Will Holt

Shortening the steering lines will improve responsiveness and produce more power up to a point at which the kite becomes over-sheeted and will just constantly backstall When the kite is oversheeted it wont fly forwards, hence when tuning if your not careful after you launch the kite will not fly up to the zenith but will drift into the window resulting in much pain (found that out the hard way), hence why you adjust in small increments so when this happens you can stop it with the bar throw. I suggest getting the kite tuned in a light but reasonable wind and using @ si-fly's technique, (tried it the other day, power definitely felt more consistent and lot less hard work! Thanks by the way) of depowering a bit in the light winds with the trim strap to prevent the stalls

Agreed with Si although i feel you can fly with the trim fully powered up and combat the stall by sheeting out at the redirect and get the most power out of the kite. Just depends wether you can get into a rhythm working the bar and pre-empting the stall! If you have the kite trimmed correctly the throw on the bar should be more than sufficient to stop the stall!

I fly the ions and they pretty much refuse to fly right if there isn't quite enough wind for them the atoms are pretty similar. In light wind they tend to backstall really easily. Try and tune them up in a decent wind so that when the trim is fully powered and you are completely sheeted in the kite should just be below the point that it is oversheeted and backstalls. You can do this by tying knots onto the pigtails from the kite for both power and steering lines or alter the lengths at the bar if you need more length than you can get at the kite end. This is unfortunately trial and error and might take a while (Do this in small increments as if the kite is oversheeted it wont go up and you will nail yourself, by doing it in small increments you can stop the oversheet by letting the bar out)! This should sort you out if its then back stalling in the light winds the only way to deal is to grab the centre lines and the kite should start to come up again (BE CAREFUL when doing this if the kite has reversed itself down into the middle of the window to avoid faceplanting and injury as the kite heads up to the zenith). I find that in light winds on the flexis after you dip the kite on the redirect after you make the turn sheet out about 50% until the kite starts to move upwards then you can put the power on and pull the bar in. Doesn't take long to get into the rhythm. Hope this helps

Pay a visit to all the kite shops near you and see what you can demo, try as many as possible before you buy its definitely the best way to find something you like and suits your style.

Recently experienced the long time flexi issue of leading edge stitching failure! Took it to Andrew at All Good Fun who resticthed everything professionally and reinforced my leading edge to prevent future failures at the wear points. Work was top notch and really flexi should be doing this at the factory before they ship the kites. He also managed to get it done same day (a Saturday on the bank holiday weekend!) so just thought a recommendation wouldn't go a miss. Far bette than the two week turn around i was quoted at other places without mention of reinforcing to prevent future failure! Great Stuff

Thanks guys, its pretty much as i thought looking forward to going one on one with nature! If anyone is down at watergate in a couple of weekends time pm me, always good to meet local flyers!

Im thinking its gonna be waste high + so might struggle to get over by using my knees and also struggle to power through them directly. Also jumpings gonna slow the upwind progress!

Will be heading down to cornwall in a couple of weeks and intend to be coming up against some pretty big surf. What is the best way to deal with big waves in terms of getting of the beach and upwind out to sea. Is it simply a question of finding a gap in the breakers and carving them up or is there a distinct method for getting straight over the big ones?

I like to subscribe to the 'if you have to ask...' school of thinking!

Thanks for all the advice, got out at Minster this evening, the flat water made a welcome change to the chop of Camber and the two local lads that were out were good blokes. All in all a repeat is certainly on the cards!

One word: Marketing!

Watergate bay is about 15 mins from Newquay airport, hope this helps! Extreme Academy, Watergate Bay, Newquay, Cornwall

Have heard some rumours about Kinetic not running anymore, and having had some peoples kites for a long time now! Can anyone confirm this? If true its a shame because they did awesome repairs quickly, cheaply and efficiently!

Saw a bloke the other day unwrapping a brand new kite and board on the beach! Then a few hours later spotted said gentleman dragging £900 worth of brand new kite over some very sharp shingle. When i asked if he was just starting out his reply was 'how can you tell...' Turned out to be a good bloke so showed him a packdown!

So have got just about every wind direction within easy reach here in Kent, just wandering what the best site is for kitesurfing northerilies in Kent, tried Minnis Bay but the metal pole and rocks sometimes seem to be a bit close for comfort anyone got any better suggestions? Thanks

Recently having watched those two lads on jump that peir the other day and reading some of the responses on various forums has got me thinking about the issue of safety while kitesurfing. Some of the responses state they should not have done it, they'll get bans imposed, what if they had died etc etc. Personally i thought it was brilliant and was conducted in a legitimate and controlled manner by experienced kitesurfers (im not gonna try it though). Kite safety has come a long way since i first started flying and these days is pretty good. I, like many check my lines and quick releases always before launching carry insurance and dont go out in conditions that i know im not able to handle including offshore winds. I like my fifth line for the peace of mind and aim to stay well upwind of rocks. Also having kitesurfing with somebody. Admittedly occasionally i get it wrong get caught short in some freak event and end up having a kitemare but we have certainly all been there. For me this represents adequate safety and we all know when we get on the water we are undertaking a dangerous sport but we do everything to minimise the risk but still maintain the experience and im all for this. What is driving me absolutely nuts at the minute is people taking this safety thing way to far. To push boundaries go higher and faster is a human trait, feeling stoked after a massive session is one of the best feelings in the world and why many of us go kitesurfing in the first place. According to some posts ive read people have suggested that jumping should be banned, kite sizes should be limited and everybody should have this or that 'homemade safety mod' on their kite and your a inconsiderate muppet if you dont because you will get us all banned. For me its getting ridiculous, we know what we do is dangerous, we take sensible precautions but for some people this is never enough. These are the kind of people who go to council meetings and reccomend a ban for everyone except them and their mates. PLEASE NOTE IM ALL FOR SAFETY PRECAUTIONS JUST IN MODERATION. Sorry for rambling, just wandering what other peoples thoughts were.

Just wanted to say a thank you on the off chance he might read this to the nice bloke (didnt catch your name) who helped me out today having trod on a Weever fish while down at Camber sands today. My foot is now the size of a balloon but doesn't hurt anymore (the hot water trick worked). Anyway testament to the great people that kite always willing to help a brother out. To everbody else, avoid standing on weaver fish, its very painful.

Been flying my ion 3 on the 3 line set up for a while and figured it about time to have try the 5 line setup. Im aware of the safety stuff if you need to bail just wandering during normal flying what the effect of flying the fifth line slack or tightening it has on tuning the performance of the kite and what sort of tensions should it be under? Thanks in advance

i was hiding them under my metaphorical bushel. You bump like a chump!

Im absolutely swimming in 8m kites maybe if you ask nicely ill give you one for free

if you are worried about rate of turn you could buy a cross over kit as well as a big bar

i recently aqquired the airdeck and its awesome, everything i could want out of a board.

Just keep zig zagging works for me however i find that more power is needed to go upwind and can therefore be tricky. Its always wise to check that there is enought power to get upwind before you go blasting down the beach and then realise you cant get back and then have to lug all your kit back up the beach.

I have been mountain boarding for a while and am perfectly happy. However i was wondering how difficult dirtsurfing is. Does it not require really good balance, + is it not really hard to get moving in the first place?

i have used one of these when kite surfing and land boarding however you have to be careful when buying these as some designs tend to get stuck closed when under tension and wont open when you want them to