin tip?

[coderedex]

Trainer Kite messed me up with bad habits when I got to the real thing. I do not recommend. Rather get a smaller kite you can harness into.

[joshbuhl]

Nice Vid, but for me it doesn‘t really cover the question of the usefulness of trainers unless you cover the true depowerable trainer kites that have four-lines and a harness, like the Ocean Rodeo React, whose carry bag conveniently doubles as a harness. Training with a true four-line+harness trainer can save you real money on lessons, since you really will have the kite flying skills you need before your start your lessons and which can‘t be trained with a two-liner like you show here (especially because of the tendency of beginners to pull on the bar when overpowered instead of letting out the bar, which habit is only exacerbated by flying two-liner kites, since you then „hold on tighter“. Only a four liner with bar& harness can teach you to let out the bar to depower.) . Also, they‘re great for adolescents who are interested in kiting, and if it‘s a water launchable front-tube trainer like the ocean rodeo, they can even do body drags with it, which is great fun by itself. I‘d say a trainer like that gives you the skills equivalent to the first 4 hours of lessons at least and would be good for anybody, since you learn the skills without getting launched onto your face whenever you make a mistake, relaunch goes much faster, and you don‘t need to pay somebody $50/Hour to watch you crash the kite into the water 100 times. Of course, a four line depowerable trainer costs about as much as 8 lessons (unless you get it used), but then you have the kite, which also is just a lot of fun at the beach, like you say.