Spars

• Wooden Dowels-Dowels are easy to find, light, and affordable. The drawback is damp weather will often warp dowels. They are also not as strong as the same diameter fiberglass or carbon rod would be.
• Split Bamboo-a traditional kite making material. Normally split to small pieces, which are still strong but much lighter. Bamboo BBQ skewers are an inexpensive spar for small kites.
• Fiberglass - Fiberglass is an excellent framing material for kites. It is available as a solid rod or a tube. Very common in single line kite construction where stiffness is not normally critical.
• Carbon Fiber/Graphite-Also available as a solid rod or tubular. Carbon fiber gives enormous stiffness for a given weight. This is the most common material used when a very lightweight spar is needed, such as in a stunt kite.

Coverings

• Paper- Paper of many types is the traditional kite covering. Light-weight tissue paper, rice paper, butcher’s paper, even regular notebook paper are all used as kite coverings. Easily cut, folded, attched and decorated. It is a favorite for many types of kites.
• Silk-Very light fabric. Ripstop Nylon has mostly replaced the use in North America. Silk is fairly expensive.
• Mylar – Commonly as sold as gift-wrap paper. Fairly strong for the weight, but tears very easily once begun. Commonly used in small fighter kites and other small types of kites.
• Ripstop Nylon or Polyester- This is a woven material sometimes coated on one or both sides with a thin plastic film to stop air travel through the fabric. A small proportion of the threads, a few per inch in each direction, are thicker than the rest and have the effect of arresting any tear. This is perhaps the most common kite sail material used in North America. Polyester Rip Stop does not stretch as much as Nylon, so mixing materials in the same kte should be done carefully.
• Tyvek-Yes, the same Tyvek you use in home building. It’s a synthetic material, of spun-bound olefin fibers and is very strong. It does not rip easily. It is easily glued or taped. Since Tyvec can be purchased in large rolls, this is a very inexpensive covering for large quantity kite making projects.
• Plastic Film (supermarket bags)-Very light and inexpensive way to make kites. Often used for classroom kites.

Line

• Cotton String - very inexpensive and great for lightweight kites and classroom workshops.
• Polyester , Dacron, or Nylon lines-Inexpensive and widely available, this is the standard line most fliers use. It comes in a variety of thicknesses and braids and rated to specific load ratings (in pounds). Normal sizes are 50 – 150 pounds for the average kite.
• Spectra and Dyneema-These lines are very strong for their weight. Ideal for performance stunt flying, this line is much thinner and has less stretch than nylon/polyester line. They also need to be sleeved with polyester or nylon where they are knotted otherwise the concentration of stress can cause them to fail at well below their rated strength.
• Waxed or Glazed line-normally used for fighter kites. It is often stored on a reel, but just dropped on the ground in a pile during actual flying.
• Glass impregnated or chemical line- In some countries, fighter kites are traditionally flown in battles using line impregnated with ground glass or some other abrasive, the aim being to cut the opponent's line with your own. Needless to say, such lines are not controlled with bare hands! Manjha line is one common form. Neither the North American Fighter Assoc. the American Kite Assoc. nor NYKE endorses the use of this line. Since kites using this line can fly a very long away once cut, members of the public can easily be hurt.

Other Items

• Shock Cord – mostly used for wingtip connections
• Buttons and Swivels - for attaching string to strings or kites or adjusting tension lines. Vinyl Tubing – Attaches spars together where a flexible joint is needed, or odd angle.
• Arrow Nocks – Used on the ends of spars. Shock cord is commonly used with these.
• Ribbon - Common tail material
• Dacron Fabric- Used as a reinforcement. Often where a spar will be placing large amounts of stress.
• Nylon Webbing- used to form pockets for spar ends or sleeves for spars to pass through. Also as the nose reinforcement for stunt kites.
• D-rings, grommets, rivets, etc- Various hardware is used as reinforcements and connection points on kites.