Kitesurfing has a reputation for being expensive. That is half true. A complete new set can run into four figures, but getting started costs a manageable amount if you begin in the right places. We work through it honestly, so you know what you really have to reckon with.
The course is your biggest and best item
You don’t learn kitesurfing from the internet, you learn it at a school. That is not a rip-off, it is safety. A basic course over two to three days runs roughly around three hundred euros, gear included. For that, you learn to launch, land and ride safely, instead of teaching yourself the hard and dangerous way.
Anyone who wants to progress faster books private lessons, which cost more per hour. For most people the group course is enough. There the hourly price is fairest, and along the way you get to know nice people you will later head out with.
Licence and your first gear
The VDWS licence, often called a kite ticket, costs only a small two-figure sum and is worth its weight in gold. With it you can rent gear worldwide, and without it most stations won’t hand you anything. Done once, it saves you hard cash on every trip.
With your own gear you start small. Harness and wetsuit first, kite, bar and board come later. Used or as last year’s model, you easily save half. There is only one place where you don’t save: on the bar, lines and safety system, because in an emergency your life depends on them.
Rent or buy, the honest calculation
Calculate honestly how often you really get out in a year. Anyone out for a few weekends rides far more cheaply with rental gear and has no transport and no bad purchase to worry about. Your own set only pays off once you want to get out regularly and at different wind strengths, because then you need several kite sizes anyway.
A rough ballpark for the first year: course, licence and a bit of rental gear, and you are in for a few hundred euros. Your own set comes when you know for sure that you are sticking with it.
Our advice: put your money into a good course first, not into the shiniest gear. Skill lasts longer than any kite. Take a basic course at a good school, where they tell you honestly what you really need and what can wait.