The wind speed averages will be dropping for a couple of months by the end of June and I'm keen to maximise my time on the water by getting some light wind kit.

So do I get a kite - I'm thinking a Naish Fly - and use it with my 142 or do I get a board which will work in light winds - Probably a surf board as i am not a fan of "doors"

I cant get both so which do you think is the best choice - Kite or Board?

Easy answer - get both

The Fly is a good kite but the Flite is better in all aspects IMO.

If I were you and money/Minister of Finance was a factor, I'd go for a lightwind surfboard. Then you can play in waves too with smaller kites when the wind picks up.

I love my door though...

How about a Mako King? Ask Buzz about them...

yeah both would be nice :D. unfortunately neither are cheap options and both would enslave me to my credit card balance for longer than I would like. I will end up with both eventually i'm sure

Thanks for the heads up on the Ocean Rodeo gear, I don't think you can get the Flite in the UK yet, none of the OR dealers have one in stock. It does look like a good design though - very similar to the Naish Fly/Park but 4 strut and with those venturi things.

I was going for the Fly because Its the pretty much the only freeride oriented Light wind kite around. I don't want a big heavy race focused kite like a Zephyr or a turbine. + of course I have Naish control bars already and know the kites well in terms of set up, maintenance and tuning.

A surf board would definately get more use. lightwind riding with my 12m, and there are some great wave spots where I live. but at the same time it wouldn't cover really light winds - it would just make 14kt sessions better. The 12m Park still wont fly properly in 10kt.

Hitting the road on a 2 week kite trip in mid June so I have time to think about it a bit more. I will organise some demo gear to try on the trip.

Checkout the Slingshot closeouts on their 2011/2012 surfboards - they're good prices and good boards! I'm eyeing a couple up here too...

Flite comes in a 15m too, which is, according to the website, more of a chuck-around kite. Hard to believe that the 17 is the parS-P-A-M-L-I-N-K-n'ride version cos it's so fast!

I've flown the Fly, as I said... it's VERY stable, you can trim it just right with the stopper and it'll just sit in the sky. Does OK in "light wind" for the tiny guys but for me, I wanted a bigger kite. It does pull downwind a lot, I found it very hard work in the legs to fight it upwind. The Flite rockets upwind; it's just a better kite. Jumps were much the same, as was the feeling of using the kite. The Flite is pretty light too, I think I measured it as 3.8kg.

Your thinking is the same as mine - get a surfboard to play around on when the winds not there

Thanks Kami, I think its worth me getting in in touch with a few of the Ocean Rodeo dealers to see when they might have demo kites available.

Was it a 2012 Fly you tried? I heard they didn't have great upwind ability and also that they have improved it for the 2013 which is the one I'm going to get a demo session with.

I'm around 80kg and won't really being trying to ride in anything less than 10kt. I usually get the foils out and ride on the beach when its really light.

I really like the slingshot boards - getting lots of recommendations for them.

board is first element for light.

easiest is DOOR-like TT . BIG and slick ...eventually you just need more kite, FS which are very efficient in light but skill is needed to put it together. ozone zephyr is powerful tube on low end most light wind tubes are kinda the same and good up to about 20.

the directional route works just requires different skill set than TT, a board around 50liters + with a darty quad set up. actually quite fun... my TT v. directional really about the same low end. works well for lighter riders like <175.

AND the one that beats all, no matter the kite could be anything 12m or better, a race board its like the directional just all business, very fast ! i have ridden and had some fair rides but truly humbling...since my strapless surf has progressed confidence with a race would be better, but no urge AT ALL to get one.

Yeah, probably a 2012… I liked it otherwise, but I couldn't see what the noise was about with the Fly, it was ok as a 'light wind' kite and it didn't seem to do anything better than the Crossbows, except turn quickly.

The Flite though—SO much better! every aspect of what a kite is, is better than the Fly.

I can get people not into doors—I prefer smaller boards but being big 'n' heavy, I can throw them around a bit easier. They work for me

Had a lot of fun 'riding' waves on them too, which is why I look for a surfboard thing this year.

I was thinking of getting something like a Slingshot Glide as my first surfboard. I take it that there are no major disadvantages to using a bigger board if you are not going to use it for freestyle purposes--will the board work just as well in high wind/choppy water, for example?

For chop, you want a board with a soft ride - flex. I think :o

High-wind will depend on your kite options - you can go to smaller kites sooner, which may mean rigging more than one kite sometimes.

Glide is quite narrow for a light-wind board, IIRC: they're only 40cm wide? You want 45 or more. Length is secondary to width, rocker and profile.

Yeah, I don't know any of this board-science stuff, I just saw the Glide as a light wind board option in a brochure I got. I'm just a landboarder, so I'm not too knowledgeable about kitesurfing physics. I know that there are many other options for lightwind boards out there; I'm just too lazy as of yet to research them all.

Thanks for the advice.

Has anyone tried some of the other options - Blade Fat Lady, Epic Infinity, Ozone Zephyr? I've flown the Slingshot turbine but its too slow for my liking.

@ Sier Pinski The glide is a a lot of board at 160cm. If you have not kitesurfed before it may be good for getting your waterstarts but not a lot else.

Learn on something of more standard dimensions and it will take you a good long way into your kitesurfing career. You should at least be riding upwind consistently and turning before you start looking at specialised equipment unless light winds are all you get to play with

Tried the Infinity v2. I think there's a review on here... not my cup of tea.

Seriously, I keep banging on about it but the Flite is a stunningly good kite. I was out on it again tonight… so much fun! Try one if you can, I think you'll like it!

i been on Tri's ozone zephyr 17m , definitely a choice unit for light. and several different door combos .
VAN's carbon DOOR, can't remember the size, + the zephyr, upwind and a few small jumps in light 10-12, super flat water. for 200# about as much as you can get for TT. a skilled lighter guy could rip it up. for simple low technical application TT set up its hard to beat.

these units are big and slow, kinda the nature of the beast, but power deluxe.

have to stay light wind riding can be done. standing starts give greater access. and the net power balance is tedious. not really a beginners starting point.

ozone zephyr/door combo +1.

The door you used at JIBE was a 159. I really like Don's Zephyr with the door.

Quote: Originally posted by Sier_Pinski

I was thinking of getting something like a Slingshot Glide as my first surfboard. I take it that there are no major disadvantages to using a bigger board if you are not going to use it for freestyle purposes--will the board work just as well in high wind/choppy water, for example?

You are down the street from me so just let me know when you want to try out my door

@ Kami - I'm on it! it doesn 't seem to be available anywhere I have tried yet. My goto shop doesn't stock Ocean Rodeo unfortunately. they are great at getting me demo's.

@Phree - Thanks I'm hearing good things about the Zephyr from others too. I can demo it at the same place i am demoing the new Fly so its on the list.

When I say light winds i'm looking for something to work 8-14kt I can get a great session on the Park 12m at 14kt + . I'm not really after something which will work right down at 4-6 kt

Rapidly progressing away from the beginner stage. 4 weeks ago I could barely get upwind, now i can slide turn, carve turn on both edges, ride upwind toeside, do frontside 180's and I'm starting to pop and boost.

I want to ride light wind to maximise my time on the water but also because it will force me to work on perfecting my stance and kite control and make me a better rider overall.

If you can ride a Park 12 in 14 knots, a 17 Zephyr or Flite will rock.

... I still can't ride upwind toeside :o or toeside at all, in my goofy direction

Lightwind is great for trying out new stuff... especially when it's steady.

Don't forget about line extensions,
our local guru Mark the "Extender" Markite is the extensions and a light wind specialist around here.
If anyone can milk the air that is barely moving, he is the dude:cool2: to ask.

I am sure he will have a good combo to recommend for light winds :eureka:

yeah 14tk is the bottom end of my Park. Naish reckon 12kt but its really hard to get speed in the upstroke when you are doing big Power stokes off the water start. Apparently they improved the low end in the 2013 model (mine is 2012) sweet spot is 15-20 but it will handle more. I tend to change to the 10m if its getting over 20.

I love toe side! I find it easier to get my weight off the board and on the kite when i'm on my toes. I struggle to slide round on my goofy tack though and goofy heel to toe carves are also harder but i can get them on the bigger kites. I can't pop at all when i'm goofy, so frontside rotations are out too!. Heelside i am pretty even with either foot forward.

Pretty much settled on getting a kite. the board can wait. on my third day of no kitesurfing at the moment but 14-17 forecast tomorrow and then more nothing!

Board!

IMHO, if you got waves...ride a surfboard!

I haven't tried the 'surfboards' from kite manufactures but when I looked at their lineups, they seem awfully small to me...I'm about 210lbs so I need volume and a little more length. And our waves here are more mushy as opposed to punchy.

And if you want to surf with a kite as opposed to kitesurf, just get a regular surfboard. You'll lose the durablility aspect of course, but get more of a surf feel IMHO.

...and if you want to go in light wind, a longboard is another option...I tried mine a few times and had a blast.

Have fun!

I do paddle surf a little but mostly on an 8'6" long board in small clean waves. The big breaks here are hollow, heavy and have strong rips - they are a bit beyond a casual surfer like me. I do have a 6'6" by 20 1/4" low volume thruster that may work with a kite. its 13-16kt today so I might give that a try.

There are quite a lot of good wavespots for onshore stuff with the kite. Once I get a bit of practice on flat water I will be in the waves for sure.

i have a firewire sweet potato 6'2" x (23") 56L . it is the coolest ride, i am not a surfer( well maybe i am now ) . definitely gets low wind rides going, though i still need decent power to have fun . the start in light air a bit challenging but once up it zooms . its a quad set up with double concave bottom seems very versatile. actually went surfing in small waves the other day and for a 200# guy its assume, to get up on it easier than i thought. definitely a consideration.

Great board Phree and Van your door is awesome..........thankz for sharing at JIBE.......I have 6' Davo fish in quad config and is versatile and gets going low on the Zephyr around 11 mph and 9ish on the 15m SA2............if you can find a fish shape in the 6 to 6' 2 range go for it......more volume than the thruster shapes and IMO more versatile...........

You know when you think you know something and it turns out you don't?

Light winds at the weekend and I ended up borrowing this guys board. A Nobile Flying Carpet 160x46. As I mentioned i have tried a couple of Door type boards before (slingshot glide and flydoor 170) and did not like them at all.

Not sure if it was the board or that I have just got better at riding but this was amazing. It felt like a much smaller board! tacked upwind easiliy, was really responsive in the turns and pops better than my 142 switch!

The only problem I have now is that there is yet another toy on the "must own" list! I'm still going to get a lightwind Kite first. Finally found an OR dealer with a 17.5 Flite I can try. Nobody has the 15 unfortunately