Hi there .Im looking for some ideas for a light wind surf kite in the 12 to 14 m size.I want something that is going to go up wind really well so that I can do a short tack and spend more time wave riding than tacking.
I currently have been doing a lot of downwinders in perth and usually fly the reo in the 10m size riding a nugget 5'5.It covers me for 13 knots to 25 for down winders.
I love the way the reo flys and is phenomanal kite for downwinders ,but its upwind capabilty is not so good for those days where you just want to tack in and out at a good wave spot.
I weigh 85 pies and in the past have flown Ozone edges in the 13 and 17 m ,but Im looking for something that wont pull me off the wave like the edges do .
Any suggestions?
I would say the Reo (2014, have not flown older ones) is extremely well (too well almost) fluying forward i.e. hammers upwind like nothing else. Have you tried a 12 or 14?
Reo's as with all the wave kites that I have flown tend to stall at there bottom end of there wind range.I fly edges in light wind and you can just point them high and get insane angles up wind on the nugget.Im looking for something in between the 2 of these kites. Reo being low aspect and the edge being high aspect.Im looking to compromise for lighter conditions .Ive heard that BWS have done 14 m lightwind optimised kite making it a bit more higher aspect.
Interesting to see how this kite is .I bet you its going to be very slow !
I also use 10 m reo 2014 model "love it " And use 17 m Zepha on my 5'8 " surf board in waves for small fun waves in light wind , should demo if possible
Select to expand quotediamond2001 said..
Reo's as with all the wave kites that I have flown tend to stall at there bottom end of there wind range.I fly edges in light wind and you can just point them high and get insane angles up wind on the nugget.Im looking for something in between the 2 of these kites. Reo being low aspect and the edge being high aspect.Im looking to compromise for lighter conditions .Ive heard that BWS have done 14 m lightwind optimised kite making it a bit more higher aspect.
Interesting to see how this kite is .I bet you its going to be very slow !
I would be surprised if its as slow to turn as an edge, I,m 75kg and using a 5'0 Nugget + 2014 12m Wave can go upwind in 10-15.
I use a Naish Ride 14 meter for light winds surf session + malibu 9 meter or my mako King. I can hold ground from 8 Knots and go upwind from 10 Knots. cheers
What year are your Reo's? I'm thinking that you are a bit underdone with a 10M at 13 knots, you must be working the kite hard to stay upwind in that wind strength? A bigger kite will definitely help and the obvious choice from Ozone is the 14M Catalyst.
If your Reo is stalling in lighter winds, especially at the bottom of a downstroke of if you are sheeted in but going toward the kite a bit, trim the kite in with the trimmer, but before you kite again check your lines, I'll bet your fronts have stretched a bit, or you have changed the knot under the float to make the rear lines shorter some time ago and have not noticed or realised that your fronts have stretched (which shortens the rears even more and makes the kite prone to stalling) Reo's, if the lines are set right don't stall, and they go upwind really well. The fact that you say your kite is stalling and not going upwind well almost guarantees that your lines are out of wack, hope this helps?
I'm using the airush lithium 14m as my lightwind kite, and have the nugget as well. 95kegs.
Its more park and ride, but u can still work it. Give it a go if you can.
Goes upwind easy
I rock a 13 edge and love it in light winds in the waves. Sure its not a 10m wave kite but you can do some sweet stuff while others are stuggling to go upwind.
To be honest you will need to go 14m + to get the same upwind and lightwind performance as the 13 edge.
If your being pulled off the wave face then its not light wind anymore. eg 18-20 knots. Bellow than you shouldn't be overpowered on a 13 edge.
cheers folks .I will look at the lithium 14m .Just seen a 14m Slingshot rpm go well in the light wind too!.Time to demo the catalyst ,rpm and the lithium!.
I love edges for boost ,but I dont find it fun for wave riding or getting up sidedown either.Its a pain in the ass to land double front or back rolls too!.Respect it for its boost ,but Im looking for a light wind free ride surf kite now!
I'm a bit late to this thread but I'm using the cabrihna contra 17m as my light wind wave kite. I'm 95kg so I reckon you would get a lot of joy from the 15m it will turn really nice and fast for you and you'll be trucking upwind from 12 knots,
I have just lashed out on a 3 strut 18m VXR race kite from Airush combined with a Sector 60...
at 98kg I can finally have fun on those yellow-arrow days, hopefully skills improve and I can try a red-arrow day (not yet).
2 rides under my belt and I am hooked. No need for the skim board any more 
Am really looking forward to exploring all corners of Botany Bay now that I have serious pointing abilities through new equipment. Not so depressed about approaching winter doldrums this year!
Yeeeew!
Select to expand quoteNathanG said...
I have just lashed out on a 3 strut 18m VXR race kite from Airush combined with a Sector 60...
at 98kg I can finally have fun on those yellow-arrow days, hopefully skills improve and I can try a red-arrow day (not yet).
2 rides under my belt and I am hooked. No need for the skim board any more
Am really looking forward to exploring all corners of Botany Bay now that I have serious pointing abilities through new equipment. Not so depressed about approaching winter doldrums this year!
Yeeeew!
Big directionals are great fun and really extend my kiting in Botany Bay too. In Autumn, like now, we get annoyingly light winds, same again in Spring. I've had 4 great sessions in the last week on either the Sector or a demo Cabrinha Alias, and the 15 Chrono. Last night and the night before was seriously the lightest wind I've ever kited in, lulls dipping to 8-9 knots, still plenty of power, still easily riding upwind on the Alias over at Kurnell. Hope to see you out there!
85kgs in tropical wind.
With nugget
I use a zephyr and then down to 13 m dice.
Find the dice a good mix of ability to switch off power on waves , goes uowind well and develops good apparent wind.
But not Ozone. Sorry.
The dice is to slow in its turning ability.I think the catalyst could be the quickiest turner out of the 14m kites.No pulleys and direct.
I have a 14m 2013 Cat as my light wind kite. It does it's job as a light wind kite very well. My other kites are RPMs. I wouldn't call the RPMs particularly grunty. The Cat's are gruntier per m2 and personally think the bigger sizes perform better than the smaller ones. Essentially I reckon the Cat design works better in lighter wind. RPMs more stable for unhooked freestyle, take a little more to initiate the turn than the Cat but are no slouch once on an arc. You're right, the Cat overall is a bit quicker than the RPM and is also lighter on the bar.
The blade Mist grunty kite and has a fun lively feel. It's a freestyle kite but it's feel reminds me of a wave kite. I used to have Reo's when all I did was strapless in the waves.
Another couple to consider going by what you said i.e. higher aspect, would be Wainman or Slingshot Rally.
Good luck
Select to expand quotediamond2001 said...
The dice is to slow in its turning ability.I think the catalyst could be the quickiest turner out of the 14m kites.No pulleys and direct.
I found that my 12M dice turns about the same as my old 2013 10M cat. Can't comment on the 2014 cat as I have only ridden it once in extremely average conditions.
Did they speed up the turning that much from 2013/2014 in the cats?
At 87kg I'm upwind on my 12M and 5"2 nugget from 12/13 knots. Any wind speed lower than that, I wouldn't be piss farting around and just get a 17M
I tried a dice and reo back to back and the dice was in the 9 m and the reo in the 10 m.The reo smashed the pants off the dice in turning speed and geting from one end of the window to the other.Anyone had a reo and cat back to back .which one is faster ?
The reo is much more nimble than the cat.
Owned both 2013 cat&reo
demoed both 2014 cat&reo
