Wallrat - 14-10-2006 at 06:53 PM
I'm a long time water kiter, just getting into the landboarding end of things. My LEI's tend to fall out of the sky alot when the wind gets down below
10mph. Thing is, we almost always have at least 5mph blowing. I'm wondering what kite I should be looking for to get riding on those really light
days. Probably gonna pick up something used. Its wet sand, so pretty decent drag. I'm about 220lbs. Ideally I'd like to be able to jump, but with that
kinda wind, I'm not too optimistic. I've flown a few foils but know next to nothing about them. Don't really care if I've got depower or not since if
the wind picks up I'll be rigging my 20 and heading out onto the water. Any suggestions?
Pablo - 15-10-2006 at 01:19 AM
9m Buster on long lines can work good in the 8-10mph range, that's fairly well powered, possibly some small jumps, kites go new for $500 can. I've
converted my 9m Buster to a pulley bar setup, works great, turns on a dime and fly's much like a surfkite. If you have an old bar, it's something like
$10 to get the bits to convert it for the foil.
Anything under 10mph, depower won'd work. somehow, it sucks the power out of the kite, usually you end up flying at least one size up with depowerable
over fixed bridals. A blade 8.5m or 10.5m may be something worth chasing down as well, awesome lift and hangtime and good low wind performance.
Myself I've just gone with a 13m Century, I'm 245lbs, today I had it up in about 10mph max, and this is the top end of the windrange for sure. Any
more and I'd be hurt. I've buggied with the 13m in wind as low as 4mph, but that's moving, not super fun or lit. It seems to wake up around 6mph.
khooke - 15-10-2006 at 09:46 AM
Pablo - how does that 13m Century behave in light winds when they're not constant, like when the wind keeps on picking up then dying? Does it collapse
and fold, or does it hang there until the wind picks up again?
I've got a new 4.5m Century which I absolutely love, but its not very reliable when the wind isn't constant - as soon as the wind drops it tends to
fold and plummet to the ground!
I love the pull on the Century so was thinking of getting a larger one. How about the Busters - since they are not a race kite are do they hang in the
air more if the wind drops?
My other kites are both Skytigers. My Hi-60 if the wind drops to 0 will hang and float in the air until the wind picks up again... I particularly like
this behavior, but then again it's not a very exciting kite.... very slow in the air, but pulls like a bus when the wind is up!
Pablo - 15-10-2006 at 12:07 PM
I was suprised with the 13m, really freindly to fly, stupid power though, In sketchy wind though it'll overfly and luff if you're not right on it.
You've got to be on the brakes, keeping it back a bit in the window without stalling the kite. For sketchy winds I've been relying 100% on the 9m
Buster up to now. Waiting to get a 7.5m Brooza. Busters are great in poor winds, but they do have a built in speed governor. Great feature for an
entry level kite, keeps you from getting into the high speed death run. I found the Busters great for learning how to hang it out there and give it
hard, but when pushing hard enough, you'll eventually find the traits that make it a solid starter kite start to limit you. The brooza has more
stability than the buster in poor winds, more freindly in gusts, but still extremely fast for the type of kite that it is. More than enough lift. If
you're going down from a century, you'd want a Brooza over a Buster any day. As for the 13m in luffs and such, No problem in 4mph getting the kite off
the ground, when it luffs, sometimes the wingtips will fold in but enough of the canopy stays inflated to keep it's shape fairly well, usually it'll
slowly float down to the ground, drifting back as it does, then catch wind and fill again. Usually you end up flying for the first couple seconds with
the tips bunched up. Takes lots of air to fill the beast. Once it fills the tips pop back into place and you're full power again. Now when you fly the
13m Century in 8-10mph winds, I guarantee you won't be bored, in 10mph with my 245lb behind sitting in a Libra super truck with full BFs, it's
sideways the whole way. drop the kite and the speed boost is instant. Slowing down the whole mess is something I'm still comming to grips with though,
everything I do with the kite just makes it pull harder.
Originally I got the 9m Buster for price reasons alone, new for $500 can. I didn't think I'd be using it anywhere near as much as I do. Now that I
know I need that size I'll be getting the 7.5m brooza. should be close enough to the same range, they pull pretty good for their size. Probably get a
9m Century eventually as well.
There will be 1 2.5m, 4.5m, and 6.5m Century down at the DBBB for people to try, I'll have those kites as well as the 13m at NABX as well
khooke - 15-10-2006 at 08:27 PM
Very cool - thanks for the info. I'm planning on making a trip to NABX next year, so will look forward to trying out some different size Centurys,
although will probably have invested in another kite by then :wink2:
I hadn't considered the Brooza, so I'll add that to my wish list. I was also interested in the Buster because of the price - at the prices of the
Buster I could afford to get something in the 7 or 9 m range, but I don't think my budget could stretch to the same size in a Century (shame though as
that would be my first choice).
Pablo - 16-10-2006 at 04:44 PM
The 9m Buster is a solid low wind kite, pretty good in nasty wind, not the best, but no where near the worst.
SecondWind - 16-10-2006 at 06:53 PM
8.5m Blades and Mac Bego 600s are great low wind engines. Give them a try if you get the chance.
I loved my old 8.5 Blade III. The 10.5m Blade was a bit too large and slow for my taste...
However, when the 10.5 was in the right winds (not too low and not too gusty), the lift and float was wicked!
Pablo - 16-10-2006 at 08:22 PM
Yup, something happens when you get into the 10m+ sizes for foils, the float is to die for.