fyi

Not that I am all that great of a rider. But, as a new rider, you won't notice all that much difference between 07 and 08, most likely.

I can tell you this, you will most likely notice an ease of use issue between your 05 C kite and an 07 SLE.

Just think of it this way. I learned on 2000 kites. They sucked.
As a new rider, I honestly can't imagine anyone getting held back on any kite these days. It seems impossible to me. The kite is way beyond what you can do with it, for most riders.

So, you are on good stuff, either way (07 or 08).

If I was in your guy's positions, I would be all over the 07 Waroo kites at closeout prices, or just about any 07 you can find at a great price.

Once you have one solid year under your belt and know what to feel for, etc., then demo kites to your liking.

If you're curious, the reason I (and others) think the new 08 kites are better has a lot to do with that they are now packing power in small packages and still have good stability and predictability. Power and stability didn't necessarily come in one package in the past (think Hyper type ) It was like having an untamed horse on the end of your lines.

I wouldn't stress. There is good stuff all around and it's so much better than five years ago. Somehow, Jayson and others learned on 2000 gear, you guys will do fine on any kite you get.
In so many ways, kiting was more fun when you didn't know what to expect from your kite.

I kind of view kiting in the past as going to the cable park and having the speed vary all the time. That wouldn't let you get dialed, but you had to pay attention. Now, kites have auto pilots for speed, kill switches, booster buttons, etc. It's great to have all the options and you are in more control. That's got some great points, but I honestly think the one thing I loved about kiting the most in the past was not having as much control over the situation and having to deal with what came my way. It was exciting. It was also frustrating though, going from schlogging to teabagging on NW winds at the beach.

Anyway, no worries these days. It's all pretty controlled, relatively speaking.

[BigR]

Zen wrote

I did demo a bow kite and it had litterally no bar pressure, which I didn't like at all

You see? That demo worked. Now you know which kite to steer clear of and not buy. Much better than having bought it and be unsatisfied because of the lack of direct bar feel. Try some more until you find one that has the right feel for you and don't feel pushed into one that doesn't. I personally don't like that little bar pressure feel at all either.

As far as are 08 kites that much better? Definitely yes in the Bow category from 06 to 07/08. Haven't tried any 08 C-kites to say about those

[inferno]

if you like your CKites, then you might want to look at the new ones, i have an 07 8m torch and an 07 12m raven, both are 5 line ckites, but have curved wing tips and offer a good deal of depower, i can hold my 12m gusting to 30 and i havent found the top end of the 8m (have used it in 25 up to 35+ so far)
your welcome to try them out any time (just remember that they are super fast )

[BigR]

Thats not subliminal

This is

BuY ThEm NoW, AlL oThEr KiTeS ArE ObSoLeTe.ThEsE ArE tHe BadDeSt kItEs oN tHe PlAnEt, eVeRyThInG eLsE Is cRaP.BuY tHem NoW, lOsEr. YoU DoN't eVen hAvE tO kNoW HoW tO RiDe, JuSt BuY mY KiTeS.BuY tHeM Now.FrEe 1O MiNuTe LeSsOn WhEn YoU BuY mY kItEs RigHt nOw.BuY tHeM nOw,NoT lAtEr, oR yOu WiLl bUrN iN hElL.BuY ThEm NoW.iF yOu cRaSh mY kItE,YoU jUsT bOuGhT iT sUcKeR.bUy It nOw.DoN't tHiNk, jUsT bUy iT nOw.YoU wIlL bE ThE cOoLeSt gUy ArOuNd iF yOu bUy My kItEs rIgHt nOw. BuY tHeM Now.RiGhT nOw.Buy It nOw


LOL!

I just read that backwards, and all I can think about is
KAERF GOD

[kite-4-life]

Its probably a good thing that I dont know all those fancy tricks Big R, I would be a real pain in the ass if I had those kind of madd skillz....
I am making huge progress though, I just learned how to cut n paste last week and I am up to 6 words a minute! (I am NOT joking here...)

Its good to see a little humor creeping back into the forum. The lack of wind is making me sErIoUsLy DeLeRiOuS and I need an outlet.
Uhhhh, its 4:19, anybody got a minute?

That's the main reason I have so many posts Steve, I can type 9 words a minute.