Buying Kiteboarding Gear – New Or Used ?
Buying Kiteboarding Gear - New or Used ?
Should i buy new or used kite gear? This is one of those topics in kiteboarding where you will hear lots of opinions. I have bought new and used gear and the best answer is that it depends on what you are looking for.
Kites - New kites can be really expensive and be hard to justify buying a whole kite quiver when you don't get out on the water a lot or live in an area where the kiting season is only a couple month. Some areas where the wind range is consistent you might be able to get by on only having 1 kite as newer kites keep improving in wind range/depowering ability and versatility. If you live in an area where wind conditions fluctuate a lot you really will need 2 or even 3 kites to be able to go out in most wind conditions. If you are already familiar with what works well in your local kiting area and talked with some local riders about what works for them, then you probably have enough knowledge to know what to look for and it's worth looking for a used kite or new past year model. I have bought and sold multiple kites on ebay and never had a problem but you have to know what you are looking for to make sure the kite description matches what they are selling.(I've seen quite a few sellers selling an older kite in the pictures what they are describing). Just make sure the seller is reputable and has positive feedback and preferably has history selling kite gear. Lots of great shops sell their end of season gear, shop demos,etc....though Ebay (see some current auctions below this article). Make sure you can see pictures and look for tears or improper fixes. The real risk of buying used is you get stuck with a kite that has leaking bladders and wasn't properly handled/stored by previous owner which can damage valves/bladders/etc...(and it's not fun replacing expensive kite bladders)
Kiteboards- I always buy used boards mainly because they are so much cheaper and if there are good pictures you can look to make sure there aren't any major cracks, delaminating between layers, broken fins, or problems along the rails. Board condition is usually pretty straight forward - what you see is what you get.
Control bar/lines- Usually control bars/lines are sold with the kites as they are pre-configured nowadays with the respective kite size and depowering range. Bars/lines used to be pretty universal years ago but they have become more customized by the kite manufacturers to specifically work with specific kites. I would try to get the bar packaged with kite when buying used if possible as they are a better deal unless you have a bar already. It's hard to verify from pictures if the lines are worn,etc..so you just have to risk it buying then used.
Hope this helped. If you have done your gear research and know what you want, most people can find great deals buying used or late model new gear.
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 FLEXFOIL 50CM KITEBOARDING BAR AND LINES  US $100.00
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