Novice Kite Boarder - Equipment

[Dutchman5oh]

Hey all, I'm a bit new to this forum and kitesurfing in general.

I am planning on taking a multi leg vacation with some frequent flyer miles I've accumulated that will include some beginner kitesurfing lessons at the initial stop. As part of the vacation i'm planning on hitting up numerous spots where kite boarding could be done (Costa Rica, New Zealand, Bali, Australia, Boracay, Egypt, Workum...), the plans are not finalized yet but still in the making. My question is, with the varying wind conditions of the various spots and my personal attributes being ~200lbs 6'2" what would be the most appropriate size kite and board to purchase to take with me on the trip if I can only take one kite and one board? I suppose this is a pretty random question but thought I would ask anyways.

Thanks for any help!

[Dutchkiteboarder]

Geef me even een belletje en ik kan je de beste tips geven voor Chicago en Nederland!
Om advies te krijgen voor kiten in Nederland check http://www.hanglos.nl een van de betere fora's in Nederland wat betreft kitesurfen. Ik zal je even een berichtje sturen met mijn telefoon Nr. er in en kan ik je wat advies geven voor Chicago. In ieder geval welkom bij Chicagokitesurfing!

For you Non Dutch reading people:
- Give me a call and I can give you great tips for riding in Chicago and the Netherlands. For advise riding in Holland I would suggest you check out www.hanglos.nl, of the better messages boards of the Dutch kiteboarding community. Ill send you a PM with my phone # in it and we can talk about riding here and Holland (plus catch up with your Dutch). Welcome to Chicago kitesurfing!

[Northerner]

I have kited a few of the those spots and I would say you are looking at a huge windrange here. Example costa Rica in winter/spring you need a very small kite, Bali large if you get wind. One kite to rule them all is very tough, but I would say a 10-11 meter kite. If your going to a windy spot that size should get you buy.

A smarter move would be to take two large wind range and easy to use kites with you. I would suggest a 8 and 12 Slingshot Rally as they are very beginner friendly kites with huge wind ranges. To add an 8 meter is not that much extra, as small kites pack small.

Your trip looks fun, sorry I didn't write it Dutch as I can only speak and write Afrikaans

[FSP]

Slingshot key...its inexpensive compared to the rest and excellent performance. Tons of depower and never falls when i botch a move. stays in the zone for wave riding.

[Dutchman5oh]

Thanks for all the help! Can't speak/write dutch either, but both sides of my family are from holland I'm second generation here. I thought up this handel as a kid and have been using it ever since.

I'm probably going to look into getting two different size kites around 8 and 11/12 size, hopefully I can find some used. That should give me the best likely hood of successful kiting no matter where I go. The slingshot rally and key kites look nice. I hear waroo is pretty good as well. For the board I'm going to look for around a 140 size. Probably get the Dakine Outlaw Kiteboard Bag for traveling and the "kitebuddy" for self launching/landing.

Now I just got to figure out the best way to maximize the frequent flyer miles.