The honeymoon period is over now! You have done a kite surfing course or two and understand the danger. You have been out on a few day trip by yourself and rented the equipment. Now it's time to sort yourself out with your own gear but with the initial high cost you want to break it down into affordable chunks, so how should you buy your kite surfing gear?

Any purchase you make should first be selected on safety and quality. Failure of any kite surfing gear while racing across the sea at high speeds is never what you want. The order of gear listed here is only a suggestion in which you should purchase the stuff you need. Obviousley getting the lot at one time could save you money, by asking for a discount in the store, but you should also consider looking at used gear. Sometimes you could save a large amount of cash on an item and the saving opens up your choice on another item.

The first item you should look for is a Wet suit. You can spend long periods of time in the water sorting out your lines or you may lose your kite and have to either swim to shore or to the kite both of which may be a long way off. A wetsuit not only provides add thermal protection in can also provide extra buyance. When looking for your wetsuit also look about for some water shoes foar added comfort on cold days.

Most kite surfers now wear crash helments when trying out new locations or stunts. If you are unsure of what is excatley below the water surface this piece of equipment could save your life. Iy you are surfing close to rocks, same thing and if you are trying out something you have never done before there is always a poassability your board will attack you.

Depending of your level of skill or even the location your are kite surfing you may want a life jacket to keep you afloat and help while swimming for your kite, or to the shore.

You will want a boardleash very early in your purchasing list as this is the only thing that keeps your board on your feet should you fall of it. This will save you watching your baord sail off into the sunset while you sit on the beach!

All kites should have a safety release system attached, never buy a kite with a working saftey release system. This is a strap that's attached around your wrist and to the control bar. A safety release can be 2 or 4 line and will disable the kite when you stop holding the control bar. The systems have a safety leash attaching to your left wrist (or harness) to allow you to retrieve the control bar.

Once you have all the saftey gear you can focus on the big stuff: a kite and board.

Your choice in what kite to buy will not be an easy one and you should research it well. You will want a kite that you can launch, or relaunch, from the water. A kite that can provide enough lift to allow you to perform jumps and stunts and also good power control. Inflatable kites, single skin framed kites and ram air foil kites can all be launched from within the water, but offer different performance and power controls. There will be kites more suitable for the beginner and offer more safety and control features than others and their will be kites for the proffesional compotion kite surfers that know how to get every last ounce of enegry of of them. Your choice in kite is not one you should rush into. Talk with your instructor and some other Kite surfers before choosing yours.

Your final piece of kite surfing gear is the board. Similar to the kite you should do some research about the best board for you, but unlike the kites most baords ahve similar features. They should be rigid and have a harnesses for your feet to keep the baord under you! The baord leash will has been recommended above.

Kite surfing is an extreme sport that requires proffesional traing and good equipent for your safety. Never rush into a purcahse and always research the various makes and models available to you. The longer you leave buying kite surfing gear the more chance you may have of trying out different systems before you buy them.