Got my first shot w/ depower last nite….10m Syn. It was blowing about 20 w/ some nice gusts and I had a 3m Hornet and my ATB out for an hour first on the beach so I was definitely all warmed up and ready to give this a try. My buddy handed it over and left me alone once he had confidence in me, and I put in a half hr static,,, wasn’t even thinking of going in motion…. First….. after hundreds of hrs of FB flight I found I now couldn’t take my eyes off the kite……I think this was mostly because there is no feel getting transferred to my hands/arms..weird, my neck was killing me from looking up. I brought it into the power zone as much as I dared but never really felt I was getting the full potential force the foil could generate. Now I think this next lines gonna get me in trouble but….seems like a girls kite to me. That raw pull of FB is totally lost w/ this and I don’t know….. I lived in fear of these big kites and now I was like disappointed. Big problem is I honestly got into this flying stuff cause I plan on serious air in my future. My ultimate goal is to boost and boost big and often…. I don’t care land /sea whatever….I want to go up and I want to come down controlled and safe and than do it again. Now yea, technically I’m a noob(less than 1yr) but like its totally required I put in the hrs wind or not…lots of hrs…. I go out there just to make sure I have one more time parapacking so I’m better at it. I wanted to stay on a bar, you guys told me I needed to go handles and you were right.. if I never held a bar again I’d be ok w/ that, love handles… But I want to go in the water and I want to boost ATB even more …I’m very confused right now……good news is going to be blowing 20+ again today and heard about gust to 50+………Gonna be a Great day if the rain holds off, and I have a lot to think about

AB- flying an arc static is probably the most boring thing you can do when it comes to kiting. 10m syn is a pretty fast kite when comparing to other arcs but probably felt really slow compared to your FBs. Try today to get going on the board and you will see a very different animal. The depower and POWer of the arcs comes alive when yu have the kite in motion. otherwise you are right when flying static the arcs are the gentle giants
Scott

The 10m Syn would seem wimpy in that wind.

Depower doesn't shine until you get into motion. It is that control over the raw power and not raw power full on that makes depower appealing?

Ditto flyguy's comments. I fly static all the time and my 10m Scorpion in a tad less gusty wind is like flying my 5m depowers only softer and floppier. What you have experienced is two extreems of kite design and performance. Also there is almost allways a tendancy to really like the kite style you learn on, quite possibly a big part of how you feel about your first go at depower.

Sounds like you're on your way with depower.
a few points to consider on BAR FEEDBACK.

-10mSYN will require considerable wind to really light up...on the water well into the 30's and 40's for heavier riders.
-the trim , on this small unit you want it FULL on so it will give higher bar feedback. bar should slammed to top with definitive resistance. if the bar is all soft and way too vague let the trim out. or it needs more wind to be powered at the top of the window.
-small and quick with power deeper in the window, more than most like. can be considerable side pull in light air when using the ENTIRE window for power and speed.
-smaller depower units use SPEED as power generation coupled with apparent wind affect can be fully light once in motion. don't let the static fool u. biggest airs have been on 9m in 25knts. TOTAL SPEED = POWER and BOOST!

hope it helps, BOOST coming your way SOON!

i think having no pull on the bar...it just seaming like it was just there and me waiting for it to happen and it not happening......too weird. I love that pull and having to deal w/ gusts of FB. The gaining controll when things start getting hairy.....i know im gong to depower... unless you guys tell me i can get to where i want w/out it. i put that Syn away last nite broke out the 3m again the winds had picked up...all i could do to hang on, G_D i love that.

It's really a whole different animal once you are moving!

There is a direct feeling of flying a fixed bridle and it's magic when you have that just over the edge power while at speed with one. However, it really is nice to be able to adjust your power with changing wind conditions, or if you are turning and want to kite to back off for a moment. The HQ Montanas and new PL Phantom IIs are very nice and fast. I love finding that perfect bar position that maximizes your forward speed. With fixed bridle kites, you are sort of at the mercy of the wind speed and your direction of travel whether you find that max power situation. You had the 10 syn way out of its element flying static and only in 20 mph winds. Every session should teach you something!

I think the op was stating he did not feel the same pull in his arm due to low bar pressure. That is the nature of flying a depower. The pull is on the front lines so you will feel disconnected. If you want the same feel, then fly unhook and the kite becomes a non depower. Then you will change your mind about depower being a girl's kite...haha.

Got to put up a pulse 13 static this wkend....liked it much more, seamed to be more of what i anticipated a big boyz kite to be. blowing 15/18 flight was more controlled and predictable to me, bar feel was better... was comfortable enough to actually be boosting a bit(laughable) think im going to focus my efforts on this kite get good friendly w/it. let it kick my ass a while.....yea, think thats the plan

From my experience, the arcs seem to have a lot more bar pressure than the bow kites. I always have to look at my waroo once in a while to see where they are at.