lei or foil

[mylo]

looking to get a light wind kite for boarding

would a large foil be best

or a small -medium lei say 14m

i weigh 16.5 stone

(never flown a lei either )???????

[Lolage]

19m speed2 silverarrow

 

eats into your wallet ALOT though........

[Dubs]

Oh jees please dont start this again. can someone just link him?

[Lolage]

Oh jees please dont start this again. can someone just link him?

 

This is different though, hes not saying which is better etc.

 

Hes asking which is the best for low wind conditions.

[marman]

Foil for low end

[Gregga]

a large foil would be the best bet, lighter than large LEI's and the foil would probably have more low end grunt.

[slide]

yea , we've seen this subject alot , but it is important , just before spending ya hard earned readies ....a large open foil (blade;) ) is always the best low wind kite ....put it on handles for the best control

[Andy C]

I much prefer LEIs for almost everything but if you're specifically after a low wind kite then I guess you'd have to go with a big Blade or a depower foil kite such as maybe the Air Evolution kites. My experience has always been that low wind boarding is pretty unfulfilling though! Nothing will work very well below about 10 knots, and above that an 11-13m LEI will perform fairly well, still better than a foil in my opinion, although it's less convenient especially if you're on your own.

 

So the question is, whether it's actually worth bothering in really low wind??

[Krazy Kiter]

Depends on your budget. Also be very aware of pimps when it comes to this subject. Generally (if you have an unlimited budget) people agree that the flysurfer 19mtr silver arrow 2 is the ultimate lightwind kite. Never flown one myself so thats just what ive heard.

 

Blades are excellent low wind kites, and always a laugh to fly anyway.

 

If you want depower then there are some very good open cell foils about that do lightwinds well - Ozone Frenzy and Manta spring to mind. HQ montana 3 isnt a bad kite either, but stay clear of the montana 2 in my opinion - flew one a couple of times and it was horrid in anything other than perfect wind. There are others out there, thats just my experiance.

 

As for LEI's - I hear (havent had the chance to try this first hand yet) that the Ion3 has a good low wind performance. Ozone instincts are reasonable, but my 11mtr sport 07 starts to struggle (on land) about 8mph. I have quite limited LEI experance though, so ill leave it to someone else to fill in the gaps.

[wenglish]

i think the manta would have a better low end on it than the frenzy but both are quite heavy kites because of the material ozone uses, air evolutions are made of a thinner material and offer a good low end but your going to find it hard to beat a good open cell fixed kite like a big blade or a large racekite.

 

try a few things out but deffinatly try out a larger racekite if you can. not viewed as a kite for landboarders but the yak's have a fair amount of lift in them and they will rip your arms off sooner than a big blade.

[plummet]

completly disregarding the question. in super light winds i head to the hills. sub 10 knots is pretty boring on the flat but in the hills with the ventury effect happening you can get mucho air time.

 

ps foil. i'd like to try a blade 8.5 for sub 10 knots or a manta 12,or 15. i can zing around the beach on my 10m manta in light winds but am not getting into the air until around 12knots.

[wenglish]

the 15m mannta does look good but as with any big depwoer its going to be slow to turn and heavy. sometimes you can get more performance from a smaller kite because its lighter and turns quicker, ok you have to work it more but you can get more from it once its going.

[tsp13]

a foil but i don't know what. the best thing is to try some out

[Kite-D]

My Manta2 12m doesnt really work below 8knt....

 

Fixed bridle foil with long lines, a depower foil wil turn too slow (as said), to consider something like the yakuza, your just going to cruise below 10 knots....

[oc1rob]

If you want low wind entertainment on a budget go and find an 'oldish' race kite in the 7.5m - 9m ish size

 

Something like a PredatorIII, Century, Razor, Raptor etc

 

You can pick them up dirt cheap and because they have always been designed for pulling in low wind conditions they will do just that.

[AJ9604]

i've always used a 10m manta2 for light winds as they are fast and light so react really well for in light conditions

AJ

[CeeJay]

I got an old mahoosive C kite (23.5m Cabrinha Contra 2005) that works really nicely in low wind, pulls like a train and gives low but floaty jumps. Its fine as long as you keep it moving. Because of its weight it will hindenburg very easily though and gives you hella wiplash when you recover it hahaha. The biggest downside is pumping the darn thing up which takes ages!! Got it dirt cheap off ebay and flown it powered when you can only just feel the wind on your skin.

 

The Contra was designed specifically as a low wind kite and does what it says on the tin. At 10knotts it starts to feel a little over-powered.

[air stiffler]

I have a 13m speed for light winds and it gets me off the ground at around 10mph and I weigh 15 stone. There is one up for sale on here I think

[SCrowther]

for light winds a foil is the best bet

[nickfox]

.. So the question is, whether it's actually worth bothering in really low wind??

 

yea im with you on that one mate.

[austin]

its got to be a foil for mega low wind, although a 14mish sized lei pulls nicely at about 10mph.