I'd really be grateful for some advice on a faster (higher aspect) kite for beach cruising. Here's my situation...

When I'm inland (Maryland) for most of the year, I use my Ozone Samurai 3M (on a bar) to skateboard huge parking lots. Urethane wheels on asphalt are extremely efficient, and so I have no problem tacking up wind, and this combo is super fast.. The wind in western Maryland is very "punchy" (unstable) and so I wouldn't want anything faster (high aspect) or more powerful. Surfing asphalt is a quite dangerous, but a blast.

When I vacation (only 2 weeks per year) at the beach (outer banks - Topsail NC) I've been using the same Sam 3M with a basic mountainboard (MBS Comp-16) to cruise the beach at low tide on hard packed sand....the on-shore wind usually builds up to about 18mph by later afternoon. This works great at a slight downwind tack - but unless the wind is dead (90 degrees) on-shore, I'm unable to tack back upwind to my starting point - - so I always cruise until I run out of island (about 10 - 15 miles) and then have someone drive down and pick me up. Unlike inland Maryland, the wind at the outer banks NC is EXTREMLY stable and perfectly constant. SO - I'm thinking that what I need is something simillar in size to the Sam 3M but much higher aspect.

I see that one guy in the "for sale" section has a bunch of Ozone Yakuzza's for sale....a 3 and 4.5 M. I'm wondering if something like that would work for me for my beach cruising. I have no experience with handles - I like a bar as I like having a free hand for boarding. But once again - the wind at the NC beaches is so stable - I'm sure I could adapt to anything.

Can any of you guys with more experience offer me some advice on what to look for? Much appreciated...

Can you explain more why you cant get back? Are you just getting drug down wind and cant get enough traction to make it back while cutting back upwind? not enough speed or cant get enough upwind angle?

The sami though not a super high aspect kite it is very capable of getting some speed and going up wind much more than the spec sheets would lead you to believe. I use to fly the samis and they were a super fun kite. IMHO ozone has not matched that kite since they did away with it in regards to their low and medium aspect fixed bridles.

I would tend to lean more towards you are underpowered or possibly a different upwind technique would help. On your sk8 board in a parking lot you can go about anywhere. Just build up a little speed and you can directly into the wind if you wanted. In the sand and on a pneumatic tire you have alot more drag and things will not operate the same as the sk8 board on asphalt.

HMMM
Interesting issue. I started on tarmac and rollerblades so can relate to how nice the Sami on a bar would be.

Back then I was using a 3m JoJo 3line on a bar. The kite I owned that complimented it well was a 4.5m Bullet. Something like it would serve you. The catch is that the Bullet didn't take to a bar well at all + was a killer if it went wrong jumping.

If you go to a slightly larger kite, and I think you should. Going to handles will give you extra fine control speeding up turns and allowing you to drop the kite back in the window with some fine break control for an extra boost of power when cruising . Going a bit bigger on a bar will just make for a slow turning kite.

Yeah, I guess it's a catch-22. Can't get enough upwind angle coming back, which means I can't get enough speed and overcome by drag. The thing is - unlike a parking lot - I'm entirely confined to a very narrow (maybe 20 or 30 ft of hard pack low tide sand) but extremely long (26 mile) area. So the direction I can head is pretty much a fixed angle. Similarly, the wind is a fixed angle...almost never 90 degrees on-shore, but is usually at a slight angle. So I typically find that I can get a blazing run in one direction, but very frustrating fight to come back.

My understanding is that higher aspect kites tend to be able to pull at a steeper angle...and with less lift (which I don't need)...I just want to cruise with speed

Steeper angle , yes. less lift , not so much. The Yak is a race kite and it fits what you seem to be after ? I think you will see a marked difference and the Yak will be a handful to get used to at first. Race kites can be finicky !

No kite goes right upwind. Sad fact is that often with a side on all you can do is work like mad with little upwind progress at each step just to BLAST downwind .

Thanks Bladerunner, that gives me a little bit of insight as to the advantages of handles....I'm going to have to experiment with that.....tho I'm wary of the idea of not having a free hand while sk8boarding or mountainboarding.

Yeah it's great to grip the bar with one hand while ripping down the beach - like a baton of power - makes you feel a bit like Thor.

Yes , flying on a bar is nice. That is why I progressed to depower kites.

I don't have personal experience with them but look into " turbo bars " if you go to a larger kite and bar.

To get the most out of a yak you will want to go to handles. Consider picking up a harness and hooking in. You can then relax and fly 1 handed with handles for short periods. Also I nice progression should you go to a depower kite some day.

I seem to recall from when Dirtslide was flying Yaks that Ozone specifically warned against jumping with Yakuzas. Something about the bridle being extra light to get better windward performance. Is my memory damaged? That was four years ago, maybe its changed.

S

I ride the beach under the same conditions, mostly w/ a 3m fb....always better/easier going in one direction..I think handles make all the difference to getting up wind..lot of flying to do, but handles give you the kite control to make is possible.. and you want fun?? wait till your hooked in leaning back hard and your wheels are skidding out...or get a bigger kite im sure those depower guys will be chimming in soon