Kitesurfing

Kites for the flat water of Bahía Salinas and the gusts of Arenal:

are tuned for different jobs. A freeride kite with a wide depower range forgives a gust and relaunches easily from the water and is the safe choice for anyone riding both spots. Big-air kites hold their pull through a jump on the strong days at the lake, while wave kites drift with the rider and suit someone who also travels to ride surf. Duotone, Cabrinha, North and Core each make all three styles, so the model name tells you more than the brand. At Arenal, favour a kite that turns quickly and sheds its power completely when a gust drops off the hills.

Bars, twin-tips, harnesses and foils:

turn a kite into a set you can ride. The bar carries the quick release and leash that let the kite go in an emergency, and the safest pairing is a bar from the kite’s own brand and era; another brand’s bar will often connect, but the steering and depower can feel wrong. The twin-tip is the board nearly everyone learns on: larger for a heavier rider or a beginner, smaller for someone who jumps. More rocker, the curve from tip to tip, smooths out the chop at Arenal; a flatter board points upwind better on the glassy water at Salinas. Directional boards overlap with surfing, and riders who want boots rather than straps borrow them from wakeboarding, so check the mounting holes line up first. A waist harness leaves the hips free; a seat harness sits lower, does not ride up, and helps a beginner who spends time being dragged. A hydrofoil board rides above the chop, and the same foil often moves between a kite and a handheld wing.

A new kite, a full set and a kite that flew all season:

a new kite from one of the big brands costs around ₡650,000 to ₡1,000,000 on its own, and adding the bar, a harness and a twin-tip roughly doubles the bill. On a used kite the year on the label matters less than the hours it has flown. One that came out for a few weeks of holiday keeps most of its value. One that flew through a whole season at Bahía Salinas, where the wind fails on very few days, has spent more time in the sun than many kites elsewhere see in years, and its price should show it.

Leading edges, bladders and the label on the trailing edge:

show what a used kite has been through, so pump it up and walk round it. Look along the leading edge for cloth scuffed through on sand and rock, and at the wingtips, which wear first. Neat patches on the canopy are normal; a long tear stitched by hand is not. Ask whether the bladders are original, press each valve to check it seals, and follow the bridle to its pulleys for fraying. On the bar, run the centre depower line between your fingers: it wears where it passes through the bar, and it holds the chicken loop. On a foil, ask for the mast to be undone from the fuselage, since white powder or seized bolts mean salt has been at the joint. The trailing-edge label gives the model and year. A big-brand kite with no label, at a price nothing else comes near, is most likely a copy, and copies of the best-known kites are sold online.

Selling a kite, a bar or a twin-tip:

start with the size, model and year from the label, how many seasons it has flown and where, and whether the bar, leash and pump go with it. Photograph the kite fully pumped on grass, the leading edge close up, every patch, the label and the bar; for a board, the base, rails and inserts. In the windy season a buyer who drives out to Puerto Soley or Tilarán can watch the kite fly before paying. Out of season there is no wind to test it, and the sale rests on clear photos of that label and an honest count of the seasons behind it.