OK, I know you've all seen the question before. I'm new to the forum and I need to ask. I've currently got an Ozone Flow 4m that I've been practicing with as my first kite. I'm now a raving kite addict, and selling off older hobbies to pay for my new obsession.

The other day, I was practicing looping the kite in a stubble field and crashed the kite leading edge first. Needless to say, a hole magically appeared. Luckily it's a foil, and just a little patch will do the job.

Now for the question. I'm planning on my next kite being a crossover (water to land to snow), and need to know how durable the bladders are on the LEI's. Will they take the abuse a beginner will dish out? My buddies fly Flysurfers and are trying to push me that way. I'm trying to balance peer pressure with logic and good advice.

Help?! :puzzled:

Welcome to the forum!

Foils, LEIs, arcs etc etc all have their different quirks ... if you can live with them or work around them, then you'll be happy no matter what you ride.

Modern LEIs are pretty tough but abuse like jamming them into the ground WILL wear on them and anything spiky will poke holes - contents under pressure and all ... so don't slam them into the ground
They should survive most slams into the water but it's better IMO to get a kite like a system like the Cabrinha IDS that depowers a LOT when you let go the bar - so let go the bar when you're about to slam

Depending where you ride and who with, especially on the water, you might find that LEIs are easy to get on with in the beginning ...

Of course, the best option is to borrow someone's kites for a few sessions and see what YOU think

Any opinions out there on the amphibious Flysurfers? Do they need any special treatment on water? Are they more difficult to launch/relaunch on water? I expect to spend a LOT of time biting it in the water, so the relaunchability (is that a word?) is very important to me.

The Pulse and its replacement Unity are easiest of the Flysurfer to water relaunch since they are lower aspect ratio. I liked the Pulse and learned to kitesurf with it last year. This year I switched to Ocean Rodeo Rises and spent a lot less time dealing with the kite and more time working on kitesurfing. If you get a Flysurfer make sure you have patience for tangled lines and soggy nylon. As a beginner you will be dunking it a lot. I did use my Pulses on land which is a plus. Flysurfers are well constructed and durable.

As Kami says borrow kites and see what you like. I strongly recommend taking water lessons. Most of the time instructors provide gear so you can get a feel for different kites.

You are lucky you have friends with Flysurfers. I was the only one at my local spot. So I would recommend a Pulse or Unity for a first Flysurfer.

Kami is right: Borrow as much as possible. There is no way you can know what you would like without trying a variety of things.

As to your Flysurfer-lovin' buddies, understand that peer pressure to buy a certain style of gear means you know a bunch of people who can help you with the ins and outs of that kite. This is a very useful thing. When in Rome...

Expressed differently, don't expect a fixed-bridle flier to know how to repair a leaky tube kite. Don't expect a tube flier how to launch an Arc. Some will and they are probably good folks to listen to, but most won't.

Philip

It's the quirks that makes life interesting ...

If you've foil experience, especially with relaunching an open-celled kite when it's on the ground, you'll be happier with foils on the water. I've looped tips through bridles, bow-tied, inverted etc the big foils but never had to swim in ... I credit my time with the Rebble for my success at re-riding.

Best not to slam FSers into the water - you CAN break them.
They're great - Speed3 and later models are super-stable, handle gusts quite well (but require more input from the rider IMHO than LEIs) and have hang-time like nothing else!
Be aware that they are absolute torque-machines - they WILL pull you downwind when you relaunch, they WILL pull when you send them fast even though you're depowered ...

If I were you, I'd borrow some of your buddies Flysurfers and try them on the land - if they won't lend, tell them to shut the hell up then

Oh and ... I hope you can scud good

Quote:

Originally posted by Kamikuza Be aware that they are absolute torque-machines - they WILL pull you downwind when you relaunch, they WILL pull when you send them fast even though you're depowered ...

You had me at Torque machine... I'm just sayin..:singing::wee:

I didn't fly any LEIs... so I can't offer an opinion based on comparisson. I bought all my FS before having any water experience... Most of the people on this forum will agree that I did this backwards. I'm happy with my Flysurfers, the water relaunch is easy if you have enough wind. After I got a little bit of experience I realized I can keep the kite in the air even if I'm falling off the board. I don't depend on others when launching the kite, I could probably land it myself, but I preffer to have a helper. A lot of the LEI fliers don't know how to catch a Flysurfer if you're asking them for assistance in landing the kite.

ya, well, you might just own both types one day anyway, it's just a matter of which one you'll start with.

yup, FS float is fantastic and you'll appreciate the easy setup and pack down. On the other hand, the *HUGE* depower on the bar with LEI comes in handy in gusty winds, and the structure of the LEI can help in gusty conditions when a foil might have a tougher time (I find this more so with landboarding though). If you want to try one of each, maybe go for LEI for the smaller higher wind kite and the foil for the larger kite. Foils pretty much own the lightwind department, especially on land because foils fly in *very* light winds and you can build apparent wind to ride.

I started on foils and just this summer swapped out for a full set of LEIs for the water specifically. Use both.

A used LEI (or new for that matter) will be easier on the pocket than a Flysurfer. The thing that drew me to them finally was the instant and complete depower in the Bow/Delta style I'm flying. I haven't found a foil that can spill the power so fully through just the bar sheeting. Of course once my skills amp up I should no longer have the "NEED" for the power dump but for now, quite happy knowing it's there for me if I need it.

I love FS for water and more for land ....very powerfull and easy to control