It's early but I wanted to put the word out.

My g.f. and i are flying static with a hornet 4m, and looking for a first depower for snowkiting this winter. We have picked up a Venom 16 for one kite, and would like to get another kite with a similar wind range so we can kite at the same time.

- I'm 145 lbs, she's maybe 130 or so
- we get mostly light winds
- lakes or moderate terrain, maybe some mountains but staying out of technical terrain for now
- slight preference for closed foil (to keep options open) but open could be ok
- could be another arc but wouldn't mind trying something different
- plus one if it is somewhat forgiving to help with the learning curve, plus another one if it's budget friendly

I was stoked about an access 10m but missed my chance on it.
I see the synergy for sale here, but it's pushing my budget pretty hard...

thanks for your thoughts..
p.s. prefer no LEI's..

what kind of winds will you be flying in? gusty? fairly clean?

if frequently gusty, i'd personally stay away from foils and go with LEI.

if not frequently gusty, foils (like the Ozones and HQs) all the way.

Keep your eyes peeled for a 10m-ish Access or Frenzy and you won't go wrong. There's a couple 8m's for sale here right now (a Pulse 2 and a Neo) either would be great at the prices they are going for BUT 8m might be a bit small for you guys. Basically the V16 will let you down first as the winds lighten up but as soon as the V16 will fly and get you going you'd be nicely powered on a 10 depowerable, bridled foil.

Actually, at your weights....skiing, right? Let's see what others have to say. Maybe the 8m might be about right?

she snowboards and i think i am going to convert....are they much more drag than skis? does anyone use tele gear or is that just taking things too far??

there's definitely a few months yet to wait for the right thing, just thought i might shake something loose..

ps thanks macboy for setting me up with the venom, it hasn't been out of the bag yet but i am sooo looking forward to it...

i know both Chud, and Dino have some depower Ho-Zone for sale

I also weigh 145#s and kite ski mostly on frozen lakes. The thing with snow is you don't need much to get going but you can hold down a lot of power (on skis) because of the ability to hold an agressive edge.

I've used every kite in my signature to kite ski and if you want to go out when you want to go out and not just wait for the right conditions for your kite then you'll need multiple kites. More often then not I find myself on my smaller kites in winter because the winds tend to be stronger and the surfaces I ride more ice then snow. However, if you get a big dumping and the snow is wet or your skis don't have much float then you'll need a bigger kite to pull you through the conditions but the problem with that is you can be overpowered as soon as you redirect.

I'd lean more towards the 8m or even a 6m if you are flying on more ice then snow. 8 or 10 meter if you are flying on more snow then ice or if you are on hilly terrain.

My size recommendations are for depower foils only (open and closed) not for arcs or LEIs.

I have an 08 frenzy 11m I am trying to sell, it was my first kite and I learned, makes a great light wind kite, I have move up to the 13m for this season
Eric

@mukluk- a friend over on kiteforum posts as rvrrat, snowkites on tele skis, does awsome! +1 for all of the Ozone gear up for grabs in the for sale section.

A good day around here is about 12-14mph winds but the reality is that most days are sub 12mph. I do believe they'll be flying a lot on land (snow covered) so less ice, more pow. I was advised to a 10m when I first got into all this stuff and find it to be too small for me most times out. I'm at about 180lbs. With them being a few kegs lighter than me I suspect a 10 would be perfect (or that 08 11m Frenzy). Or do you all think the 8m's might suffice?

I am going to put up my 7 and 10M Flusurfer Pulse soon as I get pictures together.