Greetings from Finland. We have had brilliant conditions for speed riding.
During 6-14.3.2014 (9 days) we had 6 speed kiting days (total distance ~370km), wind was between 30-45 knots, ice was dry, wet or very wet.
My kiting goals differ from most I think. My goal is to keep the speed of what ever I ride under 30 and the height of whatever I jump with 5' or
under. My health care plan deductible is just too expensive to be any riskier than that.
2016 Nobile Zen Hydrofoil with Infinity 5.1' splitboard
2019 Nobile 2HD with Ronix One boots
2020 Nobile NHP split foil with Ronix Parks boots
MG Supra ......... pulling KiteTrike
I noticed someone asking about my tracks. If anybody is interested, they are free to see on ka72.com where I usually send my tracks.
Here is one link to my speed track: http://anon.ka72.com/TrackRecalc.aspx?fid=58944
It's alot ealot easier to keep your line with a small kite. With bigger/overpowered kite I usually end up going really deep, which is not always the
fastest way.
2.6 , 3.9 , 5.3 , 6.8 PL Vipers
5 , 7.5 HQ Apex II
14m HQ Montana VII
5m naish element
7m ss turbo diesel
10m pansh blaze
5m beamer dearly departed into a tree
3 "snowspider" homebuilt kite sleds
3 homebuilt buggies
1 skate board with seat on wheels or blades (the c0ckroach)
Nice videos and really great hearing the updates from Finland and the nice conditions. I keep thinking of trying my small LEIs in the winter but it's
usually gusty wind, blowing snow squalls and and freezing and I don't want to pump a kite...maybe I'll have to give them a shot....maybe in the ice
buggy if the ice smooths out before it melts.
I guess Finland really does have it all!
Mark Groshens NAPKA KC 13
WindSpeed kites & design - Canada
Peter Lynn Arcs: Charger2 22.5 +18 + 15 + 6.5, Charger I 6, Scorpion 16 + 10, Phantom II 12 + 9, Orig Phantom 9 + 6, Synergy 10 + 8, F 1200, S 840
Ocean Rodeo: Flite 17 + 12, Rise 13 + 10 + 7, Razor 9 + 6
Foils: PL Leopards and Lynx, Airea Raptors, some PL Reactor IIs + IIIs, Libre Spirits, Cross Kite Sonics, Ozone Flow
Peter Lynn Kite Cat for cruising the lakes
buggies: PL XR+, Cameleon Pagona, custom bigfoot, PL Bigfoot, custom ice buggy
Boards: 2 custom directionals, O.R Surf series 6-3 and 5-11, Mako Duke, Mako Skinny, Mako 140 Wide, Mako 150 Wide, Mako King, Brunotti
lots of old school skis, snowboard
Markite, I'm thinking LEI's are the way to go as well. They handle gusty winds better then foils. I meant to try an LEI this winter but didn't for the
same reasons you stated, plus the hassle when relaunching/landing alone. Foils are just plain easy in comparison on land. Which reminds me I should
have also flown the 15m PL Synergy as well.
Love seeing those Fischer RC4's hauling. How long are they?
I have 205cm RC4's from the mid 80's with Tyrolia 490's
Never thought I'd use them again and they almost ended up in the trash....until discovering snowkiting a few years ago.
We look forward to more speed run videos from Finland.
I suspect LEIs just happen to be the kites they ride. In the ranking they rule because the people who are in the best position to haul the mail at the
moment happen to be LEI riders. Sure there's a lot of talk about LEIs being the weapon of choice but the history lest we forget has been made on
foils. LEIs handle gusts better than SOME foils. That said, we're finding many of the modern foils are getting much better and gust management than
they've been in the past. Even bridled versions.
There's a new foil in the mix that may up the ante a bit. Time will tell.
Chris Krug-Owner @ Hardwater Kiting. Authorized Dealer of Ozone, Flysurfer, HQ kites. www.hardwaterkiter.com 603-986-2784
My hesitation with flying my LEI on ice is if I have to eject entirely from the kite (as in rough gusty wind) depending on where I am on the lake and
which direction the wind is blowing , the kite could tumble away for miles. On the leash on ice it still pulls enough to be a problem and letting it
go would too painfull a sight.
2.6 , 3.9 , 5.3 , 6.8 PL Vipers
5 , 7.5 HQ Apex II
14m HQ Montana VII
5m naish element
7m ss turbo diesel
10m pansh blaze
5m beamer dearly departed into a tree
3 "snowspider" homebuilt kite sleds
3 homebuilt buggies
1 skate board with seat on wheels or blades (the c0ckroach)
![[*]](images/perspective/default_icon.gif){kind=icon}
.......impressive
