Stand Up Kiting. Sounds shameful but imagine being in Hatteras at the knee-deep sound side and there was no wind for day and a
half, it's noon time and it blows buttersmooth 4 knots. Well, I was tempted and SUK didn't suck! 19m Speed3 Deluxe on top of ULI inflatable SUP lasted
me good hour or so before wind picked up.
However the 19m seems too massive for that game and Peak2 is said to stay in the air at 3.5 knots. Being in knee deep water an occasional kite
relaunch shouldn't be a big challenge for a Peak. However the Lotus is only 30% heavier but the low end is claimed much higher, at 9 knots for 10m.
I'd compare SUK to street kiting - might even get by without a harness, might be sufficient with a dual liner too. The only requirements I see are
ultimate low end, a bar setup (to be able to use one hand to grab the board) and somewhat water-relaunchability, but the last one is not a must.
Has anyone here tried that, any suggestions on a kite that wouldn't suck in 3+ knots?
I've successfully flown my 12m Peak 2 in winds that low, but they better be steady. I don't care how light a wind range the kite has, it needs steady
wind to stay up in the air. I bring this point up because the Peak series is a single skin with nothing inflated in it. I haven't had any experience
flying it over water (of any depth) but have gotten caught in a rain storm with it and it not surprisingly became a sodden mess in moments. You
mentioned "...being in knee deep water an occasional kite relaunch shouldn't be a big challenge for a Peak...". If I'm understanding you properly
that would involve the Peak landing in the water.... I must be missing something but I just don't see that turning out well.
...If I'm understanding you properly that would involve the Peak landing in the water.... I must be missing something but I just don't see that
turning out well.
As for the Peak relaunch - lot of things work at OBX that don't work anywhere else, though. In this case being in knee deep water probably makes a
very big difference. No drifting downwind, causing the lines to slack.
You might check out the F-One Source kite - 18 m designed for SUK. Also the Hydra HQ series are a lot smaller but water relaunchable (at OBX at
least).
A question to Peak folks:
Flysurfer specifies 3.5 knots low end for either 6m, 9m and 12m versions. Is it really so? Does canopy weight and drag increase for each step eat away
all the additional low end it gains with area increase?
What about practical low end of 6m Lotus? Did anyone had a chance to measure that?
For the 10m NS2, I probably need 6 knots to be able to park 'n ride in the buggy. You could static fly it in 3 knots but it would be a bit of work.
I've seen video of Steffen using the 7m on a SUP pretty successfully by the look. Don't think you could water relaunch it though. The Hydra II might
be more the ticket - there's a 4.5m now available in them. A little info here: http://www.extremekites.com.au/topic/15447-hq-hydra-ii/
Great seeing the Peak aquatic relaunch video! I didn't know they could do that, regardless of how ideal the conditions were. Thanks for that.
My early impression of flying multiple sizes of single skin kite quivers is that they all will launch in very little wind, but as folks are saying,
the larger the kite is the earlier in the wind range is the point where the kite will have enough grunt to actually use it as a motor. I would think
that the resistance of a SUP in water might be sort of comparable to a buggy on a field of grass that could use a good mowing or a sandy beach that
isn't overly hard packed. That's just theory on my part, no actual SUP experience. With that in mind I am speculating the need to size up one kite
to keep things all square. Again, just speculation on my part.
About the Nasa Stars (at least the ones I have experience with, Born-Kite NS3s) these kites can have a tendency to stall or fly backwards when getting
quite low in their wind range. I can get my 8.5m NS3 up in the air in light wind but sooner or later I'm stalling out and the kite backs down to the
ground. Surely pilot error is involved here. I suspect therefore that even in the larger 10.0 and 12.5m sizes that this backing-up issue will still
be present. I've got a 10.0m NS3 on order and am anxious to see just how light a wind I can use this kite effectively as a buggy engine.
I've used my small LEIs and SUP board when there's not enough wind to get up with the equipment I have, or to get upriver for the ride down (did this
with my venom more than I should admit, especially with the swerving it to get low for overpasses.
I've used my small LEIs and SUP board when there's not enough wind to get up with the equipment I have, or to get upriver for the ride down (did this
with my venom more than I should admit, especially with the swerving it to get low for overpasses.
5m and 9m, maybe my 7m one day, I don't remember. Especially on the SUP Board I have (Boardworks Badfisher 11' Inflatable) you really can't hold much
of an edge. So while fun to mess around with when I first started in the water or waiting for wind to come up enough my 14 or 16m can pull my fat ass
out of the water and get up (I'm still very new and learning the water side of things, as I can't get out much for it, and have sucky inland wind), it
was a way to be entertained, and get a small workout in. I also took some friends kids around that way on my SUP board which they were all thrilled
by.
I bought a Slingshot iSUP before the June OBX trip with my family who aren't kiteboarders (yet). They loved the SUP, they loved the sound side and
partially so because of the SUP. Pricey or not that was a great investment. And for inflatable - it's just easier to transport and store it and we go
places every year where we can use it.
I have flown and buggyed with a 15 meter npw9 in less then 5 mph winds.
Susan (npw goddess)
PKD Brooza\'s 2, 3, 4 and 5.5 meter
Libre Bora\'s 6 and 7 meter
Libre stainless full race with standard and big foot light wheels
Nasa wings: npw5 0.4, 0.8, 1.2, 1.7, 2.4, 3.1, 3.9, 4.8, 5.8, 6.9 meters
npw9 3.4, 5.3, 6.0, 8.0, 9.0, 10.0, 11.0, 15.0 meters
Quadrifoil xm for sale
Wow, just looked up one of those inflato sup boards. Those things are expensive!
Yup, far more so than you'd expect. I got lucky and got a factory blemish (color slightly off) one through Sierra Trading Post for about 50% of what
they run new. Inflatable is nice with my tiny car, and taking it backpacking to some lakes in the national forest for fishing, doubles as a fantastic
sleeping pad.
i have dabbled in the SUK on a borrowed board , certainly opens the sessions up. the inflatables are the way to go. hauling the regular ones around
on a vehicle or just carrying to the beach is a load and an instant turn off, but the inflatables definitely better!
i think NPW would make it an easy package.
friend of mine (and RANDY's! ) scores a ton of fun rides with SUP + windsurf sail in light wind.
the streetkite / SUK very close for sure. the longboard comes around much quicker though and flow seems a little faster
I'm going to San Diego for a family vacation next week and hope to do some SUP in the bay (not open ocean). Winds forecast is for 10 mph, but who
knows what that really means?
I have a number of NS3s in smaller sizes (2.5, 3.2, and 4.0m) that I could run straight off of a bar. Any thoughts on what size or sizes might be
right for giving this a whirl?
Thanks Smiler! I'd seen that video before and liked it. I have some 7m lines on order from Steffen that would let me set up similar to how he is
rigged in the video. Don't have those line yet unfortunately. I've only got his full length 20m lines or running straight off of handles as my two
options at this point. I think I'll bring a bar and a couple of smaller kites and just see what happens. I see he was using a NS2 5.5m in that
video.
i have dabbled in the SUK on a borrowed board , certainly opens the sessions up. the inflatables are the way to go. hauling the regular ones around
on a vehicle or just carrying to the beach is a load and an instant turn off, but the inflatables definitely better!
i think NPW would make it an easy package.
friend of mine (and RANDY's! ) scores a ton of fun rides with SUP + windsurf sail in light wind.
the streetkite / SUK very close for sure. the longboard comes around much quicker though and flow seems a little faster
I agree there could be some similarities but longboard seems much faster than the SUK videos I've seen.
And yes grigorib, I do make it upwind. That would be a deal breaker for me as well
I bought my NS2 5.5 because of that video. It looks like he is pretty much going downwind though, but a bit hard to tell. Having rudder makes it
much easier (possible?) to go across the wind with an SUP.
![[*]](images/perspective/default_icon.gif){kind=icon}
