would be interesting to hear from someone that use foil kites on a surfboard , how dose it work for light wind, and how one deal with kites drop in the surf, is there any progress in the way the foil kite behave in the water or any other progress.

I used to use flysurfer foils (Psycho IV's and Pulse II's) in the surf but a switched to LEIs over the last year or 2.
If I only kited on flat water I would have stayed with the foils but in the surf I found the turning too slow and in gusty conditions (typical of my local in summer) I wasn't happy with them.
As far as relaunch goes nothing beats a flysurfer especially in light winds. Once you learn the technique they are a piece of cake.

I've seen photos/ articles of people using Peter Lynn foils in waves and was led to beleive they were pretty good although I ride inflatables.

Wasnt so long ago that Aaron Jarmin won the Aust Wave Titles on a foil. Couldnt be too much disadvantage.

Aaron Jarman won the Australian Title some years ago on an Arc. It is a ram air kite but it is more like a C-kite. Bridled foils are more like bow kites.

Ian Young has used Flysurfers in the surf for about 10 years.

I rode bridled foils for several years, including in the surf. I never really "surfed" with the kites so I don't know if they would be any good for kite surfing as is now being done. The smaller ones were pretty good so there's no reason why not.

When I did crash my kites in the surf the high volume and relative softness of the kites meant they rode up and over the white water. It was great to watch. A few times in extreme conditions I just let the kite go and it would ride into the beach like a big lilo and sit there waiting for me to grab the bar and go again (obviously a huge deserted ocean beach).

I never experienced a direct hit from a big wave. I think if I did then the kite would split and that could be a nightmare. Getting a kite full of water out of the surf would be almost impossible.

Back in the day i was riding twin skin peter lynn foils for about 4 years,awesome kites in the surf ,drift back in the window nice and the auto zenith feature is a big + ,if you get eaten by a monster just let go of the bar go through the spin cycle and when your done the kites just sitting there ready to go again.
The new charger looks like a sick kite,its a bit different to flying LEI kites as your always steering the kite down as opposed to steering a LEI up,its a pity the bow kites killed the twin skin market in NZ cos they are an awesome kite but it just comes down to the $$$.

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radman4 said...

Back in the day i was riding twin skin peter lynn foils for about 4 years,awesome kites in the surf ,drift back in the window nice and the auto zenith feature is a big + ,if you get eaten by a monster just let go of the bar go through the spin cycle and when your done the kites just sitting there ready to go again.
The new charger looks like a sick kite,its a bit different to flying LEI kites as your always steering the kite down as opposed to steering a LEI up,its a pity the bow kites killed the twin skin market in NZ cos they are an awesome kite but it just comes down to the $$$.

and performance

They used to preform really well for wave riding,they drive way forward into the wind window and accelerate harder there so when you run toward the kite you can drift it back in the window further and it dosent want to fall out of the sky as the weight distribution is far more even if your into boost and float theres a ton of it ,i never had a problem with water relaunch and used to ride in around 40 knots on a regular basis,although with the auto zenith feature the kite seldom hit the water,you just have to do the opposite of a Lei kite and as soon as you get smashed let go of the bar,used to love these flying duvet's,
Couple of guys turned up the other day with a Vortex and Venom ,rigged them and tied them off to a log to fly themselves while they got changed,kites just sat there at the zenith,really miss that feature somrtimes.

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radman4 said...

They used to preform really well for wave riding,they drive way forward into the wind window and accelerate harder there so when you run toward the kite you can drift it back in the window further and it dosent want to fall out of the sky as the weight distribution is far more even if your into boost and float theres a ton of it ,i never had a problem with water relaunch and used to ride in around 40 knots on a regular basis,although with the auto zenith feature the kite seldom hit the water,you just have to do the opposite of a Lei kite and as soon as you get smashed let go of the bar,used to love these flying duvet's,
Couple of guys turned up the other day with a Vortex and Venom ,rigged them and tied them off to a log to fly themselves while they got changed,kites just sat there at the zenith,really miss that feature somrtimes.

yes you have the drift right .Aron used it well with his incredible skill .However they turn too slowly for down the line riding (smack lip,ride away from wave turn kite smack lip ride away and do it again and so on) which is one of the reasons i and others moved to deltas and sle's including Aron

Yep in the past they turned slow but the current PL Charger actually turns very quick. ot my style of kite for freestyle/freeride though.

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BrisKites said...

Yep in the past they turned slow but the current PL Charger actually turns very quick. ot my style of kite for freestyle/freeride though.

still not quick enough, not enough depower either compared to most SLE LEIS nowdays and under 18 kts they don't cut the mustard particularly if you are over 85 kg.

it works...
However, once the kite depower and fall into water, then, it must say it is diaster.
cos the foil canopy will be sinking into water and almostly impossible to get it out of water. I had an experiences years ago. watch out. man..

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Henry769 said...

it works...
However, once the kite depower and fall into water, then, it must say it is diaster.
cos the foil canopy will be sinking into water and almostly impossible to get it out of water. I had an experiences years ago. watch out. man..

Depends on the foil,i used p-lynn foils for years and once you suss the relaunch its as fast as a lei,theres some great bargains out there these days on old venoms etc you can get a kite with bar/lines for about $250 great for land snow or water.

Flown and owned the old warriors flysurfers and Peter lynn arcs but now I ride leis. Thats enough to describe what I think.

Same i'm a p-lynn dealer and in the day the kites were a great alternative to c style kites and excelled in gusty conditions ,but i also prefer the lei style kites ,they are way quicker and easier to use, and cover a huge range ,but if your a hardcore twinskin fan then they will still do the job,i would be real keen to try a spleen x-19 though for the ultralight winds.

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radman4 said...

Same i'm a p-lynn dealer and in the day the kites were a great alternative to c style kites and excelled in gusty conditions ,but i also prefer the lei style kites ,they are way quicker and easier to use, and cover a huge range ,but if your a hardcore twinskin fan then they will still do the job,i would be real keen to try a spleen x-19 though for the ultralight winds.

Hey radman you using the cb wave? what ya think now? I love it. Just thought I remember you using it ages ago might be wrong.

Yea mate cant get enough of it at the mo its the only board i throw in the ute,its a sick ride,had it out the other day in 42+ knots with the 6.5 its insane,i reacon everyone should get one,best mutant iv'e ever owned.

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yeh the same! Was on estuary other day so replaced thrusters with tt fins awesome. swell up on wednesday so back on the thrusters in the surf. can't fault it so versatile. still surprised more don't go for it and just use the sb. Still scratching my head on that one. SAfe sailing radman.



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Yea mate cant get enough of it at the mo its the only board i throw in the ute,its a sick ride,had it out the other day in 42+ knots with the 6.5 its insane,i reacon everyone should get one,best mutant iv'e ever owned.