Let me start with a shout out to Jason (3shot) who originated a kite-line specific thread a couple of days ago for the Born-Kites. I loved the idea and thought that the Flysurfer Peak series could use some similar love. Jason's thread can be found here:

Quote:

http://www.powerkiteforum.com/viewthread.php?tid=30721

It seems that Peaks come up a lot in threads about what sort of kites folks should think about buying when vacillating between FB and DP. Personally, my 12M Peak2 has saved more buggy sessions this summer than I care to count. Time after time I head out with about a half dozen kites in the back of my ride, sometimes fitfully launching one or two in what is inevitably light and variable winds, only to pack them all up and pull out my trusty P2! I long for the days where I am besieged with enough steady wind to allow me to work through my entire quiver, but lately it's been my 12M P2 or bust.

Something I thought I'd share in this opening post is a positive experience I had yesterday. I had recently purchased and installed a simple stall handle / break crossover strap for $25 (thanks Chris!):

http://www.hardwaterkiter.com/line-sets.html

One of these came standard with my PL Lynx DP set up and I really missed not having it on my P2 rigging.

I was buggying yesterday with my 12M P2 in what became increasingly strong and gusty winds right before a storm came in. It was far and away the most wind I had flown this kite in and I was trimmed in at the clem-cleat adjuster, sheeting like crazy, and flying the kite high in the window just to keep it from yanking me out of my buggy. A big bolt of lightening flashed and I knew I needed to pack up in a hurry (no Ben Franklin I)!

Getting a big kite down alone in high winds isn't the simplest of tasks as we all know. Once out of my buggy and standing still the kite pretty much auto-zenithed and was pulling me upward pretty hard. What the heck I thought, let's give this a go! I pulled the crossover line hard towards me and son of a gun, my kite curtsied like a lady and backed straight down all the way to the ground. I couldn't believe how well behaved she was! I hooked the crossover strap onto my buggy and she stayed pinned to the ground. I folded her up that way, straight downwind, with my three gravel bags to keep things in line. This session wrap up went so much better than expected!

Needless to say, I'm suggesting folks consider rigging their P2s (not sure about P1s as I've never flown one) with one of these crossover straps. This was the most graceful landing I had ever experienced in high winds with this kite so I was thrilled. The crossover strap also worked fantastically well for a reverse launch, sending her about 30 feet into the air before I let go and swung her around.

Hail the Peak!

I'm still new to some of the language used on this forum. I understand the concept of this brake cross over strap but cant visualize how to connect it. A picture is worth a thousand words.

If you run a strap, or cord from one brake line to the other, at the end if the pig tails (where the brake lines attach to the lines coming off the bar) you will have a way to (by pulling on the center of the strap) back the kite down, or, when LE is down, pull strap to get the kite to re-launch.

Dangerdan - I will post a picture later today, but bobalooie is right on the mark.

Here is a photo of the cross strap in place on the Peak2 rigging. Since the picture was taken I tied an overhand know in the Pigtails right above the cross strap so that it wouldn't sneak up the brake lines and get out of reach.

Steve I am jealous of your 12m Peak! I have a 6m Peak 1 which is by far my most used kite, but I do need a bigger size for lighter wind.

The only thing putting me off a bigger Peak 2 is reading through the "tip tucking" threads. It sounds like they need to be perfectly tuned to minimise this phenomenon, which puts me off a bit.

Was thinking of picking up a used 9m Peak 1 but I do like the sound of the Peak 2 bar with the cleat. Do you find you use the trim much other than this high wind experience you just had? How high were the winds by the way?

The brake crossover...Was thinking of putting one on my Peak 1. At the moment if I want to back it down I just grab the brake lines by the balls, one in each hand (!). It is a bit daunting though, especially in high winds. I might find it easier with a crossover.

Ever tried stall landing it but from the very edge of the window at 3 or 9 o'clock?

Robinsonpr - yes, the dreaded "tip tuck". I do get it now and then. I recently pulled back the foam floaters and moved the lines up (shorter) one knot which seemed to help. I bought my P2 used from Chris (feyd) over a Hardwater. It had been one of his demos. He seems to have far and away the most experience of anyone chirping in on PKF when it comes to the Peaks. He and I discussed tip tuck (it was my principle concern too) and he told me he had dialed the kite in before I was getting it so it shouldn't be too much of an issue. I bring that up because I don't know what these kites are like "stock" so to speak. What he also told me, and this turned out to be completely true, is that you will experience fewer tip tucks once you get some hours with the kite. Hard to tell what I'm doing different, but tip tuck went from being a regular occurrence (a couple of times per session) when I first got the kite to a relative rarity now (most sessions have no tip tuck). Bottom line, for all the positives these kites have, I for one would not make tip tuck a show stopper. If you ever come across the "perfect" kite, please do your dear friends here on PKF a solid and let us all know about it!

I don't know how high the winds were in the episode I described above when I was sheeting out and trimming up. A storm was coming in as I said. When I was unpacking from my car the winds were light and variable (4-8 knots). My session began with just barely enough wind to get the buggy moving. With the storm clouds moving in the winds went up considerably. Purely a guess here, but I'd say up to 20 knots. I'm surprised I wasn't yanked into an OBE with a couple of the gusts, but it seems that maybe I'm getting the hang of this DP thing (or maybe luck is just as useful as skill in these settings).

Glad to hear you are willing to, err, "take matters into your own hands" when backing down the kite. I'm not sure I'd want both hands off the bar at times like that. I suspect you were sweating that one a bit.

I have tried stall landing at the edges. I can land with success, but my problem comes with the kite tumbling once it is one ground before I can secure it with sand bags. I suspect I'll be backing the kite down with the cross over strap more than stall landing at the edges in high winds.

Maybe pilot skill comes into play some with the tip tuck? As in keeping the kite powered up and not giving the tips that opportunity to collapse? Maybe you are just naturally doing something slightl different with experience!

Still very torn between the 9 and the 12 (aswell as the 1 vs 2). I know there have been other threads on this subject!

Next chapter - 5m line extensions! To further combat the low-wind summer blues I recently installed some 5m line extensions on my 12m P2, also courtesy of Chris over at Hardwater:

http://www.hardwaterkiter.com/line-sets.html

Lines cost me $75. According to Chris, he feels that this upgrade was akin to upgrading my 12m to a (non-existent) 14m P2!

A couple of impressions. First, as advertised the longer lines results in more power. I've gotten some pretty good speed on grass with my BigFoot in pretty marginal conditions. Big Plus. Second, the extensions made an already slow turning kite even slower. I'd say the proportional gain in power was directly traded off for this decrease in swiftiness. What ever is the exact opposite of "zippy" now describes my kite. There's no free lunch. Small Minus. Third, the front lines and brake lines can get sort of stuck together where the 5m extension lines attached to the main lines. There are lark head knots, little tags indicating what lines each are, and the lines get thick and flat where they terminate. They don't get tangled but it bothers me to look up and see them stuck together like that (should be about 2 feet apart at that point). Vigorous shakes of the bar usually breaks them free. I'm not sure if this affects how the pulley system works. Small Minus. Finally, the longer lines make me think more about where I'm turning around on the soccer fields I've been riding on as of late. The extra distance has the kite arcing over stuff I wouldn't want to crash it down into when I'm making my turns if I go to the ends of the runs. Risky, but heck, live on the edge. Very Small Minus.

So... all in all this was a worthwhile upgrade and something I'd recommend if you are trying to eek out some more power in week summer conditions.

I've got an old set of extensions, they are only 3m long though. I might give them a go on my 6m Peak and see if that eeks me out a bit more power!!

It's all deadly! Not sure how much 3m will do but it can't reduce the power. In another thread about Born Kites ( http://www.powerkiteforum.com/viewthread.php?tid=30721 ) we recently discussed eeking more power out of my 8.5m NS3. John Holgate suggested increasing length by 50-100% (out to 30-40m; stock being 20m). I do notice a difference with the 5m extensions but as I detailed there are pluses and minuses. No free lunch, but the experiment is one far cry cheaper than new larger kites. Have you noticed that kites for some reason get more expensive when the wind dies down? You'd think it would be the other way around...

Yeah I've been looking at the prices of a new 12m Peak 2 but it's just way out of my price range at the moment having recently bought a new Access and that beast of a buggy!!

I hear you brotha! That new buggy is bad assed!! Did you get the rear axle thing worked out? It's great how the whole PKF family descended on your thread to solve the problem. Lots of engineer cooks in that kitchen! I choke on the prices of the new kites too, most particularly the big ones. Say your prayers that you never get the kitesurfing bug; have you seen those prices??? I bought my 12m P2 used from Chris (feyd) at Hardwater. It was one of his demos and was in great shape. Who knows, maybe he has another one? You could always flip him a U2U. Great guy to deal with. I appreciate that we are all stateside (shipping, our accents, etc.).

I just realized I'll be able to play in this thread too :D

I've got a bit of a dilemma. I fancy a bigger Peak for low wind, to compliment my 6m.

I've been waiting around for a used 12m but I can't see one coming up in the UK anytime soon.

However I've got the chance of a new 9m Peak 1 at a fairly good price (about 60% of the price of a new 12m Peak 2). It's tempting, but if I get it I don't want to regret it and wish I'd got a 12m Peak 2.

Guessing there will be quite a bit of overlap between my 6m and a 9m.

And my new buggy is really heavy, I'd probably be glad of that extra bit of grunt a 12m would give me.

Thoughts?

Yes. Pass on the 9 and send me the seller info! :evil::evil::evil:
Lmao

Robinson - The P2's have so much depower that I'm afraid there would be quite a bit of overlap between the 6m and 9m Peaks. One of the things that happened when Flysurfer went to the 2nd gen for the Peaks is they added a cleat to the line system for trimming. I certainly take advantage of that feature in higher winds on my 12m P2, doing a combination of trimming in at the cleat and sheeting out at the bar. You can shed a huge amount of wind that way giving the 12m very impressive higher wind range. For lower wind you aren't going to be able to come close to the 12m, particularly with a heavier buggy IMHO.

I know it is more bucks, but if you ask me an ideal combo would be two Peaks, the 6m and 12m. I'm trying as we speak to get hold of a 6m P2 to do just that.

I cant wait to fly my Peak!!!!!!!!

3shot - how long till you get it!? Looking forward to hearing your write up! The wind range on these things is amazing. Even in fairly low winds down to about 12mph I can cruise around on grass with my 6m, sometimes looping it if needs be, it packs quite a punch per square metre! The quoted "max" from FS on the 6m is 20 knots. It does really pull hard in those winds but I've had mine out in 25mph and with all that depower you can still stay safe. Super quick setup and pack down are an added bonus!

Crying out for a larger size to fill that 8-13mph range during these summer months. Sadly I think Steve is right and I'll be better off with a 12m. I'm gonna pass on that 9m Peak 1

Mine should be here tomorrow.

Sad but likely true. With the sick range of depow these buggers have I just think you'll be overlapping a lot at 9m and not getting the low end you are seeking without flying the 12m. I suspect a well trimmed in / sheeted out 6m would have somewhat comparable grunt to a non-trimmed / non-sheeted 9m.

Christmas in July. Literally..:D

Just received my 6m Peak!!
Wow!!
Damn this is one sweet kite.



Yes. I've had a few beers from excitement. Yes, I do need a shave.....

Dang Jason, you are one sexy beast!

If we were tuned to our usual channel I'd be cracking about that shot being Born Porn. I'm just thankful that you didn't go all Playgirl Burt Reynolds on us. That could have been a haunting visual to shake. :o

I have a 6m P1 and the 12m & 4m P2 and have had time in the seat with
the 6m & 12m. The 4m has only been flown static as we don't have the wind in the summer
and it's new. I agree with Windstruck . The 6m & 12m are an almost complete quiver if you fly in the normal
wind ranges. I don't worry about the upper range on the 12m, by the time you're in the middle of its range,
the 6m is pulling real well. I've flown the 6m in 30+ gusts on skis. It starts to pull well in 7-8, and loves 10-20.
I've flown the 12m in 15-17 with no problem. It starts pulling 4-5, flying static 2.5-3.5. I got the 4m to be able to
cruise in 20+ without flying on the edge. It's fairly zippy as well.

Holly gave me the 4m for my birthday along with a new helmet.
Go fast
Crash softly
Do over

You gonna look like a million bucks in that!

Ted - super cool to hear from you with real life experience regarding wind ranges and overlap of the various Peaks. My reasoning had be purely hypothetical having never flown the small peaks. Chris (feyd) also has a lot of experience with these Peaks and has made similar observations.

Great timing on your thread comment too because Paul (robinsonpr) and I had just been discussing this whole wind range overlap over U2U. He's a devoted 6m guy looking to extend his light wind range in the Peaks, and I'm in turn loving my 12m but preparing for winter with wanting to pick up a 6m Peak 2. I'd been thinking he should go for the 12m and I think your post confirms those thoughts.

Congrats on the new to you Peak Jason! Looking forward to what you think of it.

Ted, I'm really jealous of the 4m peak you have. I think that would make a really nice street kite. You basically step down a size on asphalt so the 6m peak is my preferred light wind kite for longboard. The 4 meter would be a nice change of pace to the stars for moderate wind on pavement. I would very rarely get the wind for buggy on grass for a 4 meter I would suspect.

Lol Steve. A couple more beers and my wife might be getting a "Burt Reynolds".

Thanks Sean. I could not believe my eyes when I picked up the box just how lite the kite is. At first before I opened it I was thinking something must have been left out!!

Ted. That 4m would have been nice to have this past JIBE during sandmageddon. Watching you work that 6m up and down the beach as far as I could see was impressive!

Yeah nice one Ted for the comments on the 6 + 12 quiver. I've been deliberating as I was considering a 9m Peak 1 to go with my 6m, but I think I need to go 6 + 12