Best hurricane ultra high wind 40 plus knot kite

[fernmanus]

Even with a team, do you really want to mess with a Cat 5 Storm? The potential for a deadly acceleration is high for a storm that size.

[plummet]

Perhaps thread title is misleading. It should say something like best 45-60 knot kite. This is for before and after the storm. I will have a back up crew. As soon as it hits cat 1 I will send it and come in!

We get this in every high wind thread. Risk adverse guys who stop kiting above a certain wind speed cant fathom others kiting in wind speeds they cant. Toby is the ring leader advocating not kiting in high winds. Then he takes a 18m kite and kites in a jam packed lagoon in 25 knots providing more risk to himself and others than I guy kiting in high wind with on an isolated beach with the right equipment.

The reality is high wind kiting is realatively safe with the right equipment and skill.

[BudhaNl]

Indeed Plummet. And then there's the issue of what we're actually talking about, gusts or steady wind. I've been out in gust Mid-40s. No issue whatsoever for my 85kg & Pivot 7m since steady wind typically is in the high 30s.

I've been out in gusts in the low-50s on my Pivot 5m. Steady wind mid-40s. That was fun for 30 minutes. Didn't jump actively, too extreme for me.

The difference between steady high-30s and high-40s is huge. Let alone gusts above 50. Obviously others can handle more because of skill&weight, but there's very few who can handle that & gusts in the vicinity of 60 knots. No amateur I know at least.

[longwhitecloud]

any small kite developed with some effort in Maui - would like to think well tested in gusting in the low 40s at least (they have the conditions to test). I have always been doubtful that many companies really put much effort/time into testing smaller kites in very high winds even if they have one in their line.

Very high winds... the biggest issue for me has been the ability to handle the huge gust variations you can get - and also the deathlooping factor -does teh kite have teh design features that greatly reduce the chance - ie super short or no bridles pulleys - and a bar design where the chances of getting half hitched are greatly reduced (long stiff leader lines, minimal etc..) and finally - a fully flagging single line leash, i still trust a 5th line more than anything else in super high winds.

[tegirinenashi]

...I weigh 195 pounds and go to 7m Naish Pivot at 25 knots, and 6m Best Cabo at 30. Seldom kited much above 30...

This is the only realistic post in the entire thread. People desire to maximize adrenaline factor is understandable, but the reality is brutal. For god sake, people have difficulty walking straight in puny 30 knots (level 7 on Beaufort scale)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKUipxR3bDc

What most people [who salivate over kiting in gale wind] neglect is the dependency of kite pull over wind speed. It is quadratic (not linear). For instance, the forces involved in 40 knots conditions are 4 times stronger that those at 20 knots. Consequently, you need 4 times smaller kite. However this idea [of taking smaller kite] is totally annihilated when we consider gusts. A gust at 40 knots would almost inevitably would break out of the kite range.

From that perspective I agree with Toby. For his critics, 18 meter kite may sound intimidating, but it is merely 1.5 times more powerful than 12 m kite. It is a piece of cake for a rider of appropriate weight in stellar 20 knots conditions.

[Bletti]

It is quadratic (not linear). For instance, the forces involved in 40 knots conditions are 4 times stronger that those at 20 knots.

Wind power is cubic not quadratic with windspeed. 40^3/20^3 = 8 times more powerful.

[sflinux]

OR 5M Storm is recommended to 45 k.
http://kiteforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2386498
Wainman Bunny is recommended to < 50 k.
Once you get above 45 k, you should consider a kite smaller than 5M.
For e.x. Epic Tutor 2.5, BRM 2.8, Ozone Uno, ...
My rule of thumb is you don't feel comfortable looping the kite, time to rig a smaller kite.
https://youtu.be/IFMtRAGZN90

[tegirinenashi]

Power is cubic indeed. Lift is velocity squared. This brings up one interesting corollary: don't get your kite moving under the high wind, otherwise all this power might unleash.

BTW, this square/cubic dependencies bring up another consequence: power vanishes rather abruptly at low end. If a kite falls down from the sky at 5 knots, its redesign with 10% weight reduction is not going to make any noticeable impact.

[tegirinenashi]

OR 5M Storm is recommended to 45 k...

What do they [OR] recommend for 22.5 knots? 20 or 40 meter kite?

[plummet]

OR 5M Storm is recommended to 45 k...

What do they [OR] recommend for 22.5 knots? 20 or 40 meter kite?

Power is cubic indeed. Lift is velocity squared. This brings up one interesting corollary: don't get your kite moving under the high wind, otherwise all this power might unleash.

BTW, this square/cubic dependencies bring up another consequence: power vanishes rather abruptly at low end. If a kite falls down from the sky at 5 knots, its redesign with 10% weight reduction is not going to make any noticeable impact.

Have you flown in these winds with kites of these size?
What you are talking about is mathematical theory.

But in reality 5-6 m kites can and do fly in 40 knots. They are controllable. I admit yes its brutal. But if you have the skill its completely achievable. Small kites can handle a massive wind range. I can stay upwind on my 6m mutant combo at 20 knots and hold it to 50 knot gusts when fully trimmed.

This is an example of someone who cant fatham kiting in high winds because he himself does not enjoy it or doesn't have the skill to do so therefore he thinks its not achievable for anyone else.