Whats better for 10 to 15 knots of wind?

[Eshorekiter]

I weight 185 lbs and because of work and family don't always get to pick and choose my free days to kite. I have a 11m rebel that I love, and the guys at my local shop said that they wouldn't push any one toward buying a 14m kite in good conscious because they are such dogs in the sky. I need something that I can go out and have fun in 10 to 15 knots with. I hear good things about some of the light wind specific kites like the Dyno and the Epic Infinity, or should I go with a larger kite like a 14m Evo, Rebel or Vegas? Help me out, thanks.

[tautologies]

They opted to NOT sell you a kite instead of informing you about advantages and disadvantages of the kites you were looking at? Wow.

In any case, I have not tried the kites you are looking at but I have great fun in light winds. If I want to ride a TT or surfboard I take out 14 Naish Park, if I want to raceboard the Naish Charger is my choice. Now charger is super powerful, but not as fast turning as the Park, which is not as powerful as the Chargert can easily ride in the wind rang you are indicating . These are generally the tradeoffs you'll meet when looking at bigger kites. It will be the same for the kites you are looking at.

First make a list of the qualities you like in a kite and then decide on the kite.

Now what kite you choose depends a little on what you like to do, but going out in 10-15 knots still offers a ton of fun. On a raceboard you'll be flying lit up in that wind.

[edt]

I weight 185 lbs and because of work and family don't always get to pick and choose my free days to kite. I have a 11m rebel that I love, and the guys at my local shop said that they wouldn't push any one toward buying a 14m kite in good conscious because they are such dogs in the sky. I need something that I can go out and have fun in 10 to 15 knots with. I hear good things about some of the light wind specific kites like the Dyno and the Epic Infinity, or should I go with a larger kite like a 14m Evo, Rebel or Vegas? Help me out, thanks.

why are you limiting yourself to a 14? If you want to go out in 10 knots, get a bigger kite. I assume you already have a lightwind board. Correct me if I am wrong but I had the feeling that for about a year, North gave up on larger kites, which might be why your local north dealers weren't into the big kites, but then the ozone zephyr came out last year and people just loved it so North had to come out with the Dyno.

Sounds like you are a North guy, why not get a 16m dyno

[islandstylen]

+1 for giving the zephyr a go if you can, not fan of light wind kites but i have ridden this and seen it perform in the light stuff and found it real nice.

[LiquidTempus]

I can ride my 12m Rebel with a surfboard on flat water without current at around 12kts. I am 195lbs. If you want to ride light wind (8-15knts) I'd suggest at least a 16m.

Keep in mind that any big kite will be slow and you will likely have to keep the kite moving all the time in low wind situations. That is, never park it at 12o'clock because any lull and it will come crashing down on your head.

[BladeKitesUS]

You may want to also consider the Blade Fat Lady in your list. Made by the same designer as the Infinity, however faster turning and with reduced leading edge and strut diameter. Turns faster than any other large kite I have flown.

If you are on the West Coast, we will be in your neighborhood starting next week as we kick off our West Coast Tour.... and we'll have plenty of Fat Ladys to try out.

BKB-US

[Ned Divine]

Keep in mind that any big kite will be slow and you will likely have to keep the kite moving all the time in low wind situations. That is, never park it at 12o'clock because any lull and it will come crashing down on your head.

...except a Flysurfer Speed3 15m2...
I am wondering, at your weight and with a 11m2 kite, you should be ok at 10-15 knots provided you do a bit of lightwind training and use a relatively big board. Unless the wind is unstable with a lot of lulls. Real lightwind kites aim at the <10knot low end.

[RDM]

I weight 185 lbs and because of work and family don't always get to pick and choose my free days to kite. I have a 11m rebel that I love, and the guys at my local shop said that they wouldn't push any one toward buying a 14m kite in good conscious because they are such dogs in the sky. I need something that I can go out and have fun in 10 to 15 knots with. I hear good things about some of the light wind specific kites like the Dyno and the Epic Infinity, or should I go with a larger kite like a 14m Evo, Rebel or Vegas? Help me out, thanks.

Get a lightwind board first eg skim, spleene door or 135x46 - 48 TT with minimal rocker..

Out of those 3 the Vegas has the least low end but its such a nice kite, Rebel has great low end but its all about building apparent wind, the Evo has pure old fashinoned GRUNT so if it can fly you can ride..

[jumarcil]

For these conditions depending if the wind is steady or uneven. When there is some nice steady wind I use my Speed 3 19m and if the wind is really more gusty I will use a LEI; in my case a Taboo 15m which is also pretty fast for a 15m.

The speed 3 15m and 19m or 21m aren't fast but they provide so much lift and hangtime ; they are great to practice old school move. If you don't like foils at all or if you don't want to spend a fortune get yourself a nice big LEI; but try to get something that isn't too slow.

There are plenty of really good light wind specific kites out there . Usually if you just get a big LEI that hasn't been designed for LW you will just get an oversize kite that isn't optimized for LW.
Keep doing business with your shop. Lots of place would have pushed you a kite. Remember that the board makes as much difference as the kite. First I would get a really nice LW board and try it with my existing kite.

But honestly in these conditions nothing beats my S3 19m.

thanks

Jules

[Eshorekiter]

The only reason I keep bringing up the North kites is because I am trying to avoid having a bunch of different bars. Kind of like the idea of having a back up set of bar and lines for all of my kites instead of having to go out and get a replacement bar and lines when my only set goes bad.
As far as Light wind specific, I am not looking for a kite that is going to work under 10 knots, I am just looking for something that will work for me in 10 -15 and won't be so slow turning in the air. That's what I hear about the 14m rebel. This is my first year back into the sport since 2001 and my Rebel 11 m is great but I feel like that turns slow, afraid of what the 14 is going to be like....