Wind speed for Foiling, Kite dropping out of sky?

[jonysan]

What wind speed do most people Foil in ? was out the other day the wind speed was around 20 knots, a Foil rider came past , and I'm thinking " that's look interesting, and brave" . so it can be done in high -ish winds. e.g. Racing.
But.
I read about low wind Foiling on this forum, does it require a lightweight foil kite? as for example my 12m Pivot will launch in about ten knots on the beach but would be very tricky to get going , and very likely fall out the sky. Or, is the answer lightweight single strut, or strutless.

Just don't fancy dropping the kite , when a quarter mile offshore, with little chance of relaunch.

Have seen video of Strutless kites relaunching "backwards"

sorry for the amount of questions,

[Slappysan]

I can foil in 6 knots, but I need 9 knots to relaunch.

My kites will stay in the air in 4 knots so as long as I don't crash them I'm okay, dress for the swim.

[jeromeL]

At my local beach most people don't use foil kite, they use F-lite, Cloud or whatever gear they use on twintip. A few guys who are interesting in racing have foil kite.

I am new to foiling, using a 3 struts kite, if it's enough to fly kite it's enough to get going on foil... Lighter kite won't fall out of the sky but you still need enough power to get going...
If you mess up timing of downloop on gybe kite can fall out of sky then you might not be able to relaunch...

Sounds like you want kite to be light enough so it doesn't fall out of sky on lull
Possibly a good kite that you can reverse launch (backward), if wind isn't good enough might be too hard to get the kite on wingtip unless you have a low V bar or fifth line.
Also a kite that drifts well when you head back downwind on light wind, but you can manage without good drifting ability.

With my current gear my limit is probably around 8-9 knots.
If wind isn't that strong I won't go too far out...

Anyway, you don't have to buy a kite specific for foiling, it will save you a few swim if you can avoid kite falling out of sky scenario and not being able to relaunch but not really necessary for most days.
If you are serious about going out in the super light or race you will need a foil kite...

[jonysan]

Thanks Jeromel

maybe I should have some lessons and the answers will be more obvious.

Thank you.

[PullStrings]

With my current gear my limit is probably around 8-9 knots.
If wind isn't that strong I won't go too far out...

Like he says 8-9 is pretty safe because on foilboards it is very easy to go long distances and if you go in less wind like 7-8 or 6-7 you are taking a big chance
You could be out there not feeling that the wind has dropped too low because of all the apparent wind that you are creating
One mistake or a missed turn ....you could have a long swim
Gradient winds also are deceiving since at water level where kite falls there could only be 3-4kn

[Mitaka]

I foil only with LEI kites and my limit is 8 knots - safe enough to keep the kite in the air even during lulls. If I decide to foil also in lower winds it will be with a foil kite

[junebug]

What wind speed do most people Foil in ? was out the other day the wind speed was around 20 knots, a Foil rider came past , and I'm thinking " that's look interesting, and brave" . so it can be done in high -ish winds. e.g. Racing.
But.
I read about low wind Foiling on this forum, does it require a lightweight foil kite? as for example my 12m Pivot will launch in about ten knots on the beach but would be very tricky to get going , and very likely fall out the sky. Or, is the answer lightweight single strut, or strutless.

Just don't fancy dropping the kite , when a quarter mile offshore, with little chance of relaunch.

Have seen video of Strutless kites relaunching "backwards"

sorry for the amount of questions,

I learned to foil on a 12m Rebel, which I had for twin tip boards. The Rebel does a lot of things great, but hanging in the air at the low end of its range is not one of them. I did a lot of swimming in on days in the 10kn range. (I even had some well-meaning but clueless tourists call the coast guard when my kite hindenburged on me about 800 yards from shore at sunset. The wind was side-on and I made it to shore right as they were pulling the sled on the beach.)

I eventually got a lighter 12m LEI that hangs in the air much better than the Rebel. I went the Liquid Force Wow. It's not the lightest kite out there and it has 3 struts, but I got a good deal on it. I've never tested the low end just flying on the beach, but the low end for me being able to get up on the foil is 8kn. (I weigh 185lbs.) I will usually have to loop the kite a bunch of times to get up on the foil in 8kn and if it goes in the water I'm probably swimming in. I can usually water relaunch at 9kn by sitting on the board, getting the kite around to the side of the window, and pumping the center lines when I feel a little gust.

So the long-winded answer to your question is that a lighter kite is necessary to get going safely in the sub 10kn range. For me and my equipment, 8kn is about the lower limit to get up and going. I have never tried a kite bigger than 12m for foiling, but my guess is that I might be able to squeeze maybe 1 more knot out of the low end with a 14m+. I have also never tried a foil kite, but my guess is that I might be able to squeeze another 2kn out of the low end with a foil kite. For me, those extra 1-2kn just aren't worth the expense, hassle, and risk of getting either a bigger LEI or a foil kite.

[windsuks]

What wind speed do most people Foil in ? was out the other day the wind speed was around 20 knots, a Foil rider came past , and I'm thinking " that's look interesting, and brave" . so it can be done in high -ish winds. e.g. Racing.
But.
I read about low wind Foiling on this forum, does it require a lightweight foil kite? as for example my 12m Pivot will launch in about ten knots on the beach but would be very tricky to get going , and very likely fall out the sky. Or, is the answer lightweight single strut, or strutless.

Just don't fancy dropping the kite , when a quarter mile offshore, with little chance of relaunch.

Have seen video of Strutless kites relaunching "backwards"

sorry for the amount of questions,

Hey jonysan,

Come on over and try the Airush Ultra we have on demo, amazing lightwind kite, agree with above posts though....6-9knots was good any lower and I'm struggling/swimming
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9zZoc-zvsE

[jonysan]

Hi Junebug,
Thank you for that reply, it was really helpful. I don't really want to buy a light wind kite, as I would hope to learn to Foil , and then ride in stronger winds, but guess that when at the beach, and the wind doesn't show up ! I'll be tempted to try in light wind ? and wish I'd bought one.

Thank again.

[jonysan]

Hi Mr Blast,
I have been thinking of getting some Foiling lessons from you.

As you know, If I can't do it first time, I tend to throw my toys out of the pram !

so it should be interesting.

John.