Wave Kiting – doubt about specific quiver vs. technique

[clint2070]

I ride the 14m pivot and its almost always 12 knots here in San Diego ( side on and on shore direction). The Neo is a great kite too but they don't make a 14m. I have a friend here that only uses his 12m cloud and he does fine. The fatlady is another option. I sold my Fatlady when I got my 14m pivot because I didn't need her any more. In side on you need to fly the hell out of your kite ! When going down the line I start out figure eighting my kite to get it used to going down wind before I engage the wave then I throw the kite out in front of me and charge the wave. This usually gives me enough time to get 2 maneuvers in before I have to down loop the kite which allows for one more maneuver. by then the wave is usually over. I like de powered wave riding though. I used to love my Wainmans but in side on they shot across the window too much and I was always focusing on the kite rather than the wave. The pivot stays where you put it ! I hope this makes sense and helps. You should also look into another board. Firewire sweet potato in fst or something similar. Im thinking of getting the libtech puddle jumper but at the price its going to be an expensive experiment. I think it might replace the sweet potato though !

[Do-it]

Op- what type of waves? I ride a nugget paired with a 17m flite, and can ride in 9-12mph onshore winds all the time. Above 14mph and I'm on a Vegas 12m. I think you just need a bigger kite and learn to loop when your riding the wave downwind.

[herbert]

Coming from surfing, (maybe rather than windsurfing or wakeboarding) the first thing I noticed...and noticed for quite a while was that my lack of technique and a more optimal kite would really frustrate me. I could ride with the kite....and if that just happened to pass through a nice section...well then great...but couldn't really manage it to surf much with a kite. But lots of practice with sub-optimal equipment for the task, maybe it makes you better.

But I am sure that you will notice a substantial difference with any number of kites better suited to waves. You will definitely spend more seconds actually riding the wave. It is worth the change.

I would add a vote for the BRM Cloud. After a couple hundred sessions, it still works for me in waves for the same reasons it did day one. The characteristics that make it work for me a unsurpassed drift, way fast turning, perfect bar pressure (especially nice if riding strapless...gusts don't pull you off edge or off the board) and its upwind ability (for a variety of reasons, not least of which must be the very thin leading edge). I think all of us who ride Clouds a lot in the surf love it for those reasons.

I think you are right to get a "wave kite" of some sort. But as others have said, some conditions are always challenging for wave kiting.

[juandesooka]

Cabrinha ad is interesting https://youtu.be/HuBCHR_3jbI

They added a bridle adjustment between optimal wave riding and freeride or onshore conditions. That's smart....dedicated wave kite but also better suited for when no waves. That sums up my kiting....I'd kite waves 99% of the time if I could but ends up only 20% of the time in reality.

[Da Yoda]

Cabrinha ad is interesting https://youtu.be/HuBCHR_3jbI

They added a bridle adjustment between optimal wave riding and freeride or onshore conditions. That's smart....dedicated wave kite but also better suited for when no waves. That sums up my kiting....I'd kite waves 99% of the time if I could but ends up only 20% of the time in reality.

Cab is now doing what Core, Blade, and Epic have been doing. How original.

[atomic-chomik]

Bunch of really good stuff here for sure. Myself, I've been trying to nail down what you are seeking for a while now and have come up with a few solids. Higher aspect ratio kites like Rebels or new evo's while they are great for slashing and bashing waves are NOT good at downwind kiting, they do not slack line drift well and need to be constanty moving in these conditions(i had an 11m rebel and evo). Lower aspect kites such as a BWS or Cloud will drift amazing and you can surf right at them given proper technique but do not go upwind as well, which is in turn a problem in light wind.
I had very good results from the 14.5m OR fight, which was a slightly lower aspect ratio than the other flights(which are excellent, i have a17m) and is a great mix between drift, speed and upwind performance. As mentioned, a floaty board is key, and myself I've had luck with a couple floaty boards with little rocker being a critical component.
12 knots is tough, It is not like regular kiting and a whole slew of light wind techniques need to be employed to successfully pull it off, but will also make you a better kiter.
Specifically regarding your kite, i still have an 8m rebel for storm kiting, really gustily conditions and general free ride. When the surf is on though, i pick up my Dice(or prodigy) kites and away i go.

[ronnie]

Cabrinha ad is interesting https://youtu.be/HuBCHR_3jbI

They added a bridle adjustment between optimal wave riding and freeride or onshore conditions. That's smart....dedicated wave kite but also better suited for when no waves. That sums up my kiting....I'd kite waves 99% of the time if I could but ends up only 20% of the time in reality.

Pity it isn't something you can do on the fly. One setting for wave riding and one setting for getting back upwind.

They have a system on racing foil kites for downwind and upwind settings.

[bigtone667]

We had on-shore 10 to 12 knots over the weekend with little one to two foot waves. I was flying a chrono 15 and slingshot ankle biter (a nugget equivalent).

Worked an absolute treat and I had fantastic upwind ability.

Just needed to be mindful of riding towards the kite!!!

[vela99]

Thanks again to all of you for taking the time to answer my questions. Simplifying your feedback a lot my take away is that:

- kitesurfing waves in 12 knot winds, both in side-on and in side-off conditions, is quite challenging regardless of the kite you are using,

- a specific wave kite will definitively help,

- I need to aggressively move my kite and learn to downloop.

My decision is to continue working on my technique, in particular the downloop, and to replace my freeride kite with a large wave specific kite when time has come for a new kite.

If anyone feels that I have comletely missed the key point(s) please feel free to comment.

[mede]

Just saw this postings.

The Rebel '11 is a seriously shitty kite for onshore lightwind kitesurfing.
It's way too slow and yanks too much once engaged.
Also, it's not a fast flyer (ergo not good upwind).

For your conditions, drift is not the major aspect to look for (as many already pointed out, windspeed is too low for drifting anyway), but you need a light, quick turning kite that points very well upwind.
Think FatLady, or the Cloud that was mentioned.

And don't forget your board. I recently switched to a Tomo Vanguard from a F1 Fish, and I couldn't believe how much better this board performs. Have a good look at the vanguard (or even better, try one). You won't look back.