Been out several times now with the contra-14 and the general rule I've found is I have to see at least a few whitecaps to go upwind. 93kg., Door 64 (164 cm x 46cm almost flat bottom) Same goes for the Speed-17.

If I hadn't been there and flown the kite myself I would have said: "the miracles of photoshop!!!"

Chemo, so far I tend to agree with you. With all my kites so far I would only really start to have fun when there were some small whitecaps.

Today maybe the day where I'll revise this statement. I will see if a friend of mine can bring a video camera and a wind meter so we can document properly and come to a more accurate assessement.

To be honest, I don't really care if the kite flies in under 4 knots. What matters is how soon I can have fun with it.

But the indications are there that I'll have fun a bit sooner

P

Phillipp,What are the design features that you see that enable this kite to fly in that low wind?Maybe I've missed a post covering it,but why is this Contra model the light wind choice compared say, to the Xbow
Thanks

can get pretty hairy though, i've had my waroo up in such conditions.

Suddenly the wind drops a few knots more and down it goes, right ontop of u (I swear u won't have the time to get the lines tight again if its dropping from zenith )

also no relaunch in those winds so I wouldn't go too far on it, but its nice for mountainboarding!!

It must be a magic kite.

Inside info says it has a smaller cabrinha sticker that contributed about 80% to the improvement in lightwind performance...

Nice pictures. Now fuck off and don't come back until you've been riding with it. (groan. I am a wind addict and my last kite was 18th of April 2006)

Ah yes - I've been waiting for a Contra vs Speed 17 comparison.
Are you saying the Contra 14 is comparable to the Speed 17????

I've done many head to heads with my X-bow 16 and Speed 17. Speed 17 has a lower range of 2-4 mph. (90kg on SS Glide) - I can fly it on the beack in 5mph - but need atleast 8 to ride on the water. For the X-bow 16, I need atleast 10mph to get going.

X-bow kicks Speed ass on the upper end though...

So, what I really want to know is - Does the Contra 17 have a better (wind speed at which you hold your ground on the water) low end than the Speed 17?

It's my "shit for brains" notion without flying the contra 17 that it will be as good as if not better than the Speed-17 at getting you going in minimal wind. That's based on the C-14 which I have and have flown back to back with the Speed-17(same wind). The c-17'll sure turn a lot faster than the speed so if-you-good-at-fly-kite-kinda-guy you-a gonnna love it.

about same size cadaver and board as yourself.

It's called wind up top.

Have you ever had to run in dead air to get a kite into the air, only to get lofted once it hit 12:00? I have...

Happens all the time down here.

Lofted in 4 knots? No way, it's more up top.