Do beginner kitesurfers need a trainer kite?

So, you’ve caught the kitesurfing bug (or at least a mild itch) and you’re wondering about these small trainer kites you’ve heard of. Do you really need one as a beginner? Will flying a little kite on the beach help you progress, or is it just an extra toy for the overly keen? Fear not! We’re going to break down exactly what a trainer kite is, how and when it’s useful, and whether it’s worth getting one. 

By the end, you’ll know if you should add a trainer kite to your shopping list or maybe skip straight to the big leagues. Let’s dive in, shall we?

Shop Trainer Kites Now If you need any advice or help deciding which trainer kite is right for you, call or WhatsApp our help rider team now! 

What is a Trainer Kite?

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A trainer kite is a small, usually two-line or three-line kite designed for learning kite control on land. Think of it as kitesurfing’s answer to training wheels. It’s smaller in size (typically 1 to 3 square meters) and shaped like a foil kite (no inflatable bladders) or a tiny leading-edge inflatable kite (see LEI Kites) in some cases. 

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You fly it with a simple bar (or sometimes handles) and a safety leash. The idea is that it generates enough pull to simulate flying a larger kite, but not so much power that it will launch you into orbit. In normal wind, a trainer kite can pull you around a bit but generally won’t yank you off your feet for more than a step or two and that’s part of the appeal: you can learn the basics of kite flying without risking life and limb. 

Shop Trainer Kites Now If you need any advice or help deciding which trainer kite is right for you, call or WhatsApp our help rider team now! 

When you start kitesurfing lessons, the very first thing an instructor usually hands you is a trainer kite (or a small kite) to fly in a land lesson. Before going near the water or a big kite, you practice steering, figure-8s, launching, and landing. It’s fun, low-stress, and helps you grasp the wind window and control inputs. For example, you learn that pulling left on the bar makes the kite go left, right goes right, letting go makes it chill overhead (if it’s a 3-line with safety) etc. The muscle memory you develop is directly transferable to the big 4-line inflatable kites used in actual kitesurfing. 

Essentially, a trainer kite teaches you kite etiquette and “feeling” with minimal consequences for mistakes. Fly it wrong and you might get it nosediving into the ground (good lesson on what not to do), but you won’t be dragged down the beach. Trainer kites are also used for power kiting – just flying for fun on land, maybe getting a bit of a pull on a buggy or skateboard. But for our discussion, we’re focusing on their role as a learning tool for aspiring kitesurfers. 

Key features of trainer kites:

Size: 1m² to 3m² typically. (Compare that to standard kitesurf LEI kites which are 5m² to 17m²+). Smaller size = less pull.

Lines: 2-line trainers have no de-power system; you control them with a bar or handles, but if you let go, they just flutter down (some have a wrist leash on one line to flag it out). 3-line trainers have an extra centre line that acts as a brake – when you let go of the bar, that line tensions and the kite collapses, flagging safely to the ground. This mimics the push-away safety on real kite bars.

Control Bar: Simplified bar, often smaller. On 3-line kites, the bar doesn't have a chicken loop you can hook to a harness and a wrist leash for the safety line.

Material: Ripstop nylon (like paraglider material). They can take crashes pretty well on grass or sand. No hard parts (except maybe a few small rods on some for structure), so less to damage.

In summary, a trainer kite is literally training equipment – it trains you in kite flying basics. Now, do you need one? Let’s explore that next.

Shop Trainer Kites Now If you need any advice or help deciding which trainer kite is right for you, call or WhatsApp our help rider team now! 

Is a Trainer Kite Necessary for Beginners?

The honest answer: not strictly “necessary,” but highly recommended for many beginners. Here’s the nuance:

• If you are taking lessons with a reputable kitesurf school (which we strongly encourage all beginners to do!), they will provide trainer kites for you to practice with during the first lesson. In that scenario, you don’t need to personally own one – you’ll still get the benefit under supervision. However, the lesson might only give you an hour or so on it (a land lesson with us provides you 2 hours with a three-line kite!) Owning your own trainer kite means you can practice on your own time, as much as you want, off the clock.

• A trainer kite is immensely helpful between lessons. Let’s say you do lesson 1 on a Saturday, but your next lesson is a week or two away (due to scheduling or waiting for wind). If you have a trainer kite, you can go to a park or beach on any windy day in between and practice what you learned. This keeps your skills fresh and actually accelerates your learning for the next lesson. We see it all the time: Student A who got a trainer kite progresses faster in lesson 2 than Student B who only flies during lessons because Student A has spent a few extra hours dialling in their kite control at the park.

• If you’re not sure how committed you are yet, a trainer kite is a low-cost way to get a taste of kite flying. Instead of dropping big money on full kitesurfing gear immediately, you spend a much smaller amount on a trainer, and you get to feel the wind power, practice basic moves, and see if the whole kite thing excites you. Many people fall in love just from flying a trainer – it’s that first tug that makes them go “woohoo!” Conversely, if someone finds even the trainer kite intimidating, maybe kitesurfing isn’t for them…better to find out with a £100-ish kite than a £1500 investment.

• For those who are teaching themselves (which we highly caution against, as professional kitesurfing lessons are far safer and more effective), a trainer kite is an absolute MUST. You should never attempt to fly a full-sized kite without mastering a trainer first if you’re not under instruction. It’s like trying to drive a race car without ever having handled a go-kart – not wise at all. The trainer will impart critical safety understanding. Even self-taught folks who became great kiters (they exist, though fewer these days) usually spent weeks or months on a trainer before touching a big kite.

So while you could technically learn to kite without ever using a trainer (the instructor could go straight to a small inflatable kite in water, etc.), it adds unnecessary difficulty and risk. The vast majority of successful beginners have used a trainer either in their lessons or on their own. 

Think of a trainer kite as short-term pain, long-term gain – actually, it’s not even painful, it’s quite fun! But it’s a small extra step that pays off with better kite control, muscle memory, and understanding of the wind window. By the time you’re controlling a 12m kite in the ocean, you’ll be thankful you practiced looping that 2m kite on land, because the instincts carry over. 

One more thing – having a trainer kite can be handy even after you’ve started riding on water. For instance, no wind or too much wind to kite? Bust out the trainer and teach a friend, or practice some handlepasses on land (yes, people do that to practice unhooked moves!). It’s also something you can throw in the car on a non-kite beach day just to play around. 

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If you need any advice or help deciding which trainer kite is right for you, call or WhatsApp our help rider team now! 

See you out on the water,

Adam & The NWS Team