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Average Joe Kite Review- Light wind kites

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ice
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Re: Average Joe Kite Review- Light wind kites

Postby ice » Fri Jan 24, 2014 8:51 am

maybe you should get the riders to rate out of 10 each kite attribute:

- low end
- upwind
- bar pressure (rather than out of 10, low, moderate or high)
- looping
- re launch
- drift
- speed across the window
- lift
- hang time
- top end to still ride safely, before changing down kite sizes
- bar
etc

apart from low end, it seems punters are looking for different attributes in a low wind kite - some want upwind, some want top end (wind range), some want low bar pressure, some want re-launch etc


thanks, by the way, it is a great initiative

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Re: Average Joe Kite Review- Light wind kites

Postby Kamikuza » Fri Jan 24, 2014 9:25 am

[youtube][/youtube]Good review :thumb: I like the concept!

I'd like to see the guys out riding the kites; especially working the kite, how far they're going upwind, the sorta stunts they can throw etc... perhaps, do the reviews as a voice-over of video of that guy riding? Lotta work for the camera & editing guy, I know :D

I like seeing the kite in action in light wind to get an idea of how it actually moves, how effective sining it is and how soon you can park it...

This is the Flite1 17.5 in sub-10 knots, but aided by tide and super-flat water I could still ride a little.


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Re: Average Joe Kite Review- Light wind kites

Postby awo » Fri Jan 24, 2014 12:00 pm

I am a begginer- intermediate who just "mows the lawn" and once in a while jumps. As I stated before, in my area the wind is very low.I know the experts there cant have fun in my way of kitesurfing, but again I ask if some of you that are not as proficient and still have fun just coming and going have ever flew the flysurfer 21 and one of these tested kites has an opinion regarding it.by the way, I still can swim a mile, so I dont care about floatability.Thanks in advance

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Re: Average Joe Kite Review- Light wind kites

Postby Kamikuza » Fri Jan 24, 2014 1:24 pm

You might care about floatability when your kite is worth a couple of thousand dollars :o

You said your wind was bad? What is bad?

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Re: Average Joe Kite Review- Light wind kites

Postby harviento » Fri Jan 24, 2014 4:10 pm

awo wrote:I ask if some of you that are not as proficient and still have fun just coming and going have ever flew the flysurfer 21 and one of these tested kites has an opinion regarding it.
Well, my little review dates back to 2008, but I'll share it with you for what it's worth. At that time, all of the comments between the foils and the tubes were just the same as what I read now, so I imagine both have progressed at similar rates since then.

I weigh about 180 and bought a used Flysurfer Speed 13m because of all the positive things I'd read about it in light wind, regardless of the same comments against it that you read today. I had five years of experience on tube kites at the time but thought I'd try it out in my search for ultimate low wind performance.

In my experience back then, the 13m Speed blew away any 16m tube kite that I had flown regarding the very basic goal of getting up and staying upwind in the lowest wind possible. There really was just no contest. And when you're not sure whether or not you can get out riding or not, it's kind of nice to just be able to throw up a foil to test it out compared to having to pump up a massive kite.

But after a few months of using that kite as my light wind kite, I ultimately went back to tubes. One of the main things that sent me back to my tubes was the purchase of a light wind Spleene door. That thing extended the range of my 15/16m tube kites significantly and is still in my quiver of boards. And I still preferred the comfort factor of flying the tube kites, which had a certain feel that I was more accustomed to. Also, I had a few occasions where I dropped the Speed in the water near shore, where we had some seagrass or seaweed floating around, which then leads to a nightmare of pulling all that crap out of the bridle before you can fly again.

I think it ultimately comes down to just how light the winds are where you live. Where I live, I can get enough out of my big tube and my door that I can let go of the extra days that the Speed would give. In my case, I would EITHER own the Speed OR I would own a big tube. Either way, my next kite down is going to be a 12m. So while the Speed would give me more total days on the water than the big tube, I'm going to have more fun on the 13m, 14m, 15m, and 16m days on my tube kite than I would if I were kiting with the Speed on those days. The Speed wouldn't offer value until the 18m days, and I can do without those. But if you live in an area that rarely lets you kite on your 12m, and you don't have seaweed or seagrass to worry about, I would bet that you'd get a lot of good mileage from a Speed over the light wind tube kites that are out there.

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Re: Average Joe Kite Review- Light wind kites

Postby flaps1111 » Fri Jan 24, 2014 4:55 pm

Hi Harviento, you should know that a 2008 16 mts kite is not a LW kite, it is just a kite for moderate wind lets say +12 knots and heavy guys.

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Re: Average Joe Kite Review- Light wind kites

Postby OceanAdventures » Fri Jan 24, 2014 5:23 pm

ice wrote:maybe you should get the riders to rate out of 10 each kite attribute:

- low end
- upwind
- bar pressure (rather than out of 10, low, moderate or high)
- looping
- re launch
- drift
- speed across the window
- lift
- hang time
- top end to still ride safely, before changing down kite sizes
- bar
etc

apart from low end, it seems punters are looking for different attributes in a low wind kite - some want upwind, some want top end (wind range), some want low bar pressure, some want re-launch etc


thanks, by the way, it is a great initiative
One of our testers notes... pardon any misspellings

Cabirhna (where does the H go?) Contra 17
Pull- (9) Great pull but seems to stay deep in the window (not as deep as the Epic though)
Depower- (8) Great depower
Tricks (8) Good hang time, and nice pop. When looping unhooked it tended to stall.
Upwind ability (7) Seems to fly a little more forward than the Epic
Bar pressure (4) Pulling the bar in is easy for power, but turning takes serious effort. Its very clear where this kite is though.
Turn speed (8) Turns very well
Other thoughts: Contra was a blast on the down wind portion, and gave me more hang time, and opportunities to do spins, and grabs than the Ocean Rodeo Flight 2.

Slingshot Turbine 17
Pull (8)
Depower (8)
Tricks (8)
Upwind ability (9)
Bar pressure (8)
Turn speed (8)
Other thoughts: Still a great kite and the gold standard.

Core XR3 19
Pull (10)
Depower (6)
Tricks (8) Plenty of pop, and hang time from sent jumps. Not as prone to stalling out when looping unhooked, but the chicken loop is to small and becomes a struggle to hook in every time.
Upwind ability (8)
Bar pressure (9) very small bar with light pressure that still keeps you informed of where the kite is!
Turn speed (8) Unbelievable turn speed for the bar pressure and size
Other thoughts: Still a great kite and the gold standard.

Ocean Rodeo Flight 2
Pull (9)
Depower (9)
Tricks (7)
Upwind ability (9)
Bar pressure (9) Light bar pressure but with a direct feel
Turn speed (10) Turns very fast, even when riding the board flat or toward the kite
Other thoughts: This is an outstanding kite, because of it's "bang for the buck" It's turn speed, and incredible direct, light bar pressure!

If I were going to buy one today it would be the Ocean Rodeo Flight 2 (because of the value)
If I could have taken any kite home with me for free it would have been the Contra

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Re: Average Joe Kite Review- Light wind kites

Postby awo » Sat Jan 25, 2014 2:34 am

hi harviento, thank you very much, it was most helpfull.where I live, near Sao Paulo, wind is normally under 10/12 knots,,so I am going to the flysurfer. Also, I will have tube kites to the other places when I get a chance to travel north of Brasil. Thanks again

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Re: Average Joe Kite Review- Light wind kites

Postby SupaEZ » Sat Jan 25, 2014 3:01 am

OceanAdventures wrote: Core XR3 19
Pull (10)
Depower (6)
Tricks (8) Plenty of pop, and hang time from sent jumps. Not as prone to stalling out when looping unhooked, but the chicken loop is to small and becomes a struggle to hook in every time.
Upwind ability (8)
Bar pressure (9) very small bar with light pressure that still keeps you informed of where the kite is!
Turn speed (8) Unbelievable turn speed for the bar pressure and size
Other thoughts: Still a great kite and the gold standard.

If I were going to buy one today it would be the Ocean Rodeo Flight 2 (because of the value)
If I could have taken any kite home with me for free it would have been the Contra
My take on this kite as a non average ...75 days on that kite...@ 130 hrs
I ride on standard 24m lines (w/o 3m ext.)....weight 165lbs....kite always in tune..7.25 psi LE
Surfboards only w/ either the Nug 2013 or Whip 2011 5'5" .....TT's are wayyyyyyy gone :bye:

Pull (9)....Depower (9)....Tricks (8)....Upwind ability (9)....Bar pressure (8).....Turn speed (9)
Looping ability (10) Wave riding (9) Pumping speed (10)...Deflating speed (10)

That kite with it's short bridle requires to be flown with back lines as loose as possible
I loosened to the max by adjusting under the bar floats
Do not put on superfast setting on wingtip...fast is perfect..+ it helps to sheet out kite more with bar

Top end is truly 18kn and still in control of kite even at my light weight and a surfboard (strapped)

Using the standard lines while flying is great
Adding 3m. ext only gives longer dive stroke to permit heavyweights to get on a plane
A kite that big ends up a bit too low in the window on long lines when wind picks up

Thank you Ocean Adventures :thumb:

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Re: Average Joe Kite Review- Light wind kites

Postby papasmerf » Sat Jan 25, 2014 6:14 am

although it has been a while since I have posted, I would like to include my average joe's opinion on this. been on slingshot and cabrinha contra. I have a quiver of flysurfers speed 3's, 12m, 15, 21.
i'm 6' 2 190 lbs

21m is the best lightwind kite there is, hands down. super easy relaunch, and great in everyway. it has saved the session so many times now. a lightwind specific board is also super important.

that being said, I sold my 12m speed 3, and generally, unless it is light enough for my 21m, I am on tube kites (rally's). the 12m speed 3 is an awesome kite, but I just like being on tube kites when I can. like when it gets over 12-14 mph.

I would sell the 15m speed 3 but if there was ever the perfect one quiver kite to take traveling, that is it. the 15m flysurfer is absolutely awesome as well but once it gets to windy for the 21m, I found myself going to a 14m or 12m rally more and more.

I mean, everyone can rate the big tube kites all they want, it's rather pointless with the flysurfers out there.

just one guys opinion, enjoy


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