cyclone wrote:B/A youve flown foils and LEI what do you prefer overall? Your opinoin counts as you are an experienced kiter.
I've only used foils in light winds and only old ones. In NZ we don't have flysurfer kites... of course we have Peter Lynn but they are a third kite group to be honest.
All i can say is this... flew an 8m Stamos in very light winds.... there is no way an LEI kite flies better than a foil in light winds. Foils are much harder to luff... I can't luff my mates 3m blade II hence the reason why I'm allways saying that foils kick ass in light flukey winds. I've never used a foil in decent wind apart from my mates blade (and that kite is shitloads faster than ANY LEI kite I've flown... the lift is insane.. PMU is talking total shit in regards to foils having more drag). I'm not about to say what's better in decent wind but lets say that the reason why i use LEI kites in good wind is because they work really well and why fix something that isn't broken? Once again horses for courses....
So here is what i've found......
LIGHT WINDS: Foils DISMEMBER LEI kites in light winds. There is no way a modified paddling pool can outperform a pure wing that is as light as a feather and designed to make people fly (paragliding and skydiving). "Oh yes but the high AR LEI kites are fast through the air and have high L/D ratio" - you've gotta B jokin right??? The only thing that sucks more in light winds than an LEI kite is a HIGH AR LEI kite....
MED WINDS: Well the stuff we normally kite in of course.... 10-30 knots. Well haven't used foils in this category so I guess anything can happen... I've only used LEI kites here and because they go quite nicely is the reason why I'll stick with LEI kites... foils may go better but i don't know that for sure and unless a certain kite is available in your local kiteshop then why bother... just stick with what you allready have. Peter Lynn is a bit easier to get but i still have to fork out money... but my next kite will b a peter lynn kite.
HIGH WINDS: I'm a fan of LEI kites here... you foil guys need to convince me that there are stable bricklike foils that can withstand insane "Windsurfers' Christmas" winds. I've seen peter lynn kites fold in strong gusty conditions but a low AR LEI kite is A DREAM to fly in these conditions... Efficiency????? What efficincly!!! In these sorta conditions my one line pirate ship could get me airborne..... the biggest challenge here is stayin alive....
So there U have it... the only gray area is what most of us kite in... so stick with what you've got... haha...... variety will drive you insane.....but being insane is a good thing