Thanks Spencer! I tried to mix it up from my normal stuff this time. Yeah, for me, the longboard has been a great buy and I really enjoy the smooth surface and carving. That spot is great, but it's shared with lacrosse held on the fields and it's an elementary school so I can only use it on certain days. When I was there last, a guy I would guess in his 30's with his wife and kids, stopped me and asked all about it and thought it was cool. It's funny, because I never get those comments when in the buggy on the field. All the glory goes to board sports, but I don't think people can appreciate how exciting the buggy is until they try it. From a pure adrenaline standpoint, I think buggy on grass and going as fast as you can is more exciting than longboard, but the phlow of longboard and the buttery surface and carving around make longboard at least equal for me personally. Not to mention if my field is too wet or grass too long, I can still take to the asphalt.

Thanks for the ride Sean!! Cool vid.

Is that bar still a little bent? Did you contact Steffan. Just curious what he had to say.

And we have to get you to JIBE in the future. Even if Errol has to kidnap you.

It's still a lot bent. No I didn't contact him. The crazy thing is I thought it's strength would be compromised to the point that the first hard force I would put on it that it would fold. That hasn't been the case yet. I put decent force on it the last few times and I'm surprised it hasn't continued to fold. I'm not going to do anything about it until I polish it off on a good session. I have a woody back up.

Haha, I just read the second sentence. :D

Today was an unusual day. I was on a stretch of entrance road to a park and the wind was blowing at an angle. The terrain going downwind was running slightly uphill so going upwind, I had the benefit of going slightly downhill. They cancelled out to where I had equally great runs either direction. Anyways, it was kind of cool and a rare occurrence. I guess I need to start taking topagraphy as well as wind direction under consideration.

Not sure where is the best place to post this - it could go to the "Skin" thread, "Kite Boating" or wherever. But it does have more "street kiting" footage than anything else. Does kind of show a bit of my day.

That's Great! You are getting pretty good with the video posting too now Randy!!

Thanks. Moviemaker makes it pretty easy.

Very cool Randy. Nice to see the skin in action.

I used it more at JIBE, but when everything else is perfect - the GoPro doesn't work. (Would have helped if i put in the chip though.)

Maybe you can give it a try next weekend.:D

Hmm, how do you improve upwind when trying to longboard a pathway or road and can only use short lines? You can put a peak on short lines and handles! I tried the Peak on my diy handles and 5 meter line set. It was a blast to fly. There was some tuning and learning curve to accomplish first, but after that it was great to fly on handles and short lines. It's like a fixed bridle only better with the ability to change the angle of attack.

Pretty darn cool Sean! I was very impressed with the 6m Peak at JIBE. Honestly wouldn't mind having one.

Thanks bro, the the peak 1 6 meter is a special kite. Versatile with short lines, handles or bar. I've been wanting to use it on short lines for awhile, but changing the lines on the bar takes too long so I decided to leave the long Lines on the bar and try short lines on handles. Works great and makes me not miss selling my fb kites near as bad since I can fly a zippy kite on handles again.

Very cool Sean!

I prefer the full function of a bar. Digging the 4m Pk2 on 5m lines with full depow. Turning seems plenty zippy on a bar.

https://youtu.be/NvnPUbyPMuo

The question I ask is there an advantage to having a Peak on shorties over a NASA wing? The Nasa wing seems pretty slick.

Not just any nasa wing. The nasa star wing. It was pretty much designed for street kiting on short lines on a 2 line bar IMO. I think there are advantages and disadvantages of both. The stars are extremely easy to turn one handed and being unhooked. You really don't need to be hooked in on pavement because the rolling resistance is so minimal. This allows for very easy front side / toe side transitions and complete freedom of movement.

The advantages of the peak on short lines is better upwind for a path or road. You can take advantage of the peaks depower using handles unhooked or on bar hooked in.

FYI, that 4 meter peak looks awesome for street kite. The 4 meter star is my most used.

FYI again, you probably know this but the peak flies well on bar unhooked with it trimmed a little.

"Not just any nasa wing. The nasa star wing." Why do I feel like I just got scolded? :D

I'm gonna have to get a hold of one of these things at some point.

I know most often its thought NPW's are good on short (or no) lines, and that's mainly how I've used them for traction, but I can't quite see why they should be so much better than other kinds of kites? Any explanations? (They were optimized in wind tunnels on short lines, so maybe that has something do with it.)

Quote:

I'm gonna have to get a hold of one of these things at some point.

Feyd, whenever you get your fill of the 4m peak with streetkiting, let me know and I'd be happy to let you demo a couple of the stars if I can demo the 4m peak.

I get more low end out of the 6m peak than the 7 meter star on short lines due to the occasional back stall in light air. Yesterday, I was able to keep moving and do transitions in wind that I could barely feel. On handles, I can use every bit of low end the kite has to offer and depower pretty decently by sliding my hands up. It's really a unique experience flying a depower on handles.

I'm considering putting my 5 meter set back on the bar and giving it a try hooked in. Just makes me nervous because one rock I over look or one mistake with the kite and it will be road rash time. Although, I guess I could actually buy some pads and wear my helmet.

Quote: Originally posted by Feyd

I https://youtu.be/NvnPUbyPMuo .

I miss that park. Use take my kids there on our Story Land vacations and then hit the make your own sundae place up the street.

Feyd, the Nasa Stars really are awesome... you might end up with a good contingency of folks interested in kite skiing with them!... they handle everything so well, i bet it'd be awesome!

Plus we need a US vendor to sell them

^^ I like that video ssayre. The idea of weaving in and out of bollards, dodging street lamps and skimming roof tops appeals to me. I want to do something like this next. Need to find somewhere suitable.

That was great.

The first time I tried this I was psyched to see how much one can use the compression off the buildings and stuff.

Opens a whole new world of riding.

@redsky: Thanks, it is fun going around obstacles and trying to finesse your way in and out of weird areas. I prefer a few obstacle opposed to a wide open space. You should try it. I mainly use school grounds when not in session.

@feyd: It has opened a whole new world of riding. There is always lots of wind tunnels and weird areas where kite position is critical and figuring out each different site and topography versus wind direction is always fun. Then you add no lines and various lengths of lines to the equation and that basically means I never get bored.

Looking good Sean

Ssayre, is the wind uber smooth where you are or the kite just super stable? I'm struggling with foils inland at my location. Too many gusts and lulls without enough constant pressure on the sail.

Really a cool video Sean! Isn't the Green NS2 the 7 meter?

@b-roc: I was using the 2.5 meter in that clip and wind varied greatly from 15-25 mph. I do kite on the outskirts of town where I get my best wind, but it is always gusty. I would imagine that a foil would have a tendency to surge at each gust which would make it difficult. The nasa's are very stable. It surprises me how stable they will look on video versus how I remember the actual wind. I feel the gusts on my arms a lot but generally the kite remains stable.

Randy, it was the 2.5 meter