im in the market for a kite to use in the 15-20knot range. My slingshot fuel is killing me slowly.
i thought a file was scary when you loop it, but it's oven worse on a foil haha.
was thinking a sst, rally, or rpm in the 7m and 8m range.

Im sure every powerful m 3 strut kite would do the trick.

Foil kites or cloud arnt an option for me.

Haha I imagine the full on C monster must be fun on a foil. IMO a wave kite is best as it is light, drifts, has somewhat instant depower by means of throw, and turns fast and easy by using one hand (while the other hand is giving your balance while most people think you are waving at them or holding a selfie stick) lol. So SST in your case probably best but RPM should probably be ok too

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RussKraut said..
Haha I imagine the full on C monster must be fun on a foil. IMO a wave kite is best as it is light, drifts, has somewhat instant depower by means of throw, and turns fast and easy by using one hand (while the other hand is giving your balance while most people think you are waving at them or holding a selfie stick) lol. So SST in your case probably best but RPM should probably be ok too

rpms fall out of the sky. They need to be pulled up constantly as when they fly fast without even LINE tension they just fall out of the sky and keep diving downwards.. Not a foilboarding kite. Don't know about this under scoring craps either but it sucks like a RPM foiling.?
Slingshot Revs are best by far..
But try RPMs n get back!

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kemp90 said..
im in the market for a kite to use in the 15-20knot range. My slingshot fuel is killing me slowly.
i thought a file was scary when you loop it, but it's oven worse on a foil haha.
was thinking a sst, rally, or rpm in the 7m and 8m range.

Im sure every powerful m 3 strut kite would do the trick.

Foil kites or cloud arnt an option for me.

I got an Airush Ultra which way cool for foiling,and only outclassed by my Hyperlink. I don't know why a foil kite isn't an option for you but as it stands I can only see myself using LEI kites when I absolutely cannot use the Hyperlink.

+ 1 on the wave kite the more drift the better I have an old 2011 7mRrd religion that I love for stability and being a wave kite It does have a good high end as well ( wind range 14/25 knots comfortable but can hold it till 30 on the foil )

@snalberski can I ask about what quiver and sizes u have and which kite u use for which conditions ( I assume u live around the Perth area too so Seabreeze probably played a factor which gear u chose..?!

Why isn't a Cloud or strutless an option?

Experimenting at the moment but currently my favourite is a 2009 10 mtr Best Nemi HP, now a single strut. This things works well on a foil, the thin leading edge points high into the wind and is lightweight due to its size. Push the bar out and you get a bit of flutter but this immediately drops the kite back in the window. Removing 4 struts took 711grms off the total weight, now 2.8kg so it floats in the light wind nicely. It even relaunches ok.
The single strut kites seem to be a great option for foiling, very user friendly.

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bigtone667 said..
Why isn't a Cloud or strutless an option?

Because you can't buy them. Can't buy them new and there is nun on the seconds market.

Kempo I'm happy with my sst I use an 8 & 10 combo depending on the strength. Get Josh to send you a 9m sst

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Fly on da wall said..

RussKraut said..
Haha I imagine the full on C monster must be fun on a foil. IMO a wave kite is best as it is light, drifts, has somewhat instant depower by means of throw, and turns fast and easy by using one hand (while the other hand is giving your balance while most people think you are waving at them or holding a selfie stick) lol. So SST in your case probably best but RPM should probably be ok too

rpms fall out of the sky. They need to be pulled up constantly as when they fly fast without even LINE tension they just fall out of the sky and keep diving downwards.. Not a foilboarding kite. Don't know about this under scoring craps either but it sucks like a RPM foiling.?
Slingshot Revs are best by far..
But try RPMs n get back!

That's true. Small size RPMs seem to stall less, and I had older RPMs which also seemed to be a bit lighter and less stalling, just less focussed on wakestyle like these days. I have Enduros and Reos and while Enduros seem light and nimble and have enough drift, so are ok on a sb, that extra lightness, drift, nimbleness, sheet out = instant depower but with ability to stear, on the Reos is making a huge difference.

Keen on trying single strut kites too, sounds like a good alternative to foil kites

I kinda just fly what I have. Riding is surf focused with foiling as the second best. But have foiled a lot more than anything else this year. :-)

I ride bws. Recently got an ocean rodeo Roam. I like how the wave kite's allow for maximum drift for down wind foiling. I am not much of a kite looper, so I've found that higher aspect kite's like flite can be challenging in lower end of range. Fine when going straight (actually great) but requires some finesse in turns, to avoid back stalling.

When foiling was about racing it seemed higher aspect the better. For free riding the consensus seems to be wave oriented kites. my suspicion is that within the genre any given brand is about as good as any other.

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freotilo said..
+ 1 on the wave kite the more drift the better I have an old 2011 7mRrd religion that I love for stability and being a wave kite It does have a good high end as well ( wind range 14/25 knots comfortable but can hold it till 30 on the foil )

@snalberski can I ask about what quiver and sizes u have and which kite u use for which conditions ( I assume u live around the Perth area too so Seabreeze probably played a factor which gear u chose..?!

Both my Ultra and Hyperlink are 9m kites. So far I've used them in12-20 knots easily. I haven't tried the Hyperlink below 14 knots but I don't think 12knots or possibly lower will be a problem. 22 knots on the hydrofoil is really pushing it and I reckon a 7m Hyperlink for high teens to mid twenties would be something special. I still have a 8m Nitro 4 which I'll hang on to and use for powered up TT sessions.

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freotilo said..
+ 1 on the wave kite the more drift the better I have an old 2011 7mRrd religion that I love for stability and being a wave kite It does have a good high end as well ( wind range 14/25 knots comfortable but can hold it till 30 on the foil )

@snalberski can I ask about what quiver and sizes u have and which kite u use for which conditions ( I assume u live around the Perth area too so Seabreeze probably played a factor which gear u chose..?!

Both my Ultra and Hyperlink are 9m kites. So far I've used them in12-20 knots easily. I haven't tried the Hyperlink below 14 knots but I don't think 12knots or possibly lower will be a problem. 22 knots on the hydrofoil is really pushing it and I reckon a 7m Hyperlink for high teens to mid twenties would be something special. I still have a 8m Nitro 4 which I'll hang on to and use for powered up TT sessions.

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horey69 said..
Kempo I'm happy with my sst I use an 8 & 10 combo depending on the strength. Get Josh to send you a 9m sst

I'm thinking a 8 would be good for me. I'm only 75kg.
What wind do you take your 8 out in

Hi Kemp,

Having used both 3 strutted Surf kites (LF WOW) & Strutless Cloud kites for foiling, riding waves & now back to occasional TT session.

My preference is a 3 strutted surf kite. Just get a set of extension lines for the lighter days on the foil and all your different styles are covered. Yes, they are covered with a compromise in some areas, but one set of kites to do all this styles is pretty good.

Im 90kgs & I find the 7, 9 & 12M cover just about everything I'm interested in. If it's blowing it's tit's off & I feel like foiling (should be on TT really making most of the good wind) I will bust out the 5M - I have but should sell.

Cloud kites are awesome foiling & on waves (Especially light winds), but I find I'm changing sizes too often when it's gusty. If I'm out in the same conditions on the LF WOW it's not such an issue & I'll just stay out.

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kemp90 said..

horey69 said..
Kempo I'm happy with my sst I use an 8 & 10 combo depending on the strength. Get Josh to send you a 9m sst

I'm thinking a 8 would be good for me. I'm only 75kg.
What wind do you take your 8 out in

I have the 8 and I'm currently 72kg fave size at the moment I've foiled with it to the early 20's I general put it up around the 16knt mark, below that I use the 10m(now my biggest kite)

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kemp90 said..

bigtone667 said..
Why isn't a Cloud or strutless an option?

Because you can't buy them. Can't buy them new and there is nun on the seconds market.

There is an easy way to buy stuff from USA. You set a 'HopShopGo' account which is run by Paypal. It cost nothing to join and you get USA address in Portland Oregon. You buy stuff and it gets sent to your address in USA. When you want to get few things, they store your stuff for free for up to 30 days and consolidate your items into single package for a small fee. Shipping of 8 kg stuff to Perth cost me $US100 (comes dhl in 5 days). If any stores in US don't take Australian credit card, you can get Paypal to buy it for you for 10% fee.

Speaking from extremely limited experience my favourite by far is the airush ultra

Awesome kite

Like my 2012 8m catalyst. It's sweet as. Bit it's ****ed. I need a new 8m.

I am using Switch Elements. They're very good kites and much cheaper than the other brands.

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Gorgo said..
I am using Switch Elements. They're very good kites and much cheaper than the other brands.

Just check out the price of a switch element, 8m with bag, pump, bar and lines $1887 nzd. Not so cheep any more aye?

I have a 2014 6m Catalyst and a 2015 9m Catalyst along with a 3.5m Cloud. I probably enjoy the 6m Cat the most but like them all. Will likely change from Cats to REOs down the track. I wish Ozone would develop a 1 strut kite (other than the Uno) for foiling / light wind applications. Both Ozone and Cabrinha seem late to the show with this type of kite.

I just picked up 5 and 7mtr Element 5's and a bar (on a run out special because the E6 is out) for way less than that for the lot Plummet.
They are great for foiling but I think the E5's are all gone now.
I am only a beginner when it comes to foiling but for general free ride foiling I think any of the wave type kites with good drift, Elements, Reo's etc would work great.
For really low wind riding I'm sure the Ultras, Monos etc or foil kites are the way to go.

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Plummet said..

Gorgo said..
I am using Switch Elements. They're very good kites and much cheaper than the other brands.

Just check out the price of a switch element, 8m with bag, pump, bar and lines $1887 nzd. Not so cheep any more aye?

Still roughly half the price of a comparable kite from a name brand, and you don't have to deal with the arsehole dealers that sell some of those brands.

The Elements seem to perform as well as the name brands. Except for the pro riders I don't see anybody doing anything on their kites that I can't do on my Elements (Add in foil kites to that. My tacks are still not happening very reliably.)

I have been using my Switchblades while learning to foil this summer, good predictable park and ride kite with some drift. They do get a bit sketchy as the wind dies, they seem to get to a threshold and just want to fall from the sky. I need to keep them moving at all times in super light winds when I am in the water. No real problem as this is all second nature having used them for years.

Very helpful thread - thanks kemp90 for starting it, hope it is ok to add to it.

I am 60kg & am looking for 2 kites for 10-25knot range. I have had 3 sessions on a Double Agent w 40cm mast & had a couple of 30metre heelside foil runs & heel toe turns but my 2012 Cabrinha Vectors 7/9/12 are often either overpowered or falling out of the sky so I am rigging to be overpowered (& fully de powering when on foil).

I am wondering if Airush Ultra 5m & 7/8/9m (or Bandit or Mono or Notus Air) might be better to learn with? With a spare set of line extensions to extend the range of the kite I am using.

Any advice much appreciated on what you would recommend for my weight, wind range (not too windy or fast) & skilllevel
a. which kite
b. what sizes
c. whether I should persevere w the Vectors a bit longer
d. Who demos & sells Ultra & Notus Air in Sydney

Ozone edge,great up and down wind performance apparently,next best thing to a foil kite.which by the way I baught 2 of recently and love them

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speedy87 said..
Ozone edge,great up and down wind performance apparently,next best thing to a foil kite.which by the way I baught 2 of recently and love them

I thought being a 5 strut they might be heavy

I would have thought that the Edge would offer too much power and not enough drift, but since I have not flown them I can't really comment. I use Reo's myself, and over 20 knots I use a 4 Uno. I would love to have a crack at the Hyperlink just to get a feel for those type of kites. But for the style of riding I do the Reo's are a fantastic kite. Biggest one I foil with is a 10 and I am about 84 kilos, and that gets me out in 8 to 10 knots. Any kite that drifts well will work, but as far as racing goes I would think that the foil kites would be the best option.

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kemp90 said..

speedy87 said..
Ozone edge,great up and down wind performance apparently,next best thing to a foil kite.which by the way I baught 2 of recently and love them

I thought being a 5 strut they might be heavy

They are and they totally suck under powered in light winds for A) drifting B) relaunching and C) staying in the air in light winds when static flying.

I just sold my 13m and still have the 10 but refuse to use it sub 12 knots.