small wave kite = storm kite?

[blazeheli]

Wow wow, I hope you're right! would love to make my current kite work, Lithiums are fantastic, which is why I opted for it as my high wind kite, but obviously not having a good experience to date.

In terms of a good kite pump, which one would you consider high quality? (I'm still using my 2011 ozone which seems to work great). stopped using gauges years ago, but what do you consider a good gauge too.

I got the Bravo 4 Kite pump halfway down the page. Came with the gauge. It instantly solved my small lithium folding issue. Pumped to 9 psi and was good to go. I know the gauges wear out - but this was a new kite for me. Now I know how it feels to be at 9 PSI for that kite and when the gauge goes - I wont need it for that kite anymore. I am sure there are many other good pumps - this is the one that worked well for me for the exact same issue.
http://www.waterstrider.com/kite-pumps.htm

[piccio]

I have rebel 5 6 7 79 kg surfboards. last two years used 5 m. maybe 20 times in sardinia mistral and cape town SE.
between 30 and 40 knots could not say if storm or not !
in term of waveriding (my medium level is 2 3 m wave) never had much fun in all those session ,cannot say if depends from my level or rebel speed ,sure both.
constantly pay attention at kite position,a lot attention not let it fall as relaunching is not his best
did not enioy a lot ,its speed does not allows mistakes.
I keep that kite yust for those winds(obvious) ,looking for something else ,but no many occasion of testing.
noticed lack of horsepower around 25 27 ,really suffering gusts ,some sinking.
found big gap between 5 and 6 ,more than expected,close to 20 knots range of 6, much less the 5.
tried 5 or 6 times around 40 ,it keeps that wind easy, super easy , too easy,no strain ,no gusts, steady ,precision ,no problem at all,but no fun at all ,yust went back and forth hoping nothing goes wrong, better I was doing something else.

[Hugh2]

piccio, and anyone else, next time you are in Cape Town drop by the Best shop on the waterfront at Bloubergstand. They will let you demo their 5, 6, and 7m Cabos. I have the 6m, and use it for waves in the strong SEaster in Cape Town, and as my "storm kite" elsewhere. The owner, Shawn, has a 7m that he uses for wave-riding, but he is a big guy and very good. I have not flown the 5m, but if it behaves as well as the 6m, then it should be perfect for what you want. I do get a little overpowered at the end of a strong SE day in Cape Town on the 6m, but that might be the combination of increasing wind strength, around 30 knots, and my tiredness. A group of us was in Cape Hatteras last week and a strong northerly front came though mid-week. On the Wednesday the only kite out was my 6m Cabo, and we took turns riding it, ranging from about 70-90kg and everyone loved it. And it costs less than $1000 and you can get older or used models for a lot less. I'm not affiliated in any way with Best, except most of my kites are Best, so I can't really compare with other brands, but the Cabo is strong, stable, and I pump it as hard as I physically can.

[Starsky]

anyone needing electric pumps and gauges is a bit of a kook IMO

I gotta agree, and only slightly less so for those owning 17m kites! It is a wind sport.

Its a bit like those wearing socks in sandals.... I don't need to meet them to get a start on at least a partially accurate opinion.

On topic, Its pretty tough to find good smaller kites. When I luck into one, I don't sell it. Big thick leading edges are something to look for in my opinion. Solid and sits solidly in the window even in gusty weather. I like the delta designs for a high wind kite.

[nicor]

@piccio: Thanks for the run down on the Rebel. Sounds like most 5M kites, fast, but I think all 5M are wicked fast because of the velocity of the wind. But poor relaunch is definitely a negative, because you want to be confident that you can recover is something goes wrong.

@Starsky: curious as to what your most successful small kite has been date?


As for my current 5M lithium, I will try a few things to get it to not fold in high winds 1) shorter lines 2) pump rock hard until it almost busts. I'm praying this works, because besides the folding, my 5M lithium does work well. Note: It's super fast like other small kites in a big blow.

I pulled my 5M out of the bag last night to see how big the leading edge is, and it seems fairly large for the size of the kite, but clearly smaller than the leading edge of my 10M, so there could be some validity to the comment that the frame of smaller kites is weaker as the tubes are smaller. But I guess a designer would be best to say.