Hi, Hoping anyone might point me in the right direction please. My husband has started kitesurfing and LOVES it. I wanted to buy him an anemometer for his birthday coming up but dont know where to start?? Can anyone suggest brands/expected cost and any other pointers to look out for please? Much appreciated
index finger works awesome as an anometer . i bought one and used it once and realised i was an idiot to use it
I got one of these , they are very accurate and do the job ,but I rarly use it. Nowadays if there's no whitecaps I go the 19 m , if Theres a few whitecaps I go the 13 m , if there's stacks of whitecaps I go the 9 m
www.briskites.com.au/index.php?l=product_detail&p=521
Oh ok. Thanks for the replies. Maybe a useless novelty. Will reconsider. Thanks for the feedback anyway.
Dick Smith also carry a brand. Around $60 it's good value. A good anemometer is invaluable, otherwise your guess on wind strength is speculation. After 33 years of relying on them for teaching and for fun, I still use. They are not a useless novelty.
$16 including shipping!http://www.dealextreme.com/p/1-5-lcd-digital-wind-speed-meter-anemometer-yellow-black-68320?item=3
I have not got one of these but I have ordered a lot of stuff from this site and had no problems. Some stuff is lower quality but always good value for the money you pay. I am often surprised at just how good some of the stuff is..
There are a number of more expensive units as well (but still comparatively cheap!)
An anemometer is a good investment for someone that has just started Kitesurfing . How else would someone who may not have a clue of windstrengths be able to determine the strength. Perhaps after a while he may be able to estimate windstrengths,but not at the start unless from some sort of sailing background.
When someone says to a learner dont go out above .... knots it really doesnt help if the learner doesnt know what the water looks like in .... knots. A good anemometer will give a very accurate reading of wind strength.
Wow this site is great and I really appreciate any feedback. I will pop into dick smith and also check out the recommended sites. Maybe not a useless gadget after all. Any other useful tips on these little gadgets will help me enormously as I don't have the first clue about them. Thanks heaps to all replies.
It's always good to have one, especially for the winter when the wind is not steady. It gives you a reliable information not only about the average wind but also the gust strength.
Skywatch Xplorer are very reliable.
I used one for the first year or so until my facethometer became reasonably well calibrated.
The facethometer is now accuarte up to 35knots. over that i have no idea what the wind speed is...... by that time its 6m or go home.
The keindl windtronic manufactured in Germany, exact windspeeds in knts,mph,mps,kph,and gale force readings, I've had mine for 3 or so years ,its a bit more costly than the norm but worth it
no whitecaps less than 15 knots . sand moving on the beach 20 knots .
All you need to know
If you are kitesurfing often enough, you can get calibrated into wind speeds fairly well without a windmeter.
Its not so easy at really light winds under about 12 knots or over about 30 knots.
I use this one.
www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Stand-Up-Paddle/SUP/skywatch-xplorer-1/
Hi wizid,
Despite what the nay sayers claim, there is plenty of value to newcomers to the sport from a wind meter.
Our sport has developed to such a point that loads of non water sport people are giving it a go. If you have never been around the ocean or wind sports before, learning the appearance of sea conditions is made far easier when you have a wind meter to back up your guess.
Cross checking water appearance with what is shown on the LCD display will teach you quickly what it should look like. Going to different locations, run in or run out tides, and different wind conditions can often give misleading appearance of water and wind conditions. This is learned through years of being in and around wind/water sports, but you need to gain this experience first and the wind meter is the perfect device to speed this learning.
It's funny how it's deemed uncool to have a wind meter on the beach and yet so many people come up to you and ask what it's blowing when you do 
This is just people cross checking their guess.
There are plenty of cheap wind meters around and are accurate to within 2 or 3 knots. We sell the Kaindl Windtronics unit which is more expensive, but is a very accurate instrument.
Either way, they are a help to those new to the sport.
DM
Bollocks!!!
How many times have you been standing on the beach and it's blowing it's tits off and some numpty with a wind meter says it only 13 knots?
How many times has the wind been glassy flat and there's a wind shadow on the beach ... and wind meter guys says it's 6 knots? But the trees behind the beach are waving about like crazy and there's a clear wind line 20 metres of the beach and you go out fully powered on a 10m.
Whats the friggin big deal if you want to use one use one if you dont then dont but raggin on guys who want to use one is just a croc of s**t its the same as helmets use one if you want dont if you dont want "who cares".
Buy him a leash for his board instead - that'll really fire people up on here [}:)]
Gay! It's not like you can carry one while your on the water. Plus at heaps of places the wind conditions change a short distance from the launch point. Some of the best spots have significant wind shadows and gusty sections during common wind directions.
You just gotta get out there and get your experience up and always use your head. Get a better idea from looking at sand movement on the beach, tree movement, live wind graphs, whitecaps.
Dont be shy to ask more experienced people on the beach what they reckon the wind strength is. Also, about the ins and outs of that spots wind characterists on the day. Unless they are obviously in a rush most kiters are really friendly and helpful.
2c take it for what it's worth but in an earlier part of my career I was required to take regular readings of airspeed using specialist equipment, at one stage we ran a comparison between a quality hand held anemometer (forget the brand) and our calibrated equipment and basically found that they aren't too bad but they certainly aren't right, how/where you hold them is important (put them on a stick and well away from your body for instance and they are better than not) and in the kiting scenario the environmental factors are very important (as said earlier).
I guess what I think is that if you are after something to give you an indication while you "get your eye in" then yeah go for it but don't get connected to the thought of the reading being correct (it isn't) and if you post around here with an anemometer as justification of windspeed then.......
When I first read this post and realised it was a lady trying to buy a wind meter for her husband I thought "oh god here we go"...
but good on ya fellas, there was a degree of respect for our lady friend that we don't lend to each other often, Awesome.
Wind meters can help at the start, even for psychological reasons. Also should tell a newbie when not to go out!
Also good for when you are starting out kiting in new places, where the conditions are different.
But yeh don't need one, but if I could afford 5 kite quivers I reckon i'd have one again to dial in. With two kites it's not too blowy, this one, crankin' this one.
ps That is prob why DM still uses one, has too many kites to choose from, size, brand and type! LOL
Had to comment on this thread as it's cracking me up! Wind meters are a great idea for beginners who want to learn to kite independently (not alone which is a bad idea.) Or for those of us who kite spots that have steady light wind, that not for the truth of the anemometer, would surely pump up every time there's a rustle in the trees. It's proven that when three or more kiters have watched the wind trying to build for 30 min or longer, even the one with the wind meter reading 8 -12 will be convinced to give it a go as, "it's definitely windier now than it was when we got here..." Also, I think most of the Forum riders who say they're 80kg and that their 12's go to 30 knots could do with a little help from one of these! I've been either sailing, windsurfing, or kiteboarding for most of my life now and I have to say that even though I can estimate the wind strength by how a seagull's poop falls, I pull out my anemometer most every time I'm rigging up solo so I have one less thing to worry about.
I use the Speedtech sm-18.
Wish I had such a thoughtful loved one to buy me gear for kiteboarding!
Wizid, I too was considering buying my boyfriend a wind meter for his upcoming birthday. What great girlfriends we are! Even though he's an experienced kiter and can guess the wind speed fairly well by just going down the beach he loves gadgets and would have fun using it with the boys. I think I've decided on a weather station instead - then he can be even more lazy (but decisive) lying in bed or on the couch with his coffee knowing what the wind's doing rather than taking ages to decide whether to go for a kite or not. 
Wow I should have married you. So he either gets to sit on the couch drinking coffee or go for a kite. Man where'd did I go wrong. Couch sitting creates stares that are deafening.
Anemometer's are an essential part of a true kitesurfers life, as is boardies over wetty, pooh stance and go pro.......If any new kitesurfers see a guy with an anemometer, do the opposite and you will do well....
