Low Wind Kitesurfing

[Night_Thrasher]

What is the lowest wind condition I can go kitesurfing and what is the best kite brand and size for it?

[sbckiteboard]

(Edit.) Double posted. Opps. Sorry. See below for post with images.

[sbckiteboard]

Choosing the right gear will mean you can be fully powered in winds as light as 7 mph.

Choosing a kite for light winds is really a matter of your preferred riding style. During the SBC Kiteboard test session in Cape Hatteras, NC we tested the Ozone Zephyr 15 m, Flysurfer Speed 3 Deluxe 15 m, Airush Lithium LW 13 m, and Cabrinha Crossbow 13 m. We put the kites through a head-to-head comparison. We recently published the results online: Lightwind Kitesurf Kites



http://www.sbckiteboard.com/kitesurfing ... ws_id=1374

Experienced riders can benefit from running 40-meter lines. A huge increase in the powerstroke will help get you up and going when others can't even get up and riding. Damien LeRoy talks about this in his 2011 Racing Board update.



Equally important is having a large enough board. Large lightwind specific twin-tips or a new raceboard will add huge windrange to your gear quiver. Any of the above tested kites and a raceboard will have experienced riders fully powered and riding upwind in 6 knots.

I had a session last year fall with a raceboard and a 13 meter kite with a dropping wind. By the end of the session I couldn't go upwind but was still riding. When I hopped off the board in shallow water the kite wouldn't stay in the air, even though it was perfectly positioned in the wind window. Everyone else's session had ended an hour earlier. Apparent wind had been helping keep the kite in the sky for about an hour of riding. The wind was below 6 knots with glassy flat water.

You can read all our Kitesurfing Gear Reviews online at sbckiteboard.com.

It would be interesting to hear other people's estimates of the lightest wind speed they are able to ride in, their ability level (years riding) and gear they are using.

[Peter_Frank]

What is the lowest wind condition I can go kitesurfing and what is the best kite brand and size for it?

It depends a lot on your weight, how low you can go.

If you are "average" around 80kg, the lowest you can go will be around 5m/s (10knots) with the right kite and board.

If you are REALLY experienced, you will be able to push the lower limit down to about 8-9 knots, but this is the absolute lowest wind possible to kitesurf in (holding ground/going upwind) with average weight IMO.

We are talking about 14-17m2 typical SLE kites and raceboards here

And talking about EXACTLY how "low you can go" is just pure bullshit - as you can not measure the windspeed at the kite, which is the only true value for this.

Sometimes you have a huge windgradient, sometimes a small one, and air temperature and height also influences.

But around 10knots is the limit for most kitesurfers, and just a small tad lower for the "extreme" ones


When you talk about windspeed - where is it measured then ?
At headheight, maybe around 2 meter above the water ?
Or at 10 meter height, which is our (Denmark) meterological standard height for wind measurements ?
There is a difference of typical 2 knots, so VERY important.


My point is - always take those claiming "this and that" as their minimum wind speed with a grain of salt

But the answer to your question would IMO be around or just below 10 knots measured at 2 meters height (in normal "summer" temperatures), and it is not dependant on brand, as many brands has excellent kites for this - and more and more has raceboards now too.

I can understand you dont kitesurf yet - but interested in the low level ?

Typically, you can start just a tad earlier than a really skilled 12m2 formula windsurfer, but almost the same planing level - maybe this makes more sense to you if used to windsurfing ?

Hope this helps

Peter

[Night_Thrasher]

@sbckiteboard& Peter: Thanks for the reply.

I saw a 20m LF Spectrum II for sale, what the lowest wind speed I can use this?

[stefaans]

Don't stress the kite this much. You are looking for something you can actually keep in the air!!!!!!!!
lightwind kiting is all in the board/fins and is something that needs to be mastererd like a trick. lightwind kiting is a trick so because somebody uses a certain setup in 6knts you might need 12knts.

[flyingtrunkie]

The Flysurfer Speed3 21m DL will be out soon. Kitesurfing in 5 knots is no dream anymore
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2365452
and:
http://www.flysurfer.nl/news/view/id/64 ... -nu-in-21m
or this site in English:
http://translate.google.com/translate?j ... l=nl&tl=en

[PBKiteboarding]

A simple Movie to watch as an average Kiter Kites in very low winds on a Flysurfer Speed 2 19m:
A kiter could even go lower on a race board or deeper fins, but a tip can be more fun and easier to turn without having to switch feet.



The New 21m Speed 3 Should be very interesting!

Great for heavier riders or those that just want to be on the water instead of the Beach.
I have lots of success stories from customers... and myself as well...
For Inflatables the Ozone Zephyr great too..

www.PBKiteboarding.com

[Night_Thrasher]

That's what I want, I dont want to spend my one-day off from work on the beach not flying a kite. Winds here changes a lot... good winds (10kts to 20kts) blows on 3-day straight that it creates a sandstorm then dies down less than 9kts to 1kts for the rest of the week and most of it on Fridays which is my only off to work.

I'm also planning to buy a new 5-line control bar for $150, Do you think it would be better if I bought the brand new 20 meter spectrum 2 kite complete with new 4-line bar and pump for $200 to $300, and I'll just buy a new line for the 5th line.

I have another post about the method brand trainer kite, please comment. Thanks!
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2365527

[Mr_Weetabix]

I've got a 17m Contra3 in my quiver - I used to find that it worked well (i.e. got me upwind) down to about 14 knots (in choppy water), and fell out of the sky in lulls of less than about 10 knots.

I'm about to move somewhere with flatter water (@Night_Thrasher... probably not a million miles from you)... should I lose the Contra (which flies like a cow) and get a better light wind kite, or invest in a more light wind oriented board?