I haven't been on the forum in well over 3 months (1 job + another new job + girlfriend + college = no free time)
In the odd even that I have a chance to go kiting, it seems like the wind is juuuuuust below what I like to ride with, so I've decided that maybe my 9m just isnt pushing it.

My question is:
What size kite (if any) would be good enough to fly in 11mph (or less) winds?
Also, what are the price ranges?

And if anyone has one, let me know

Thanks
-Drew

There's a 8.5m Blade III for sale in this thread:
http://www.powerkiteforum.com/viewthread.php?tid=21153

That should do the trick. Not a bad price either, but you might want to see how much it'll be to ship over here. Also, his prices are in AUS, not USD.. Currently:
1 Australian dollar = 1.0718 US dollars

would that work for me?
I'd prefer (if possible) something that would be good enough to pull a 180lb rider in 9mph wind.
My 9m fuel wont

I think it would.. Your 9m Fuel is a C-kite so it has less projected area than the 8.5m Blade III does (if it's still for sale, someone sent a u2u).

Are you just using it for static flying/jumping or are you in a buggy or on an ATB?

I never really thought of that.

But I would be using it with my ATB.

Won't be much upwind in the mix at 9 mph, I struggle with 8m ace and smooth sand. Haven't yet tried my 12 ace, don't really want to as that kite isn't much fun to fly. 160# here. You could go for an old Blade III 10.5, but at 180# you would need a decent 10+ mph to get easy upwind, esp. if your conditions aren't perfectly smooth dry hardpack sand..

thanks alot. I think I am going to go with the PL Guerilla 10m.

When you guys say your weight, do you account for all of your gear?
I'm about 165 but i keep alot of stuff on me lol

It's not considered an ATB kite but in those winds on sand, I'd be grabbing for an 8.6m Reactor II. Maybe the Blade or another kite with a bit of lift would be your answer. I don't see a 10m arc being the tool for the job.

................with a 8.5m BIII and BF buggy on packed sand in 5 to 7 mph winds Ive recorded 31mph on my GPS and can easily go upwind.....................ARCs are not the tools for low wind.................I have a 9.66m Quadrafoil Comp for sale.......

would the 10m Guerilla or the 8.5m BIII be ok for 9-12mph winds?
I'm sort of interested in it now because i don't have an ARC and would love to learn something new.

Those 2 kites aren't really a choice decision for the 11 mph winds you describe. They would actually compliment each other in that the arc would maybe not be working yet when you are blown out with the blade. 11 mph might be top end for you and the Blade 8.5. The Guerilla won't make good power till 15 and you could prolly go over 30 easy with it.

I guess I still dont totally understand this sport.
I just assumed that a 10m would be better with less wind, as compared to a 8.5m.

Please enlighten me.
Is it because of the type of kite or what?

Yes, the arc is designed with inefficiency as a performance bonus. It can absorb gusts well, yet has a low projected area compared to flat area. That 10m arc will catch the wind similar to a 4-5m fixed bridle but can take much more wind. A 10m is reaching "storm kite" status for water use. An 8m could take you over 35 mph winds on land if not really gusty.

It has to do with how much of the kite's area is actually exposed to the wind and producing power. This is called 'projected area'.


Here's a Fuel c-kite (newer than yours, but still basically the same design). The kite is more 'closed' and more of the kite's surface area is dedicated to the wingtips. This is great in higher winds (its proper windrange) because the kite turns much faster, but in lower winds there is less kite catching wind to provide power.



Notice how 'open' the Blade III is. The canopy is exposed to the wind from wingtip to wingtip, pretty much. So it will produce more power in lighter winds because it is catching more wind. But the top end of the kite will be less because you'll end up getting overpowered and it will take longer to turn vs the Fuel.


edit: here's a guerilla for shape comparison:

Well my biggest thing right now is for lower winds.
My 9m Fuel works fine in anything from 12-19mph
So I guess I am looking for anything that would be just below that. (maybe 10mph+)

So would the Blade be best?

I am pretty unfamiliar with how different types of kites work in winds so I think I need to do a little more research

the Blade will work fine but at 10/11 mph (at first) youre gonna be pushing the upper envelope of the useable wind range.....................but as your skill improves you will extend your useable range..................I can handle 10/11 in the buggy but i start to get alot of side pull and the rear breaks loose (too much power) however 12mph on my landboard is epic but I got to this point thru experience...................take the blade out in 8 mph to begin with, get comfy with the kite, improve your skillz and the 11/12 mph range will come......................good luck!

I don't have one for sale but, I just got in from a session on my 19m Venom. My 16 year old son who weighs about 130 had no issues controlling that kite in the winds we were flying. We were seeing 7mph to about 12mph today. We had to work the kite a bit to get going when the wind dropped but once going we were fine. It was quite hilarious to try to hold a line on a frozen lake in a buggy with barrows but we managed to get a couple of runs in.

Here is my 2 cents..... 19m Venom, 18m Guerilla 2 or 17m Bomba,....... All of these kites can also take you near 20mph depending on your experience.

I will be tossing up some video later of my son and I flying that 19m Venom......

I have an older Reactor I 8.3 that I use in a buggy... 6 - 12mph for the wind range before you get a little light in the bug.

Could let it go fairly cheap.

Ron

U2U sent

ive seen u post on this forum, and i know every kiter from toledo area--nobody there seems to know who you are..... u dont get out much do you? i would certainly have met you by now......

lol i havent really been out to maumee bay in at least 8 months.
I mostly just kite at Arrowhead park in Maumee.
Really the only kiters that I know are Mark and Ryan from RedSky.

@tridude
That is exactly what I am looking for.
Basically anything that will work under 11mph winds

i can't believer no ones has mentioned FLYSURFER. you might can grab a used Speed 15 for a grand.

Ive looked into them before but I am short of short on cash at the moment.
Mostly looking for something around the $300 (ish) price range for the time being

I have a 12m Frenzy for $400.00

does that come with the bag, bar, and lines?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the BladeIII is a fixed bridle setup, right? This is not depower, like your fuel is.

Just something to think about. Depower gives you more flexibility in the wind range it can handle, but they are generally more expensive. Due to your budget contraints, you will probably be looking at a fixed bridle, or an older LEI.

Picking up a used Flysurfer Speed3 15m would probably work, but that is still going to be over a grand, easy. As long as you are not talking about using the same kite on water, fixed-bridle, or open-cell kites are fine. But if you want something you can use on the water, you will need either an LEI, or a closed cell foil (PL or Flysurfer, maybe a Neo).

Yes, it is a fixed bridel.
I was hoping to find some sort of depower kite but it probably won't work out with all of my conditions.
I am going to be using it on land with my ATB but I have only used my board with my Fuel (depower) and never with either of my brideled kites.
Ughhh, such a big decision.
I don't know much about the blade and I dont know how it is to ride with a fixed bridel kite

Your sig shows you have a 6m Pansh Ace; have you not kited with that on your ATB yet? You should give it a shot next time winds permit to see how you'd like it.

If you want to stick with depowers, that 12m Frenzy should be big enough to do the job, or like ragden said, you could find an older used big LEI (14m-17m). Only problem with a big LEI is its weight, so you'll need probably a minimum of 4 to 5mph *steady* to get it and keep it in the air.. Hopefully you're in an area where light wind means *steady* lightwind that doesn't lull down to 0. Light wind in my area means the wind will completely die for a few seconds, a minute or two, or ten :/

You'd also have to worry about the possibility of crashing it. As long as you're not tomahawking it or crashing hard, you shouldn't really damage the kite. When I'm kiting with my ATB on land, I can feel if the wind is dying or whatnot and can gently self-land the kite and wait until the wind picks up to self-launch again. Note: the park I kite at has very soft grass with no stickers/sticks/rocks.

What kind of turf will you be mainly be kiting on?

I actually haven't used the 6m Ace with my board yet (which I should probably do before I buy another kite.) I just don't know how it feels using a bar with it.
8 or 9mph is usually the very least that I will go out

I am good with landing the kite gently. The ground is pretty crappy though. A lot of ground hog holes and some sticks but I've been good so far