Hey all,
I am considering getting into kite skiing for winter activity.
I live in New England and I am fairly knowledgeble for how these kites perform.
Most of the winter I am sailing my Iceboard with a windsurfing sail on clear ice. But that device won't work when it snows, or if ice is soft.
I was into Kitewing hand held device for several years and spent my time at Lake Sunapee NH with the rest of the gang there, a mix of kitewing and kite skiers.

I have skiis, will not use a snowboard. I have a lot of experience with stunt kites, my fav a Flexifoil.
I need some information about sizes of kites for my entry level.
I am thinking 5-7m, with the open cell designs, not inflated.
Wind range would be 10-20. Surface snow, maybe soft, won't dig too deep.

I like the Peter Lynn Lynx, but seems they are sold out everywhere.

ideas, suggestions?

Here is what I do on clear ice!:wee:

http://www.youtube.com/user/iceratz/videos?view=0&flow=g...

alternative would be the "zebra slope" , same price range as the lynx. 7 sqm is minimum ! 5 sqm is only for stormy days. depending on your body-weight, a 9 sqm depower foil would probably be optimal.

if you have extremely gusty winds, you should consider getting an older, used SLE (supported leading edge) tubekite (sould be possible for less than 200 dollar). they have absolutely massive depower, a positive thing if riding on ski or board. important: not older than 2008. around 2008, the tubes made a massive jump in depower performance. and no classic C-Tube kite - they have only medium depower.

Depower is the way to go for sure. Where in NE are you? There are plenty of us around and it would be better for you to fly with someone else to get you started faster. NE winds can be nasty in the winter. How much do you weigh? You might want to consider the a 5m HQ Apex and a 7-10 higher A/R kite or Apex if you don't want to jump.

Hi Welcome to the new way with wind,

open cell foils area easier to start with, depower kites have a little more play and control when you understand the throw in and out on the bar.
the longer the length from leading edge to trailing edge the better, as it compares to the wingtip to wingtip length, in other words.....moderate aspect ratio is better. But dont be fooled, any kite flown properly, can be a kite that brings you in the air. It simply depends on the wind.

I have a few kites that I use as "trainers" that run up to 5 m and I can jump with all of them...this includes a 2m IKON Compact trainer kite.

I would agree with Herc, that a SLE is the best with de-power, it is really unbelievable. As the issue there is going to be ground handling as well as pumping the kite up,.....but although it may take a few more moments to set up, the advantage is the depower and range that the kite has in typical New England winds,.....

whatever you get, as it is a new kite, just go out in light to no winds and learn the set up and take down so that in strong winds, you dont launch the kite with the lines incorrectly set up, or have issues with the safety systems.

be safe

Feel free to PM me as I can be happy to help you further.

Zebulon

Hey Iceratz,

Great videos. Love the surface and mast mounted camera angles.

Hardwater Kiting is the New England Peter Lynn dealer, what size Lynx were your looking for? Availability is slim for sure but PL has some stock on the 5 and 7m Kite only and we can have them here in about a week. They are completely out of the 9/11 sizes and ETA for new stock is due later this month.

We are also a dealer of HQ Kites. Another option that is the HQ Apex series. Apexs have been very popular for us here in the mountains and tend to be the "go to" kite for a lot of local riders. Very much the same type of kite as the Lynx, a little less $ and (but more importantly) in stock. They're great kites, easy to fly for beginner riders but with a wind/performance range that even advanced riders can have a ton of fun on them.

I was flying our 11m demo yesterday for the first time and I have to say I was a little skeptical about the changes they made from the Apex III to the current Apex IV but I'm happy to say the kite has the smoothness and gust handling of the earlier Apexs but with with even nicer flying qualities. I didn't spen a lot of time on the IV yesterday (was on my Phantom 2 all day) but I rode it long enough to know I like it. We may have some closeout Apex 3's as well.

PM me if you have any questions or you can contact us through www.hardwaterkiter.com or call 986-2784 (new Hampshire)

Say"Hi" to Will and Charles for me when you see them. We haven't been over to Sunapee yet this year. No wind last weekend but I heard the skating was great.:wee:

Take care, Chris

BTW, the speed overlay with the video is sick.

SLEs may offer the best depower but are not newbie friendly as they require assistance launching and landing and right now learning and confidence building should be your objective. I'd recommend you not go the inflatable route. I can't see any advantage to learing on a kite that will be pounded into the ground and has a better chance of popping than a foil. Go with an open cell foil. All of the kites mentioned will suit you fine if you start in lesser winds and master the wind window and ground control.

Interesting thing about snow is you can hold down more power on skis but you require less to get going on a smooth surface so often times you can fly a smaller kite on snow then you would say landboarding - so long as the snow isn't deep. On ice I size way down because once you get going you just keep going like a jet engine.

Educate yourself and tap the local resources and knowledge base here. You can't really go wrong with the modern kites but some will be much better than others to learn on.

Quote:

Originally posted by Feyd Hey Iceratz, Great videos. Love the surface and mast mounted camera angles. Hardwater Kiting is the New England Peter Lynn dealer, what size Lynx were your looking for? Availability is slim for sure but PL has some stock on the 5 and 7m Kite only and we can have them here in about a week. Take care, Chris

I might consider a 7m Lynx.

How much is a package with bar & lines?

I may want to hook up with you guys and try one if possible. I do make my way to Winnipesaukee region more often than Sunapee.

Dumb question:
What is a 'depower' type kite?

I know I do want a kite that is:
1) NOT pumped bladder inflated!
2) Open cell soft foil (or cells with small ram air openings to let wind inflate it, like my FlexiFoil)
3) Easily self launched
4) Intro to intermediate...ski -snow sailing exclusively.
5) Enough power for 15 -25 mph winds for 200lb payload

I may also use the kite in lighter winds and for the right surface that will easily power me around. I won't be jumping...yet.
Eventually i will target a larger kite for the proper lighter wind conditions, but for now, I want a good kite for when the wind is steady 15+

Check you email Iceratz......

+ 1 for going at least 7m !

If you buy a 5m I can promise you will be wanting for power and shopping for a larger kite very quickly. It's a good trainer size and is designed to be a very high wind kite but won't produce usable power until almost 15mph.