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Concept Air Smart Wave 6.5 & 4.5 & 3 and now 8.5

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LesFoilZ
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Re: Concept Air Smart Wave 6.5

Postby LesFoilZ » Sat Oct 29, 2016 1:24 pm

Jzh_perth wrote:That lesfoilz link in the first post doesn't seem to work for me.
Weird ... here is the direct link : http://lesfoilz.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=3282

If it does not work, go to http://www.lesfoilz.com > Le labo > Concept Air Smart Wave 6.5

If it still does not work, tell me, I'll have our special IT force work on it :-)
Jzh_perth wrote: I (we) ride strapless surfboards a lot here in Western Australia. I'd love to try one in person some time.
:-) I did the first test fly of the previous closed cells smart models (6.5 and 4.5) when we were in Perth some years ago (for work -- the real one, the one that brings money in). The very first prototype from Benoît was tested there. We are trying to come back to Australia but I am not sure it will be anytime soon ... otherwise you could have tried my wave 6.5. FYI, I ride exclusively strapless from nearly 10 years now and I use kite to surf in conditions where paddling would not be nice. A kite in waves is more a mean than a goal, it only has a function: going back as quickly as possible to the peak (or move between peaks in beach breaks) and let me surf without a kite once in the the wave.

First test fly of the first closed smart prototype in light wind in Perth some years ago (6.5m):

https://vimeo.com/51690200

The new smart wave 6.5 behaves a bit like this one but with added performance. It is a bit like a 2 lines trainer kite with depower that you hold with one hand in the surf.

Foil kites are the future of surfkiting :-) 8-)

Stef

PS: I remember a great session strapless at Greenhead (sweel forecasts were 4-5m swell!) where I had to duck dive several times, kite in the air, not to be smashed onto the reef downwind which was out of water (I had been a bit to greedy on a wave ...). I'll remember this one for a long time!

LesFoilZ
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Re: Concept Air Smart Wave 6.5

Postby LesFoilZ » Mon Nov 07, 2016 8:47 am

I had a quick session yesterday in irregular wind ... I changed kites 3 times: pulsion 15m (I discovered the kite this week-end, a friend of mine bought one), then Smart wave 6.5m when the wind woke up and pulsion 9m. The wind was very irregular: 2 minutes mean wind was from 13 to 22 knots, with instantaneous measures ranging from 9 to 25 knots. Some small 1m swell at the beginning, rapidly messed up by very short period wind swell. I tried the smart wave 6.5 for not too long because I was not enough powered in the lulls and I had to work the kite too much. I then go with the pulsion 9m which was better suited for the lulls.

This said, the kite passed this new test very well and I found it a very good upgrade of the previous smart 6.5. The kite is still a smart but with more performance. Now I think I am pretty sure of that because, yesterday in the lulls, I had to work the kite a lot more than in the previous test and I felt more reactivity and more speed than the previous 6.5 --that I tested many years-- when I did this. Maybe a beginner would be a bit surprised though because it turns and moves quite fast.

I hope that some more tests are to come despite winter coming to our coast.

Stef

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Re: Concept Air Smart Wave 6.5

Postby LesFoilZ » Thu Dec 15, 2016 5:17 pm

With a friend (boZZo from FZ), we had a nice session yesterday testing kites (Aeros Compi 11m + zone 5'3 / Concept Air Pulsion 9m + FW Sweet Potato 5'2 / Concept Air Smart Wave 6.5 + FW Sweet Potato 5'2) in onshore 15-20 knots and small wind waves (80cm / 1m).


Here are two small films that I took with my cellphone and uploaded on vimeo. Nothing fancy (even Regis' short movies have more work in them 8) ) but one can see how the kite moves --because light wind, boZZo had to move the kite so it gives some good insights about turning and reactivity:

https://vimeo.com/195806564

Short static flying video - sorry no pretty woman in bikini (winter here - nice winter but still winter) but that helps keeping focus on how the kite behaves:

https://vimeo.com/195808769

We realized after shooting the film that the cars were 5m upwind of the kite (complete wind shadow on the ground) and it had no influence on kite's behavior.

More and more convinced that we have our foil kite for wave riding.

You can follow the thread >> HERE on LesFoilz << (very good to improve your skills in French!)

Stef

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Re: Concept Air Smart Wave 6.5

Postby plummet » Thu Dec 15, 2016 7:24 pm

I enjoy foil kites. But I don't think ill ever prefer them to leis for waves. Why The fast relaunch and the self rescue options of inflatables or critical in big waves.

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Re: Concept Air Smart Wave 6.5

Postby LesFoilZ » Thu Dec 15, 2016 8:46 pm

Hi plummet.

Low ratio foil kites relaunch better and faster than many LEIs in waves. They are very fast to relaunch and they tend to float over waves and get caught less easily than LEIs.

Self-rescue: in waves (especially big waves), the kite is the first thing that go with me. Far too dangerous to be at the other hand of the lines with the kite down in the break. I ride only strapless (with a leash depending on conditions) and my safety is my board + going paddle surfing as much as I can + knowing that I can swim for a long time (a lot less in winter)*. I will never count on the kite for self-rescue in waves, be it a foil or a LEI.

Travelling with 2/3 foils and one bar + one or two sufboards is great.

* kitesurfing in big waves is too easy and we tend to forget that we would never go surfing or swimming in these conditions and I think that is where the danger is if things go wrong. I remember sessions in which falling was not an option, 3/4 good waves and that was it.

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Re: Concept Air Smart Wave 6.5

Postby plummet » Thu Dec 15, 2016 9:16 pm

LesFoilZ wrote:Hi plummet.

Low ratio foil kites relaunch better and faster than many LEIs in waves. They are very fast to relaunch and they tend to float over waves and get caught less easily than LEIs.

Self-rescue: in waves (especially big waves), the kite is the first thing that go with me. Far too dangerous to be at the other hand of the lines with the kite down in the break. I ride only strapless (with a leash depending on conditions) and my safety is my board + going paddle surfing as much as I can + knowing that I can swim for a long time (a lot less in winter)*. I will never count on the kite for self-rescue in waves, be it a foil or a LEI.

Travelling with 2/3 foils and one bar + one or two sufboards is great.

* kitesurfing in big waves is too easy and we tend to forget that we would never go surfing or swimming in these conditions and I think that is where the danger is if things go wrong. I remember sessions in which falling was not an option, 3/4 good waves and that was it.
Some of the bigger breaks i kite at can be 500+m out to sea. They are point breaks and you may end up tacking 1.5km out to sea to get back to the line up. Self rescue option is something I do not want to loose in that instance. Also when you and the kite are down in the waves it is some times safer to stay hooked in sacrifice the kite and get dragged in by the kite. In that instance i enjoy the fact that the lei can be captured by the wave and tows you in, Sometimes it isn't safe being towed in.

I can't think of a faster relaunching kite that my little 6m reo. Find yourself a wave lie and your foil and do a video comparison.

PS i don't use a leash or a board with volume. So relying on a board to get be back to shore is not an option for me.

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Re: Concept Air Smart Wave 6.5

Postby LesFoilZ » Thu Dec 15, 2016 9:27 pm

plummet wrote:Find yourself a wave lie and your foil and do a video comparison.
No thanks I have plenty of better things to do :-), like surfing, kitesurfing, building things and bringing money in. This said, relaunching a smart or a low ratio foil is damned simple.

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Re: Concept Air Smart Wave 6.5

Postby irwe » Fri Dec 16, 2016 10:03 am

What was the line length and which bar set up were you using with the Smart Wave 6.5?

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Re: Concept Air Smart Wave 6.5

Postby LesFoilZ » Fri Dec 16, 2016 11:12 am

irwe wrote:What was the line length and which bar set up were you using with the Smart Wave 6.5?
I use a Flysurfer Peak 2 stock bar, exactly this one:

Image

I did a quick check and bar length is approximatively 50 cm (my lines are on external points). I have not checked the line length but Flysurfer says that Peak 2 bar have 21m lines.

Stef

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Re: Concept Air Smart Wave 6.5

Postby LesFoilZ » Wed Feb 08, 2017 9:02 am

New test last week, not in very easy conditions on the Mediterranean French coast. I first went out with my FS Psycho 4 4m because the wind was strong with some big swell, not very powerful but sizable, clearly more than overhead in the bigger sets. It was not very easy as the wind was very side and the sand banks were not working very well, I had difficulties to be at the right place, peaks were moving. Wind was strong at the beginning but starting to decrease and I some difficulties in the lulls with the 4m. I thought that would be a good test for the smart.

During the test with the smart wave 6.5, winds stats were min 16 and max 29. I was strapless with my Rusty Kerr 5'9 and then my FW sweet potato 5'2.

That was the test I needed to carry out, strong wind and waves ... the kite works very well :-) 8-), I am happy. It is stable, tips are solid and the grunt is nice for the shorebreak and first 30m. I never was overpowered. It drifts very well but I manage to fold it in two in the air going a tad too much down the line. It was not easy at all to make the cut back far down the line backside in these conditions with the wind being sometimes completely side in the bigger sets. Kite did not touch the water though, some tension in the lines and up it went instantaneously (for information, I am very good at a bathing kites in the surf when I focus on surfing and I forget about the kite (including with small LEIs).

To sum up, it works! :-) 8-)

Stef


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