Power Kiting
Warning: Safe Use is YOUR Responsibility

First, there are lots of resources regarding power kiting and I'm no expert.
I have several kites, yes, and I enjoy playing in strong winds.
And yes, my jeep is rigged with special tow hooks and guards.
I attach myself to the jeep and then the kites to me. Yowza, it's some fun!
You can get lots of listings regarding powerkiting and kite jumping on the 'net.
If you have trouble finding some let me know and I'll send you some lists.
Second and very important, I'm not encouraging you to do these things.
In fact, I'm putting it in writing here that I'm DISCOURAGING you from doing these things.
Third, having DISCOURAGED you from this foolhardiness, I'll share with you what I've learned.
Any kind of powerkiting is potentially dangerous, and I've learned to be careful by getting bumped and bruised in the learning process. Start small.
Alot goes into computing how much lift you'll get in what kind of wind from what kind of kite.
I'm not tiny (I'm just over 6' tall and I weigh 236# with most of my weight in my chest, arms and legs).
My SkyTiger 26 can pull me off my feet in a 15 mph wind if I'm not paying attention.
I can be flat on my back on the ground and the SkyTiger will lift me to standing in a 20 mph wind with me pulling back on the lines (kind of like doing pull ups, not bending at the waist).
In stronger winds, if I fly the SkyTiger at the sweetspot of the flight envelope (about 65 degrees above the horizon and parallel to the wind) I'll be lifted.
This is where you have to be careful -
(helmet, knee and elbow pads, wrist guards if you want them. If you're in an uneven field where there may be rocks or stumps or logs, consider leather chaps or thick sweats until you feel confident).
As soon as you are lifted the geometry changes.
You are no longer attached to the earth, the kite no longer has the drag angle to the lines which got you airborne in the first place, and you become a two body pendulum with the mass of the second pendulum (the kite) being determined by the surface
area, angle of attack (of the wind) and speed of the wind at the kite surface.

What I tell you next is extremely important and could save your life;
YOU CAN ALWAYS LET GO OF THE KITE!
I'm serious. You can get injured falling from five feet or from fifty, but a five foot drop you will probably walk or at least crawl away from. A fifty foot drop? Make sure you carry insurance.
So, when you get dragged too far, too fast, or begin to think you're going too high,
LET GO OF THE KITE.
The other version of this is that, if you are using a quadline kite (the NPWs, SkyTigers, QuadraFoils, CQuads, Quad Deltas, ...) just release any tension on the upper lines.
You're releasing the air when you do this and essentially applying the brakes.
The kites will shoot down, and you with it. Having said all that, you should also know that you have to be able to steer your wing once you're airborne in order to make as safe as possible a landing.
Also to stay airborne as much as possible. The larger the kite, the more you're hangliding but without the control or a true hanglider.
For all these reasons I suggest you start with a small quadline kite or a good dual line kite.
Give yourself the time to learn how to steer and catch the wind, how to recover, and most important to learn how much pull a given kite will have in a given wind.

Please, please, please don't go out with a big kite your first time out, put it up in a high wind, and go for your first and last ride in one day.
Take your time and you'll get a hell of a good ride, love it and be able to walk away to ride again tomorrow.
Ok. Now. Using my size as a guide...
I use my SkyTiger, my CQuad and my Maxima (not sure if they still make those) for powering.
The Maxima (a 10' delta) will pull me around but not get me off the ground. Even in the strongest winds,
I'm too big for it to seriously lift unless I help it alot. More often than not my weight against a strong wind will damage the kite (this has happened in the past so I'm careful now).
The Maxima is a dual line, strutted kite which is excellent for getting a feel for the air and rapidly changing winds.
My SkyTiger will pull me around in a reasonable wind and lift me in a good wind.
In strong winds I use the jeep to anchor me because the 'Tiger will snap me hard if I'm not paying attention.
The CQuad 3.2 -- my God -- even a gentle wind and that'll have me across my fields.
Anything over 10 mph and I'm rigging myself to the jeep. The CQuad will easily lift me for a good distance in winds over 15 mph. I'll let you know about the NPW in a few weeks. If I survive.

How to judge windspeed if you don't have an anemometer handy; if you can run a 6 minute mile you're running at 10mph. The wind you feel running a 6 minute mile is what is lifting the kite in a 10mph wind.
A bicycle rider will usually travel along at 12-15mph on a flat, even surface.
The wind you feel riding a bike is what's lifting the kite in a 12-15mph wind.
Get in your car and drive at 20mph with your hand cupped forward out the window. The wind you feel is what's lifting your kite in a 20 mph wind.
Remember that the surface area of your kite is larger than your body or your hand.
Remember to fly safe.
When you go out with a big, new kite or even a moderate size kite with which you're unfamiliar, take a buddy with you.
Yes, I fly solo (I have quite a few different kites), but I don't do serious powering solo.
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