15 meter npw9 in low winds.

Susan (npw goddess)

speed 3 19m. I can be jumping in a little more than nothing.

Quote: Originally posted by ssayre

Adding an asphalt / skate discipline was like adding another kite or 2 to my quiver.

Sean - have you tried ultra low friction bearings? I don't know much about them, but I've read that these expensive bearings (>$100) can make skateboards much faster. Could it be a way to substitute for wind or kite size?

For myself I've found that a longboard takes less wind/kite than even an ATB so that's they way I usually go now in my limited opportunities and locations.

Quote: Originally posted by Randy

Quote: Originally posted by ssayre   Adding an asphalt / skate discipline was like adding another kite or 2 to my quiver. Sean - have you tried ultra low friction bearings? I don't know much about them, but I've read that these expensive bearings (>$100) can make skateboards much faster. Could it be a way to substitute for wind or kite size? For myself I've found that a longboard takes less wind/kite than even an ATB so that's they way I usually go now in my limited opportunities and locations.

No I have not tried those and probably will not. I'm not going for any top speeds and if wind is too light for what I have, than I carve around with my carver skateboard set up without kite. They are still a blast and no wind required.

Well, for me, my best low wind kite is my only large kite, my 18m phantom. On the beach I can get it in the air in about 7mph winds and get it to make power enough for me to buggy. At home, I won't even head to the field unless it's blowing 10-12 mph winds and usually wait till it's a steady 15mph wind to get me going on the grass field. I want to get some large FB kites to put in the trailer for lower wind days on the beach as well as on the grassy fields, but I just haven't yet.

For me personally, I would usually prefer to wait till the winds are a little higher, but sometimes I really get the itch to buggy at the slightest breeze and just know, especially at my home field, that currently it wouldn't be worth the trip with the kites I have in the trailer. Longer lines would not help me at my home field as there just would t be enough room for it.

A 13.4mtr Vapor is my light wind (3 to 7 knots) kite. If the kite will sit on the sand and the centre of the kite will inflate and support it's self when ready to launch, then the wind is strong enough to buggy.

Quote: Originally posted by ikemiester

speed 3 19m. I can be jumping in a little more than nothing.

It's a great kite you've got!

Quote: Originally posted by shehatesmyhobbies

At home, I won't even head to the field unless it's blowing 10-12 mph winds and usually wait till it's a steady 15mph wind to get me going on the grass field.

This is exactly the mindset I've adopted for buggy on grass fields. I've thought about buying another wing to TRY and cover my lower wind but ended up deciding it's not worth it to me. My light wind days are inconsistent and better suited to doing something else or kiting asphalt if I get the right wind direction.

Quote: Originally posted by ssayre

Quote: Originally posted by shehatesmyhobbies   At home, I won't even head to the field unless it's blowing 10-12 mph winds and usually wait till it's a steady 15mph wind to get me going on the grass field. This is exactly the mindset I've adopted for buggy on grass fields. I've thought about buying another wing to TRY and cover my lower wind but ended up deciding it's not worth it to me. My light wind days are inconsistent and better suited to doing something else or kiting asphalt if I get the right wind direction.

Spoken like a man truly succeeding at resisting the gravitational pull towards the inevitable, namely, the 12m Peak2. You know you want some of that chicken Sean! :saint:

Very true Steve. Not experiencing the 12m does keep me up at night and really rubs salt in the wounds when I have a teaser wind day. I love my 9m but if I had to do it over again, I would have skipped the 9 and got a 12

I was uber impressed with MarS-P-A-M-L-I-N-K-s Cross Kites Sonic 11m

Quote: Originally posted by ssayre

Very true Steve. Not experiencing the 12m does keep me up at night and really rubs salt in the wounds when I have a teaser wind day. I love my 9m but if I had to do it over again, I would have skipped the 9 and got a 12

Nothing not to love about that 9m Sean, that is one awesome kite. When I was down at IBX I tried to fly with it (the 9) four times only to be thwarted by either too much wind or not enough. Keep your chin up and your eyes peeled on the PKF For Sale section. One day it will flash, like the great white (alright, green) whale and you will harpoon it and call it your own. :shocked2:

The only thing I'll be harpooning in the foreseeable future is some home improvement type stuff. Gotta keep the wife happy

Quote: Originally posted by ssayre

The only thing I'll be harpooning in the foreseeable future is some home infringements type stuff. Gotta keep the wife happy

Hear hear I heard that. I don't start getting to those projects she is going to throw me and the kites out:duh:

My light wind kite is my 19m Speed 3 Deluxe. Last year at JIBE we had one or two ultra light wind days. I was riding near Ted and his 12m Peak 2 and his kite wasn't falling out of the air, but wasn't pulling him upwind very easily. I was able to park and ride upwind at the same time. The downside is that his Peak would never fall out of the sky, but if I made any mistakes while flying the Speed, it would lose apparent wind and slither down through the air like a ribbon on a wingtip towards the ground. You need to be a good pilot to get the most out of it, but the large high aspect closed-cell foils are the best light wind kites in my opinion. I even prefer it to FB foils for the simple fact that lulls affect them less. FB foils will exhale their air right out the front if you aren't careful in light winds, but closed-cell kites just tend to drift back or down and come back to life with a single tug.

I lust for your 19m
The 12m p2 does real well and is versatile at a reasonable price. I'm a cruiser, so just being underway is fine with me.

I think foil boards on water are completely redefining what "lite" wind means. I continually see people re-adjusting their quivers and selling off their largest kites simply because they don't need them anymore. I know this is sort of a land based topic but I can't help but think of how much the hydrofoil has changed the size of kites were flying. There everywhere now. Hydrofoil boards, windsurfers and sailboats all with foils attached to them. I already envy the guys out there foiling on 10 meter kites in 15 mph wind, while I'm sitting here at home wishing I could get out on my twin tip:P

Quote: Originally posted by Cheddarhead

I think foil boards on water are completely redefining what "lite" wind means. I continually see people re-adjusting their quivers and selling off their largest kites simply because they don't need them anymore. I know this is sort of a land based topic but I can't help but think of how much the hydrofoil has changed the size of kites were flying. There everywhere now. Hydrofoil boards, windsurfers and sailboats all with foils attached to them. I already envy the guys out there foiling on 10 meter kites in 15 mph wind, while I'm sitting here at home wishing I could get out on my twin tip:P

Nope, I mentioned it earlier. This thread is free from the chains of any one discipline. Water and land light wind favorites are welcomed.

Looking at your quiver, I'm guessing the p2 12m is your lightest wind kite?

Didn't you have a 13m ul frenzy? How did it compare?

I have flown a UL Frenzy I think either 11m or 13m as well as the 12m P2 and there is just no way the Frenzy can go as low as the P2. It is nearly as good as it gets for light wind, and only the biggest and most expensive closed cell foils can top it. The exception is that for the price of a 12m P2 you can get a used Speed 3 Deluxe in amazing condition. There is no way I would choose a Peak over a Speed, even a 5 year old Speed.

Gotta go with Demoknight on this one. 12m Peak2 beats out the Frenzy ultralight no problem. Peak launches well before the Frenzy. I did have a 13m Frenzy for a while but sold it to south padre burt. Frenzy, even though ultralite, is still more of a fat/heavy kids kite and not necessarily super low wind. There is just so much less material to the peak than any other kite it's size. Don't know what the projected area is on the 12m peak, but would think it's up there. It seems to fly rather flat compared to the Frenzy.

Yup. The Frenzy UL 13m is a great kite and better in light wind than a standard Frenzy but it's can't compete with a Peak 12m.

yup....

Single skin vs foil revisited.

And if you are 'packing in' with it...the size and weight is huge plus. you can bring another smaller size....or two.

Most are likely not, but I think there are a few around doing a remote launch.

If you are on a budget and don't like to buy used kites, the Peak2 12m is the best way to go for sure. If you take that same budget, investing in a used Speed 3 or Speed 4 now is the best light wind kite you can get really. The large sizes of the newer race kites I hear are even better, but they are still sky high in terms of price. I would only buy one if I hit the lottery, or I got a yuuuge tax refund.

Quote: Originally posted by Cheddarhead

Gotta go with Demoknight on this one. 12m Peak2 beats out the Frenzy ultralight no problem. Peak launches well before the Frenzy. I did have a 13m Frenzy for a while but sold it to south padre burt. Frenzy, even though ultralite, is still more of a fat/heavy kids kite and not necessarily super low wind. There is just so much less material to the peak than any other kite it's size. Don't know what the projected area is on the 12m peak, but would think it's up there. It seems to fly rather flat compared to the Frenzy.

Lovin' this Peak2 12m love fest! The ability to get the 12m up in the air under light wind conditions really sets it apart from the Ozones like the Access, Frenzy, or Summit. I've no experience with the Speed but so many seem to love it so I will gladly take it on face value. Owning the Ozones under discussion in various sizes I can vouch for the lower wind flying, particularly in jank, of the Peaks vs any of these. It takes, for example, a lot more surface wind to get my 15m Summit off the ground than my 12m Peak.

I'd say that size for size the Peaks have larger projected area than the Frenzy or Summit; they just sort of ride flatter in the sky. The other thing is the amount of DP the Peaks have. In lulls you can let the bar all the way out and unless it is practically windstill you can get the kite up high in the sky and wait things out. Mind you you are not moving across the ground/snow but the kite is up in the air and not tangled on the ground. New set of breezes, pull in the bar a bit, and off you go again.

Yeah, I like my Peaks..... :saint:

Errol. Don't rule out the Cross Kites Sonic. Did you see Mark flying his 11m last year? 5mph wind. A Vapor clone at a fraction of the cost. If you are in the market....

I have a 7m Sonic and it's an awesome kite! Flies just like you hope a kite will. Tight sail. Loads of power. Reaches forward in the window. Never tucks a tip. I too want an 11 m.

A big kite. A big big kite. Like a 19 venom2..Fs speed 15 or 19...
Anything that rocks my boat and is slow, big and catches a lot of wind.
Otherwise it is 'surfs up' and i hook up with the turtles. Either way a blast.

One comment...take good care of your enviroment and listen closely to the wind. Whatch the sky. Before you know it the wind picks up beyond your limitation and experiance and kiting can become survival of the fittest.

Jason, I got to fly the 11m Sonic last year. I actually prefer the 8.6 Reactor because of how much more maneuverable it is as well as less prone to stalling if you give it too much brake to turn. Sonics are great kites, but I didn't them for my style of flying.

One afternoon at WBB this March, there wasn't enough of a breeze to keep my 11m Lynx in the air.
Dave ley me try his 15m Chrono: I hopped back into my buggy and was off at 15mph. Maybe not fast, but it was the only kite on the beach that would stay in the air. (Thanks Dave!)

I found a couple of pictures of some 0-2mph wind buggy riding.
A few others were trying to get a kite in the air, I was the only one in the buggy. 300 feet of line on a 13m Century traveling about 10mph.