If you have to ability to trade the 5m for a 3.1 I think you should take advantage of that! That is one great dealer that will do that for you!
The 3.1 will be a kite you feel very comfortable with down the road. It will serve up good power into some very high winds once you are the master of
it. Odds are it will serve as your high wind snow kite as you build your Quiver. It will always have a place in your quiver for sharing with friends
etc..
Depower is a much better way to go for snowkiting. Fixed Bridle lacks in wind range and gust munching etc.. LEI is fine, as long as you are past the
crashing stage. I suspect you will need 2 LEI kites ( at least ) and they will overlap with the 5m. It will probably not get used after you go
depower?
Nothing says you can't use an LEI for buggy. Doing so would keep your quiver simple.
Going Prism was a good choice for your direction. They fly better on handles but it's nice to go bar set up with a harness to get a feel for it before
lessons.
Everybody will be happy to hear how you progress. Odds are you will NEED to brag about some of your 1st outings and we all love to share the stoke!
Videos are great but we don't post our logs.
I am a landboarder from queens . Im in brooklyn practically every week kiting. Been kiting for over 10 years, i did the kitesurfing thing briefly but
gave it up for land as its much eaisier and I can kite all year. Feel free to contact me .
Bladerunner, that's a great thing about buying stuff on Amazon. As of this
moment, I've tried launching 5m kite 5 days, learning new things every try and progressing forward.
Your comment regarding land-centric use of my soon arriving Tensor 3.1 is most exciting, since I had no knowledge of the kiting world prior to
ordering 5.0, and thought it would be useful for land activities aside from being a kite boarding trainer. I am looking forward to new experiences
quite impatiently.
Looks like my new Tensor 3.1 should be delivered today, and I can hardly wait to fly it. Wind is supposed to be around 9mph...
One of the issues I discovered while trying to fly the 5.0 was it turning and falling. I finally figured out how to turn it around at the end, but it
has always picked up a bit of sand when falling, making relaunch and control difficult (for me.)
Is it just a matter of bad skill or is it a general problem with these kites?
Can anyone suggest the best way to clean the kite out before returning to the seller?
1. skills, skills, skills , then wind conditions and more skills
2. shake it up side down , no other way to do it , I think there are clean out velcro on each tip , so you can force all that sand to one tip and open
velcro , then when you get some skills , flying it straight down and turning right before hits the ground works too ..... lol
2016 Nobile Zen Hydrofoil with Infinity 5.1' splitboard
2019 Nobile 2HD with Ronix One boots
2020 Nobile NHP split foil with Ronix Parks boots
MG Supra ......... pulling KiteTrike
3m will turn much faster then 5m , so make you bar inputs ver gentle and swing kite from left to right until you get better feeling of the bar , make
sure you can keep it steady in a air at stop moment when you want it. Swing it faster and faster until you know how much bar input you need for
desired reaction . Try to keep kite in upper section of wind window as much as you can , small loops, figure of 8 ........ good luck ...
2016 Nobile Zen Hydrofoil with Infinity 5.1' splitboard
2019 Nobile 2HD with Ronix One boots
2020 Nobile NHP split foil with Ronix Parks boots
MG Supra ......... pulling KiteTrike
Start out with the kite set up in bar mode.
Walk your lines and be sure they are tangle free.
Check your safety is also tangle free.
All lines should be equal and connected on the same knots.
If the kite spins odds are huge there is some kind of bad influence on one of the back lines.
It should fly to zenith on the front lines and the back lines should be slightly slack.
If it won't fly to zenith and the wind is decent you need to move the front lines up a knot or 2.
Pulling on the back lines will back the kite down + allow you to reverse launch the kite when nose down.
Don't try and fly the kite right away!!! Try and CONTROL the kite right away! Just fly it gently at the edge of the window and avoid sending it deep
into the power zone until you have set a few memory reflexes. If you don't understand what I just said. You need to!
Bladerunner, great advice - thank you! I was actually wondering how to adjust the power properly, and I am glad you explained it well. So far I used
factory settings. I have learned to keep my lines clear already, and I understand air dynamics enough to know where the wind force will be the
strongest.
So, I really, really love the FedEx - they are generally great in my experience. Today, however, my 3m kite never arrived! Not even a note they
claim to have left. Oh well, went out with the 5m...
Thus far I have succeeded to have a series of days that taught me about kite setup (lines included) and initial baby steps in controlling it. I can
now proudly say that I am familiar with my equipment - and confident about its behavior in the light winds. This is not to say I have any good flying
skills. Yet, today I managed to:
1. Get it to turn back after initial turn repeatedly.
2. Launch from the reverse position.
3. Get it to raise all the way up.
4. Zig-zag slightly without losing control.
5. Land gently perpendicular to the wind.
The winds were too light, despite the forecast, possibly 7-9 mph gusts with mostly 3-5 mph semi-regular blowing. So it would not stay up.
One awesome thing that happened was that gemini6kl stopped by to meet me, and I saw his technique for getting the kite up in low wind that I must try soon. He confirmed that one can't
fly it in this wind, which makes me feel much better about the whole thing.
And... YESSSS! I got my 3m one today and went to the beach. The wind was from the ocean, strong enough for flying, so I did. Mostly kept it at the
top, tried some maneuvers too. Controlling direction, navigation, moving around the window, landing gently. Seems like I have got the controls down.
Now need to automate it, as I did manage to crush the kite while I was talking to some kids, trying to convince them to get away from the line's
range.
Here is a short clip of my 2nd launch. Break lines were tangled up, so I landed it and wrapped up. Flying starts around 5 min in.
So looks like rockaway or Riis...the winds are always better by the water especially in the evenings..be careful there lotta people still on that
beach
Like most folks I meet starting out, you seem to be starting with the board too much cross wind and not pointed downwind enough.
You won't suffer from pointing the board too much down wind . You just need to carve to cross / upwind before losing tension on the front lines ( It's
all about keeping tension on the front lines ). Not enough and you go over the top.
If you are going over the top on the start point the board more down wind. That hop adjustment you did is ideal if you need to adjust to more down
wind.
You will get a LOT more out of that kite in handle mode!
Bladerunner, thank you for your advice. I am still learning to pilot the kite, AND ride the board, as I have never been on skate or other board until
this sport. Combination of the two is even more challenging, but I feel like I am getting better.
One thing I have not yet learned to do is to return once I ride downwind, also stopping is a bit flaky for me still.
Regarding the handlebars, I only flown my kite that way 3 times and not yet have good control of it in this mode. That's why I switched back to the
bar going on the board. But after reading your post I am converting my setup to handlebars permanently!
Once again, THANK YOU FOR THE FEEDBACK - it helps a lot!
I second Blades comments 100%. Once you understand how a Prism flies ditch the bar set up for good and go handles all the way. I've owned that exact
kite and the way the bar splits and becomes two high quality handles is really one of the nice aspects of the overall Prism kite package. I know its
tempting to try and fly it with the bar, but all the bar flying you are seeing on YouTube are DP kites hooked into a harness, something completely
different than what you have in your hands. At times I've heard the expression that flying a four line FB kite off a bar "dumbs down" the kite. I
liken it more to a lobotomy, the difference in control and performance is just that striking. You can't evolve a FB kite closer towards a DP kite by
flying it on a bar versus handles. The sad truth is the exact opposite is happening; you're making the kite worse.
Please do consider using the kite killers that come with the Prism, at least at first, so you can just let go of the handles if need be as compared to
getting lurched forward on your board onto the asphalt. Great that you were helmeted and padded up, but bottom line pavement hurts to sprawl on no
matter how young or how well armored up you are.
While I'm a buggy pilot the concepts are the same; start pointing almost directly downwind (maybe 20 deg off true downwind as an estimate) get rolling
with a kite dive and quickly tack out in the direction of intended travel keeping tension on the front lines as Blade pointed out. Since you are
doing this on pavement resistance will be very light. You will find the kite behaves quite differently once you get rolling sideways. Your concept
of "wind window" will change markedly from your impression of the window from static flying, just wait and see!
Final thought - if you want to move to "the next level" by getting a harness and loading your core as compared to your arms, my humble advice would be
to avoid the strop route with the Prism, particularly for landboarding. Instead, start investing in DP kites. Yes, I know the $$$$ consequences.
The thing with FB vs DP when hooked in to a harness is the stark differences in the way the kites handle shifting wind conditions like gusts and
swirls. Hooked in on a board with a stropped set of handles with a FB kite up in the air is asking for sudden and unexpected surges in power.
Predictable but unpleasant results will follow.
I just noticed that you have an HQ Apex III in a larger size - so it looks like you have a DP option as well. Means you probably also have a harness.
You're on your way!
Windstruck, you are on the money. I did buy Apex III (arriving Saturday!!!) and I do have a harness. I have tried an 8m Ozone on that field already,
and it was really cool... I will give the handles a try tonight.
agree with all above. I like your paved spot. Smooth surface goes a long way. handles allow for brake turns which will allow you to utilize the
power more effectively and avoid the edge of the window power loss. Spend some time static on handles and develop that muscle memory. shouldn't take
more than a couple hours to be proficient with handles. just make sure you get used to flying with forefinger over power line and keep bottom of
handles pointed towards kite and make sure brake lines are loose to start and tune as needed for brake turn. natural tendency for everyone starting
on handles is to unknowingly pull brakes on too much when turning and stall kite. learning 4 line will go a long way to understanding how to use your
depower. personally, I hate kite killers and have never used them unless I was too close to downwind obstacles and flying in high wind. killers just
added frustration for me when learning. of course this is highly debated. we haven't had a good kite killer debate in awhile bring it haters
i use to be a big fan of kS-P-A-M-L-I-N-K-s, loved the secure feeling of them tight on my wrist and wouldnt fly fb w/out them...then the death spiral
thing happened when i let go and i was just along for the ride till i got them off my wrists...it was the slowest thing you could ever imagine ...and
the few times they got wrapped in the harness or caught on whatever while i was in the bug really changed my mind....if its blowin hard i'd rather
lose the kite...if i was on asphalt i would never have them on
thats just me
Kite killers? I needed them at first but always hated them. I got super man'd a few times even with them in the beginning (stubborn? more like
stupid). Only thing worse than kite killers was kite killers with a strop. Now that used to screw me up. Good in the beginning though, I'm a big
believer in killers for those starting out. As those with more time under their belts with FB/handles know it is almost always possible to control
things with proper braking, flying, kite size choice, etc. Not to mention that a lot (but not all) of gusts hit you moments before they hit the kite
(you are, after all, upwind of the kite) giving you time to anticipate the oncoming power surge.
When I was green none of this was ingrained yet and kite killers saved me from loosing my kite any number of times.
Good start wolphy! Looks like you could have used an extra 5mph to your wind that evening. Let us know how trying this on handles works out - should
be a little easier to put the kite where you want it. Hopping the board around is good - keep that. I wouldn't worry too much about returning to
your starting point yet, learning both kite AND board is hard enough. The better you can fly the kite though, the easier it will be to focus on board
management and direction and maintaining tension on the lines. Just like about anything, practice makes perfect, so keep at it and things will start
falling into place.
2m Radsails Pro (from crazyherb), 2.1m Symphony Beach II (from Amazon), 3m HQ Beamer IV (from K-Bid), 4m Pansh Flux (from garydog), 4.7m Flexifoil
Rage (from mougl), 5.6m PL Twister IIR (from Big Mike), 6m Flysurfer Peak 1 (from Flysurfer USA), 11m HQ Neo II (from kiteplace), 19m PL Venom II
(from Smeagol), MBS Core 95 ATB (from Overstock.com), couple of ROSSIGNOL snowboards w/ SIS "click" bindings
i use to be a big fan of kS-P-A-M-L-I-N-K-s, loved the secure feeling of them tight on my wrist and wouldnt fly fb w/out them...then the death spiral
thing happened when i let go and i was just along for the ride till i got them off my wrists...it was the slowest thing you could ever imagine ...and
the few times they got wrapped in the harness or caught on whatever while i was in the bug really changed my mind....if its blowin hard i'd rather
lose the kite...if i was on asphalt i would never have them on
thats just me
Were you using the blade when that happened? I've flown a few fixed bridles but the blades i have owned seem to not want to land even with full
brakes applied. On a couple of occasions I had to let go just trying to land or they flip, power up backwards, then really power up when corrected.
Very stubborn kites.
dont think i ever had kS-P-A-M-L-I-N-K-s on the blade...this was during 3m times and upper 20's...once these kite gets angry and are bouncing all
around they really seem to get very mean:D
Let us know how trying this on handles works out - should be a little easier to put the kite where you want it.
Went for it yesterday. The wind was very low at first, < 5 knots, but there were periods of longer gusts going up higher, and so I launched. I
already had tried handles before, but now following the advice from this thread, I also put my index fingers over the control lines. Which was very
helpful.
I either made the break lines too loose or do not know how to use them well yet, because as I was gaining speed downwind, I had to use Kite Killers
way too often. And the lines kept twisting around at that.
Riding downwind got me a bit far from where I started, and pulling the kite back in the air with the board was not ideal, so I learned how to go back
upwind pretty effectively (ok, I knew the theory...)
Finally, at the end trying to catch a last gust to get me to my finish point, I caught it with my board's wheel sitting in a small pot hole, leading
to a fall with a hurting heap and some sheen scratches from the board - nothing that will stop me from trying out my new Apex tomorrow!
@Windstruck, I had the pleasure of landboarding on an 8m Ozone DP, thanks @gemini6kl - and it felt very good (and made me get the Apex :D). I
completely get your "getting a taste" point, as I have yet to become proficient at this size...
@ssayre, I did indeed come across this particular video - but now I am subscribing to his entire feed and will watch them. I have previously gone
through Progression and Drill 1 land-boarding DVDs as my primary educational source. I DOOO wish there were nicely trimmed large open areas of grass around where I live, like in the videos!!!