Ok ... I didn't get a lot of interest for the "Low Wind $ Showdown"

But let's not ignore the elephant in the room - Ridiculous, bullshit, unsubstantiated LIES about low wind kite performance by otherwise credible kiteboarding companies.

Any company that claims kites can perform in 5.0 - 7.0 knots is FULL OF SH!TE.

And I'm not just talking about Flysurfer, the most persistent bs claimer http://www.flysurfer.com/en/produkte/kites/speed3/ , but about other credible companies like North and Epic.

For example, checkout North's RIDICULOUS claims about the Dyno: http://www.northkites.com/public/content/products/kites/dyno/index_eng.html

And Epic's Dimitri Maramenides CLAIMS about the "Infinity" performing in 5 knots www.kiteforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2367439&start=290. Bullshit!

Not all kite companies are so blatantly dishonest. Some, e.g. Ozone http://downloads.flyozone.com/kitesurf/downloads/2010/windchart_water.pdf at least try to put their kites within ~1 knot of the truth.

Ignore the lies and exaggerations. Any kiteboarding company claiming kites can perform in 5.0 - 7.0 knots is FULL OF SH!TE.

But define "perform", Pumpy ...

Fair point. Open to suggestions, but I'd say "consistently staying upwind (20 mins+) on standard kiteboarding gear (twin tips, surfboards, race boards etc)".

How about just "able to tack back and forth from a starting point without having to walk upwind" in 5 to 7 knots? From my observations, most people are fairly content to pootle around, NOT going miles upwind ...

I think if someone is riding in that horrible kind of wind why would they worry about upwind? Seems to me that if I was up and riding in 7knts I'd prefer to do a short downwinder on say a SuP (in case the wind dies I won't have to swim).

SUP? Ridiculous point.

I can and do kite in 5-7 knots. Infact I pull pin around 3 knots. In 3 knots I can still stay upwind!...

So take that.

5-7 knots and i'm going 15-20 mph
8-10 knots jumping starts......

But it all comes down to the type of board I ride!
Mine has big bad wheels on it!!!
Thats right i'm landboarding while you sorry arse inflatable only kitesurfers are sitting on the beach watching.

Why landboard in such light wind? why not? its certainly better than sitting on the beach watching. it makes for a chilled session and in summer theres plenty of "scenery" to keep me interested as I cruise up and down the beach.

Revolution PowerBlast 4-8 - it'll rip your arms out of their sockets in 2 knots ... but I wouldn't want to jump with it

couldn't agree more....all a crock of SHITE..could it be that they are just that bad at determining wind speed

i will throw in $5 to help dimitri buy a wind meter

Agreed PMU .North Dyno 18 & Epic Inf. "secret size" claim of 5 knots (5.7mph) is not possible on the water even with extension lines.However for Flysurfer Speed3 21M with 6m extensions their claim is the closest without BS (5.5 knots / 6.3 mph).Actually 6 knots / 6.9 mph is true!. Having flown the Dyno 18 on extensions 7 knots (8.0mph) is closer to the truth. We tested the Epic Inf. against Dyno and it needed one more knot of wind at 8 knots (9.2 mph).Surely inflatable companies should do like Flysurfer and give 2 types of low wind minimum.One for water use and one for land & or snow use. Companies could go even further in details for water. Twin tip low,surfboard low and raceboard low.This would certainly eliminate "BS" and guarantee the customer satisfaction. Low wind possibility is the average wind speed needed because light wind is not a constant number.So to ride in 6 knots the wind can drop to 5 and go up to 7 knots. 7 knots is 6 to 8knots wind. 8 knots is 7 to 9 knots wind. This is no "BS"upaEZ. Knots into mph : 5.0=5.7 5.5=6.3 6.0=6.9 6.5=7.5 7.0=8.0 7.5=8.6 8.0=9.2 8.5=9.8