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Originally Posted by wldlndfirefghtr
When looking into buying a trainer kite, what would be more benefical for learning, 2 line or 4 line? Anyone give a solid list of trainers to start out on. And imagine keeping it under 3-4 meter size right.
Thanks!
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For actual training something as small as 1 m will work just fine. If you want to use it for land traction like snow kiteboarding, something more around the range of 4 m + might be more in line.
The thing is that foil trainers are good to a point, learning basic kite control, wind response and to working on developing a "feel." Still, small trainer foils handle much differently than conventional four line LEIs normally used for kiteboarding. So, the trainers are an important step but not really an end in themselves aside from possible land traction with the larger sizes. Slingshot, Best and other brands have popular trainer foils.
In the past I have advised guys to move on to a small four line LEI, say around 5 m on 15 m lines (30 m lines folded in half for instance), AFTER time with the small foil trainer. In time you can expand the line to full length and try body dragging in the water. The smaller LEI comes a great deal closer to the behavior (less some of the heavier drag) than larger LEI's. I was once dragged out of control about 120 ft. at high speed across the sand many years ago by a 5 m kite so don't be unduly lulled by the size. You might want to shop around for a regular small trainer foil and a used 5 m kite.