I am 93kg.

My current gear:
-10m Slingshot RPM
-10m Airush Union - looking to sell this.
-8m Airush Union
-138cm Naish Monarch Board
-142cm Airush LiveWire Board

These lighter wind days are starting to drive me nuts and I want more time on the water.
Do I:
-Buy a biiiiig kite (14,15,17)?

or

-Buy a foil

I am currently interested in learning unhooked moves(Just started doing unhooked raleys, backrolls etc), and expanding on free ride hooked in moves but I mainly just want to get out on the water more as this season has seemed quite lacking so far.

Ocean rodeo Mako King!!

Definitely foil. Yourl be charging in 10 knots on a 10m.

+1 foil. My TT is covered in cobwebs in the corner of the garage

Another +1 for foil. You probably won't need new kites either...

If you're into unhooking you might not enjoy it so much, as foiling is more like carving around in powder snow. Although the freestyle boys back home foil when the wind is light and they like it...

No question. Foil.

You'll need to buy another kite to hydrofoil with anyway despite people telling you that you can just use your regular kites (you can to learn on but it will increase your frustration until you buy a light wind kite anyway ) so its not going to be cheaper to buy a hydrofoil.

Do you like small fast turning kites or do you fancy getting into a bit of airstyle? If airstyle then get yourself a big 17/19m foil kite (don't mess around with it - 17m is the smallest to look at for your weight) and learn to love the slow turning speed.

Whilst A FEW people CAN get out in very light winds (7-8knots) on a hydrofoil, the majority will want 9-10 knots anyway and a big twinnie with a big kite will get you out and learning basic airstyle stuff at that point anyway.

Ultimately.
If its shallow where you kite and you don't mind slow kites then don't bother with a hydrofoil.
If you love speed or can't stand slow kites then you can open up a whole world of big speed on a hydrofoil but you have a steep learning curve to get there.

I do understand where you are coming from. I am from Bunbury which has the most unreliable wind in the southern half of Western Australia. My most common kites are a 12 and 17m. Been kiting for quite a few years now.
But seriously - biggest kite a 10m. you are obviously spoilt for wind. If you enjoy doing what you are doing and enjoying your twin tip get a bigger kite. something like a Ozone Zephyr, Core XR 13.5 etc. Something with a good bottom end but at 90+ kg you can handle when the wind picks up.
On saying all this I just bought a foil, but that is the direction I want to go.
Make your choices and enjoy

Get a good surf foil and you also may want a smaller kite if you get hooked and want to kite in all wind strengths

Select to expand quote

Plummet said..
Definitely foil. Yourl be charging in 10 knots on a 10m.

provided you can keep the kite in the air and you dont drop it.

Select to expand quote

sassyk said..
I am 93kg.

My current gear:
-10m Slingshot RPM
-10m Airush Union - looking to sell this.
-8m Airush Union
-138cm Naish Monarch Board
-142cm Airush LiveWire Board

These lighter wind days are starting to drive me nuts and I want more time on the water.
Do I:
-Buy a biiiiig kite (14,15,17)?

or

-Buy a foil

I am currently interested in learning unhooked moves(Just started doing unhooked raleys, backrolls etc), and expanding on free ride hooked in moves but I mainly just want to get out on the water more as this season has seemed quite lacking so far.

Dont think that buying a foilboard is the answer to all lightwind frustrations.... you still need a kite that will fly in whatever wind strength you propose... buying a foilboard wont stop a kite falling out of the sky if there is no wind. A foilboard will extend your range with your RPM but at whatever wind strength that kite starts to become unflyable and non water relaunchable will be your lower limit.
Buying a bigger kite would definitely be advised but simply buying a bigger version of the type of kite you already have offers minimal advantage. This is because a larger size of any particular model of kite has more canopy area, which harvests more power from any given wind, bit it also is heavier which offsets the advantage gained.
When choosing a larger kite also look at the type of kite. Most brands have a single struter which work well in marginal conditions... Ive tried a few and would recommend the Ozone Alpha if a LEI is you preference. I use a 12m Foilkite (Hyperlink) for anything under 20knts ( with both foilboard and tt).
For me the main thing to remember when kiting in marginal conditions is don't expect to have the same type of sesh that you have in 20+knts... it is not a linear equation. I like most used to think that simply buying a larger kite is the answer to lighter wind days, but as I just said, it is not linear, but you can still have lots of fun with a different bag of tricks on those days.

Buy a big surf foil and light wind 17/18m kite ..... be over-powered in 7/8 knots

Your union would be an okay foil kite actually. They stay in air well in the lower end of their wind range. Get a foil not just to access lighter winds but as a completely different challenge. Save your unhooked progression when the wind dictates it.

Initially it won't be a very low wind solution, as you need a little board skills to milk the wind. Your first say, few sessions, will start with same size kite as TT then gradually getting smaller.

Depends how you want to ride ... as others have said, if you want to blast around at speed, you'll still need a big kite for low wind. If you want to noodle about, chase some swell to glide on or just cruise around, get a big surf wing (1200cm2 plus) and stick with a small kite.

The Union looks like the better kite for foiling, but if you want to unhook you'll prefer the RPM... I'd sell one of the TTs instead, cos when you get used to foiling, you start getting picky about the wind you'd bother TTing in or at least I did...

I had big light wind kites for a couple years and was using them on a twin tip and surfboard. On a twin tip practicing tricks and trying to boost on a big kite in lighter winds felt like a lamed down version of my normal twin tip riding.

On a surfboard it felt less lamed down and playing in the waves in light wind can be a lot of fun but a big 15m+ kite loses a lot of the functionality required for proper wave riding.

When I started foiling it was a whole new realm of light wind fun. I would use the same size kite in 12 knots as i would use in 20 knots and I would be riding with the same or more board speed. The feeling of slogging or doing a lamed down light wind version of your normal riding is not evident in foiling and often the lighter days are actually more fun!

With all that said getting a foil won't be a replacement for your twin tip it will be a journey down a whole different path

+1 for Foil (and impact vest and helmet)
and you will want other kites to go with the foil quite soon(something that stays in the air at 8-10 knots, and something smaller for stronger winds - yes you probably won't want to jump on your twintip in heavier winds after a while)

For me weighing 100kg - the Axis surf foil has been great to learn on - be warned though, you are going to cop quite a few extreme hidings on your learning journey, it all goes pearshaped in seconds !!

Thanks for the advice guys! From the sounds of it I think I'm going to get an axis foil from action sports when I have the $$$.

+1 go a foil, ride above the water like your floating through the air

If you kite at Pinners I'd be happy to demo you my Flysurfer Soul 15 if you want to try a bigger kite. I also have an axis surf foil but a foil isnt something you can demo if you've never ridden one. Personally, I use both. Sometimes I feel like riding a SB or TT and the 15 works, sometimes I want to foil and occasionally I use both together. (Like 5-6 knots).

Action Sports sell both Axis and Flysurfer