The Peak does look pretty neat. I bet it's not very good for jumping though? (Maybe I'm totally juvenile, but i really like jumping around )

Quote: Originally posted by SpecialK

The Peak does look pretty neat. I bet it's not very good for jumping though? (Maybe I'm totally juvenile, but i really like jumping around )

Others commented elsewhere that it is about as lifty as an Access - meaning it was designed more for touring than jumping. From the little I've seen / read it is no jumping machine.

Yes, anchored to the chicken loop and can be launched and landed at the edge of the window. My experience has not been that any non-AZ kite can do this but as Demo pointed out LEIs can do the same thing. But I haven't flown any other foils that do it although the 2014 Access comes damn close. Just not close enough for me to trust it.
:D

Jumping. More lift than the Access or Apex IMO. At least for me it's easier to huck with. It's obviously a touring kite and handles as you would expect but it can be flown pretty aggressively and you get some very Flysurfer-esque floaty boosts out of her if you have speed and time it right. You can even kiteloop them.

If you're used to freestyle kites my guess is the Peak feels like a dog for jumping. Especially if your timing is dialed for lifty, snappy kinds of kites. And I suspect that your average Peak buyer isn't too into hucking into orbit. I didn't think the kite would jump at all when I first rode it. The way it functions it didn't seem clear how it could.

But It's jumps very nice. Both sizes. The 9m floats nice.


How it stacks up to Blades is a good question. I don't fly FB's so I can't say for sure. Blades, like most FB have a lot of power for their size, (or depows have a lot less, depends on perspective) but the 6m is easily as strong as a 9m depower. (ala Frenzy,Apex etc...) My guess is pound for pound they have to be fairly close????:puzzled: If so, think of a Blade that can dump all it's power in a blink.

And again I can't stress enough, both sizes fly in damn near nothing. For a kite made out of standard material, with a low AR, they will launch in the slightest puff. BUT THIS DOESN'T MEAN THEY WILL PULL YOU IN 3kts. But they pull darn well in pretty low winds and for low AR they still get good apparent.

Holy HI-Jack. Sorry SpecialK I didn't realize we had hijacked your thread. If there's going to be continued Peak speak maybe there should be a Peak thread?

I kinda thought it was relative to the conversation... So...

What's the useable low end for both sizes?

The more the merrier! I don't own this thread, we do!
(Besides, how many other foil vs arc threads are there already.. I was hesitant to make it anyway because of that. Glad it's turning into a useful resource! )

I am dying to get a demo of a Peak honestly. Given their price, they are actually surprisingly affordable for their performance people rave about. Although I would prefer to see that for myself before I ever considered buying one. Thinking the 6m would be great for my wind ranges here in Chicago, and the 9m would be awesome for when I move back to GA. I will have to get a 18m or so arc if I wanted to fly in the ultra light winds in GA... That place just sucks for power kiting in my experience inland at least. Everyone knows how awesome the coastal winds are there.

Quote: Originally posted by Demoknight

...for when I move back to GA. I will have to get a 18m or so arc if I wanted to fly in the ultra light winds in GA... That place just sucks for power kiting in my experience inland at least.

Come on now... It's not that bad... It just takes a little patience... And trains you up REALLY WELL for when you hit the beach.

And yes, the 9m looks like it'd be perfection here in Hotlanta.

Since this is becoming a free-for-all thread. I thought I'd report that today on lunch I found a new field with a very long unobstructed run downwind. Winds here typically are from the south heading north.. and the site is near a north<->south highway. The wind is pretty light today but they were more consistent at this spot than anywhere else near me. (The lake ride that spawned this thread is about 30-40 min away).

I was able to fly my montana back and forth for 30 minutes. It's a little tight, no cruising, but hell, for constant winds, I'll take it.

I'm pretty psyched. There may even be more land nearby, but i'd have to drive/walk onto a dirt road to check it out. Next time I might brave the dirt road (it's city land) because I saw some city guys watching me fly.. I think they were interested.. Waved to them to show i'm friendly..

Quote: Originally posted by SpecialK

Since this is becoming a free-for-all thread. I thought I'd report that today on lunch I found a new field with a very long unobstructed run downwind. Winds here typically are from the south heading north.. and the site is near a north<->south highway. The wind is pretty light today but they were more consistent at this spot than anywhere else near me. (The lake ride that spawned this thread is about 30-40 min away). I was able to fly my montana back and forth for 30 minutes. It's a little tight, no cruising, but hell, for constant winds, I'll take it. I'm pretty psyched. There may even be more land nearby, but i'd have to drive/walk onto a dirt road to check it out. Next time I might brave the dirt road (it's city land) because I saw some city guys watching me fly.. I think they were interested.. Waved to them to show i'm friendly..

You are brave. Where you goin' city boy.
Sorry, couldn't resist. :D

Good one Redsky, that's a classic.

As long as nobody has to squeal like a pig, I think we're ok :o :piggy:

Hahah! Nice one!

I drive a Subaru WRX, I guess I could tell them I was practicing rallying.. if that would get me in less trouble than flying a kite. HMMM..

...and the banjo music arrives...and venom I

bangin vid FEYD! and now back to the wildcat thread show,

http://vimeo.com/38705378

Double post again from checking in on the iPad. Not sure what I'm doing but it's my fault somehow.

Quote: Originally posted by BeamerBob

Double post again from checking in on the iPad. Not sure what I'm doing but it's my fault somehow.

One of 2 things happens to me on my iPhone or iPad to create a double post.

A. It may seem like it's taking too long for my response to load and I'll hit the "post" button twice.

B. If I hit the back arrow after I've posted something (regardless of how long it's been since I hit the post button) it takes me back to the page as if I had not "posted", and I may accidentally hit "post" again. This is how you end up double posting with others posting between your double post.

Annoying yes.

Specialk, what is your setup time on the arc? I actually timed myself today and from bag to sky was 10 minutes and about the same for putting it away. Just seeing if thats about the average for arc users or if I still have room to improve. Demoknight, I know your faster than that.

I'd say it's around 10-15 minutes.. It depends heavily on how windy it is, and if my lines are tangled or not.

Re wind: The more wind the quicker the thing will inflate. I've been guilty of forgetting to close the deflate vent before costing me time, but most of the time I remember now.


re lines: I've tried doing like the foil and keeping the lines attached, but it ends up tangling and costing me an EXTRA 10+ minutes to untangle. If i keep them separate it's not so bad, though if I could keep them attached it would be better... Also at first I wasn't using a sandbag to keep it down. Adding that made all the difference in the world!

If you are mindful of not flipping the bar around carelessly while packing, you shouldn't have more than a turn or 2 to have perfect "railroad track" lines on your next setup. Also be careful not to poke your bar through loops of line in the bag. Put the bar somewhere in the bag that there aren't any loops of line. If you pull the safety to land your kite, work out tangles before you pack away.

10 minutes is when I artificially inflate it. It would add 5-10 more minutes depending on the wind if I let it naturally inflate. Tried the same thing with leaving lines attached without success. Here's my process in a nut shell. unfold kite, weight upwind tip, unzip inflate zipper, unwind lines, stake down chicken loop (I find this very helpful when sorting out lines), grab the outer brake lines and walk them out to separate from center lines, untwist center lines if need be, remove stake and stake safety line only (just in case kite tries to move), attach all lines, final inflate with blower, walk back and launch. Something that I've learned is helpful is before I roll my lines up when I'm done, I stake the chicken loop and make sure there are no twists before I roll them up. This seems to help minimize twists on the next set up.

You guys are killing me. My new Venom II has been in the bag since I got it a few weeks ago. I got my bar and lines a few days ago, and have had sh#tty weather/wind ever since. It really is making me lose sleep at this point. I must fly!! Almost down to playing hooky the next good wind day :flaming:

3 shot, If it makes you feel any better, I flew the venom twice today.:evil: Once at 8:30 this morning and again at 3. Both times static. I didn't think I'd have enough wind so I didn't even bring the buggy but I probably could have in the afternoon. More wind than what was forecast. Don't worry, you'll get out there soon.

BB what did you mean by don't put the bar through loops of line? I usually wind the lines on the bar. are you talking about if you leave lines attached?

leave attached!, gotta do it same way EVERYTIME

all begins with a clean finish...the landing. stall reverse kite down, roll til front line slide is closest to the ground. unhook and let go to front line flag , kite lays out smooth. at the let go point, the bar should be directed to fall BEHIND the kite. done properly it won't twist.

walk up on the front line, and secure the tip

now the tidy parts....unzip deflate on the walk to get other tip .... clam unit tip to tip, secure. fetch the bar, WALK out lines to restore front line slide. at this point, check lines , wrap lines to kite ,half hitch (do not allow the bar to pass thru ANY LINES ) place bar on tip , fold and roll spars, bar and all, secure roll.
now reverse actions to launch, unit is ready to go

Yes. Always leave lines attached. Follow phrees advice exactly. Be careful not to put bar with wound lines through any line or bridle when stowing it all.

Yup, Phree nailed it. It's helpful to get into the habit of holding the part of the bar that you are inserting into the bag, in your hand. That way you can feel if you start to put the bar through you lines or even better, a bridle if on a bridled kite. Removes risk of nasty tangles when packing up and unpacking.

Quote: Originally posted by ssayre

Specialk, what is your setup time on the arc? I actually timed myself today and from bag to sky was 10 minutes and about the same for putting it away. Just seeing if thats about the average for arc users or if I still have room to improve. Demoknight, I know your faster than that.

I have gotten it down to about 7 minutes for myself if the wind is blowing strong enough to inflate quickly, although I tend to ride fixed bridle every time if the wind is lighter than 15mph.

I basically do what Phree says every time I unpack and pack. I always leave lines attached so I never have to walk my lines. I roll the kite out, weight it down, open the zipper, walk the bar out, walk back to the kite and help it finish filling, then zip it up and go grab my bar for launch. I really have it down to a science now and can pop it up even if I only have a few spare minutes to fly.

Quote:

leave attached!, gotta do it same way EVERYTIME

Thanks guys, I thought I almost had a routine down but I'm going to give this a try. If I was able to leave the lines attached, that would eliminate almost all of my set up headaches.

One more question. Since I've only had experience in lighter wind with the arc, I'm not sure how it should be set up or how it will act in higher wind. When you are moving in medium or higher winds do you keep the trim most of the way out for better control? And when your in motion do you go faster with the bar pulled in or let out? I would assume let out so the kite flies faster but some of the videos I've seen looks like riders are going fast with the bar pulled in? Experience will probably answer most of my questions but I want to minimize the painful learning lessons.

Ssayre of course it depends on how hard the wind is blowing, but on a surface that I can generate any really speed on I tend to have my deposer trim about half in at 15-18mph and once I get rolling I pull my bar all the way in and sine the s*** out of it to get up to speed very quickly. It helps that nav bars have the bar stop, so I pull it up to the chicken loop and lock it there with my bar stop. If you suddenly need to depower it comes loose easily with two fingers pulling the bar stop back up the line.

At JIBE I had my bar stop in once I sat in the buggy and kept it there. I had it really well balanced so that I was just barely getting over powered once I started hitting 35mph or so.

Thanks Errol. So in principal the bar is normally pulled in at least some when moving and when overpowered you could let the bar out to bleed off some power? Seems like I should know this stuff by now, but without enough wind, it makes it hard to learn.

Yeah, what you have to keep in mind while moving is you can lose power in two ways:
First way is just letting the bar out, which you know dumps power. This serves a double purpose, because it also speeds the kite up and puts it farther on the edge of the window. Since you are moving, it puts the kite farther out in front of you, causing you to catch up to the kite easier and take tension off the lines. If your lines are not tight, your kite has nothing to work against and nothing to pull.

If you have an emergency stop situation though, on the buggy, you crank your wheel towards the kite and slide facing at the kite. You don't have to move the kite up for this to stop you. You can be fully lit and stop in maybe 20-30 feet on hard pack sand, even faster on grass. It is important that you slide, and not turn. If you turn, you will have a tangled mess rolling down wind. If you slide, you just dump all tension on the lines and the kite will float back gently on the slack lines until you stop and it can go back to zenith.