For all foil kite riders
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bonadio
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Postby bonadio » Sun Jul 15, 2018 8:17 pm
baxterbradford wrote: ↑Sun Jul 15, 2018 7:30 pm
I've just bought 18m Soul to replace 17m Core Free. It has more power & flies far more happily in less wind. Prior to the Free, I had a Zephyr which needed much more wind than Free for 3 reasons, it's got 5 struts compared with 3 and it's not a true 17m, more like 15.5. I compared it both with my 14m Enduro and then 17m Free when it arrived, finally the Zephyr is higher aspect so harder to trim in light wind.
The Core Free weighs 5.4kg and the 18m Soul 3kg. The Soul is new & I've never kited in such low wind, one session on foil, one on surfboard. It does have masses of power & loops well for kite of its size. I'm flying it on my Core bar and 24m lines. FS recommend 60cm bar and mine is 54cm so ideally I'd need something longer, but seems fine for now. Probably not so if using much shorter lines.
Nice to hear that, thanks
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bonadio
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Postby bonadio » Mon Aug 20, 2018 3:45 am
I started this thread a month ago to help me decide what size of kite I should get, after several informative replies and some help from the guys from flysurfer I decided to get a 15m Soul. Here is my impression. My kite arrived last Friday so I got 2 days in the water. I could not test it with the original bar, I received the wrong bar size (40cm) had asked for (50cm).
In the first session I used my cabrinha FX bar (50cm 24meters line) the wind was 8-11knots and I felt that the kite has a lot of power, on the 11knots gusts it was a bit uncomfortable, but then the wind dropped a little 6-8knots and I was riding really comfortable.
Today I used my ozone bar (55cm 27meters line) the wind was 5-7knots and I was able to ride really smooth.
The kite is fantastic, was able to re-launch pulling only one line, like a LEI kite.
I was looking for a low end machine and I think I got it, for this kite size my 55cm bar worked well a bit better then the 50cm one for the low wind.
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fernmanus
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Postby fernmanus » Mon Aug 20, 2018 5:10 am
I appreciate this thread as I am learning to hydrofoil. I Started out in 5 knots with the 21. I was powered, but getting rides. The wind picked up to 8 knots and it was tough not to go way too fast or keep the nose down. Next time, I will try the 15. Thanks for this thread.
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Regis-de-giens
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Postby Regis-de-giens » Mon Aug 20, 2018 7:42 am
Yesterday we had a good light wind session with Souls, r1v2, sonic race , navy2 and Pulsion. Not marginal wind but no caps in open see, some small eparse mirror aera , generally 7-8 knots but ponctual lulls at about 6. Soul behaves good like the 4 others above references and easy to handle.
In terms of pure low wind if you seek for lower wind the conceptair Pulsion will overcome the Soul, partly thanks to about 20 % (even) lighter and also a slithly lower ratio that gives a powerfull kick at the waterstart. To bounce on above LEI comparison, it weights like a 5-6 standard LEI !!!
Last edited by
Regis-de-giens on Wed Aug 22, 2018 5:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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davesails7
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Postby davesails7 » Mon Aug 20, 2018 11:27 am
Glad you like the 15m!
I agree with previous comments that it depends on your style and what foil you are riding. Recently I was riding my race foil with minimal power on my 11m Sonic 2. Then switched to my buddy's Slingshot H2 (giant wing). Even though I had been fine with 11m on my race foil, I couldn't keep that giant wing in the water! I could have been on a 7m for sure.
As a beginner, even for racing, I wouldn't go bigger than a 15m foil kite. I've found the gains above 15m foil kites are minimal, but you get overpowered very quickly. I'd wait a year before getting the 18m (unless you're over 200 lbs).
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sedluk
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Postby sedluk » Tue Aug 21, 2018 11:39 pm
I have a little different take on it. If the wind is expected to be 5-9 knots, I will take a 12m, 15m and 18m to the beach and use whichever is best suited. Like most free riders on a foilboard, I generally choose the smallest kite that I can reasonable get away with. With light winds around 7-8 knots it would generally be a 15m. It might be some work to get started at 7 knots but once up and going, plenty of power.
At 9 knots, you might enjoy the 12m.
When the wind is 5-6 knots and I have a nice beach, I will pull out my 18m with 27m lines and off I go. If the wind picks up to 9 knots, I will be a little overpowered at times, more than I would want and I would wish that I would have used my 15m.
So your choice is which scenario, there is a big difference between 5 and 9 knots, the power from the wind varies by the wind speed squared, you get 25 and 81. That means there is approximately 3+ times as much power in the wind at 9 knots compared to 5 knots. It is a huge difference and that is why there are different sized kites. I know that 5-9 knots sound like it is about the same, pretty close but it is not, that is a huge wind range.
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G1017
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Postby G1017 » Wed Aug 22, 2018 5:40 pm
sedluk wrote: ↑Tue Aug 21, 2018 11:39 pm
So your choice is which scenario, there is a big difference between 5 and 9 knots, the power from the wind varies by the wind speed squared, you get 25 and 81. That means there is approximately 3+ times as much power in the wind at 9 knots compared to 5 knots. It is a huge difference and that is why there are different sized kites. I know that 5-9 knots sound like it is about the same, pretty close but it is not, that is a huge wind range.
Actually the energy is not only wind speed squared but even cubed (v³). Thus for expampel double the wind speed means 8-times the energy in it.
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Flag53
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Postby Flag53 » Sat Aug 25, 2018 6:02 pm
Hi bonadio , I’m the same weight as you and have owned a 17m Zephyr .
I Hydrofoil with a 12m Soul and it’s all you will need size wise.
I can get going in 6/7 mph no problem.
The big difference between the soul and the Zephyr is that the Soul will stay in the air in much lighter air and you’ve also got a lot more chance of relaunching the Soul when the wind is sub 10mph.
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foilholio
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Postby foilholio » Sun Aug 26, 2018 12:53 am
davesails7 wrote: ↑Mon Aug 20, 2018 11:27 am
As a beginner, even for racing, I wouldn't go bigger than a 15m foil kite. I've found the gains above 15m foil kites are minimal, but you get overpowered very quickly. I'd wait a year before getting the 18m (unless you're over 200 lbs).
Also if you ride other boards like surfboard, larger sizes can work. Need to consider your quiver if you want to own minimum kites or for travel, 6,10and15 and 8,12and18 are good combos.
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Pedro Marcos
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Postby Pedro Marcos » Mon Aug 27, 2018 9:47 am
I just want to say i love my 21m R1V2, fully powered with a race wing at 6 knots is priceless
Im 75kg and i had a 19m R1V2 before, that is now sold.
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