Are you going to ride waves in light wind (meaning you are average weight 75-80kg), or are you built "strong" (heavier
) and want a bigger kite for riding waves ?
I love to ride waves in lighter wind (when this is the only option), with big kites (12-13m2 @77kg).
Also sideon to max sideshore.
But IMO is it a very different thing than with normal chosen sizes for waveriding, as you actually dont need the kite to drift that well...
If you had offshore winds you might be able to park the kite (I've seen that once) even i light wind - but even here you often see those getting ripped off the wave if it is big (speed DTL will make the kite a nuisance)
But in normal slightly onshore conditions, the trick for riding waves (or should we call it "kiting" in waves) is to ride extremely aggressive with the big kites.
This way the kite is always controllable, will keep its flying speed thus not "fall out of the sky", and you can make turns on the wave much better
It requires that your timing is perfect - but can be learned.
As the bottom turn is the tricky part - you need to make a quite narrow bottom turn, and have the kite turn at the exact right moment - but still let the board glide with intense weight on your front foot
Doing this, you keep tension on the lines, and get your turn done without losing speed - so you can make a "free" cutback when and whereever you want
So you go a bit more across the wind, by doing a "perfect" and a bit more difficult bottom turn - instead of the drawn out long one downwind that you can do on the waveface with really small kites and the kites just drift.
Even in really small waves, where you get down into the flats in the b-turn, you still use the wavepower a lot.
Many does not understand this, till they've learned.
But the power of the wave is absorbed into planing and speed which will make your b-turn and cutback work "fluid" even with a really big kite in light winds - and it is fun too
Whereas if you did the same on flat water, it would not be even close to that feeling and way less options and power
So I find that good drift in a kite is more important in the mid sized ones 7-9m2, but in the big ones it does not matter.
Turnability though is everything and a must for above to work
Peter