jedi1 wrote:edt wrote:I know some modern C kites claim easy relaunch but only the post 2009 fuel actually relaunches on a rear line.
Best GP also relaunches on a rear line, as well as North Vegas (this one not in all conditions though).
However, what matters most on a C kite is board control, not relaunch. If you are on a level of small jumps now, I'd stick with whatever you have, until you really get a feeling for what you want.
This is the advice worth listening to, don't worry about the relaunch, i've never seen a modern c kite not relaunch just by pulling a rear line like a bow kite. it just take slightly longer, IE they don't roll over in the middle of the window like a bow/delta does
c kite is nothing to be afraid of, if anything it makes your skills better, becuase you have to learn to apply the right amount of pressure on each foot and use your weight in the correct way in order to go upwind, it takes more technique than just edging hard with a bridled kite. also learning how to use your board edge to push the kite forward in the window to depower, rather than just sheeting out. these things only take a session or two to get the feel for, and only a few sessions to get your muscle memory going for the proper technique. if you ever go back to riding bridled kites, all of this transfers back too.
as far as learning tricks i found it slightly more difficult to get the right pop, again its more technique than with a bridled kite, unhooking and edging really hard... you have to pay more attention to timing in order to get just the right amount of pop. but when you do it right, you are rewarded with monster pop, and lots of slack on your lines
i went back to riding bridled kites (LF envy) because the choppy mess we have here is annoying to ride with a c kite, the wind is often too light and the chop forces you to work the kite the entire session, so i settled for a kite that still gives great pop, and has slack, and is also great for when i ride a surfboard. instant relaunch and 4 lines were icing on the cake
if you have any questions on what the transition is like hit me up, I was in exactly your position, I could jump and do backrolls when I switched over