Kite advice

For $1k total your going to have to be bargain hunting.
I'll run through a few recent setups i've managed to nab for my mates...

MATE #1
'07 GK Sonic 11m $750 (damn good price considering the kite was almost ununsed!!!)
'05 Liquid Force Drop LTD 132 $370
'06 Dakine waist harness and cabrinha safety leash $110
TOTAL: $1230... and i'd say that's some good gear to learn with.

MATE #2
'06 GK Sonic 11m $225 (without bar, lines, or pump)
'06 GK Sonic bar & lines $120 (hows that for a bargain!?!)
Liquid Force pump $50
'08 Dakine waist harness (new, so i think it was ~$190)
... and he's searching for a board he likes now with the intention of spending ~$300-400.
TOTAL: ~$900... which is the cheapest i've EVER heard of someone getting started with a bow kite and good condition gear. That said, the kite has it's issues as the damn thing doesn't have ball valves on most of the struts... so i guess you get what you pay for.

I think if you can stretch your budget another $200 then ~$1200-1300 would get you some good gear without having to be a scrooge.
Similar gear to the Cab Xbow... well i'd start out by looking for an Xbow1/2/3 or even a Switchblade. Other 4-line bows would be the GK Sonic which seems to go fairly cheap second hand. That said, don't turn down a good condition recent kite just because it's not a XB or SB. Your first kite will be the one that lets you learn to ride; your next kite(s) will be the ones you can be fussy about the details with.

FWIW, i love my '06 Ozone Instinct and that's a completely different animal to the EH Beasts & Fuel's that i had my lessons on! You'll learn quickly, then you'll figure out what sort of riding you want to do, and then what sort of kite you like.

If you've got enough flying time under your harness then it's best if you demo a couple of the kites yourself. You'll figure out pretty quickly that each kite has it's own character. There's no one perfect kite; just what works for you as a rider.

The shortlist for learner friendly SLE/bow/hybrids that i can think of off the top of my head are as follows... (in alphabetical order)

Best Waroo
Cabrinha Switchblade
Cabrinha Crossbow
EH Beast
Flexifoil Atom
Flexifoil Ion2
GK Sonic
Ozone Instinct
Slingshot Turbo2
Slingshot Turbo Diesel
Slingshot REV

There's others like Naish and North but i'm not so familiar with them as i've never flown them or had experience with them. Anything on that list would be (IMO) a good first kite.

mate i have a 2007 waroo 13m and a Slingshot SX 139 board available if your keen. il do both for $1100 both have been used a bit but the kite is in really good condition still minus a few shel cuts that have been profesionally repaired and the board is still in good nick. pm me if your interested

Exactly what I was after Koma... thanks heaps mate. I don't have enough flying time under my belt yet to demo kites. That's the theory with what I'm looking at here... get something similar to what I've learnt on without spending a bomb, get some confidence and ability happening over the next few months, then get a bit more serious about kite selection...

Thanks for the pointer on the monkey griffen too Jimmyz, although I've been doing a fair bit of looking around at second hand gear and haven't come across that name before... will sus it out though. Yeah, I'm loving the kiting... I've got a waterskiiing/wakeboarding background, and I can tell ya this is a lot more fun without the hassles & costs of a boat!! Just need to get some more time on the water/in the air now...!!!

If thats for recent bow/SLE/hybrid then that's pretty good.
I reckon of the two examples i mentioned that MATE #2 will probably get in for a smidge over $800 as he's a bit of a bargain hunter.

Of course you can always start off with a C-kite and get on the water for ~$500. Speaking of which i've got a Naish Aero2 12m, Airush Switch 169 and a Prolimit harness that i've got sitting around if anyone interested. I was happily riding on the Aero2 but like the bigger range of my Instinct.