Looking into HQ Matrixx or Neo...any owners out there with knowledge of their performance on the water and off. It seems to me that with a limited budget, a 10-12m version of one of these would cover landboarding, snowboarding and water needs. Thanks - Jim

Dude I am your neighbor. Hit me up 917-847-1804.
Marc

Small world....check for my email....where ya flying around here? I've use of a pretty good sized field over here off of esopus ave. in the at own of Ulster. Really good when full of snow and a south or sw is blowing. Not bad to play around on the landboard with any wind direction....just need a real kite and want to geta multi use 8-12 m. Kingston Point and Rider park are popular spots when a north is blowing so I'm thinking a Neo or Matrixx would give a water option if I can feel confident enough handling one of these on land.

Happy Fourth of July guys. Marc, Hope all is well. Let me know if you guys have a spot near you to fly. I'd certainly take a trip to meet up.

I'd travel to meet up...even to watch some big foils fly. Not much else that trainer is going to teach me...

I have a 12m Matrixx which I have used for snowkiting and kiteblading so far. I am about 190 lbs and have had enough grunt to pull me in 4mph wind on grass. Most of the time it gusty here and it behaves well when the wind is fairly clean (tips collapse in lulls & turbulence)
I have not been on water yet or when gusts are over 20mph

Thanks for the input...it does seem that at 160lbs, a 12m Mattrixx would be useful in a wide range of winds and terrains including at least some flat water. The vids I've seen show relaunching quickly...what would happen if it took a while to relaunch? Would they take on any water making it harder to get up again?

It holds air when down (which sometimes makes solo landing in high winds interesting) but depending on what happened to make it come down the tips can get tangled in the thin bridle lines off the trailing edge. The bridle issue could be the same for other closed cell foils (Quadrifoil KiteSurfer, Flysurfer, etc) Not an issue for arcs.

A closed cell kite will hold air while in the water up to a certain point, it needs air flow to keep it pressurized so if it is laying on the water for too long it will start to lose air and begin to take in some water since the seams are not sealed and waterproof. This is more of an issue at the lower wind range where you may not be to get it relaunched. If the kite has been on the water for longer then 10 - 15 minutes and has started to take in water then it is crucial to self rescue. If you are going to be landing through a surf zone then it is very important to plan ahead and pack the kite up as much as possible to get the water out of the kite. If you have the kite just laying on the surface with water in it when you go through the surf it will quickly become a sea anchor. Trust me, from experience you don't want to go through that! :o