what kite?

[Patrick1599968628]

Hello,

 

just about to start kite surfing and would like some advice on which kite to buy. I'm going for a non inflatable so I can use it on the land as well. I've looked around the web at some of the reviews but these tend to be written soon after the kite is released and say things like "this is the best foil so far" which isn't true now. As far as I can see the choices are flysurfers titan, psycho, peter lynns bomba, guerilla and phantom.

 

I'm not loaded so:

 

it is going to have to be second hand,

I'll only have one kite for a while so it'll need to have a good wind range and

when I get good it'll be a struggle to replace and expand my quiver, I'd rather a top end kite now and struggle with the learning.

 

As for how the kite handles I'm more intersested in upwind ability and speed through the air than high jumps at the moment (if thats the trade off?).

 

I don't want to spend more than £300(rtf) but could streach it a bit further if you guys say I'd get that much more for my money.

 

I'm about 12 1/2 stone (80+Kg) and haven't brought a board yet either.

 

Could someone put these in order of how good they are (and add any others I should think about) and possibly some idea of how much better one is than the other (i.e. if I can get a Titan for £250 and a psycho for £350 is the psycho worth the extra cash or should I stick with the titan...). Yeah, this is a boll***ks question but it's my first big kite so I'm not going to make the perfect choice anyway, just looking for some pointers

 

any advice would be useful,

 

Cheers,

Pat

 

PS: anyone who wants to say "it depends on personal preference, you have to try before you buy" please let me know when you'll be near portsmouth so I can try yours cause I don't know anyone whose got these sorts of kites:-)

[JohnDave]

There is already stuff about this if you search, but here's what I know

 

Phantom will give you loads of lift, designed for the land really, Guerilla lift and float, Bomba more grunt than the guerilla, less float?

 

I would go for the Guerilla, 13m seems to be the most useable size, ie great for winds from 15mph to 25 mph ish. It's done me great on the land and also starting in the water. G2 turns faster than the G1, haven't flown a G1 so can't give any more info on it.

 

People who fly flysurfers swear by them, never flown one so can't comment.

 

If you're at Ainsdale ever have a go on my G2s

 

John

[shemKSW]

Personally having owned them, deffinetly dont buy a phantom or guerilla, on the water they just dont cut it. Try finding a Venom if your going that route.

 

Why not use a LEI on the land? I regulary buggy with my 13 meter in winds from 5-20 knots. If your not crashing your kite every 2 minuites theres no concern, and if you are crashing your kite that regulary you shouldnt be wearing a harness any way!!

 

have fun.

[x37]

consider a viokite proteus.

[FB]

I have just gone over to kitesurfing and I'm seriously thinking of dropping the frenzy in favour of another LEI to use for all three of my kite sports. I know a number of people do. The newer kites will take some hammering anyway.

[Patrick1599968628]

thanks for the info guys, the guerillas are tempting on price, does anyone else not rate them on water though? And are there any flysurfer guys out there? how do the older (titans and warriors???) models stack up against LEIs and the newer flysurfers?

 

Thanks again,

Pat

[Neddy knacker]

personally I would go for the LEI's when you want to go on the water. I know you want a kite for the land as well but believe me you'll be hooked from the minute you get up and you wont want to go back! As for flysurfers yes they are amazing kites im positive the germans have got all figures spot on but for use on the water and the price range your looking at they just cut. (seen the pullies they use get caught by the line when it gets frayed)

As all the new kit is coming out for 05 you'll be able to pick some right bargains on the LEI's. All because the local wanna be hotshots want all the lastest kit?

At the end of the day it's up to you but try an LEI and you wont look back.

[Airpowerd]

the guerillas stability in gusty winds make it good for learners (no hindenburg) also letting the bar go when you go over the front of the board on the early water starts means the kite stays in the air. you have to fly a guerilla into the water they don't go there otherwise.

water relaunch is all about technique loads of people out there can't relaunch leis either (unless they can standup that is)

That said any LEI moderate aspect ratio kite will be ok for learning, they don't seem to fall apart like they used too, 2003-5 would be fine imho

[Bobby]

Nowt wrong with Guerillas or Bombas on the water dude.

 

IMHO for a newbie, there fantastic - stable as fk - auto zenithing when you wipeout - don't float you up so much - water relaunch is pretty easy (they hardly ever want to hit the wet stuff) - launching and landing is simps.

 

Had both and now on Venoms - also played with a few LEIs and still go back to my arcs.

[yowi]

if you love kites and are a bit "techie" then the old flysurfers are great. The profiles are definately efficient and hi performance, they just don't have all the flash features like jet flaps. The rewards come if you want to understand how they work and don't mind tinkering a bit. It's not tinkering for reliability but finding the line length that suits the kite, trying it on a crossover or adding a depower system. Just playing with a few bits of string really and it all makes you a better pilot.

If you are more interested in riding boards then Peter Lynn is probably the way to go.

Their flight characteristics are unbeatable for learning traction. The stories of people smoking cigaretes, having lunch, etc with the kite just sitting overhead are all true. Not neccesarily the safest thing to do but it demonstrates the inherent stability that is only found in this style of kite. The power delivery is smooth and predictable, they eat gusts like nothing else. Don't be lulled into complacency as it is not difficult to incite plenty of lift. I use a g2 9m for the strong/gusty stuff when anything twitchier is just going to spank me.

[Druncan]

Started with LEI's then moved to Bombas and a GII15. Never looked back. Very happy newbies R us:D Also, great deals to be had @ the mo. Bombas defo got more grunt than the GII but the B13 is my fave kite. Fast turning and grunty, however G/F's dead happy with the B8.5 when the lines start whistling. All arc's are sweet on land and water and no bl**dy bridles to get tangled in seaweed!!! However they are not as gentle as hyped. We had plenty damm gud tbagging sessions in Tiree 2weeks ago:o -just want more playtime!

[Coopes]

My 13m Guerilla's on E-Bay at the moment going for only £55-00, can't do a link to E-Bay its banned at work??

[Bobby]

Is this the one Coopes?

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Peter-Lynn-13m-Guerilla-Kite_W0QQitemZ7181025714QQcategoryZ58133QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[Mr X]

consider a viokite proteus.

 

Yeah I'd have to agree - they are very reasonably priced and I've heard only good things about them, never tried one though!

 

I think "Mee" would have to be the viokite expert, he's also on foilzone.com

 

Thats if you're on a budget, if not, only two words: Flysurfer and Speed.

[jrobson]

For 300gbp you can pick up a voodoo or spirit if you want to go the FS route, very nice kites to learn on especially, super stable too... For 300 GBP it is maybe better to look at a LEI though, you can get quite a bit of kite for that money, if you have a bit more money to spend, a used psycho2 10m would be great too.

[Coopes]

Is this the one Coopes?

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Peter-Lynn-13m-Guerilla-Kite_W0QQitemZ7181025714QQcategoryZ58133QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

Thats mine

[Patrick1599968628]

Would a 10m flysurfer extacy make a good one kite quiver?

[mee]

Would a 10m flysurfer extacy make a good one kite quiver?

Yes and no. I use my 10m Extacy almost exclusively on the water, that is not to say it is bad on land, it is outstanding, but I do find that for most wind conditions the Extacy is great. In lower winds , sub 10mph the Extacy will not do much on the water, this is based on my weight at 60kg. At above 20mph I need to be flying my 7m Voodoo.If you weigh more than answer maybe yes as long as you dont fly the kite in very low wind.

The Vio's are a different kites altogether. Remember that one Vio is two kites in one due to the zippable canopy, and yes it work brilliantly. The quality of the Vios is equal to the Flysurfer kites I have, prices however are much, much lower.

The VR and Proteus kites do not have massive verticle lift and certainly have less compared to certain Flysurfer kites.

I find the VR8 is the kite that I fly the most as this kite can be modified to give it amazing performance and significant lift, it is also as good as the Extacy out on the water for water relaunch and inflation. It also has a slightly better bottom end than the 10m Extacy, upwind perfromance is the same as the Extacy.

The Proteus range are liftier kites but not as ultra stable as the VR, and upwind performance is better. The Proteus 7 is a very sweet kite although my favorite is the Proteus 11. On land the Proteus 11 will get you going sub 10mph, board or buggy and has amazing power and good lift, even more if you mod it. Comparing the Proteus11 to a 13m Exatcy, the Extacy is faster to inflate and I find easier to water relaunch,although I have now learnt the trick of fast water relaunch with the Proteus11, just dont let it fall forward in the surf in low wind. The Proteus 11 goes upwind very well.

All the Vio's, in my opinion need to be modded to give them a better depower range and lift.There is nothing significantly wrong with these kites in standard trim, it is just that once this is done these kites become very competitive and will hold their own either on water or land against the direct competition.

The Protean2, although these will be out of your price range, are very easy to water relaunch but are very powerful and unforgiving kites, but with a skillful flyer, amazing.