How often do you swim in @ <10knots ?

[Slappysan]

I'll go out in 6 knots with my low aspect foil board and 17m C2 kite.

If I drop the kite I'm swimming in. If it lulls to 4 knots when my kite is in a bad position, I'm swimming in.

My swims are usually 500-1km, but they aren't really swims as the kite still does the work pulling you to shore. It takes 45 minutes though and you better dress for the swim, not the air temp.

[Foil]

I drop my kite so many times I am now mega skilled at relaunch, 10 times each session or even more sometimes If I am really trying hard to get that foil Jybe cracked in choppy big swell conditions, crashing out is so energy sapping getting back up can sometimes look comical from the beach, and my look out (wifey) can tell when I am about to come ashore for a rest and a drink,

[bigtone667]

I'll go out in 6 knots with my low aspect foil board and 17m C2 kite.

If I drop the kite I'm swimming in. If it lulls to 4 knots when my kite is in a bad position, I'm swimming in.

My swims are usually 500-1km, but they aren't really swims as the kite still does the work pulling you to shore. It takes 45 minutes though and you better dress for the swim, not the air temp.

There are a lot of times when I have just laid across my board in three or four knots and just had the Cloud fill up and pull me slowly into shore.
And few times with no wind when I have laid across the Cloud leading edge like a pool noodle and paddled in.

[f2020]

Too often.

[lezo]

As said above, the new racekites are incredible light wind machines.

Two weeks ago we started with 10-12 kts, very steady ocean-quality side-on, that gradually diminished to nothing. Really, at the beach it was between 3-4 kts measured and barely perceptible at all. The last kites falling down were a strutless 17m LEI and a Speed5. My friend had a 13m Sonic2 and me a 15m Sonic2 with 20m lines - we had no problem to park the kites at the zenith when discussing and nice pull when riding - great race training over flat water.

Since June when I bought the Sonic2 I had many sub-8/10 kts sessions but I had to swim in only twice after crashing the kite hard in failed downloops - very hard to de-twist without getting water in through the air intake valves, even after 5 years of foil kite experience with Speed3 kites.
.

[Pedro Marcos]

About 15 sessions with my Ozone Chrono V2 Ultralight 15m, swim count still in zero. The kite still keeps flying when ive no power to waterstart at all, so ill just bodydrag/kiteloop to the beach.

[Turbaani]

About 15 sessions with my Ozone Chrono V2 Ultralight 15m, swim count still in zero. The kite still keeps flying when ive no power to waterstart at all, so ill just bodydrag/kiteloop to the beach.

What its possible to not have enough power to foil and still have kite flying?? I didnt know that was possible. There isnt much reviews about the chrono UL. What are your thoughts on it?

[Pedro Marcos]

About 15 sessions with my Ozone Chrono V2 Ultralight 15m, swim count still in zero. The kite still keeps flying when ive no power to waterstart at all, so ill just bodydrag/kiteloop to the beach.

What its possible to not have enough power to foil and still have kite flying?? I didnt know that was possible. There isnt much reviews about the chrono UL. What are your thoughts on it?

I dont have many Foil kites to compare it, i just tried a Chrono V2 18m (not ultralight) and a R1V1 15m. This Chrono v2 UL its much easier to keep flying than both of this kites, the normal V2 wingtips start colapsing much earlier then the UL, and when comparing with the R1V1 the V2 UL its a much easier kite to fly. Its pointless to compare to any LEI, because no LEI its nearly as light or efficient in Lightwinds as the UL is.

[Peter_Frank]

About 15 sessions with my Ozone Chrono V2 Ultralight 15m, swim count still in zero. The kite still keeps flying when ive no power to waterstart at all, so ill just bodydrag/kiteloop to the beach.

What its possible to not have enough power to foil and still have kite flying?? I didnt know that was possible. There isnt much reviews about the chrono UL. What are your thoughts on it?

Definitely, I have never experienced myself, or seen it with a foil kite, that it was not possible to ride when it could be kept in the air though.

Only when using too short lines, or racewings, I have seen the good ones being able to "hang" in the air, but not sufficient to ride.

With good (light) LEI kites it is more pronounced - these can often hang in less wind than possible to ride.

The answer is "YES, you can fly the kites in less wind than you can ride", pretty often

When hydrofoiling started, then we said the first years: "As long as a kite can hang in the air, you can ride".
This is not true anymore, the new foil and strutless LEIs has pushed the "hang" limit a lot

PF

[Turbaani]

About 15 sessions with my Ozone Chrono V2 Ultralight 15m, swim count still in zero. The kite still keeps flying when ive no power to waterstart at all, so ill just bodydrag/kiteloop to the beach.

What its possible to not have enough power to foil and still have kite flying?? I didnt know that was possible. There isnt much reviews about the chrono UL. What are your thoughts on it?

Definitely, I have never experienced myself, or seen it with a foil kite, that it was not possible to ride when it could be kept in the air though.

Only when using too short lines, or racewings, I have seen the good ones being able to "hang" in the air, but not sufficient to ride.

With good (light) LEI kites it is more pronounced - these can often hang in less wind than possible to ride.

The answer is "YES, you can fly the kites in less wind than you can ride", pretty often

When hydrofoiling started, then we said the first years: "As long as a kite can hang in the air, you can ride".
This is not true anymore, the new foil and strutless LEIs has pushed the "hang" limit a lot

PF

Im in the market for a foil kite since my lightwind weapon currently is 17m LEI, TS. I can still ride hydrofoil when the kite has to be looped constantly to keep it in air. But one mistake and im swimming. So a lighter kite would be nice. This chrono UL seems like a dream. But you say its possible with other kites too to be underpowered while kite is flying. So is it worth the extra buck to get UL kite?

Edit: missed pedro's post. Thanks for the info. Maybe it is worth the extra buck ^^