On a bit of a tiny budget but really want to try out using a trainer kite with bar.
New I saw a few for $280 ish but that's a bit out of my range.
Where would be the best place to try and find one to buy second hand?
I've looked on gumtree, fb marketplace etc no avail.
If you are on a budget, I'd look to spend that money on lessons and not get the trainer kite at all. If you go through a school (and you should), you will likely progress past using their trainer kite in under an hour.
The school recommends getting a trainer kite ??
Some schools do, some schools don't. The problem is that everybody's different, some people are just naturals. I bought a trainer and flew it for 10 hours before my first lesson because the internet said to. My instructor was almost completely uninterested, She was very quick to get me connected to a full size kite. In hindsight I figure I learnt as much from the trainer kite as I would have from folding laundry on the beach.
Also ,if you're short for $280 you can't afford lessons and should not be kiting. It can be dangerous.
I've read a bunch of forums before posting and can see that trainer kite thing is a contentious issue for some lol very divided opinions.
I'm not made of money but will pay for lessons. But not being super flush I want to minimise the number of lessons I need to take by doing my own learning first.
tried to fly a 7m 4 line power kite and it scared the jeebus out of me, so I really do feel I have to get a grasp of how the wind works before giving that another go.
I know how I learn and I'll want to take my time on this, being able to do it with my eyes closed before jumping in and throwing water in to the mix.
The guys at the shop seemed to think 7m wasn't too bad to learn on, although they felt with 2 handles it wouldn't give the same feel as a bar, so once I was ready to jump up to that kite again to get a bar and connect that to the kite I have.
The boarding part I'm not as worried about, with hundreds of hours snowboarding wake boarding and surfing I'm fairly proficient on a board .
Learning to fly a small kite will 100% speed up your progression in a lesson. The thing is it doesn't matter what the smaller kite is. It doesn't have to be a trainer kite. Any 2 line kite will give you the skills required. If a trainer is outside your budget just pick up a small stunt kite.