I'm a beginner just able to stay upwind looking to set myself up with a set of kites that will take me from here on upwards along the learning curve for a few years. I've found a set of 13M, 10m & 7m NP CR:X 2018s I think with bar and pump for $2000. Does this sound to anyone like a reasonable deal and would these kites work for me at this stage sailing mostly at Nitnat? I'd appreciate any help I can get as it's a substantial layout of money & it'd suck to get it wrong.

Don't fork out that much for your first set of kites.. many newbies will do that then have to repair the kite mid season after splitting it leading to trailing edge.
look for old school kites in September... many people have bought new kites early season and are selling last years set...
look for ocean rodeo prodigies... I'm still flying them after 7years!
lots of deals out there.

That's a good deal on those kites and they will be fine for learning on but I would first like to know your weight.

13m is a really odd size kite nearly anywhere but for the island, it's a kite that would not see much use compared to a 12m.

If you weigh say 170-190lbs, your 50% of the time kite will be a 9-10m kite at Nitinaht \ Dallas Rd. I would then say you will be reaching for a 12m 30% of the time and 13m would reduce that down to 15%.

7m conditions for the weight described above will be pretty rare in your first season kiting as you will likely not have the experience for that high of wind.

So with the CRX example, your getting a great deal on kites that are not ideal. I think that you saw this at Silent Sports, if not then the person you're buying from bought the kites there. At Silent Sports, why not consider a 9.5m Prodigy and and a bar. Then look for a board and keep an eye out for a good used 12m kite.

https://www.silentsports.com/kiteboardi ... ko18pr05l/

Just my 2 cents.

- Todd

Thanks a lot for the input guys. I realize there is the danger of ripping new kites as a beginner, but from what I see on the prices posted for used kites, I could end up spending close to this much anyway for used stuff a couple of seasons old. My instructors also told me to buy as new as I could afford as the later tech will shorten the learning curve?
I'm a fairly small guy at 165 so I've been told by others that 9 or 10 meters will be my go to kite at Nitnat. I agree that the 13 won't get used nearly as much unless winds are really light and it's the only way I'm getting out. I've seen guys sailing really late into the day at Nitnat after the wind has softened right up. Would they be on something this big?
I also agree that I probably won't get much use out of the 7 meter until my skill set is a bit better. I'm fine with the kite sitting in the bag for the first season just as long as it serves me down the road. How small do they go down to at Nitnat when it's really pushing?
Is Ocean Rodeo a particularly good kite? Or is it just that we've got service handy?
Again thanks for the help. All comments greatly appreciated.

Buy 2nd hand kite not greater than 3 yrs old (wear and tear, valve glue deteriates etc). Compatible bar 2nd hand. Bigger rather than smaller bidirectional board 2nd, 3rd hand. 9m and 12m kites. Ocean Rodeo Prodigy made for your level
You will save $1000. Buy the hot shot stuff later.

The CRX gear is designed for group racing, and the board kit comes with a foil as well. I bought the foil gear, not the kite stuff.

I find using a 10-ish kite and big board is good for pretty much all conditions, so you should not bother with the 13 and the 7. Find a prodigy 9.5 or similar, you'll get the most use out of it.

Check silent sports for on sale OR kites, plus on sale slignshot kites, plus a used crx 10m kite by itself (shop demo, should be fine). All of those priced under like $600.