Kiteforum.com

windfreak74 wrote:Update on the 17M

this kite has doubled my wáter time.

what was your biggest kite you had before that? what model and size?

i still have my preavious 2006 16m waroo
Not very useful in comparison.
the waroo is a bow kite ,very slow and heavy in comparison a litlle better in upper range but in lower range it hinderburge and stalled all the time.

I demoed a Cloud 13 m, but the experience was short. It was very light and the kite back stalled landing in the water trailing edge first. The small shore break (knee high at the most) caught the kite, turning the kite inside out and the trailing edge pulled itself over the leading edge.

After I got back to shore and straightened everything out. I self launched it on the sand and it went up easily. Something was wrong however and it didn't fly right, crashing onto the sand. The trailing edge pulled itself over the leading edge again. I suspect the bladder got twisted from the first mishap and that's why it didn't fly right.

I'd like to give the kite (the design) another go, but I wonder if this issue of the kite turning inside out will be a problem anytime you dump the kite in waves (no matter how small). I realize I was out in marginal conditions, and perhaps it's a one in a hundred chance of happening again, but would a kite with struts ever turned itself inside out this way?

windtzu wrote:I demoed a Cloud 13 m, but the experience was short. It was very light and the kite back stalled landing in the water trailing edge first. The small shore break (knee high at the most) caught the kite, turning the kite inside out and the trailing edge pulled itself over the leading edge.

After I got back to shore and straightened everything out. I self launched it on the sand and it went up easily. Something was wrong however and it didn't fly right, crashing onto the sand. The trailing edge pulled itself over the leading edge again. I suspect the bladder got twisted from the first mishap and that's why it didn't fly right.

I'd like to give the kite (the design) another go, but I wonder if this issue of the kite turning inside out will be a problem anytime you dump the kite in waves (no matter how small). I realize I was out in marginal conditions, and perhaps it's a one in a hundred chance of happening again, but would a kite with struts ever turned itself inside out this way?

from all my research on this kite i understand that the cloud will fly horribly unless front and back lines are exact lengths (as stated emphasized on their site)

that being said - just 2 days ago I dumped my 17m taboo in a thigh high wave and it inverted as you described

After 10 sessions on a cloud, and 10 years kiting, I am pretty confident the lines must have been set up really wrong for to it to stall like that.
Any kite can do this, if the lines are wrong.
Sounds like you used a bar with back lines at least 15 cm or so shorter than front lines.
But also one other thing comes to mind, in waves, you can easily wash "under" the kite causing either "hindenberg" or "backstalling" kite crashes. Any chance that was the problem?

If anyone in south Florida is looking for a demo, I have a 10m here now and have the 17m hopefully being delivered today. I am in the Keys. I myself am not as interested in the smaller sizes but the 17m has open up summer riding conditions for quite a few here. I am still waiting for a demo Airush Zero in the near future. For great unhooked sessions I love my Turbine in 10 knots or more but the Cloud has made the lighter stuff with my Sector 66 amazing.

oTHErside Boardsports
(305)853-9728
www.othersideboardsports.com

Its important to set up the lines correctly..like bwd is saying having them wrongly setup will affect any kite.

Ive dropped mine but not had an inversion. Ive not dropped it in waves tho.

The first time i rode the 17 cloud i dropped it on the wave and it turned inside out.
I believe that the lack of struts, deflated leading edge and the forcé of the wave will facilitate the kite to turn inside out.
I think in the future a good compromise is like the airush one desing one strut in the center.
but its just an opinión.
im still happy with the performance of the strutless kite.
youll probably need to become more efficient rider and if posible not drop the kite on the wave.
i myself have a lot to learn.

Any kite can invert..I mean I have seen pretty much every single kite there is invert. Once a kite gets munched by waves all bets are off. I am not making any claims on which does it more or less, but I am not sure that is something you'd attribute specifically to the design?

That said. I've some good sessions on the 8 in the waves now. I'm using it with 20 meter lines. The wind range is good. At once the kite hits its upper range there is some canopy noise , but nothing I worry about. I rode it in pretty gusty conditions...

I've now self launched and self landed in pretty weird conditions without incident.

Back lines at least 15 cm shorter than the front? The day before I checked to see if my lines were in tune and all was well > they were all even. Unless it has something to do with the Airush Smart Bar I was using, or perhaps I was missing something else.

I hope no one took my report the wrong way. I know waves can wreak havoc on any kite. And all designs have their pro's and con's. I'd be interested in trying the Cloud again, with the understanding that perhaps waves is the last place (at least in marginal conditions) that I'd want to take it. The upside is still intriguing.