bigchris - 19-4-2007 at 02:07 PM
hi flyers, i waz wundrin if sum 1 cud let me know can i use my blade 4.9 power kite on the sea but just dont go out far or wud i destroy my kite i do
land bording and i can surf, hope you can help thanks
domdino - 19-4-2007 at 02:28 PM
If its windy enough, i've kite surfed on a 4.9 before but it needs to be really windy and make sure you have a harness holding them handles in the
wind you'd need would be near impossible for an extended period of time... they are FAR FAR FAR from ideal kite surfing kites but it can be done if
you really want to.
Also... if you crash... your done. And if you crash while out at sea, you're in for a swim and saying goodbye to your kite, not to mention possible
death from tides and currents! 
powerzone - 20-4-2007 at 12:33 PM
try a Flysurfer Speed..... i think it will offer what you're looking for. save your blade for land. those 2 kites are very similar. fast and powerful,
very high aspect as well.... excellent grunt too, but the speed is closed cell, has depower, has drainage for water/debris. for the speed / closed
cell, you can drift-launch and drift-land the equipment, good luck winding the lines on the handles while floating around. open cell kites will in
essence become a massive sea-anchor and will most likely get ditched in a self rescue situation. typically land-kites don't have a coating applied to
the fabric so the salt water will have its way with the un-protected fabric and degrade it faster.
as you can tell, i see no point in using an open-cell on the water.... too many negatives. just save up for a closed cell, there are plenty used these
days to get cheap or borrow......
acampbell - 20-4-2007 at 12:58 PM
Yeah, I flipped the bug once near the surfline and dumped the Blade in the drink. It immedaitely became a sea anchor and was difficult to extract for
fear of stretching the bridle lines.
Too nice a kite to ruin that way.
Almost caught dinner though...
speleopower - 2-6-2007 at 12:46 PM
The 4.9 meter is a fantastic surf kite. Just don't go way to far out no farther than you can swim (this goes for inflatable kites as well). I find
my Quadrifoil Competition X series XL kite (very similar to the Blade 4.9) ideal for wave riding. It is extremely fast turning and super powerful
even in lighter wind. I wear a small mesh back pack with a large laundry mesh bag in it. If I crash way out I can roll up the lines and stuff the
kite into the mesh bag and paddle in.
Regardless of what type of kite you fly. If you crash the kite in even moderate waves the kite will rarely come back up.
Scott
Bladerunner - 3-6-2007 at 08:26 AM
Flash Austin helped bring kiting to the world when he took his Quadrafoil to Hawaii. He had been riding up and down Florida beaches using it like a
billboard before that.
So not only can it be done it is part of kiting history !