Buying a kite - professional advice when purchasing your new kite!

At Shaka online you order your new kite easily and quickly! We only have the best brands of high quality kites. Our kite brands are Duotone , Airush , Eleveight , Cabrinha , F-One , North Kiteboarding,Naish and Gaastra . Do you want to buy a new kite? Then you are at the right place at Shaka! We have kites for starting kite surfers to experienced freeride, freestyle and wave kite surfers. Of course you are also very welcome in our kitesurf shop in Scheveningen . We are happy to help you personally with choosing your new kite.

Two important questions for the purchase of your new kite are:

• What type of kite do you want?
• Which size kite do you want?

What type of kite should I sail?

There are a number of different types of kites for different types of kite surfers. The following types of kites are available at Shaka kitesurfing:

• Freeride kite
• Freestyle kite
• Big Air kite
• Wave kite
• Foil kite

Most kites are versatile and versatile. They are, however, designed and developed for a specific type of kite surfer.

Freeride kite

The freeride kite is a true all-round kite. The freeride kite has a large wind range, is stable in the air, sails easily upwind. Are you a starting kite surfer? Then we advise you to buy a freeride kite. This does not mean that this type of kite is not for advanced kite surfers. The freeride kites are for every level! Do you want to buy a freeride kite? Our most sold freeride kite is the EVO from Duotone .

Freestyle kite

Would you like a kite with a lot of explosiveness and power to improve your freestyle tricks? Then you have to buy a freestyle kite with its characteristic C-shape. These kites are direct and respond super fast. That's what you need for your kiteloops and unhooked tricks! Do you want to buy a freestyle kite? Our best-selling freestyle kite is the DICE from Duotone .

Big Air kite

Ride hard & go big! For many people this is what they want, jump as high as possible! Do you want this too? Then you are looking for a kite that generates a lot of power and has a large hang time. The big air kite is what you are looking for! Do you want to buy a big air kite? Our most sold big air kite is the REBEL from Duotone .

Wave kite

Are you a wave kite surfer or do you want to start this? Then special kites have also been developed for kite surfing in the waves. These wave kites have the characteristic that they fly stably with you or 'drift' when you are busy with your top and bottom turns in the wave. Do you want to buy a wave kite? Our best-selling wave kites are the NEO from Duotone and the WAVE from Airush .

Foil kite

The newest kite on the market is the foil kite. This has been developed for light wind conditions and works best when there is not much wind. The foil kite uses the lightest materials to be able to kit with less than 10 knots! Do you want to buy a foil kite? Our best-selling foil kite are the MONO from Duotone and the ULTRA from Airush .

Do you want to buy a kite? But do you have a question? Feel free to contact us or drop by our kitesurf shop in Scheveningen!

Which size kite should I sail?

Another important question to ask yourself is: what size of kite should I sail? A kite size is displayed in square meters (m2). There are kites from 4 m2 up to 20 m2. With little wind you sail with a large kite and with a lot of wind you sail with a small kite. To come to the right kite size, the following question is also good to ask yourself: at what wind speed do you want to go kite surfing? Most kite surfers sail between 15 and 25 knots. This is a moderate to fairly strong wind. If you know with which wind speed you want to kite, you can also determine your kite size. Every kite has a so-called 'wind range'. A number of other factors that play a role in your kite size are your experience, body weight and board choice (twin-tip, wave, hydrofoil).

Windrange of my kite

Every kite has its own wind range, this is a certain range of wind that you can use for kite surfing. This wind range indicates the wind speed from which you can kite surf with the kite. The minimum wind range of the kite, is also referred to as the 'low end' of the kite. If you come within this range, you are under-powered. The maximum wind speed with which you can kite surf is called the 'high end' of the kite. If you come within this range you are 'over-powered'.

For example, you can use our Duotone Evo 9m2 kite surfing from 15 knots to 33 knots. This freeride kite has a large wind range and is good for beginners and advanced kite surfers.

Many kite surfers also buy a second-size kite. With that you increase your wind range considerably and you can kite surf more often! Do you have a 9 m2 kite? Then it can be used to buy a kite 2 to 3 sizes larger. With a 9m2 and a 12m2 you have a very good combination for moderate wind to fairly strong wind. Do you want to go kite surfing with strong wind at some point? Then you can also buy a 7 m2 kite.

Convert wind speed: from Beaufort to knots

Wind speed is often mentioned in the Netherlands in Beaufort, knots and km / h. Below is a conversion table of these wind speeds and from when you can go kite surfing.

* This is based on a person of +/- 80 kilograms with a lot of kitesurf experience on a twin tip kiteboard.

What shape kites are there?

In recent years, different types of shapes (forms) kites have come on the market. The most common shapes are:

• Hybrid kite
• Delta kite
• C kite
• Bow kite

Hybrid kite

• Shape: combination of a C-kite and bow kite
• Style: freeride & freestyle

The hybrid kite is a combination of the C-kite and bow kite, the best of both worlds. The hybrid kite is currently very popular due to its all-round properties and wide deployability. Hybrid kites have a good wind range, respond immediately and are stable. With these kites you can sail well upwind, make your first jumps and also do kiteloops.

Delta kite

• Shape: combination of hybrid kite and bow kite
• Type: freeride, big air, race & wave

Delta Kites are more freeride oriented. This shape has a large wind range and is easy to relaunch. A Delta kite is forgiving and slightly less direct than the hybrid kite and C-kite. They are therefore also used by a broad group of kite surfers. From starting kite surfers to experienced freeriders, big air specialists and wave kite surfers.

C kite

• Shape: 'C' shape with long square tips
• Type: freestyle and big air

The C-kite is characterized by its C-shape. These kites generate a lot of power and lift. They are good for 'unhooked' tricks and kiteloops. The C-kite offers high-performance in a narrower wind range, so it is a true freestyle specialist. This shape has less effective surface in the wind, due to its long and square tips, so you often surf it a size bigger. This kite is not suitable for the beginner kite surfer, due to the limited wind range and relaunching it is a lot more difficult with these kites. If you want a real freestyle kite, then you are looking for a C-kite!

Bow kite

• Shape: Bow shape
• Type: Freeride, big air & race

The bow kite has the shape of a bow. These kites easily go upwind and you can relax well from the water. This means that this shape is very suitable for beginning kite surfer. Experienced kite surfers also use a bow kite. You can see this shape in big air specialists and racers. This kite is not suitable for the freestyle range.

Do you also need a kitebar or a kiteboard in addition to a new kite? Be sure to check out our kitesurf bars and our kiteboards !