Kids kitetest

What would be the best kites for Kids?
KiteFinder tested 5 different kitesurfing kites and we were really surprised by the results.

In our school we see a lot of parents bringing along their children to show them the magic of kitesurfing. But what is a good kite for children between 8 and 12 years old? Which flying characteristics are important? To find some answers, we tested five small tubekites in the windrange from 10 to 15 knots:

• Ozone Reo 6m 2014
• North Buzz 5.5m 2014
• Naish Ride 6m 2015
• F-one Bandit 6m 2014
• Ozone Uno 4m
• North Neo 4m

 
What we found out!
No doubt fun & safety are the most important factors in choosing the right kite for kids. A kite's safety mainly lies in the powercontrol you have over it, so we are looking for kites with gradual power, great stability in the lower windrange (10 and 15 knots) and good feedback.
Also important are good de-powering characteristics with a short de-power stroke since a child at that age has shorter arms. Besides safety, kids like to play around and get a feel for it.
They require the ability to explore what they can manage within an open and save learning structure. In this special blog we tested 5 small kites in search for the right kite characteristics for kids.

Conclusion

When we started out this series of tests we were thinking about kites especially designed for kids. After the tests our opinion changed.
A good small kite from daddy can just as well be a great learning- and kitesurfing kite for the children. The F-one Bandit 6 2014 came out great. The Bandit6 had overall great allround characteristics, fast, stable and good control. The Naish Ride 6m 2015 was a favorite too, the most stable one in its low end. Clean sheet & go handling. The Ozone Reo 6m 2014 had the lightest bar feel, asks for a bit more technique to control the kite in 10 knots. The Reo would be great for the more advanced kids above 13 knots. The North Buzz is an kite serie North has been using for a long time.. In our school we only use the Buzz model in strong winds. Under 14 knots the Buzz is easy to restart, but hard to handle, a bit heavy on the bar with a big turning circle and slow in reaction speed. Better to use the Buzz 5.5m above 14 knots, as a 'storm kite' for kids. The safety system is the best part of this kite. The Ozone Uno 4m was a big surprise, this was the smallest kite (4m) in the test, but had great power, is very stable and easy to handle. The UNO is fast, but not too fast and really nice to play with. Another nice thing is the easy setup. The UNO is a basic one strut design with all the right characteristics for young riders to learn & develop themselves in the basic skills of Kitesurfing.
The new North Neo 4m from 2015 was a bit too small. It didn't have the stability & power in light winds. This is a small kite that performs in higher winds.

We hope this blog will help you to find the best kite for your kids. If you have any comments don't hesitate to leave a message or write down your own kids kite experience.

 

Category: Kites