C vs Bow vs Hybred

[Charlie C]

Hey all,

 

i want to buy an LEI kite, but i dont know what to get.

 

Can u please give me a hand. What are the pros and cons of C shapes, Bows and Hybreds. So that i can make a decision between them.

 

Cheers

[si-fly]

I went from "C" kites to flexi ION's and found them much safer and easier to use. For me they gave much better performance, as I am an intermediate rider the ease of depowering has really helped in learning new moves. The Ion is nearest to a hybred I think.

Bows have even more depower but because of their flater shapes are more prone to inverting and can give nasty spins on a back line safety.

New "C" kites now have better depower than they used to and are said to give more performance for good riders. I have not tried a new "C" so cannot give anymore info.

[HelldogBE]

Go for a bow or hybrid if you're starting out on the water just now

 

Ckites offer more performance for the diehard wakestyle kiters ,but hybrids (like the ion and atom) offer an experience very close to it, but with all the advantages of bowkites (simple relaunch, extra lowend, extra highend, much depower on the fly)

 

Pure bowkites usually lack a bit of punch in the turns (and only start generating the real power when they fly in a straight line) so u don't get as much power in kiteloops or transitions where u turn the kite a lot.

 

I really can't think of a way to go through the pain to start out on an old Ckite anymore, newer Ckites offer good depower aswell but still lack the extra range on lowend and topend.

 

I think you'll get most bang for the buck from a 1 or 2 kite hybrid-quiver.

depending on the wind u want to go out on the water, I'd say take a 12-12.5 atom or ion2 to start out!! u can always add a 7-8meter later on for the high winds. I suspect u don't want an extreme lowend since u landboard?? a 12 flat kite will get u going nicely in about 14Knots.

 

I started on a flysurfer speed 10m with little depower, could plane but rarely go upwind (after about 2 months practice). The wind was rarely fit for practise, always too much or too little. Bought myself a 9 and 14meter waroo and from the first ride I could plane upwind and I could go out in way higher winds without ever having trouble of not being able to stay on the beach because the wind had increased by a few knots etc.

I've heard similar stories from people switching over to Bowkites from their C's. And most people that bought old Ckites for a few bucks can't get rid of them anymore and spend their money on bows a bit later anyhow.

[muppetbro]

it is the rider that gets the performance out of the kite not whether it is c style bow or this mythical hybrid design......

i learnt most of my upwind riding on c kites but progressed safer and quicker on bow kites i now use.......

alot of the arguements and claims are purely fashionable - its cool and hardcore to be on a c kite - i say its the rider who determines if their riding ability merits those terms from their peer group

 

mart

[kiteingcolin]

there are so many reasons not to go the C route it will only sound like pimping bow kites, C should not feature now unless you have practiced all your competition hanlepasses and killer loops on a C and changing to a bow would mean re-learning them all over again as the feel and kite behavior is so different, the new generation bows 2007 models are way ahead of 2006, and from another world when compared to the very first bow which i had, yuck!

look at the whole package as the bar system makes a big difference, go for 4 lines only as 5 lines are just not required anymore,

i very rarely drop my kite but yesterday at fleetwood after spinning my bar back to untwist i grabbed the wrong side and down went the kite in a very fast tide, the tide turned my kite over and rolled it over as it wizzed passed me arghh my kite!! i was thinking, and if it had been a 5 line kite or a straight C it would have been the lifeboat for me as i was well out from the beach, but the bow settled down, regained its shape due to the stiffness of the frame and a tweek on the lines and up she went for a quick air drying, things like $hitt happining happen a lot more when your learning and bows let you get it very wrong and still pop back up with a smile,

i watched a total newbie yesterday launch a 13 mtr warroo he was handed a 6ft directional by his girlfriend then i realised he just hadn't a clue as his bar was being pulled all ways apart from the right way, he gave in very quickly as the water was traveling 6-8 mph sideways where he was standing and the board he had was a e bay special, lessons must have been supplied by e bay as well, the point is if he had been on a C kite he might now be nursing a bashed up body, what he did with that kite only a bow would let him get away with, as it was he left very quickly when he got a few frights from the kite saying gerrofff you twit, go get some lessons, grrrrr!!!,

his girlfriend kept looking over at me and wondering why my kite was perfectly ok and pulling me around in a nice controlled way, thats one of the problems, we do make it look so easy to the untrained eye,

its not

and it can hurt

a lot

so to all the nose plants, the out of control drags up the beach, and the death runs when you have run out of depower, to the wet kite times when it will not relaunch,

say no,

go bow

[john_crossland]

Just because everyone seems to be bashing C-kites, They should not be ruled out. They give you better riding style and teach you how to carve out power better rather than just sheeting the kite out when a gust hits. They teach you a better jumping technique also. In all you can ride more stylishly and not look like your sitting on the toilet with a c kite.

Oh and just to clarify what most people refer to as BOW kites are infact SLE hybrids. E.G. Best Waroo = SLE Hybrid, Naish Shockwave = SLE hybrid. Airush Halo = True bow. Sum1 back me up b4 I get a pounding!

[mattdez]

ive got an f-one tribal which is a hybrid and i love it. there are loads of different hybrids that john pointed out and they all have varying degrees of flat shape to the canopy. the flatter the hybrid the more bow like it will be i presume and vice versa. my tribal is not that fla so it flies pretty similar to a c shape apart from the speed of it and depower. go hybrid, best of both worlds!

[si-fly]

Another thing to remember is that large bows are slow!...so you might want to look at a more "C" shape for light winds. I have 3 Ions and love the 12 but am looking to change the 15 as its not as nice to fly (quite heavy and slow) and gives only a small amount of extra bottom end!...it has great top end, but thats not what I want!

 

You really need to try all the kites you buy even the different sizes in a range.

Si

[jonathand]

yep, hybrids all the way. go tribals

[Charlie C]

thanks everyone, a lot for me to consider, but it seems like hybreds are the most fun, yet also nice and safe.

 

However, wind range has hardly been mentioned by anyone. Do hybreds have a large wind range, or do C's or bows have a larger one. I am only going to buy one LEI kite to start with and i want to be able to go out as much as possible.

 

I was thinking of getting a 11 or 12 meter hybred or bow. How large would the wind range be for this (roughly)? (I currently fly my 13 mtr venom II on land between about 13-25 mph)

 

Thanks again

[Blue Ice]

Whats your weight and the size of your board you will be riding?

[mattdez]

c's have lowest wind range, hybrids are a lot better (near bow performance) and bows are best. hybrids are just an all round awesome balance between c and bow. i take my 13 tribal out in most winds below 18/20mph. so 12, 13 or 14 is best for most ppl depending on weight. some places will give reccommended wind ranges for weight.

[si-fly]

my 12 Ion will get me planing at 83kg from about 11-35 mph using 3 boards. Top end and low not much fun though!! Different boards really do help with top and bottom end. With an alround 130x39 range about 15-30.

Si

[Kite Kid]

my new raven 12m is a c hybrid and has better depower than a 12m atom

[Charlie C]

Whats your weight and the size of your board you will be riding?

 

 

i'm about 11-12 stone, and my board is a 135x39.

[vinny]

Hey Lemon hows it going? I fully understand your dilemma as i was there not so long ago. Ive flown foils for quite a while but there old school so havent got the de-power that todays kites have and cant afford the new foils that do have complete de-power. So started looking at LEI's as the price is more affordable to me, the whole reason i went for foils (flysurfers) was for the safety issues which were alot better than most other kites at the time plus the self launch and land was and is a piece of cake with them. So....... back to the point, i was looking and asking questions the same as you and some one suggested the GK Sonic 11m 2006 (Globerider Kites) you can pick one up for around £300 with bar and lines secondhand. Its a type of Bow kite wind range for you would be from 12 to 23 knots (13 to 25mph at a rough guess ) more top end depending on your ability on the water. The reason i chose this kite is cos safety and less bar pressure is the priority for me and this particular kite has it all. Almost no bar pressure, complete de-power and lots of safety features. For example you do something wrong and wipeout let go of the bar and the kite just falls to the edge of the window sits on its tip waiting to be re-launched a lil tweak with the bar and its up again with no effort at all, its that simple. For extra safety and so you dont lose you kite if you have to pull the safety on the chicken loop or un hook for any reason there is the additional safety leash that when used the kite simply lays on its side and does nothing. All in all i havent had this kite long and has boosted my ability and confidence to try new things no end, even when your at the bottom end of the wind range of this kite just dump it down through the window work it a lil and it soon is producing its own power ( apparent wind), i really cant say enough about this kite and neither could the guy that told me about them and now i understand why. If you got the cash get the 2007 version. Just to add..... the 2006 kites are hard to get hold of cos basicly there that good and most are keeping hold of them rather than go to the cost of getting the newer one. Good Luck and hope you find the right one for you.