17m vs 14m LEI?

[lovethepirk]

Stole a session today for an hour which was unexpected....hell yea!!!!

Anyway, wind on the pier meter showed 12-14mph, but I think it was more on the high end b/c I wasn't struggling...It seems unless I have some gusts or help above 12mph I can't go without hard work and crazy amounts of power strokes until I start planning on the race foil.

I'm curious....I only rode my 17m on the foil when I was trying to ride the board flat and learn...then I have been on the 14m LEI always. Is the 17m LEI going to get me to ride in 10-12mph possibly vs needing 12-14mph on the 14m? I almost blew up the 17m today to test it out, but I was too tired to blow up the beast. For some reason, I just think the quicker response of the 14m allows me to make faster and more powerstrokes when needed to get on the foil.

[bigtone667]

The only reason I need the big kite (17m) is to get up on the board. Once I am up and heading upwind I wish I had 3m or 5m less kite.

The way around this issue for me was to add 10m line extensions and fly my 13m.

[Pedro Marcos]

With my experience, for 75kg, LEI´s over 12m2 wont give you any better low-end. They will give you more power for the same low-end. That will change if your are heavier.

Ive tested a 12m2 Storm vs a 17m FLITE and they both start at the same low-end, but on the 17m you will be much more powered when you get the apparent wind. The 12m2 its much easier to handle then the 17m2

[TomW]

I'm a HF noob, but sold my beloved Core XR2 17lw because I could tell early on that I wasn't going to use it again.
If you think about it: you have a 12 kite, and you're considering getting a lightwind monster kite. A new one is going to set you back 1000-1300 €. You can almost get a foil for that money, and now you'll have a few years new challenge and fun, plus you'll start to yearn for those 12 knot days...instead if plowing around on a 17.

[herbert]

I agree that the smaller the kite the more fun it can be, even if it is more challenging (that is part of the fun). I just finished long session with my 6.2m Cloud D. Had plenty of power. I reviewed the wind chart and it was 2 hours of averaging 13 to 16 mph. I realize that I could have just as well have gone out with my 8m or 10.4 D in that wind. They all would have worked equally well, just different. The smaller size is well compensated for by the amazing apparent wind from the speed of dives, of working the kite, and of just flying fast. It is just that the experience would have been different. For me: More small = more fun. I say, for a variety of reasons, try to hydrofoil more often with a smaller kite. When trying to decide which kite to pump, go with the smaller. You will surprise yourself.

[Starsky]

Lighter and faster are better than big and powerful for freeride foil. You would get overpowered so fast on the 17. As soon as you get off the water and the speed kicks in?! Smaller is just more fun. You will naturally earn the ability to get up and going on smaller kites. To a point. Once the small kites shut off (you can't get the start) there is usually a bigger kite that brings back the joy, also to a point. I rarely use a 12 to foil anymore. Im on the 8.5 as soon as it puffs 12.

Ditch the 17. If foiling becomes your usual, you'll ditch the 14 pretty quick too. 12 is as big as you need go for freeride fun (10 knots).

If you want to forget that its a wind sport you could try ridiculously light wind, that is, if your 17 is light enough to make it worthwhile.

[bigtone667]

Lighter and faster are better than big and powerful for freeride foil. You would get overpowered so fast on the 17. As soon as you get off the water and the speed kicks in?! Smaller is just more fun. You will naturally earn the ability to get up and going on smaller kites. To a point. Once the small kites shut off (you can't get the start) there is usually a bigger kite that brings back the joy, also to a point. I rarely use a 12 to foil anymore. Im on the 8.5 as soon as it puffs 12.

Ditch the 17. If foiling becomes your usual, you'll ditch the 14 pretty quick too. 12 is as big as you need go for freeride fun (10 knots).

If you want to forget that its a wind sport you could try ridiculously light wind, that is, if your 17 is light enough to make it worthwhile.

And despite all my learning on the foil .... I still need the 17 two or three times a year.

[Peter_Frank]

Remember rider weight, as a 17 m2 for say a 100 kg rider, corresponds roughly to a 12-13 m2 for an average weight rider around 75 kg

PF

[davesails7]

I've found that with foil kites, bigger sizes give bether low end. With LEIs though, I didnt find that bigger kites (over 13m) really helped much.

[lovethepirk]

So I finally squeezed in a sesh in 10mph/9kts with the 17m Contra today for 30 minutes before I crashed the kite in 8mph winds and called it quits.

The 17m Contra def had much more grunt to get me up fast on top of the board which is my biggest issue with the 14m Vector. Still had to pump the kite 2-3 times but damn it immediately pulled me out of the water on the first dive.

The moment I got up to speed I was immediately overpowered in a weird way, it was like the kite wouldn't go forward and it was a wicked leg workout. I trimmed the kite about 6 inches, but only got a tack in before the wind died and I crashed the kite. Trimming the kite helped but the kite was still pulling like a truck at speed.

I've seen advanced riders 30 pounds less than me riding 18m foil kites in 10-12mph winds. How in the hell are they doing this? Are they trimming the hell out of the foil on the fly or is the foil further ahead in the window to not pull them so hard into the board whereby you're doing a 400pound leg press the entire tack?

edit: btw...is the Pansh Aurora 2 really only 350$? Would that have the grunt to get me up as much as the 17m Contra? I could see trying that kite maybe in the future to abuse and learn on for cheap.