Kitty Hawk Kites

I had a great experience here. My wife and I bought a kite we where given great customer service. We then walked across the street and flew it at Jockey’s Ridge. I will be back.

Bottom Line: A popular place at the beach for souvenirs, toys, aviation themed goodies and of course kites!
Kitty Hawk Kites is best known for selling high quality kites and kite parts. In fact, I have had a Kitty Hawk kite for nearly three decades and we still fly it each year at the beach. Related to kites, Kitty Hawk Kites also has a huge selection of windsocks. However, if none of those items interest you, there are plenty of other things to spend your money on here as follows:
–OBX themed tshirts, sweatshirts, gear, etc.
— Aviation related apparel and memorabilia
— A rock climbing wall for kids
— Super fun toys
— The reservation desk for Adventures like hangliding, kiteboarding, etc.
This is a popular store so in the summer its very crowded and loud, especially the toy section. I don’t often buy too much here but several years ago I did attend their hangliding school and had an awesome time.
Sadly, as other noted, the staff here is often very chatty amongst themselves and only helpful if directly ask them for something.

I make it a point to go to the Kitty Hawk Kites complex every time I am in town. The creativity of some of their kites is amazing and worth seeing. The prices seem pretty steep accros the board, but kids really enjoy seeing the rock wall, the toy area, and all the other cool stuff that this place has. The store is worth a visit if you are in town, and is a great way to kill an hour of time while entertaining kids. The visit here with the kids is not complete without stopping by the on-​site fresh fudge factory.

I took a hang-​gliding class with Kitty Hawk and had a not so great experience. The class consisted of signing a wager that absolved the company of any responsibility, watching a twenty minute video, and then being sent into the air. One of the «teachers» admitted to me that she had only hang-​glided one time in her life, on the previous day. On my first run, which I did not feel prepared for at all, the teachers by accidentally let go of the string attached to my kite and I found myself flying through the air with no knowledge of how to stop my flight, land, or slow down. I crashed into a bush and could have hurt myself pretty badly. Luckily I had just a few scratches and bruises. They were very nice and felt bad about this, but did not, overall, instill a sense of confidence.

They’ll never go out business because they make so much money. And that’s exactly why they feel they can treat customers horribly.
Spend your money at a local store that appreciates your money and loyalty. They could care less about you at Kitty Hawk Kites.

I went in there just looking around as I always do when I make a trip to the Outer Banks. I asked DD, one of the associates, a random question about kite replacement parts and she asked me to bring it in. She loved that it was in the «Go Fly a Kite» bag. I told her that we got it when I was in Elementary School. Loved the «vintageness» of it. She was able to give me a replacement piece for it that broke for the 1^st time, that I know of, in 30 years and did not charge me for it. I then asked her about a specific shirt they didn’t have and she called 1 or 2 other stores to see if they had one. None of the others had the shirt I was looking for but she was adjust brilliant for going that extra mile. Thank you again DD for all of your assistance today.
Greg
Flamingo kite guy.

They carry the licensed OBX gear here.
Had to stop in a get an OBX hat, gotta love the FlexiFit, yeah!

The service was awful. The cashiers were running all over the place chatting with each other like it was a big party. It took me a while to realize they weren’t customers. They certainly didn’t seem interested in selling anything. If you were looking at merchandise they would act like you were in their way if they were trying to get past. Most of they stuff they sell is overpriced junk like you’d get at a dollar general. They other stuff like kites and clothing was nice but very expensive.

I like Kitty Hawk Kites for shopping. They have a fun collection of T-​shirts and other funny touristy type things like beer koozies. I do think that the stuff they have is of better quality and generally more unique than the Wings and Ben Franlkins on the island, so if you’re in search of a better souvenir, it’s not a bad stop. But the prices are also higher and set at «tourist» type prices, so be prepared for some sticker shock. I do like their assortment, and the location right across from Jockey’s Ridge is perfect if you’re in the business of selling kites. In all, a good place to stop and look around for some items to bring home for yourself or gifts. But definitely touristy.

I am writing this review only on the kite boarding lesson. I took the lesson that cost $ 400 for 5 hours. I’m posting this review because this is something I wish I would have read before spending $ 400.
I understood the lesson was going to be a group lesson. I didn’t realize how little time I was going to get actually trying to kite board.
There was one instructor, two other students, one kite, and one board. The instructor would demonstrate flying the kite overhead. Then he would take off the kite. One of us would hook it into our harness, then mimic the demonstration. We would then take off the kite and hand it off to the next student. This was pretty much the five hour lesson. Finally at the end of the day, we were each given two attempts to stand up on the board and surf. Not one of us in the group of three was successful. One kite, one board, and four people does not allow for a lot of practice time.
I’ve taken ski lessons as a kid. Imagine how successful the lesson would be if there was one instructor, three students, one pair of skis, and at the end of the day each student had two chances to ski down the hill. I wonder how many people would continue to try and learn how to ski?
I guess the risks of kite boarding may warrant more precautions. However the price point seemed exorbitant. I know this is a pretty standard price point for kite boarding lessons and again I think it is exorbitant.
Kite boarding does look like a lot of fun. However after that lesson I really don’t have any desire to try it again. The price was way too high for what I got and I do not have the patience for that type of group lesson.

Bought Delta kite here that will almost reach Earth orbit. ;o)

Great place for kids and adult kids, lots of fun kites and wind socks, a really cool place

I had a great vacation thanks to Ted on the dunes and Zack at the airport teaching me about hang gliding. It’s been 5 days since that day and I’m still smiling thinking about it.

The kites they sell here are pretty awesome and they have a great selection that goes way up in the price spectrum… but the store is mostly gifts and novelties that you can find at wings for half the price. The only thing missing was hermit crabs!
So yes, go here if you want to buy a kite… don’t go here for anything else.

Kites, kites and more kites. I believe they have every kite imaginable for sale here. I bought a single street delta kite to get a taste and was bored with it very quickly. So I went back and exchanged it for a stunt kite. I guess it’s normally not allowed to exchange a kite after it has been flown, but how else are you going to know if you’ll like it? Any who, the shop keeper, did the exchange then showed me how to put the new kite together and some tips on how to get started with it. Can’t ask for better service than that. Thank you Kitty Hawk Kites!
Be sure to go fly your kite at the Jockey Ridge State Park, which is conviently about ¼ mile up the road. Best place to fly your kite!

This review is of the customer service I received at Kitty Hawk Kites when booking a tour. I asked if they could explain to me the difference in the kayaking tours and they said well, some cost more than others and they leave at different times. Not really what I was looking for. I did look online for a better description and ended up booking the safari maritime kayaking tour. The coupon in the visitor guide is only good for Sun-​Thurs bookings — FYI — and they are very quick to point that out.
Note: Kitty Hawk Kites outsources all of their kayak tours to Kitty Hawk Kayaks. Please see their page for a full review of my kayaking tour!

Part of the annual pilgrimage to the OBX is the kite flying and there is no better place to get your kites than Kitty Hawk Kites. Select one from the thousands and go across the street to the huge state park and fly your new kite from one of the beautiful sand dunes there. If you haven’t flown a kite in the OBX, you haven’t flown a kite. If you didn’t buy your kite form Kitty Hawk Kites — you didn’t buy a kite.
There’s a kid in all of us.

If you like kites then this ios the place for you! they have every freakin kite you can think of, cows, pirates, stunt kites, pretty much anything! I have a pirate kite, I think it was about 20 bones. I would like to get another one, the little lady won’t let me. The price ranges from 10 – 1,000s

An OBX must-​see, Kitty Hawk Kites is pure tourist gold. Plus, if you actually know how to fly kites, you can get professional gear to brave the harshest of winds. I recall watching my brother sail a lovely model from the beaches of Nags Head, blue sky framing the picture and wind whipping through my hair. It’s right next to the dunes, which beckon explorers, hang-​gliders, and hikers alike. This place belongs on the Outer Banks and nowhere else.

3.75 stars.
Kitty Hawk Kites is a pricey store, but its wide selection of sport and novelty kites for kids, amateurs, and professionals is amazing. Twirling kites with streamers, fast kites, parachutes, and windsocks dazzle with their bright colors, while a stash of juggling balls and tools for magic tricks inspire whimsical desires. An embodiment of everything that is fun about a beach vacation. Unfortunately, most of the staff are flakes.