Hey all -

I'm thinking about a blurr 2.5 or a twister 3.0 to go under my twister 5.6 for landboarding in higher winds.

I'm 195 lbs. Are there other FBs I should be considering? What do you all think of the tradeoffs between the blurr and the twister for this purpose and what will the usable wind ranges be? Thanks a lot.

Note: Lad's logic here sounds pretty spot on, so maybe a rage could make sense too, though by "high wind" I'm thinking teens really which I think is lower than what he was talking about

http://www.powerkiteforum.com/viewthread.php?tid=20125

Well since he got a Acid one now, Lad is parting with his Rasta 2.5 & 3.5 Rages.

FWIW: Since you already have a 5.6 Twister, there is something to be said with sticking with the model as the two sizes will have similar flight characteristics and behavior.

But variety is the spice of...

ATB,
Sam

i know the post is looking for fixed bridle, but have you considered a depower??? IMO they are far superior to fixed bridle for many reasons...

more wind range... less jerky... can jump safely... etc etc

I'll probably be spending most of my time on depowers, but still curious about the fbs. I know the twister is a good choice but had the chance to fly a blurr the other day for a couple hours and loved it. Mostly curious to know if anyone thought it was a poor choice for landboarding for any reason.

If you are thinking about a kite for high(er) winds, I would second dylan's input and recommend you be thinking about a 4-5m depower (Apex, Access, Yeti). FBs have their place but depower is way nice in higher / gusty / bumpy winds. So much more reassuing to just push the bar out to absorb a gust as opposed to hanging on to ride it out.

I still haven't tried much boarding yet - tho' in a way, using a FB w/handles at first seems to help with balance.

If, like me, you are in a smaller space, with a lot of lulls and shifts, then a smaller, faster FB is easier to whip around and keep in the air (and re-launch). The in-land wind shifts are murder on my arcs.

I was inspired by Weldinggod's use of small Rages in windy conditions. I think I also read here that Angus keeps a 2.8 Rage handy for the highest winds he'd consider riding in. (BTW, I still consider "high teens" high enough wind for me!)

The Blurr is primarily for buggy riding and not represented as a jumping kite - though I've had a couple of very smooth lifts in the course of using it. It already comes with the Triple AAA bridle adjuster, so you can modify it to your wind and skill needs (so far, I tend to keep my Blurr nearer the "chicken sh*t" settings until I'm more use to it!)

Quote:

Originally posted by lad If, like me, you are in a smaller space, with a lot of lulls and shifts, then a smaller, faster FB is easier to whip around and keep in the air (and re-launch). The in-land wind shifts are murder :

That is a vaild point. One is more connected to FB kites then DP. Trade offs to both. If I were flying only in land in crappy winds I may reconsider FBs. But if where you fly has good wind then DPs are the way to go.

"But if where you fly has good wind then DPs are the way to go. "

Can I get an AMEN from the choir?
Too bad I have to drive a minimum of 3 hours for any decent wind. :sniff:

The Conventional Wisdom (esp. on British forums) is use a smooth DP, (like Access or an arc), for gusty in-land conditions.
That's assuming you have a steady baseline wind to begin with, (like "NW 10-20mph).
All I get around here is dirty "light and variable" meaning from ZERO to brief excitement to shift-luff-crash-cuss to snooze-YIKES-Ouch!!!.... :ticking:

I am with the depower camp. You are talking the high teens for wind correct ?

These are the winds I LIVE for. The ones I get the most ( for my timid approach ) out of a depower foil !

When the folks are moving down from their 5m FB foils I get excited because my 15m Synergy is just coming to life ! They are in buggies , I am on board or blades.

Thanks for the comments. I didn't try all of the AAA settings on the blurr. How much of a difference in the flight characteristics does it make?

just get a pansh legend 2 or 3. no need for an expensive small FB.

Using the different AAA settings makes a pretty noticeable difference in flight characteristics on my Blade IVs. The higher lift settings definitely slow the kite down more, and if you don't have strong enough winds for that setting, the kite won't reach the edge of the window easily. I found myself using the 2 lowest lift settings the vast majority of the time. The kite was fast across the window, still had good lift, and had good pull at the edge of the window.

I use my depowers for landboarding all the time now. I haven't flown my fixed bridles for land stuff in a very long time (aside from flying trainers to teach friends). I'd say that the main advantage to fixed bridles is that if things start going wrong, you simply let go of the handles (assuming you're riding not hooked in via a strop) and the kite dies; and if you're still learning landboarding, that will definitely come in handy. But over all, depowers give you more range, stability, the ability to spill gusts, and give you better jumping ability. With regards to safety, you'll have to be quick on the draw to pull your Quick Release should the need arise.

All helpful comments thanks a lot guys. Looks like I'm off to the wanted forum. Thinking blurr now, depower soon.