I love my 17m 2010 zephyr as I use my 135 laluz
As my main ride, any winds under 12 knots in Broome is not worth it. A nugget directional does okay in 10-11 knots.
I've also taken the zephyr out in 17 to 20 knots while cyclone rusty was crashing into port headland, gotta remember I'm only 65kg another kiter at similar weight was powering on the 11.5 C4, at that time I was timid on boosting a 2 meter jump landed me 10 to 20 meters down wind when I got on the beach I was tippy toeing back to land the kite. Before that happen though I did a stupid thing I thought if gently pull the flagging line in a fraction to take the power out of the kite, that worked (kite basically fell out the sky) then **** hit the fan when it decided to to flare out and I was up and away and then sliding on my arse for a bit
But other then that it was a awesome experience and learnt what my maximum wind is for a Zephyr with my built

for a kite its size it has an amazing upper wind range, a mate had his cab sb 8mtr up and i was on the zephyr it was in its mid 20s, however did get caught out on a wswesterly once, lucky i was 200mtrs out or i would of ended up on the cafe roof, when i checked the sb shore graph it showed a gust of 30 knts, the scariest part was walking the safety back to the kite i was sure it was gonna take off, when it gets around 18knts and upwards it a real struggle to keep upwind and is generally a bit of a wrestle,

nor west 20kts is nothing like perth 20kts

That's a good point with North west having different air density as the south, which sometimes makes it hard for me to comprehend people kiting in anything under 10 knots ha ha

Select to expand quote

cauncy said...
for a kite its size it has an amazing upper wind range, a mate had his cab sb 8mtr up and i was on the zephyr it was in its mid 20s, however did get caught out on a wswesterly once, lucky i was 200mtrs out or i would of ended up on the cafe roof, when i checked the sb shore graph it showed a gust of 30 knts, the scariest part was walking the safety back to the kite i was sure it was gonna take off, when it gets around 18knts and upwards it a real struggle to keep upwind and is generally a bit of a wrestle,

I thought I did alright staying up wind, just did a fair bit of board braking and dipped my backside in the water so I would slow down faster ha ha in saying that it was a stop start feel

Still can't find one decent review on this 2013 kite, so Farq it I'm gonna go and ride it myself at Westoz. Review to follow soon enough.

Nice I'm intrigued to find out how it flys

I have a 2011 Zephyr........its been my go to kite the last 2 seasons here in Bris due to lack of wind most the time. It has a great top end and handles the gusts really well. At 105-107kg and on my monk im comfortable up to mid 20's.
I dont normally ride a 17m in those conditions, its happened only a handful of times, but its nice to know (particularly in winter) that if it picks up or some gnarly gusts come through I can keep that sucker under control and feel reasonable safe

Eppo......im looking at upgrading to the 2013 Zephyr, so would be keen to hear your thoughts.

Might be a while, the forecast looks too good for a 17m this week!