Answers to the main questions

As of August 2024 a two-hour private lesson on school equipment (wetsuit not included) costs 8,000 ₽.

The only thing you absolutely need is the desire to ride!`

Ideally you'd bring your own wetsuit, neoprene booties, gloves and a helmet. If you're missing any of those and your size is close to standard, you can rent them for the lesson for an extra 500–1,000 ₽. You can buy wetsuit gear from us or on your own. You can also have it custom-tailored. A made-to-measure wetsuit starts at 20,000 ₽. The tailor has 20 years of experience — the build quality is excellent!

A modern kite (usually Core), a control bar, a harness, a kiteboard and a protective helmet — you get all of this before the lesson. Equipment rental, except for the wetsuit, is included in the lesson price.

Yes, you can. There's no guarantee of success. Reaching even a basic, safe level of skill will take many times longer.

This kind of self-study can also lead to a broken or lost kite and board, and to losing a piece of your own health along the way.

There are things you only learn "through your hands and feet", not "through your head". Unfortunately, kite control looks deceptively simple and can quickly turn into an injury or damage to whatever is around you. This isn't an old-timer's scare story — it's reality. Have you ever bought a parachute and tried solo B.A.S.E. jumping? Or strapped on a tank and gone diving alone? Or skimmed the traffic rules, read a quick guide on driving and gone straight onto the ring road?

Unlikely. Kitesurfing is an extreme sport, but injuries at the beginner stage usually come from ignoring basic safety rules. With a private instructor the risk drops further, thanks to protective gear and constant supervision of both the student and the surroundings. You can get hurt if you overestimate your skills, go on the water without proper working gear, without an instructor, or without checking the right forecast. A beginner kiter has a long list of typical mistakes, each of which leads to trouble — and when several happen at once, to serious incidents.

Unlikely. In 99% of cases lessons are one-on-one and the instructor cuts off that chain of events before it starts. Choosing the right spot, proper equipment, constant supervision of the lesson and protective gear all rule that scenario out. If a student or someone nearby starts behaving recklessly, the lesson can be stopped to avoid damaging the gear. The instructor also steps in when a student tries to do something dangerously stupid — with a clear, simple explanation. That's the instructor's job. That's literally why they come to the beach with the student.

If it's obvious that a damaged kite was caused by malicious intent or repeated disregard for the instructor's instructions, the cost of repair is deducted from the lesson fee. A standard kite repair in Saint Petersburg doesn't exceed 8,000–10,000 ₽, but please treat the gear carefully and responsibly anyway.

We're reasonable people and we expect the same from everyone else. Nobody is out to pin equipment repair costs on a student. Our goal is to teach you to ride as safely and effectively as possible without breaking or hurting anything or anyone along the way.

Yes. It doesn't change the lesson price. If a student has their own kite, usually it's just one. That sharply limits how many lessons we can fit in, because the weather here varies a lot. Before each lesson we pick the most suitable kite based on the student's weight and experience, the current goals, the riding surface and — of course — the wind strength!

The choice of kite depends heavily on how deep this hobby is going to hook you. That's the main challenge almost every beginner kiter runs into. What size and shape kite should you get when you don't even know what to base your choice on. How do you avoid ending up with a flying mammoth carcass — a kite that splits along the seams right on the beach because the stitching rotted last century?

There are a few ways to handle this. The cheapest and most reliable: corner some kiter at the beach and grill them. Just don't fall in with a devotee of some kite cult! Pick a moment when the kiter has already been riding for a couple of hours and isn't too exhausted. Ideally the wind has dropped a bit and you both have at least half an hour to chat during a break. Trust us — everyone who rides has already had to answer this question for themselves: how to pick the right kite. Look at what kiters at the closest beach are riding, ask why they bought this or that kite, what kite they dream of and why.

Usually somewhere equidistant from any sign of civilization there's no one to ask. To get out of that one, you can surf the internet, ask questions on dedicated forums — kiters are mostly sociable people, happy to talk about their favorite activity at length and in detail. We at Element5 are no different. Whenever we have spare time, we're always glad to weigh in on the most unexpected questions. From time to time we run open lessons for beginners. They usually happen at the beach, in a group, in the form of a conversation or seminar. To take part in one, leave us your contact details and we'll reach out once we have 5–8 people. These seminars are free, but they only happen once or twice per season.

For a beginner picking a kite on their own, the rules of thumb are simple. Look at the price! You've already seen how much new gear costs, so don't expect miracles. The entry ticket to summer kitesurfing on used gear is around 100,000 ₽. For winter the bar is lower — you only need a kite and a harness. We assume you already have the winter clothing, skis, snowboard or skates. In that case the cost question comes down to the price of the kite, somewhere around 40,000–45,000 ₽. Start in winter — it's cheaper! You'll learn kite piloting and feel how the pull changes as the kite moves. You probably won't even need to travel to the sea. Pick a flat field nearby and try it out. For winter you can get a foil kite (parafoil), which is somewhat easier to learn on your own and is guaranteed to teach you patience and persistence :) Honestly, parafoils are a separate topic for a separate conversation. Some parafoils let you ride not just on snow in winter but on water in summer too — though riding a parafoil on water requires solid skills. Parafoils need a more careful read of the kite literature, some of them need careful tuning, but new parafoils fly straight "out of the bag". Watch the year of manufacture! We've come across perfectly preserved kites from 2002–2007, but those cases are rarer and rarer. Look for hybrids that have had a small repair, roughly 2012–2014 or newer. Kite design hasn't stood still and kites have progressed steadily over time. To avoid wrestling with a non-flying C-shape from some ancient year, look for hybrid models, freeride models with a small aspect ratio. Visually these kites look more like rectangles with slightly swept "ears" where the "long" side isn't much longer than the "short" one. Check the fabric, check the valves The kite fabric should rustle. It shouldn't be "porous", it shouldn't be salty. The stitching should be intact, and on the leading edge in the zone that contacts the ground/snow/sand the threads shouldn't be worn down to nothing. Valves and bladders should hold 7 PSI. A properly inflated kite rings "like a watermelon". If a kite can't hold pressure for at least 3 hours — reconsider your choice. You'll have to stop riding right at the best part and re-pump your kite. A deflated or under-inflated kite flies poorly and unstably. If a kite is "leaky" you might need to replace internal bladders. Are you ready for that?

The sign of the right wind is whitecaps appearing on the water, flags steadily unfurled and trees rustling. With a forecast like that — especially for "westerly" wind directions in Saint Petersburg — it makes sense to head to the shore and try your luck. The wind should blow "onshore", ideally at a slight angle.

For the forecast: the wind should be at least 5 m/s (10 knots) all day for the lesson to be as comfortable as possible. It shouldn't exceed 10 m/s, especially for lightweight riders.

There are 3 types: Waist, seat, hybrid — plus men's and women's versions.

For learning and at the beginner stage — a seat harness, 100% recommended for everyone.

Why? A beginner usually parks the kite at zenith and works up the nerve for about five minutes at a time. The whole time a waist harness will be sliding up onto the chest and strangling the poor soul! A glorious push-up effect may delight the onlookers if you're a girl, but it doesn't help you breathe or control the kite. On top of that, girls usually have shorter arms — and with a waist harness that has slid up to the chin and an old Cabrinha bar, your chances of actually controlling the kite are slim! You'll be jumping in vain and climbing up the depower line trying to reach the bar and say hi!

If you're a guy. For pumped-up machos with a developed upper back — no problem, a waist harness works. If you're an office worker — a seat harness! Same reasons. It may put a little pressure on the family jewels. Trust us, that's the only discomfort, and it's solved by distributing the load properly across the leg straps.

If you have back problems — slipped discs, pinched nerves and the like — think carefully about whether you really want to add more problems. Kiting sometimes puts pretty serious loads on the back. Jolts, twisting... Watch how you feel. For the spine, traction-style loads in moderation are better. → a waist harness is preferable here.

For racing and long freeride sessions, kite trips and marathons — seat harness, no question! You sit there like on a swing, crack sunflower seeds and take in the view! Holding a load on a waist harness for a long time, especially in race mode, is tiring and pointless.

For short on-water sessions of 30–40 minutes, especially if you plan to jump a lot — waist harness.

So the choice of harness depends on a lot of factors — figure them all out before buying and go for it!

If your budget allows, we can confidently recommend the Core Link harness. Ask and we'll bring a model in your size to the lesson and help you set it up.

Less than you think, but more than any of us would like!

Let's plan a beginner kiter's budget. Weight 70–75 kg, height 175–180 cm, shoe size 41–43. We'll be riding in 6–9 m/s winds in Saint Petersburg, in summer (June through August).

New kite, wetsuit, kiteboard and water gear

Kite CORE XR8 (12 m) = EUR 2,199. At the time of writing, at a sell rate of 100 ₽ per euro, that's 219,900 ₽. https://ridecore.com/de/kite/kites/xr8 Bar CORE SENSOR 3S PRO = EUR 799 (or 79,900 ₽) Pump CORE PUMP 2.0 L = 6,000 ₽ Harness LINK Kite Waist Harness M + hook with pad and line cutter = 39,800 ₽ Kiteboard Core Fusion6 135x40 mm (deck/fins/handle) + Union Comfort2 Pads & Straps bindings = EUR 1,398 (139,800 ₽) https://ridecore.com/de/kite/boards/twintips/fusion-6 Men's wetsuit POISON A-SCALE chest zip 5/4 = 30,000 ₽ Anti-shock vest POISON Impact vest Kite Series = 10,000 ₽ http://clck.ru/rbkvi

Total: 525,400 ₽

This is the upper bound, assuming a single-kite quiver and a near-unlimited budget.

Buying gear on the secondary market can save you 30–50% with little loss in quality, but there can be surprises — a kite sold after several seasons of use in "hot" countries, bladders that leak, budget wetsuits that let water in through the seams, and so on.

Lower prices than that should make you suspicious — we've often seen totally trashed gear that students brought to lessons after buying on Avito.

Because we've been working in this market for quite a while, we know online stores, dealers and other equipment suppliers very well. Before you buy any gear, ask us about ways to save. We can absolutely arrange extra discounts at a number of popular online stores and on popular Russian-language kite resources. Reach out via WhatsApp or Telegram on +7(960)255-7575 and we'll give you genuinely good prices!

This offer covers not only Core Kiteboarding equipment, but also other well-known foreign brands such as Slingshot, RRD, Nobile, Cabrinha, North, Ozone, PeterLynn (PLKB). We can also help you pick really reliable gear from Russian manufacturers — equipment that's on par with, and sometimes better than, foreign models. For example, all-round kites for water and snow/ice from Paraavis, Elf kites, WindMaster, hydrofoils DarkFoils, RDB, and custom-tailored wetsuits to your measurements from AquaStyle — all of these names are well known to Russian kiters and guarantee good quality at realistic prices.

We're always ready to help you fully kit yourself out for extreme sports, summer or winter. Our current offer on Core Kiteboarding kite equipment is at this link.