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Spent the last hour getting line extensions off my bar lines now 20 meters,all my friends reckon 20 meters better for wave riding,i tried a few times 20 meter lines but prefered 25,i like to get your feed back on which lenght you guys think is best for waveriding,thanks TONY

20 is a little long for me. I like about 17-18m. It just takes time to get used to the timing is all. Once you do you will love them.

it depends on kite size? me personally I ride a 9m Kite, which in reality it's probably a 8m or a 7.5m, with 20m lines the kite is very nice, but!! tossing on some 15m lines, the kite turns into a beast, same thing with my 11m kite. Steering and responsive at that length is instantaneous dumping the power out the kite to ride the surf is like flipping a switch, the sweet thing also is that it’s increase the high wind range of your kite. So my vote would be 15m lines for the surf

I ride 15m lines on my 6m kite and 17m lines for my 8 and 11m kites.
makes them twitchy and super fast, easy to dump wind, but yeah take a little to get used to.
Try a pulley bar too, they rock unhooking in the surf.
carfeul though with a super small kite on short lines as they are FAST,

Short lines will in most cases make the kite more responsive, but also slightly change the aspect ratio and shape of the kite. It won't necessarily work the same on all kites.

You also need to keep in mind what your location is like.
At many of the spots I ride the wind has a tendency to lift higher off the water the closer I get to the beach and into the surf... thus losing some power with shorter lines because the kite will be lower.

You might be better off with 25m if that "feels" better.

But give the 20m ones a try for a longer period, to get used to, as others say

You dont write if you are on a bridled kite or not as there can sometimes be 2-3m difference in total length, so important

I dont think pinching or similar means anything at all, with these lengths we are discussing here - and kite R&D is not just high tech rocket science.


Personally I dont like lines shorter than 20m, as it gives such an uncomfortable feel with on/off and no smoothing of the power at all
So you dont get the fluid motion like used to with a bit longer lines
Others love this power dump feature

And reverse, longer lines than 19-22m (+ bridles) and the kite becomes a slow hot air balloon instead of a precise tool for waveriding


Give it a try Tony, use the short ones a little longer !
(unless you are on a non-bridled kite, where 20m is more like 18m which can be really difficult sometimes)
I dont know - but assume you are not waveriding unhooked...


The kite and the riding style is also important though:
If you ride with kites that has a lot of grunt or C kites, you can not powerdump much with the bar, and you might like shorter lines instead and have to live with the disadvantages - but you can dump the power faster now.
If you dont "use" the kite, but would rather surf without it - you might also prefer really short powerdumping lines.
If you use the kite as a tool for "everything" out there, in conjunction with your ride, you will often like slightly longer lines.


Actually, I might go against the current regarding the "big kites longer lines" that some advocate, and prefer almost the opposite
As when the small kites are out (4-5-6-7m2), it is typically really gusty and you like a kite combo that can mellow this out instead of a raging on/off turbulent ride.
You also need/want a bit of powerstroke if huge lulls.

Whereas the big kites from 9m2, can be speeded up in reaction and feel with shorter lines, so I dont ever extend my lines with kites from 9m2 and up (only in super light wind but that is another issue)

But give it a try a bit more and see what you'll find Tony !

Dont think you are wrong in ending up liking 25m lines the most, as there are many ups and downs for both lengths when waveriding.
Just give the 20m a serious try first, as the feel and difference takes time to adapt to

Peter

depends on the kite, but I generally prefer 20 in waves. On the 6 meter Ride today 24 meters was fine...juuuuust perfectly fine today

Depends of what kind of riding you are doing.

If you want to turn your kite alot to produce powerturns - go for short lines.
If you want to park the kite and let it drift - go for a litte longer.
If you want to jump in the waves (straped or strapless) - go for a litte longer
If you are overpowered - go for short
If you are underpowered - fo for a little longer.

I use now 23 m. for strapless in most conditions, but have tried from 14 - 27 meters.

Good luck - it is always fun to experiment with your equipment.

Lander

It does throw your timing a bit switching between lengths, especially for the cutback, but I fly 23m lines and when I'm overpowered, I'll come in take my 3m extensions off, stuff them down my wetsuit and go back out on 20 m lines and a bit more range and quicker turning, rather than slower turning on the 23m lines when depowered.

It saves changing kites.

Mike

totally depends on your style.
i like to ride with no kite power just using the power from the wave.
with longer lines you can get slack in the lines during your bottom turn to be able to do a real surf style turn off the top.
for me 24-27 is the go
if you like to ride fast with power in the kite then shorter lines are better as you can turn it faster to keep infront of you. i find most people with shorter lines draw a more arching flow on the wave rather than a top to bottom surf style
try both and stick with what feels best for your style