I've thrashed Google for info about kite sizes for foiling, with not a huge amount found.
I've been riding 11 years and learnt on 2004 Peter Lynn 13m Bomba which I still have.
I currently ride Fone Bandit 7s - a 12 and 8 metre. While these are great for boosting etc I know the 12 is useless to me below 8-10 knots and winter here seems to average 7-10 knots.
What I am looking for is a foil kite that will stay in the air down to 4-5 knot lulls but will let me ride until I can put my 8m Bandit up.
My question is really about what size Foil kite I should be getting and at what point would I be overcooked on it.
There seems to be a decent range of foil kites out there but I haven't ridden one since 2005, do I bite the bullet and just buy one of the race kites or am I biting off more than I can chew? 2.5-3.5k for a kite is a bit pricey.
I'm 82 kg and on a Slingshot Alien FX foilboard.
Cheers in advance
Hi mate,any size from 11m up in foil kite will stay in air regardless. If you want to ride in 5-10 knots you need a 15m or 18m foil kite.The 11m Flysurfer Sonic FR for example got a huge wind range from 10-23knts. The 15m id say 6knts to 20knts.Maybe start off with a 15m and you be foiling everyday. When over 15knts your smaller LEI will do.cheers
As far as Flysurfer go, there won't be too many 2nd hand Speed 4's or Sonic's around are both are fairly new models. You should be able to find a 2nd hand Speed 3 if you are patient. Flysurfer don't release a new kite every season, so a 2nd Speed 3 will be getting on 4+ years old. Typical foil kite life is longer than a LEI if cared for properly - 5-6 years is realistic.
i know you can buy 2nd hand Flysurfer kites from FS directly - they have a second hand section on their website. They won't sell kites direct to the public however, that's where Intheloop, Briskites and I (Specialist Kiteboarding) come in. As far as I know we are the 3 main Australian Flysurfer dealers.
I don't distribute Ozone but I'm sure the other 2 shops can help from that front.
Oh, I'm a little heavier than you and currently on the Liquid Force foil board which is not very efficient, I use my 15 and even 21 in sub 10 knots. (21 is a bit overkill tho, if I was buying again I'd probably go an 18. )
