Hey all,
It's time for a long overdue upgrade to my kiting quiver and I've not really been paying that much attention to modern kite capabilities, so I'm looking for some advise regarding what size / type of kite I should be looking at for a replacement.
Currently I have:
F-one 9m Impact (05)
F-one 13m Tribal (06)
F-one 16m Rival (07)
By far I have always gotten the most use from the 13m, and I think its largely past its use-by date. I am usually comfortable on it from about 15-22 knots give or take, and thats the sweet spot for my local beach. The 9m has all but disintegrated (it was a demo kite as well before I bought it) and didnt get that much use anyway. The 16m is still serviceable with some valve work.
So I'm looking for something to replace mainly my 13m but also hoping it will cover some of the 9m. Should i be looking at a 12m in current kite design? Can anyone guestimate the comparitive power of the 13m tribal against a new kite.
Also any suggestions on where the best value for money is these days because I don't want to pay a premium for the greatest kite on the planet, I just want something quality and useable.
you will be right with about a 12m in any bow kite. 12m switchies are pretty good.
you will be right with about a 12m in any bow kite. 12m switchies are pretty good.
It does look like you are overdue for a upgrade, a lot has changed, most people now only have a 2 kite quiver to get the full wind range. Other people are using a single kite to cover a range from 14-30kts with ease.
There are a lot of different kite designs around now, from bow, SLE, c, delta, bridled c and many other hybrids. A lot of these kites can be used as all round kites but excel in certain areas.
So depending on riding style, board and weight plus your skill level will all be factors when choosing a kite.
If you plan to only upgrade one kite this year than another next year a 12/13m would be a good option, it would replace both your bigger kites, then next year you could get a 8/9m to complete your quiver and get rid of all your old kites.
If you plan on only getting one kite and not looking to replace any others for a couple of years i would get depending on your weight around a 10m it would out perform both your 9 and 13m kites easily getting you going in 15kts and heaps of depower for 30+. Then keep the 16m for the light stuff or get a light wind board and just use one kite.
There are lots of options so do your homework, there will be a lot of new products released in the next 2 months so there will be a lot of reviews. Try talking to your local kite shop and grab some demo gear to try out. Or if you are looking for second hand gear there will be a lot of last years gear available allso at great prices and its all fairly easy to find reviews on.
Thanks Waxman, yea that's the sort of info I'd been hearing already. A 10 in my head seems way too small for 15 knots, but I'll get out on some demo kites and see how it feels. It's just a surprise for me with my archaic gear to comprehend a kite that can do 15-30 knot range. Thats what I'll be looking for though, and if I can find an appropriate one, I expect a single kite would suffice. My board is a 132 and I'm about 85kg, so sounds like somewhere between a 10-12 will be on the money.
On my bandit 3 i could go as low as 15 kts on my 9m on a TT134, Im 95kgs, the top end would be over 40 kts. I did try the 10m was gruntier and would suit a one kite quiver for your size, but for my size i would have used the 11m as a one kite quiver super nice kite. Even the 13m i could use in winds gusting to 30kts(not fun, but didn't die).
Definitely try as many as you can, look out for demo days coming up. There should be a lot around.
It might be worth mentioning that given you've spent so long on the old-school C's that you might not like the way a bow or delta flies. Your definitely going to have to get a few demo's out just to see what you like.
If your used to the way your Tribal flies then i'd be going for one of the new C's as they've got a ton of depower on the bar compared to the oldies, as well as a wider usable wind range... not just for high-wind survival kiting. 
Check out the Slingy Fuel, Naish Torch, Ozone C4, North Vegas... and maybe even a Hadlow Pro if you want something that feels a bit more like your old ones. All of those in an 11m would be a perfect replacement as they're more powerful and more usable than your old C. I'm a tiny but under your weight (~80kg) and use a 12m Torch as my usual go-to kite for Melbourne's summer. I could probably drop down to an 11m though and be rewarded with faster turning speed.
Enjoy the demoing. It's a fun situation to be in... cashed up and full of options!
I think Koma hit the nail on the head. There are bow kites that claim to feel like C's, but none of them actually do and if you're a C kite purist, then all of them are going to feel lifeless and a little mushy. If you can get used to them, then thats fine, but testing will definitely be your best option because I'm pretty sure you'll hate some of them.
Time to demo a few different styles I think. You will probably feel more at home on the new c's but the sle,bow and delta's will give you a bigger windrange
demo, demo ,demo ...... you are from North side Brisbane so Talk to the guys at kitepower they have a heap of demos. Kites are way more powerful these days than some of your gear so you really are going to have to find out for yourself. The way the season is shaping up, you will have plenty of oppurtunity to test fly kites before you make up your mind.
I always include average wind speed, and max gusts, as it better describes of the conditions. eg if you describe 25kts average a lot of people would say i could handle that. but if you said 25(average) to 40(max) kts people would be more hesitant to go out as it would indicate the wind could be dropping below 20kts(min) then gusting to 35/40kts, or on the other side it could be 25 to 28 kts nice consistent conditions.
I know the BOM site list both for this reason, there are also a lot of manufacturers that claim there wind range is to be MAX wind speed or gusts, not average.
