Helium 4

I've only ever met one Helium owner. I was standing on the beach with my gear, decided it wasn't windy enough to pump up my kite and his Girlfriend who weighed about the same as me (only 65kg) was out on his 15m Helium.
He praised the light wind performance, both power and relaunch, praised the wind range saying "you just shut off the power during gusts by sheeting out" and obviously praised the price with regards to "how much kite you get per dollar".
I can't comment on actual performance since I never flew the kite but turns looked pretty smooth and quick for a 15m and the kite just seemed to want to stay in the air. Bear in mind this whole perspective is "as witnessed" from the beach and not actually flying the kite but I know I would not have had enough wind for my 12m LF Solo to hold ground.
Sorry I couldn't be more help. There is a good chance the light wind ability of the Helium could translate to drift in the surf but not sure if you could turn off the power and surf the wave like some prefer to do. It would depend on your style and preferences.

Cheers

Hi andos,
I don't have personal experience flying the Helium but they are super popular at my home spot as a wave kite. A big decision guys have here is Helium or Element, I went for the Element for a bit more grunt and I do like to jump still as well as wave ride. That being said, the Helium looks really good, kinda similar to the Element 5 which is an awesome kite. I think the Helium has a little lighter build than the Element, so probably have some weight savings but maybe not as robust. Just from an observer's point, the Helium looks like a really good drifting/down the line kite and pretty stable. Try and hit up Felix Pivec on the Switch email or facebook messenger, he is the man to talk to. I think they still have a demo program where you can try and return if it's not working out. Aloha.

I can't comment on the Helium 4 but I have the Helium 3 12m, worst kite I've ever owned. It drops out of the sky at zenith many times and lots of canopy flutter.
If you want a good wave kite try the REO

Hey Andos

I have owned a LW XR3 in a 19m for a number of years and loved it. Pulled like a truck, super solid feeling when flying it, construction was sensational and I could get it flying in 8-10 knots no problems. Now I know these are both different kites but they are both aimed at the light wind side of things. I had the chance to borrow a mates Helium as I was interested in the differences and quite liked the look of it.

Unfortunately I came away from it disappointed. It felt unresponsive and spongy. Unlike the XR it didn't do that well in really light wind. Maybe I was too used to what the XR delivered and expected similar, but this wasn't the case. Possibly the difference between a 3 strut v's 5 strut kite. Construction seems fine though.

Good call, try one out before you buy. But I reckon there are better LW kites out there like the Zephyr.