There's been a fair amount of talk about foils, but whats the recommendations for kites for light wind foiling? having been in the UK the past few weeks it appears they are all moving towards no strut kites, the push by the market for ever more durability has seen the weight of kites increase a fair amount and hence the wind required, no strut kites are exceptionally light in comparison and seem to be pretty grunty. They were certainly going well in 10-12 knots on 10m kites, quite amazing coming from Geraldton and all the wind we have. Not many ram air kites, primarily I think due to price.
Kite weight is definitely a big concern for sub 10 knots kiting, any kite of any kind that gets wet will not perform as well in those wind conditions. I tend to disagree about the weight of the kites increasing over the years, but I guess it depends on the brands and models. Light wind specific kites are always designed to be lighter in weight whether they are 5 struts, no struts or foil kites. You just need to look for the right kites for the job.
I spent countless hours foiling in marginal winds and have compared foil kites vs inflatables kites a fair bit. Foil kites have a definite advantage of upwind angle and their racing and speed capabilities cannot be matched by inflatable kites. Since I'm not interested in racing and having the best upwind angle possible, a couple of 5 struts kites have proven do the job just right for me. With 30m lines I find I can get up and foiling on a 12m Five struts kite easily in any wind that doesn't blow below 7 knots. Below 7 knots it's a bit of an effort and not many would be able to get going anyhow in 4-6 knots unless you had a very large kite and some amazing skills.
To give you a recent example, I was out hydrofoiling in roughly 6-8 knots a few days ago. I had a 12m five strut kite and 30m lines and both my friends each had a flysurfer speed 4 lotus 15m foil kite. they simply couldn't get up and going on their hydrofoils and they have more experience than myself and are pretty skilled with their equipment. Their kites were simply moving too slowly to develop enough power. You simply cannot match the speed of turning of an inflatable kite. In marginal winds, the most difficult part is to take off and get the foil to fly. I find the inflatable kites are much better for this, but I guess that's debatable.
As for strurtless inflatable kites I only flew one once on a twin tip so I can't comment on their very low winds capabilities. A concern I have with those is kite stability and relaunching capabilities in low winds....
Christian
I seem to hear mixed things about BRM Cloud strutless kites for foiling, some swear by them and others say they're not really all that suited. For better or worse they have a very large depower range in a short bar throw.
They have these "testimonials" among many:
boardridingmaui.com/testimonials.html
I was on my foil bord and goofing around on a friends 15m foil kite in 8mph wind. The 15m foil kite was falling out of the sky and collapsing at every moment. So I pumped up my 17m cloud and has a fantastic session. Light wind, free ride and freestyle foilboardings go to kite is the cloud.
---
I have seen what your 17m kite can do, how it just sits there in winds where my ___ falls out of the sky. And people riding it on their surfboards when I am just sitting on the beach all day waiting for 2 more knots or even when I am paddle boarding and guys are on it with their hydrofoils crashing and the kite just stays in the air.
Flysurfer come standard on 21m lines, which are clearly too short for the ultra LW sessions. I would guess a 15m foil kite on 30m lines would be quite a different experience :)
BTW: I'd love to try one of Greg's Clouds. If anyone has one in Perth, please let me know. I suspect they are pretty awesome !!
I've just picked up a 12m Cloud, I can imagine these kites could make a good foil kite as they fly so well in light wind.
The 12m makes a great light wind surf combo when combined with a 5'2 Nugget. Also the best drifting 12m kite I've flown to date. 
Select to expand quotetoppleover said..
I've just picked up a 12m Cloud, I can imagine these kites could make a good foil kite as they fly so well in light wind.
The 12m makes a great light wind surf combo when combined with a 5'2 Nugget. Also the best drifting 12m kite I've flown to date.
He's using a Cloud 12m I believe. Check out their other videos. *drooling*
As well as BRM there is a new french company making no strut kites. Well, new to me anyway.
stormkitesurfing.net/voyager-ii-2/
The LE looks a fair bit fatter at first glance.
Greg from BRM is the guy doing these 360's in lightish winds.
As long as your not racing, i recon a surf kite with light bar pressure and the ability to reverse launch off the water
I bought the Cloud C2 17m recently along with Greg's CCS bar setup.
I've only flown it the once, but I can confirm it's super light (like 2.75kg) and hence flies in almost nothing. The turning speed is really nice - fast compared to what I'm used to (Flysurfer foil kites), and seems very stable and resistant to gusts / lulls / crappy technique. It's a new learning experience for me as it's so different to what I normally fly, but I think it'll be fun for light wind wave riding on the hydrofoil.
Ive only tried it on the 20m lines, but will make up some extensions in due course and try that.
Anyone who wants a go in Perth let me know.
Don't forget the New Notus Air. single strut dedicated Hydrofoil kite from Zeeko
zeeko-kites.com/gb/all-the-products/287-notus-air-2016.html
The low/no strut kites are fashionable because they hang in the air pretty well when the wind drops a couple of knots without needing any assistance. Where they score over the foil kites is in cheap cost and better relaunch if the wind drops off completely for a couple of minutes. I gather that foil kites relaunch fine from the quick drop in the water but I'd be surprised if they worked as well for the 2-3 minute float
Two guys at the beach near me have Naish Trip kites for foiling. They are plenty happy with them. I like the price they paid (less than $600 AUD new) but I'm not a fan of the Naish bar feel. I fancy trying the North Mono when it comes out.
The BRM clouds aren't as popular in Europe due to the postage costs. A fair few people have the similar looking Storm Voyagers. They also look interesting and the prices are pretty good.
I have used the 12 and 14.5 BRM Cloud's with Fish Foil and they work a treat ~10knots. Super light wind kite.
I have used the 15 and 18 chrono's with Fish Foil and they work a treat ~10 knots. Also super light wind kites.
