I tried kiteboarding for half the price - Ventum kite test
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- Опубліковано 28 січ 2025
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Kitesurfing is expensive. Or is it? Looks like to get a full quiver is at least 4-6000 Euro. Or is it?
There are a few well-growing players on the market that offer kites for an affordable price
Let's see if a piece of kitesurfing equipment like this is good or not good?!
The brand is called Ventum kiteboarding.
Here are my insights after 3 months of solid riding.
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Have you ever tried one of these small brands, like the Ventum, or the Fluid, or the Harlem or Ten kites? Something else? What do you think, how they are compared to the big brands?
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The gear I ride:
Ventum XCITE 7m-9m-11m
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I think it’s great value. I’m new in the sport , and the biggest barrier of entry is cost.
So glad you feel like this. Check them out or any of the 3-5 small brand and you can get brand new quiver for very good price.
@@EpicGust Hey I'm new to the sport and looking for full set gear! You talked about ''the 3-5 small brand'' which brands should I give a look?
its not the biggest barrier just for entry... The cost is ridiculous all over the course of the hobby.... Dont forget that every 2-3 years you need 2-3 new kites, i kite the whole year...
I know its hard to r&d but it is just ridiculous we could get more gear if the brands lowered the cost....
@@MrAnthism no you don't once you becoming good at kite control and don't crash and if you look after your gear it's fine, my most used and most loved kite is my 2014 ozone edge bought new, I spent 80% of my water time on it still going strong obviously got some wear and tear but it's 6 years old now!
@@dzikiadas also depends on how many days you kite a year, are the kites resting in the sun and sand etc. One guy might have 50 days kiting over 5 years, another could do that in a summer..
Great video, nice mix of entertainment and information. Enjoy your videos. Thanks
Thank Michael!
The first kite I bought is a Starkite Taina 12 2017. Small brand, very good price, and I have been having fun and progressing a lot with it!
i havea friend who bought a star kite quiver and they seem all right, they fly! good for you!
Great review, Thanks!
YOU welcome! have you get one already??
Man, thanks for your content. Of course you can be lucky and get good used stuff, but it is not uncommon for crap to be offered.
Ventum dropped their second Bar generation a few weeks ago. They are on state of the art. I recieved one in combination with an xplore. Tested it yesterday and am satisfied. Especially with the Bar!
soon i am gonna get the v2 bar, stoked, as that qr system is gold! happy for you mate!
Hi I have been using duotone kites but have lost faith in the build quality. I'm kiting in Hua Hin Thailand do you think that Ventum kites will be suitable for this location
It is often happens how much you crash it or how you handle it on the beach. and being out on the sun or flapping on the beach all day will not make any kite jounger :) i like these kites yet i upgraded them mostly in 2 -3 years , the latest one AS Ventum are like sls kites. briliiant stuff. the extra performance and light wind ability worth it over the generally more fragile leading edge. it is not super fragile, but more than the simple dacron. this material is fragile against rocks- they make still the ones from the normal dacron. consider all these, for the ligher winds of hua hin the 15 or the 12 m AS series would be awesome.
sorry for the crossinng god knows what happened with that text, i write A bit ugly :)
Do you think that a beginner with around 30ish hours of kite lessons on the back would have any issues riding the Xcite or would be a much more better suit to look at the Xplore in that case?
Thank you in advance!
Good question! It is possible to kite with the xcite for you too. The main difference will be that you have to be more active on that kite till you reach a certain speed. So as a beginner - 30 hours - that might be difficult for you. Therefore I recommend the Xplore to start with at least 1-2 seasons. To keep it simple.
If you rode a diesel car as a beginner driver - you know how much easier to get going with it. It has torque without playing a lot with the gas. This will be the Xplore. Pull the bar and go style.
Imagine the same thing on a gasoline-based car. It requires more reps. So you need to be much more active not to stall the car. Something similar with the xcite! It won't stall, but due to the less projected area, you need to move it quite a bit until your speed is efficient. I love to do this. But a beginner probably finds it difficult. Later on, this kite will be a better option for explosive jumps and another fun thing.
I hope that makes sense. enjoy every moment!:)
@@EpicGust Many many thanks your your reply first of all!
To be honest I find myself moving the kite quite a bit after the water start already. In general my kite school tends to not overpower us, quite the opposite. And I really enjoy diving the kite couple times before getting full speed, it gives you the feeling you're squeezing the power out of the kite, and it's also less boring than just leave the kite parked still ahah turning the kite fast is so much fun! My biggest concern is mostly about the fact that being the Xcite more fast turning than the Xplore (I assume), would the Xcite be a scary kite? I don't want a death machine in my hands basically.
I don't know if it makes a difference but I learn on a North Reach kite series.
Thanks again!
@@Denis-of4fe that must be a very good school, I love to hear this! Seems like you learned properly! In this case you can go on any of those. Maybe the best for picking the smaller kite the xcite and the bigger kite the xplore. If you take two. If One, and it is above 11 pick xplore. If below, go with the xcite. They both great. But when it gets lighter wind, it is better to have Xplore In my opinion
@@EpicGust thank you a lot for your feedbacks, very very helpful to hear from someone who actually used the ventum kites! Really appreciated
It's 2024 and still very few videos about Ventum. I'm thinking in getting two, 8 and 15 (I have a 10 and 12 North). I don't want to buy expensive kites anymore 😅 Ventum and Gong seem to be the least expensive right now, from I researched. Thanks for the videos!
For the survival of kiteboarding this is fantastic. Young kids should be able to by gear without robbing a bank.
what about the Ventum boards ? are you planing to test them too ?
They look really good , probably I will try them in the future.
I use CrazyFly Sculps and very happy with the quality and materials 👍👍
Thats nice! Did you know that CF is made in Europe? That may be why it has good quality. I had no experience with them tho!
Great video and explication 😎👏👏
Thanks Mr music man! 😎🎶
Is 2022 guys ventum produce top quality manufacturing durable and performance . I use switch kite for abaut 6 year .
I have to say now im happy with ventume kite .
New model coming up .
Im school a teacher a 20 year experience rider im advanced now so .
I jnow there allot fus brands outher but hare not my tipe .
I want new kite there notting beter.
Now i buy some ventum kite and design hare great perfect what im looking for on construction quality and durability .
Nice video i olso have the .
I buy the
9 meter xite
9 meter xplore
12 meter explore
Fantastic .
The bar is great safe easy much better price beter quality.
Dont see any issues .
It’s like best brand back in the day, made kiting more affordable to more people. Larry
exactly- do you know that best still alive??
Switch kites is probably the most successful small kite brand, I actually don't know if they're still considered as a small brand but they took a different approach to product manufacturing and distribution and their products are on par with other well known brands but for less. Of course, you can still buy a 1 year old brand new kite from a famous brand for a similar price.
It was definitely in the past! I tried the Trigger and I liked it, it was good 8 years ago. Now the market is more crowded and that is great - for us!
I was a big Switch guy, still use some of their products especially their latest bar. It's been very solid!
Hey riders, let me know if you flew this kites already or you will give a try in the future! Also have you ever flew Fluid, Harlem kites? Let me know how they are i am keen! Worth the test?
Would you also test the Xplore kite? Iam very interested in it, as I cant buy two Duotone EVOs... Do you have experience with Ventum's kiteboards as well? Would be super interesting! Thank you in advance.
Hey @@RoteFahne_! I wish i could, yet now i cant buy two of them just to test! I will talk to them they might give one for testing purposes, but i cant promise that. The Ventum brand yet it is new they have great experience on all fields - kites and boards, so i dont see why you cant trust those products! Buy your main size first, and if you like, get the other one as well. I almost guarantee you will like it!
Hey @@EpicGust! Thanks for your assessment, as a beginner I would like to have 2 Kites + Bar + Board. Think Iam going for the "KARMA" Board. Greetings :-)
for a 12m kite and bar on their online shop it's €1300 - not really 1/2 the price. cheaper yes but more like 70% of the price (assuming 1850/ 1900 possible for big brand with small discount). for people starting out decent 2nd hand gear is the much cheaper option. get some advice from someone who knows kiting about what to buy. you could even get a big-brand kite and bar for €600 that will run well.
Well i had to catch your attention too somehow! Right? :D The point however is that a small brand can be just as good and durable as any big ones. And you never gonna get them brand new for the mentioned prices wich makes a big difference. It might be just 600 but kept in a warm dusty place etc etc.... We all been there seen that! :) The good thing with small brands that you are somebody for them, they having way more reliable customer service :) I do ride norths and cabrinhas and fones. My job is to know what is the deal :)
11m Ventum for 830€ is half the price of a brand new core for example
Bro did you work for wayne down here on turks and caicos ?
I did! Did we met? Or how did you figured? :)
@@EpicGust I've seen your vid on turks and caicos I send u a msg on instagram but didn't get a reply, wanted to ask a few things if that's ok @bart1k312
@@600RReasons hey! That's possible I am so bad at Instagram! Checking you now!
Hi, thank you so much, this is the kind of content we need👍
Have you ever used switch kites and if you have how do they compare to the "well known" brands?
After this video Ventum is also an option
Glad you liked it! I tried a few years ago the Trigger and it was pretty all right! I guess the other models are good too, just chose according to your level! Durability wise can't say much, but the bar looked decent to me. Owners of the brad also seems to be happy so go for it!
@@EpicGust thanks for your reply! Again, I really enjoyed this video!
Not bad!👍🏻
Hello, what do you think of the liquid force only v3 9m.
They offer me 1 and I want to know if it suits me
mate i need a whole bunch of more stuff to knwo about you, about winds your ride to answer such question! :)
@@EpicGust my question refers to if you consider it to be a good kite
@@jimmy11164 is see. well, i haven't flown it much, so can't tell about flying abilities. it looks ok in the air. if i am correct this is a solo, one strut kite, and LF made it out of heavy material (reduce the damage of flapping) which is good but makes the kite close to the same weight as a 3 strut kite. I saw loads of 15m of those struggling to relaunch once it touched the water it became mega heavy. the 9m is a lot smaller, sop perhaps collect less water. but again what is it for? foiling low end might be not as good as let's say an airrush ultra or fone breeze. If just regular riding, i would get a 3 strut kite.
If you were referring to the WOW kite, which is an entry-level kite, does the job, nothing special. probably good durability.
The adapter is very different from all the pumps product and that might be a pain in the a**, as LF stopped kite production not so long ago! But maybe they still sell parts? maybe even some parts are interchangeable with other kite brands. Definitely have a look on that before buying!
As we know sometimes too cheap will end up more expensive! :) Cheers doude!
Kite bar is the same Eleveight CS bar 2018 model.
It is! And I love it.simple nice.now they changed it to the new ozone seatbelt system.also very cool.
Hi guys,
Are you from Hungary? I’m Hungarian but I live in the USA since 91. I’m a old kiteboarding student. I’m 55 , my boyfriend is a kiteboarding fanatic 😂. I’m terrified from it , but not giving up. Love the videos ☺️
Yess we are from Hungary! So nice run into fellow Hungarians on yt! 🤘You far from being old so keep grinding! Nothing against your instructor but if you feel stuck somewhere have a session with someone else, diff approach etc makes miracles and does that click in the brain often! 😎 Thanks for the nice words, waterstart tutorial coming soon! 😎
Epic Gust That’s awesome, looking forward to see more videos ☺️
Hey @EpicGust, did you had a chance to try Vantage kites? Small brand from the Netherlands but with nice gear at afordable prices!
I had no chance yet, but from the characteristics, I like them a lot. I was subscribed to the early bird thing, as I was interested in the idea of how a kite fully constructed by AI will do! (as I remember that is the deal there!)
have you tried theM?
@@EpicGust yes they use a lot of data and some advanced computer modeling to develop the kites. I have a bar and 12m kite from them and I really like it (I plan to add more), its very smooth even in gusty wind (bar is great too!).
@@wujekzdzislaw sweet mate i am happy to hear that. the other day i seen a video a guy riding it on flat waters looping, it very very nice move on the kite, so hopefully i can try em soon. i love to see how small brands excell in this biz! can i ask th price you can get those for? like a 9m with bar? or your 12 with bar?
@@EpicGust yes especially when they are rly innovative! For 9m + bar the current price is around 1400 Eur (12m +40 Eur). As I joined early to the dev program I got it 200 Eur cheaper. They have "Fly & Try" tab on the page and you can book test fly, the support from them is rly excellent.
2000Eur/kite is way too much ! we pay from 500-800Eur per top brands. i must say some smaller brands are better quality than duotone, north f-one etc. but i prefer low price. your video doesn´t make a sense, why i should go for 2000Eur no name kite when i can go duotone or north for half the money? how is the wind in keya? is it good daily winds? or some seasonal winds? spot looks awesome.
I know! 5-800 for a big brand only possible if second hand or not the latest model or clearance etc. But you will be surprised how many of us buying kites for that 2k price in a shop. These smaller brands are making it possible around 1200eur with bar so that's a lot less for a brand new kite model.
I don't know where you from, but in my country it would be nearly impossible to get a NEW (means untouched) Kite for less then 700-800 €. And then its the slow-seller with, maybe the same, poor resale chances, where used gear is offered for the very same price by people spent 1800 € for the same stuff.
@@MsGoodMob in my country a used kite from a good brand is 5 year old around 700 euro 😂
Not sure if buying something made in China really feels like going to a local farmers market... Shame we can’t get cheap products made in Europe...
The small brand feeling and being treated as THE client and not one in a million makes a massive difference. It is driven by enthusiasm and not profit seekers. China works because paying someone in Europe us usually not cheap. Ony one brand makes stuff n Europe - and i believe it did not give them a huge advantage. In China, they mastered the production on low cost yet good quality. Just like people's beloved Iphones are made in china (Not cheap tho!). China is not good or bad, it is just one way. The farmers market feel still remains for me, and it is not based on where it has produced, but rather how.
EPiC !!! : )
Went to their website and they are priced equally to big brands now...very sad
are you sure you went on the right website?? Just checked it a ventum xcite 9m cost 851 EUR, same shape and size duotone dice costs 1519 EUR.
that math is pretty clear to me!
Small companies can close very quick unfortunately. I wanted to buy a Zian kite but the brand no longer exist
I wish you were right! By accident, I know why zian closed its door and the reason is far from a company/money reason. Greedy person in the CEO basically took all the money out. But i bet you dont know Cabrinha went almost bankrupt lately! If you heard about that info that there was a guy who bought a big part of Cabrinha - he saved it basically with his investment. Production was down for weeks, the whole story almost collapsed. Best went bankrupt! Not small at all. Getting bankrupt has more reasons than it looks from the outside! The reasons are far away from being small or big. There are many, long time established small brands that work super well.
I think the small ones close bc the bigger companies overshadow and suffocate small ones. Not complaining or mad that it happens that way but it’s the way it is
@@EpicGust Best went bankrupt after their quality went way downhill. I wonder too if that is just because of the ebb and flow of the market? Best was doing well and had market dominance, then quality just dropped off and they had recalls/product issues. I would think that they got confident in their market position and just ran the business poorly built on that premise. They dropped their team riders quickly and silently, then remerged. Crazy that most of the information on these topics has to be dug out of forum information and comments. Wasn't Pete part of the saving of Cabrinha? I know the wind voyager went up for sale and was just purchased.
@@johnDEBOvis
Interestingly, i just checked, the web is still on for best and they are selling. best was great in my opinion, design, shapes communication.
I did not remember why Best went bankrupt - but made my little digging and it was not the reason(quality) you mentioned. or if that could be an issue SS would be bankrupt like decades ago! :D
Best had awful valve for changing (but i could name some similarly bad from 2021 too) i found this in the topic, seems legit, check it out, the kforum always a place for that kind of conversations!
kiteforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=2396495
the reason i am strong in this brand is that I see how the designer works, and what is his drive. and it is clearly not money, but sharing the stoke. and that's something great and rare in this world, and I full-on to support that.
Looks like eleveght
Thats aint no bad as costs less then the half of it :)))
nooo... Eleveight at first has a quad ripstop, and the leading edge has 3 settings for the bridles, it is not comparable
@@kitesmerfer7583 thanks huge difference, comparing to that this one is not even a kite! 😂 If that's makes you legit the close to 2.5x price of a kite, you must be right! Jokes aside, I remember when I bought a kite as it had adjustable bridles. Never ever used it..
@@EpicGust i mean i don't use it either, but my friends that ride waves on a surfboard love it, because they can adjust the kite to the swell and the wind direction.
@@kitesmerfer7583 i see, yet wave riders are a very specific and narrow group of kitesurfers- there are not so many places with those great waves and good wind at the same time! RIght now in Kenya, we got small waves, i love them :) But nothin over 2 m :(
Well you probably got half price, because you make positive advertisment on your channel about it. Great honest review - not
Dear @Seanlabor, the price I am talking about is available for all, including you if you compare retail kite prices with big brands to small ones, you will likely find a price that is more or less -50%. Ventum kites are far from being perfect. yet they are great tools, and the price point allows many to enter the game which is great. Likely I can't prove to you that I am not bought by them, but that's rather your problem than mine :)
I wish you can try ventum one day mate, and then you might be able to formulate your own honest opinion, instead of telling others that their opinion isn't an honest one!
namaste :)