Tony let me tell you one thing about the Speed 2 19.TonyL wrote:Spectrum-
You mention you have a Speed 19 SA. I am thinking about getting one. Question for you - would you choose the Zeph or the Speed 19 for low wind riding? I am looking for a low wind kite up to about 15 knots. I am 200lbs.
Thanks -
Tony
It has given me loads of memorable sessions for various reasons, but one more than anything else.
The ultra low end of the kite makes it worth while to stay at the beach and have a soul session... this is in my opinion a good enough reason to have it. But then what often happens is that the wind kicks in just a bit more and I'm doing big floaty jumps, cruising effortlessly upwind and then riding (parked kite style) down the line in the surf. THere have been days where other surfers pump up
waiting for wind and hand around and then pack up and leave. All that time I'm on the water then as often happens there is a one hour or less burst of good 12mph.... to short for people to drive down to the beach, but I'm already on the water. Sometimes it will come up even more... enough for me to quicly go from my big Speed to a smaller foil. With no pumping and deflation I can be in and out changing kite in a couple of minutes. If your smaller kite is a LEI.. no problem... if the wind comes more than 15mph you can still have a blast on the Speed 3 19m if there isn't enough time to switch.
There is something special about a soul session followed by a 1 hour adrenalin rush!
If you are getting a speed and what to do some down the line wave riding (park and surf style) the Speed 3 has a big advantage over the Speed 2. Don't confuse this type of riding with throwing your kite around and and chasing it down the line. No kite can do this in low low wind.
Lets see if I can make another comparisson... wave riding in real low wind with the Speed is in a certain way a mix of SUP (stand Up Paddle Boarding) and regular surfing, but to things change. First no paddling and second you can do it with a smallish board... about half the size and a 1/8 otf the weight of a SUP.