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Kite size recommendations for first foil kite?

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TomW
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Re: Kite size recommendations for first foil kite?

Postby TomW » Wed Aug 08, 2018 8:27 pm

I just made switch from Lei to foil kites, 2 years in on Hydrofoil, 75-78 kg on moses 590.

"I’ve found a useful guide is plus/minus 2 square meters on either side of its stated size. So a 10m foil would cover a similar windrange to an 8m lei (high end) and 12m for low end. This might help you work out which size to buy."

This is spot on for me too.

I have Hyperlink 9m UL, that I use 98% of the time. Our winds are often 10-18knots. It's perfect for freeride. Replaced my 12-9 Monos...way better for foiling... Bought a Hyperlink 7 that hasn't been used yet for 16-22 knots. And a used Sonic 2 13 for 6-10 knots. But I've been out on it in 15 knots, no problems, just not for freeride..

I raced against pro level guys first and only time on July 8. ( I suck at racing and don't have ambition) The hyperlink won't cut it. Another Swedish guy getting into racing had a new Soul 12m He put it up for sale after that race because he's serious about racing and realised the Sonic race and FS Vmg guys were screaming fast past him. That said, a guy on Breezes did well because his skills on Hydrofoil were good...

I don’t think you'll be happy racing on Hyperlink or Soul ( but these other guys know more than me). Freeride for 12-20. Get a Hyperlink 7 or Soul 8. free ride 10-18 a Hyperlink 7 or Soul 8/10. Freeride 22knots plus use an lei...

Racing, get a used race kite 11m then a bigger one like a 15m, then a smaller like an 8. Flysurfer Sonic 2, DIABLO, Sonic race, Ozone R1V2...That should cover you for racing. There's a lot of used race kites on the market. 2handkiteracing Facebook group.

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tkaraszewski
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Re: Kite size recommendations for first foil kite?

Postby tkaraszewski » Wed Aug 08, 2018 9:19 pm

I don’t think you'll be happy racing on Hyperlink or Soul
Since two people have mentioned it, I don't plan to race on these freeride foil kites, just to use them as a stepping stone to maybe racing on faster kites one day. In the meantime, I just want a fast freeride kite that will give me a gentle introduction to foil kites.

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Re: Kite size recommendations for first foil kite?

Postby cnski » Thu Aug 09, 2018 4:25 pm

tkaraszewski- You might want to consider getting a used race foil kite and going for it. I did and don't regret it. If you are a good general kiter you don't really need an introductory foil kite IMHO. I bought an 11m and 15m F-One Diablo V1 as my first foil kites. They are very user friendly and easy to fly. The R1V2 is also very easy to fly. I'm still working on foiling gybes/tacks and frankly my transitions are not where they should be, but I rarely drop my kite now. There is always that risk and I begin every session with the assumption that I may be swimming in. But in steady winds with flattish water nothing really compares to the feeling of a nicely tuned race foilkite with a race hydrofoil. You will appreciate this setup with your sailboat racing background. And you don't need to be maxed out on the higher end holding down a large kite. You just need enough power to get out of the water onto foil. Freerace foiling is fun!!

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Re: Kite size recommendations for first foil kite?

Postby TomW » Thu Aug 09, 2018 6:29 pm

Zewski,

If you're going to take it slow and try foil kites as freeride first, get a Soul or a Hyperlink. Up to you. I'd focus on your most often wind range of 12-20. Get a 9 or 8. It might be a bit much in 20. My 9m is good in 10 knots, but if it's lulling under its not so fun.
Over 20 I'd stick to an lei for now.

That's what did. Rode the 9m Hyperlink 2 + months all of my 30 sessions. Didn't miss a day due to wrong size. Then started low wind hunt and after research went with the Used Sonic 2 13m as we moved into low wind season. ( everyone said it's best to have semi-independent in low wind)
In anticipation of a trip to Brazil I got the hyperlink 7 m because I went out in 20+ on my 7m lei and it was terrible after being spoiled by 9m Hyperlink.
Hyperlink and Soul are no brainer to fly, it's the launching and landing that are tricky. I have lots of sand, grass and unobstructed launches. Having bad launches can be a show stopper.

At this point, If I was going to race, I'd need to get a 11 and 8/9 race kite. Perhaps even a 18m
Having quiver 18-13-11-9. But as mentioned, I'd learn air tacks, fast down wind gybes etc before making that investment. It's a lot of money, but coming from sail boat racing, you probably think it's cheap!!

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tkaraszewski
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Re: Kite size recommendations for first foil kite?

Postby tkaraszewski » Thu Aug 09, 2018 7:59 pm

So, I had the chance to try out a 9m R1 V2 yesterday. For my first ride on a foil kite, I will say it was certainly different, and I don't know if I'd call it "user-friendly" exactly, for someone coming from a LEI kite, but it also wasn't as much of a challenge to ride (I rode it worse than kites I'm used to, but I was able to ride around OK) as I expected. I'm sure if I spent some more time on it, it would cease to be intimidating pretty quickly.

This does open me up to the idea that I could jump in and get a race kite straight off, but I also wont be racing in the immediate future, so I wonder if a Soul or Hyperlink would just end up being more fun at a relatively small performance penalty.

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Re: Kite size recommendations for first foil kite?

Postby Mossy 757 » Fri Aug 10, 2018 1:59 pm

tkaraszewski wrote:
Thu Aug 09, 2018 7:59 pm
I wonder if a Soul or Hyperlink would just end up being more fun at a relatively small performance penalty.
That's spot-on.

Here's the thing though...that performance penalty is meaningless compared to the performance penalty you incur when you can't ride around the course without falling. So having an easier to fly, less-performative kite to start out is a good idea because you can master the "dry race." Once you're firmly in the "dry fleet" at regattas, then you can start obsessing over more kite performance. What you'll likely end up discovering is that there's going to be a "75% of the time" kite, a "15% of the time" kite, and then everything else.

On the east coast of the US we have foil regattas in places like Buzzard's Bay, MA; Charleston, SC; Sandy Hook, NJ; St. Pete/Tampa, FL.

My 75% race kite is a 15m foil kite, my 15% is an 11m, and then I have an inflatable 9m Velocity that covers the really crazy stuff (have ridden up to and slightly above 30 knots, surprisingly manageable if you're going hard upwind/down without any reaching).

In San Fran, their 75% kite is their 9m because the wind is usually stronger most days.

The guys who live in Tampa/St. Pete spend more time on 18's than I do, so on and so forth.

So if you get your first foil and it's a "Freeride most days" kite in the 11-13m range, then when you're ready to go faster in the "dry fleet" you can add whatever kite is more appropriate for that goal, whatever everyone's 75% kite is.

So for Virginia Beach conditions, I might recommend an 12m Soul, then when you're ready to go super fast, get a Sonic VMG 15m, then when you realize you're overpowered at a high-wind regatta, start looking at a 9m Sonic2.

Again, this will likely be different slightly for your goals, ability, strength, weight, local conditions, etc. But that's my logic.

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tkaraszewski
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Re: Kite size recommendations for first foil kite?

Postby tkaraszewski » Mon Aug 13, 2018 8:16 pm

I ordered a 10m Soul, so we'll see how that works out! Thanks for the advice everyone.

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Re: Kite size recommendations for first foil kite?

Postby Regis-de-giens » Tue Aug 14, 2018 11:09 am

Mossy 757 wrote:
Fri Aug 10, 2018 1:59 pm
performance penalty is meaningless compared to the performance penalty you incur when you can't ride around the course without falling. So having an easier to fly, less-performative kite to start out is a good idea because you can master the "dry race." Once you're firmly in the "dry fleet" at regattas, then you can start obsessing over more kite performance.
I fully agree; and knowing that if you want to foil fast, you just need to go down to 100 or 110 degree wind to go very fast even with a soul, HyperLink or Pulsion ... so unless you specifically seek for VMG (but why if not competing ... ?) or the longest hangtime, the "penalty" is not really an issue ; while medium ratio kites have increased stability that will allow everyone to pursue working his tricks (transition, ect) and keep the kite dry after your (repeated) mistakes, even in very light/unsteady winds.


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