Here is a repost from ikitesurf.com that deals with kite selection for an experienced, lighter weight rider, in this case a woman. As usual, Spyder has expressed the concepts well.
Rick Iossi
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basically there are 2 kinds of kites out there today, high aspect and medium aspect.
examples of modern high aspect kites are:
X2 Naish
Lift Airrush
Rhino North
examples of modern med aspect kites are:
Aero Naish
Toro North
Hydro Wipika
The high aspect ones do very well going upwind, jumping, efficiency, and good control. the downsides, are less low end power, more difficult relaunching
some new ones have less depower.
The medium aspect ones do everything pretty well, sacrificint a bit less performance. they jump ok, go upwind ok. the upsides are very good control, good depower, and easy relaunching.
as for your weight and skill level, you probably would be happy with a 14 flat area in that wind range. example Aero 14, or X2 14.
i think the 16 would be too big, although you probably would need it if the winds were really 8-12 mph. anything higher you would feel overpowered. it does depend on what board you are riding. wakeboard, or directional, floaty? or not floaty?
you can go with less kite with the floaty boards, and will need more kite for the wake and less floaty designs (high density foam boards).
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Hello all,
Is it true that big kites are for big people or are there big kites out there where a lighter person could get just more "good", usable power out of it? Not just drag.
I would like to get the biggest kite which makes sense for my weight (140 lbs, female, advanced kiter). But all these big kites have so different shapes/power/lift/drag profiles that it is hard to make the right buying decision. It is for riding in 8-14 mph wind. What are the differences in controlling the power/lift/drag for a 16 m Slingshot, Wipika 11.8, Naish X2 16 or Aero 16 or the Cabrinha equivalent? Does any of these kites make sense for my weight? Any experiences out there?
Thanks! -Sylvia
Posted by: spyder - 08/09/2002