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Starsky wrote:Very powerful to keep the size down

Highly depowerable within arms reach so you dont get yanked from where you wanna be

Very fast turning to put it where you want

Very fast flying when you sheet out also to put it where you want

Flies well when sheeted out

Medium bar pressure to always give great feedback

Flies well on a small bar one handed

Pulls like crazy in a normal arc turn to get you out of trouble and give killer low end workability

Doesn't pull at all when you crank the bar and pinwheel it on its axis so you can both put it where you want and not get yanked from where you wanna be

Unhooks with no stall and without requiring you first pull some trim

Drifts downwind rock steady when you ride straight at it.

Rock solid stability in the air and generally stays where you put it.

Low strut count light weight simple design

As tough as possible but easy to repair

very quick relaunch

Clean uncluttered bar

4 line

I think thats pretty much it.

THAT SURE DOES SUM IT UP TONY

tony montana wrote:

Starsky wrote:Very powerful to keep the size down

Highly depowerable within arms reach so you dont get yanked from where you wanna be

Very fast turning to put it where you want

Very fast flying when you sheet out also to put it where you want

Flies well when sheeted out

Medium bar pressure to always give great feedback

Flies well on a small bar one handed

Pulls like crazy in a normal arc turn to get you out of trouble and give killer low end workability

Doesn't pull at all when you crank the bar and pinwheel it on its axis so you can both put it where you want and not get yanked from where you wanna be

Unhooks with no stall and without requiring you first pull some trim

Drifts downwind rock steady when you ride straight at it.

Rock solid stability in the air and generally stays where you put it.

Low strut count light weight simple design

As tough as possible but easy to repair

very quick relaunch

Clean uncluttered bar

4 line

I think thats pretty much it.

THAT SURE DOES SUM IT UP TONY

STARSKY has listed 17 points that make a perfect wave kite i reckon that it spot on,my kite def gets 16 which is really good,how many does your kite get.Tony

Has anyone have anything good or bad to say about the Flexifoil Ions for wave ridding? or overall about the kite that may be relevant to wave ridding.

Thanks.

ive used north vegas for years now. I really dont see any wave kiters using them ,but i did see one or two riders using them on the ksp tour last year. I like the added bar pressure, the ability to loop the kite at will , and the ckite/w depower feel. I tried a naish park the other day and like most other kites i demo, the lack of bar pressure and speed just dont compare. Not that those are bad things. I also rig much smaller now that i use a regular floaty surfboard.

spleeft wrote:ive used north vegas for years now. I really dont see any wave kiters using them ,but i did see one or two riders using them on the ksp tour last year. I like the added bar pressure, the ability to loop the kite at will , and the ckite/w depower feel. I tried a naish park the other day and like most other kites i demo, the lack of bar pressure and speed just dont compare. Not that those are bad things. I also rig much smaller now that i use a regular floaty surfboard.

Sorry Spleeft, are you talking about the Ion or the Vegas?

pixelpedro wrote:

spleeft wrote:ive used north vegas for years now. I really dont see any wave kiters using them ,but i did see one or two riders using them on the ksp tour last year. I like the added bar pressure, the ability to loop the kite at will , and the ckite/w depower feel. I tried a naish park the other day and like most other kites i demo, the lack of bar pressure and speed just dont compare. Not that those are bad things. I also rig much smaller now that i use a regular floaty surfboard.

Sorry Spleeft, are you talking about the Ion or the Vegas?

the vegas

IMO 2012 Rebels.

2011 Cabrinha Nomad or 2012 Drifter

How is Fat Lady in the surf?

I think type of kite is more dependent on sailing style than where you sail, or at least a combination.
I sail mainly waves but as I prefer to sail with the kite I always let the kite follow the board and hence not only jibe the board but in effect also jibe the kite around in the turns. This results in long sweeping turns with the kite and not that much of a need for drifting. I have sailed Nomads the last three years and have been very happy with them, at least the 5 and 7 - the 11 obviously suck as all big kites do inthe waves.
Last year I figured I would convert to a 'real' wavekite like all the other guys on my local. I hated it ! The Wainman Hawaii's I bought (from 5 to 12) simply does not give me the depower I like and frankly I feel it pulls like a tractor. Not the light and quick pull from a hybrid.

Anyway, I guess it only shows that the riding style makes a lot of difference. The other guys coming from wave surfing and mainly sailing unstrapped love their WH's but me and a few other ex-windsurfers (but all with 10yrs + kiting) stick with the hybrid and bows.

Don't know if that answered any questions but then again, the OP never really had any...

Aloha,

Ole