All C vs. The bow kite debate has raged on beaches for the past few years and now with the addition of hybrid and hang glider kites it has become even more difficult for the beginner to determine which kite to fly after their flying lessons. kitesurfing.

The AC kite is the ‘original’ kite, it’s what we veterans learned on and there will still be a few out there, usually ridden by die-hard kiters who learned from them and have ridden them their entire kitesurfing career. C kites are recognizable by their exaggerated C shape and lack of bridles. They are an endangered breed, when I first arrived in Tarifa 5 years ago the C kites were the only thing you would see in the water, just coming back from a session I now counted 1 C kite in the water, the rest are bows. and I suspect it’s because the guy bought it cheap on eBay. The reason why bow kites now enjoy market dominance can be summed up in one word… depowering. A bow kite will lose almost 100% power when you drop the bar, this has several obvious advantages; The first and most crucial of these is safety, if you mess something up and find your kite in the power zone and about to launch yourself into the sky against your will, simply by letting go of the bar you can unleash all the power and keep the control. , avoiding that ‘oh sh*t’ moment and saving your style on the beach! Kitesurfing insurance used to be a step above other water sports due to the high risk factor, now due to bow kites most insurers class kitesurfing in the same class as windsurfing which to me says it all. In short, if you find yourself taking your kitesurfing lessons on C kites, it’s probably worth asking your instructor why.

There are other, less obvious advantages to bow kites as well. Buying bow kites will really save you money! Due to their huge power reduction they have a large wind range (meaning they can provide a much higher wind difference ie 8-20 knots instead of 8-12 knots) due to this means many people they now travel with a 2 kite quiver whereas with C kites 4 or 5 kite quivers are more the norm, that’s a saving of cash, storage space and brain power when it comes to deciding which kite to put! on a particular day! Most schools will have a supply of Bow kites in their inventory and you should be able to make a deal on one after your kitesurfing lessons.

Forward kites relaunch more easily, in fact many now relaunch so easily that they relaunch themselves when you’re not looking! Oh, and for the fashionistas out there, they look great!

Now that I’ve completed the kite C character assassination, I’ll talk about the different types of bow kites. Bow kites have branched into 3 main types of bow shape pure, hybrid and delta. To be completely honest, the difference between a hybrid kite and a bow kite is now so blurred that there really isn’t any difference. Originally hybrid kites were designed to be high depower C kites, but in recent years the term has become so widely used that it has lost much of its meaning and kites once described as forward are now called hybrid and kites. vice versa. My personal opinion is that hybrid is now simply a marketing term used by manufacturers to ensure that their kite appeals to the more hardcore C-kiters and the new generation bred with bow kites. Hang glider kites are all the rage right now, you’ll recognize these kites by the swept-back wingtips (think Tom Cruise in Top Gun backing the wings of his F-14… Yehaa dead Jesters, etc….etc..!!!) however, these kites tend to spin faster and with more power than their bow style counterparts, as with all things, their success will be decided by the market and it’s too Early to tell yet, but here in Tarifa it is fast becoming a much more common sight on the beach and could be the shape of things to come.

You will most likely spend your first few days and kitesurfing lessons on bow kites, with that being said, if you get the chance to try a C kite, jump on it. It really is worth a try… if only to make you realize how comfortable your Bow kite is!