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Hi, i have a Cabrinha Double Agent and looking for a good light wind kite. I am 90kg and want to be up nicely in around 10 knots. What should I get?
In terms of ten knot range i don't think you will get a LE kite to stay up. At least not with the inconsistent 10knot wind we have here.
Im 95-100kg and use a 10 Evo as my go to foil kite. Mainly because its high aspect so trucks up wind and generates power when you start working it which is when i want it. Naish Boxer and North Mono are pretty great light wind kites. They stay up in next to nothing. around the 12knots is what i foil in but my kites can keep me foiling to 25.
I think it really depends on what you are doing when you foil. I'm trying to muck around, surf small waves, roll tack and just have fun cruising. So the smaller kites are much better and you can generate much of the same power that a bigger slower kite can while giving you the maneuverability that you need.
I haven't really spent much time on ram air kites. I used to fly the peter lyns but i wouldn't use them for foiling. I feel like i need the rigidity to turn when i want to. I down loop a fair bit (every jibe) as well as when i water start when its super light.
Cheers,
Ryan
Nearly all the strutless and single strut kites will work in ten knots without any issues.
I usually fly a 10.4m Cloud in 10 knots on a Naish Surf Thrust.
Plenty of options available.
Earlier in the season I bought an Airush Ultra which is exceptional when it comes to inflatable foil specific kites... its super light, drifts well and stays in the air on a fairies fart. For 90kgs in 10 knots you would want at least a 12m or larger. Second half of the season I bought Ozone Hyperlinks and the Ultra hasn't been out of the bag since. On the 9m Hyperlink I am going down easily to about 12knts on the foilboard and still able to do medium height boosts. At 19knts I'm boosting scary high (for me) and floating like a turd in a toilet. A 12m Hyperlink or equivalent ram kite is on the cards for next season and would definitely get me powered well in 10 and sub 10knts on the foilboard (@83kgs)
If your constantly foilboarding in low teens/10ish knts the benefits of a ram kite is something to really look at. Relaunching and bridle complexity are overstated in my opinion and the benefits far outshine other options.
Flysurfer kites are the best build kites and fly amazing in light air. If you want an inflatable i like the new North mono 2018! relaunches in next to nothing.
10 kts is not really considered "light wind" by experienced foilers. Single strut or strutless in larger size should work fine, especially with longer lines. I use a Cloud 10.4 at 10 kts. I have a foil kite (Pulsion 12) for less than 9 kt days.
Bigtone, which Naish skim board are you using? I've got the Thrust kite wing, toying with the idea of getting the medium surf wing. Just waiting to see what Naish wings are coming out in 2019. I'm 80kg
Thanks for the info Bigtone, I'll look at the availability of a medium wing.
As for a light wind kite, I use single strut tubes down to about 11 knots the a 12 foil kite under that. Mainly because tube kites don't like to relaunch in the light stuff, and I tend to give my kites a swim occasionally.
Seconding what a couple of people have mentioned already, we've found the single strut design to be the way to go for light wind. Used the North Mono, LF Solo, Naish Boxer and they all perform pretty well for light wind foiling, and have amazing relaunch considering you'll probably be out in very marginal wind.
I'm 78 kg and use a Moses 550 wing. My 12m Mono works in 10 knots with some short lulls to 8. I've never dropped it in the water!
Has a lot of power in down and up stroke, and if there's anything wrong about it is that it's too powerful when you have apparent wind on a HF. Its a great kite to use as a beginner and freeride foiling and with a surfboard . I also have Mono 9-7 m
I've ordered a Hyperlink UL 9m that I'll run on 27 to 20 m lines. People have told me it will replace the 12 Mono . I dont have it yet. I'll be surprised if it indeed has same power as the 12 Mono, but a majority of experienced people advised me to get the 9m..
Many foil kite users say that as a bigger kite I will want a 15 m... Some jump from 9m to 17m.... Next year.....
Thanks everyone, it seems its a battle between the cloud kites an a foil kite? Iike the clouds , although i live in Australia and we cant buy them here!
It was pretty light yesterday (7/8 knots) around my local foil spot, so I decided to pull out the 18m Chrono (R1). Haven't used it for at least 18 months.
Pulled it out and spent ten minutes ensuring no tangles in the bridle, pre-filled it with a battery powered blower and launched.
Wandered out into the water and launched with Naish SUP foil. You forget how much raw power these kites have. One dive of the kite and it pulled me straight up onto the foil. Bang!!!!
And then at the end of the run I had to turn around. At this point I remembered how SSSSLLLLLLLOOOOOOOWWWWWW these big arse kites are. A nice big down loop and off I went again. Bang!!!
Even tried a kite loop launch ........ Sweet Mother of God - The Power!!!
The lawn mowing was fun, the turning sucked. Not as much fun or flexible as my Clouds, but I got out and running without any dramas at all with power.
. 7 knts is way low. Good idea about the blower. But how was the boost and float?
. 7 knts is way low. Good idea about the blower. But how was the boost and float?
Hi Runjase,
one of the the main reason I got into foiling was for the light wind option. After seeing videos of guys going flat out in less than 6 knots, my plans were set.
i bought the 2018 North Ace 14.5 Foil Kite.
Thus far i've ridden it in everything from 4 to around 18 knots. My happy place is 8 to 12 knots. I am fully lit at 8 knots and reaching for depower in anything above that. I can be very happily powered in 6 knots and although I can go in almost half that wind speed if already up on the foil (ie through lulls), relaunch and getting up on the wings becomes difficult below 4 knots.
i absolutely love foiling in sub 10 knots because the water is super flat, there are few people out and it's usually warm and mild, oh, and I'm not usually in "hang on for grim death" mode. In any more than 15 knots on the Foil I am in survival mode as the apparent wind power just becomes too much for comfort and I end up near the top speed of the Foil, and usually a spectacular high speed crash.
i ride the Ace on 18 meter lines on the North Foil Pro board and Slingshot Ghost Whisperer Foil FR545 (same as Moses Foil).
Without a doubt the ram air foils are far superior to anything else sub 10 knots but you need to be fairly sure of your ability to control at speed as they don't really have an "off" option that you get with LEI kites. I think you will also get much better light wind performance from a fast foil set with minimal drag so you can take full advantage of the apparent wind increase through speed. A slow or draggy foil may not give you the optimum performance of the ram airs.
The down side to high aspect ratio Ram air kites is the swim in if the wind drops out completely (happened to me). When the wind is so light the Kite won't even sit at 12 o'clock and falls in the water. However just prior to this I was screaching across the river is almost no wind. It's so amazing!
If looking for an LEI, you have to go a long way to finding a better Kite than the North Mono. If you want a safe half way in between option, then the Ozone Hyperlink is excellent.
DM
Hey Bigtone,
With all due respect, I know you can Kite in some light wind and the clouds do pretty good in the light stuff, but a good ram air will run rings around even the best LEI in the very light stuff.
this was when I went out today at 2:30 and it was at its windiest. I dropped to almost half this by 5pm and the big foils were still ripping Long after the LEI's had come in.
i was depowered on the trim and lit like crazy in these conditions.
DM
Must be very fast as not even in the photos.
Ok I think full declaration needs to be made eg Rider weight, foil design, water conditions, wind density etc.??
Once declared maybe we mere mortals may be enlightened.
I was out foiling at the same spot as Darren today and can attest to him being very lit on his North foil kite - and so he should have been on a 14.5m. It was 9 -12kts according to SB. I was on my Hoverglide and 9m Ozone Catalyst (which I bought from Darren
), and had no problems staying upwind - but had to work the kite hard at times. I'm 79kgs. If I had dropped my kite, relaunch would have been a problem. My mate went out on his 14m Apollo and Cab Double Agent. He came in after maybe 15 min as his kite turned into a death machine once up foiling and creating apparent wind. Comfortable power is a fine line on lighter days with bigger kites.
Ciao Jankie
