Inflatable Kites and Buggies

[trippnu]

so then lets start the new year with some reaserch what would be the ideal inflatable kite for a inflatable begginer for the buggy

Simon

[JKS]

I say ANY brand that has the following qualities ......

Low to medium aspect

Good quality QR

7m is a very good all round size

Decent LE (not thin on the fabric)

Enough throw to shut the power off @ speed

Additional qualities ...

OSR's

Extra padding/re-enforcement on the Tips + LE

One pump

Below the bar safety

Marty

[Goz]

Naish Cult ticks most of those boxes but I may be a little biased

Below the bar trim adjustment is awesome in the buggy no more trim strap out of reach.

The new Griffin Argo looks like it might be a good buggy engine as well, and the new North Fuse looks like it might be worth a look as well.

PS. was out on the Cult all afternoon again today in 10 to 12 knots the more I fly it the more I love it.

Might have to look at adding some more of them to my quiver unless I find something better.

[jdhot]

Thought I would answer your question here Goz,

I haven't brought a pump up yet but am very seriously thinking about it for this years winter season

and possibly summertime.

I'll have to go and visit Steve at Kitepower and see what he has in demo's for me to try out first

just to see what Marty's been raving about all this time .... and see if it's true

So yes it is on the agenda, and maybe try a bit of skim boarding

JD

[Goz]

All I can say is give them a try what you discover may just surprise you.

Good news is there is heaps of good cheap ones out there in the second hand market to choose from.

For sub 10 knots big fixed bridles are still the best option but once you get above 10 knots LEI's really come into their own.

Thinking I might have to look at getting a 9m now

[jdhot]

Oh Masterifal LEI Kite God ... Marty

What's your thoughts on an 08 7m Caution Mayhem ????

Suppose no point asking your thoughts on an 08 7m Waroo maybe a 9m or 11m Waroo for us chubbier guys ??

Maybe start the year off well and buy all .....

yer right, think the wife is going to kill me when she see's another buggy sitting in the factory

I'm going to be firing suggestions at you as I have no idea of LEI's .... hope you don't mind

JD

[Goz]

7m seems to be good for 15 knots and up for me JD, at 15 it really starts to come on song in the buggy. But I would look for kites with below the bar depower trim strap I find the one on the Smart loop to be really good in the buggy as the trim strap is right where you need it to be in the buggy and it also allows the bar to have a really long depower throw.

This is the bar I'm using

[jdhot]

How does it lock and release from the bottom Goz

understand the principle, just interested in the mechanism .... cool idea

JD

PS, what do you use a trim for

[Goz]

This might show the release off a bit better

More information can be found on the Naish site

I use the trim so I can have the bar set at a comfortable arms distance for the depower throw, I have also found in the lighter winds it helps to depower the kite slightly to stop me from choking it to much when I power it up. You tend to use the bar alot more on inflatables in terms of powering and depowering when your working them and the power does come on alot quicker than with foils. The bar works very much like an on off switch for the power unlike foils where it is a more gradual effect, LEI's are a much more direct kite in terms of feedback and power.

Once you get the hang of self launching and landing them they really are a snap to use, they aren't half as difficult to land and launch as I first thought.

Got to love the ability to go from sitting still in the buggy diving the kite into the power and being able to just get enough power instantly to take off sideways in the buggy. That increased forward flying speed that LEI's have really does pay off in lighter winds as you don't have to work the kite nearly as much to get going and get up to speed.

Goz the converted

[jabroni]

What's the advantage of a below the bar trim strap? Given my level of uncordination, I'd probably end up pulling the QR.

You have to back off the power to adjust - your hands are up there anyway...

[Goz]

You would have to muck up forward and back to stuff it up Jason

You pull the line to depower the kite and release it from the cleat and ease it back off to power up.

To release the loop you have to pull the Red QR up away from the body of the unit, they are 2 totally different movements.

And I find I can don't actually have to back off the power to adjust it on the smart loop, might be a different story in stronger winds but so far no issue with adjusting on the fly.

I find having the trim below the bar just a far better position in the buggy for adjusting the power on the fly I have had a few moments where belting along in the buggy that the trim on my Access has just been a little out of reach due to it flapping around in the wind. On the Naish Smart Loop it's right there next to your chicken loop nothing flapping around out of reach. It also means the whole set-up is a lot neater above the bar.

If you were standing up riding a board above the bar would be great but I just find that below the bar works so much better in the buggy.

I guess it's one of those things of personal preference.

[JKS]

Mayhem is good JD. Good sturdy kite, even the new ones are very well priced.

The 7 m is a well fast turner and will cover a very wide wind range for you.

They do have a shorter throw which will = a little less de-power

I use the same (one year older) control bar as Jamie .... it is VERY good.

I would stay away from a 9m to start with as even in lighter winds if you get it wrong it will take you sky high......unless that's the plan

Marty

[jdhot]

Mayhem is good JD. Good sturdy kite

Would you rate them better, worse or same as your Warooooooo's

what would you use ??

I would stay away from a 9m to start with as even in lighter winds if you get it wrong it will take you sky high......unless that's the plan

Hmmmmmmm ...... I know the Trikz buggy can fly

JD

[JKS]

I would use the Waroo before the Mayhem in a heartbeat ..... especially for learning. Mainly because it's what I am used to and I, like many others stick with what I know. I have not had much time with the Mayhem's. I am sure that my opinion would change if I had ... lol.

Simply put JD ... you wanna little tube with a big throw.

Marty

[jdhot]

Simply put JD ... you wanna little tube with a big throw.

small tube .... long throw thats nearly physical impossible

Seriously thanks for the advice

JD

[jdhot]

Any idea of what a 2nd hand '08 7m Waroo would be worth ??

JD

[Goz]

I've just discovered another huge plus to inflatable kites they are so much easier to clean and dry after having some fun in the muck

Inflate, hose down and wipe clean with a damp rag, leave to dry (30 to 45 minutes, just enough time for a beer or 3), and then pack away, job done.

JD keep your eyes open for a Cult I got mine for 08 for $650 with a new smart loop kit, I can see why they were so popular when they were released very user friendly. The 09 might be a bit easier to relaunch due to the thinner wing-tips and it also came standard with the smart loop.

I found it paid to have a read of as many reviews as I could lay my hands on and scoured the forums for any issues and feedback on the kites.

http://www.thekiteboarder.com/PDFS/ is also a good source of reviews and articles of LEI kites from previous years just download the magazine and read the reviews.

[JKS]

For an 7m 2008 tube I would expect anywhere between $500 and $900 depending on the brand/condition/inclusions.

Hmmmmm ...... perhaps it's time I upgrade my 5/7m's

Marty

[JKS]

Smokin a tube

[Goz]

Nice find Marty, he seemed to be nicely powered up in the buggy.

He certainly smashed that log well, I'm surprised that didn't kill the buggy.

[JKS]

Great set up eh

I read on RK he buckled the wheel ...... NOT SURPRISED !

I don't know how he managed to hit the bloody thing though .... lol .... the beach was friggin HUGE and he was the only one there. Must have had his mind on his kite

LOVE them slides past the camera

Gotta get me some disks .... the video is proof you can really slide them quite aggressively on the hard stuff.

[BGKD]

if you freezeframe the vid at point of impact you can see the buckle as it happens

[JKS]

How many spokes buckled

[CliffB]

Hi guys... great thread!

Yeah the wheel is buckled but not too bad, I only noticed it on the next session when I fixed the cam in the same place. Stupidly I was watching the guys putting up the dune protection fencing and didn't see the driftwood, I was looking to see where they were putting it, a fellow buggier almost lost his foot earlier this year when his foil unexpectedly powered up and dragged him into the fence! Not an exageration when I say he almost lost his foot, it was a mess.

The discs are pretty good but the beach has to be rock solid and mirror flat to really benefit from the reduced rolling resistance. Greastone isn't the best beach for them. I don't know what your beaches are like there, I was in NZ recently and the ones I see were good to buggy on but not rock hard, maybe thats to do with the 1.5m tidal range compared to our 6-7m... I don't know, maybe it was just the beaches I was at.

I'm obviously pro-inflable-in-a-buggy, I still have a bag full of race kites and that's where they stay, in the bag.

I started flying inflatables at the beginning of last year with big 13m and 16m Bularoos. Definately built for using on land but after a while I found the size and weight was holding me back. Still quite a LEI novice I moved on to Waroos, 5m, 7m, 9m and 11m. Nice and easy to fly and took some abuse for a cheap kite. I had to fly all of them on the fastest settings, especially the 2010's, but not slow kites through the air though, infact I had just short of 58mph (93kmh) from the 7m, still my PB. I'm now half way to changing over to F-one Bandits. Very powerful quick kites. I have a 7m and 9m so far, in the vid I'm flying the 7m for the first time, I have no doubt that will be the kite that cracks 60mph (100kph) for me.

IMO LEIs are the way to go on land. At the moment LEI development seems aim more in the direction of all-round lifty, waveriding whatever kites and worrying about things like re-launch. I think there's a growing gap in the market for a properly developed high aspect speed kite, and when it is built there will be some serious buggy speeds. Whether it's commercially viable or not at the moment I'd still like to see it happen... what do you think?

Wish I had seen this thread when I first started flying inflatables, keep it giong

[JKS]

Hey Cliff

I was hoping you would pop in to XK and I am glad you did. Lucky close call with the driftwood buddy .... I knew you must have been distracted as the rest of the movie you were all over it. I recall reading the story about the lad who nearly lost his foot and in fact ... the photos ... shudder ... I remember the photos

GREAT to finally speak to another inflato buggy rider I have been trying to convince my land loving pals to get into tubes for years and year now but they continue to be foiled by the shifty down under shopkeepers. Seems we have a kite connection too .... my main land kites are a 5m and 7m Waroo with the 7m being the most common. It is also the PB engine @ 81 kmh, not quite to your speeds but I share your opinion that they will easily achieve 100 km + in the right conditions. Put one out on a salt lake in howling 40k + and who knows what you could squeeze out.

There is an Australian kite company putting some effort into developing inflatos for land ..... but the guy testing them has been going to night school to complete his bachelor of flower arrangement and has not had any time to test or give feedback

viewtopic.php?f=17&t=14176&start=0

Griffin kite boarding http://monkeykites.com.au/

I have a bunch of bigger tubes but like yourself I have found them too slow for regular use and they only come out now and then. The bigger sizes would benefit the buggy freestyler (not me) but with freestyle comes lots of kite crashes. I keep the Waroos set on AA + I use a 55cm Naish bar to make turning even snappier. I never really liked the Waroo bar QR .... those little red loops are TOO hard to find in the heat of the moment.

What sort of discs are you running ..... are they spoked or solid ? Cambered ? Bearing size ? .... lol ....

Also mate ..... do you have many/any other videos ? If you do ......

Tube on

Marty