By Robert G Murray
Amongst the myriad of terms that describe kiteboarding kites lay a few that cause great confusion. The terms traction kite, trainer kite, and traction-trainer kite are often thrown about freely, yet no one ever clarifies their definition. What exactly are these types of kites, and how do they differ from each other? Without further ado, let's clarify this issue.
A traction kite is any kite that provides a lot of pull for the user, regardless of size. A small kite used in high winds can be a traction kite, provided that it fulfills the former requirement; a large kite in low winds is also a traction kite, because it certainly generates a lot of pulling force. A kite can vary anywhere between 2 m2 and 100 m2 and be considered a traction kite as long as it provides enough pulling force - its size does not matter.
A trainer kite is a small kite that varies between 1 m2 and 3.6 m2, and is used to teach kite handling basics. A key requirement with this type of kite is to not be so powerful that it overwhelms the user - it needs to be small enough to be safe for an inexperienced flyer. Any kite that is too powerful, usually anything larger than 3.6 m2, is not considered a trainer kite.
So, what is a traction-trainer? A traction-trainer is any kite that is small enough to be a trainer kite, yet is large enough to generate large amounts of pulling force; trainer kites that range between 1 m2 and 2 m2 are too small to do this in most conditions. However, trainer kites between 2 m2 and 3.6 m2 can easily produce massive amounts of power and can be classified as traction-trainer kites - kites in this size range are commonly used to pull snowboards, skis, rollerblades, and landboards.
It is easy to see how traction kites, trainer kites, and traction-trainer kites can be confusing. Each term describes a kite that fulfills different requirements, and these requirements only overlap in a very narrow range - the size range between 2 m2 and 3.6 m2 that defines traction-trainer kites. Outside of these sizes, traction kites and trainer kites are very different things. With that, we understand the difference between these types of kites!
Amongst the myriad of terms that describe kiteboarding kites lay a few that cause great confusion. The terms traction kite, trainer kite, and traction-trainer kite are often thrown about freely, yet no one ever clarifies their definition. What exactly are these types of kites, and how do they differ from each other? Without further ado, let's clarify this issue.
A traction kite is any kite that provides a lot of pull for the user, regardless of size. A small kite used in high winds can be a traction kite, provided that it fulfills the former requirement; a large kite in low winds is also a traction kite, because it certainly generates a lot of pulling force. A kite can vary anywhere between 2 m2 and 100 m2 and be considered a traction kite as long as it provides enough pulling force - its size does not matter.
A trainer kite is a small kite that varies between 1 m2 and 3.6 m2, and is used to teach kite handling basics. A key requirement with this type of kite is to not be so powerful that it overwhelms the user - it needs to be small enough to be safe for an inexperienced flyer. Any kite that is too powerful, usually anything larger than 3.6 m2, is not considered a trainer kite.
So, what is a traction-trainer? A traction-trainer is any kite that is small enough to be a trainer kite, yet is large enough to generate large amounts of pulling force; trainer kites that range between 1 m2 and 2 m2 are too small to do this in most conditions. However, trainer kites between 2 m2 and 3.6 m2 can easily produce massive amounts of power and can be classified as traction-trainer kites - kites in this size range are commonly used to pull snowboards, skis, rollerblades, and landboards.
It is easy to see how traction kites, trainer kites, and traction-trainer kites can be confusing. Each term describes a kite that fulfills different requirements, and these requirements only overlap in a very narrow range - the size range between 2 m2 and 3.6 m2 that defines traction-trainer kites. Outside of these sizes, traction kites and trainer kites are very different things. With that, we understand the difference between these types of kites!
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