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8 mph? I seriously doubt that.

My 19m XR5 starts to complain at 9mph (8kts) and I’m 180lbs. Maybe he’s kiting with that new solar/UV wind sail they are about to send up to the ISS? Industry breakthrough!

Ozone Chrono v1 18m

Turbine its the worst i try...

15m Turbine on a 170x50cm FlydoorXL and long lines. 37m lines is usual pick. Works perfect.
I'd prefer to rather foil and foil under a smaller wing but it's less of an option on shallow or in side-offshore wind.
8 knots is quite doable. 7 is stretching it. Given there's no big lulls.
There might be a wind gradient which I wouldn't have a way to measure but long lines and huge board give amazing advantage of planning on first dive.

I didn't like 17m Turbine as much since it was slower and too grunty for my 190 lbs while not giving lower end advantage.
I landed my 15m Turbine choice for my LW wing and I tried all of below kites for it's spot:
Flysurfer 19m Speed 3 Deluxe, 16m/14m Liquid Force NRG, 17m Best TS, Airush Lithium Zero 18m, 17m Slingshot Turbine (slow), 15.5m/12m Liquid Force Solo, 17m Core XR LW, 15m Flysurfer Sonic FR, 15m Naish Fly, 15m Ozone Chrono R1, 18m/13m Cabrinha Velocity, 13m Ozone Edge, 13m Cabrinha Contra, BRM Cloud 17m

The foils would fly static in less wind (and 15m Sonic was my second choice) but then they sucked on downwind tacks and I love ability to drift launch a LEI especially in offshore winds or small launch spots (I'd hate to "wash" the foil by drift launching, I know it's doable)

My Contra's. Love the 15 but 19M gets me out in 12kn.

Dejavu, 12kn is not light wind. It is storm for some of us..

And 15m foil kite you'll jump&trick nicely in 12kn.

tomato wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 21, 2017 1:31 pm

Does anyone has experience with Gaastra Spark 17m kite. There some pretty good deals online for it. Smaller sizes have good reviews, but how about 17m size? How good it is for light wind?

Up. Got the same question and found no information at all. Maybe there's a chance someone tried Spark 17m?...Any feedback will be appreciated.

My favorite light wind kite is my good old BRM c2 in size... 9m!
Works for me with a hydrofoil from about 8 knots up to 16, or with light wind directional from 12 to 16 ( at which point I want a smaller board but keep flying the 9 unless I’m foiling).
Ultralight (8 or less the whole time, basically 6-8) wind I would go foiling with the 12m c2.
Sometimes I will hold the 12 up to 17 kts with a directional or especially a twintip. But with hydrofoil I’m over it with the 12 by 15kts.
No doubt a 17m kite would give a slight improvement on margins, it pulls the directional/TT ranges down a few
knots and might give more consistent foiling in 6 knots, but at these ranges the slightest error or change in chop or current can end your day. Think I got it out of the bag once this year.
I don’t see buying above 12 to 14m in an LEI anytime soon. Some new small BRM clouds are in the list tho.

12-15m foil kite May become interesting for me especially if I get an itch to foil with a fast foil and chase racers/free racers. Then again I mainly ride slow and in places it sucks to launch foil kites. I kind of hate it when foil flyers show up and need extensive help launching (which is about 50% of time they do show up).
My weight for reference about 82 kg.