best foil kite for gusty conditions

[edt]

I kite inland lakes in the winter on my iceboard and some of the nicest conditions are when the wind blows between 5 knots and 30 knots the sun is shining and the ice perfect, but most of the time right around 10 knots, so an inflatable is a problem. Right now I tend to use a 10m Envy in those conditions which is fine until it drops out of the sky. I need a foil kite that can stay up in the air in light wind but be able to handle the instant change in speed from 5 to 30 knots. I don't care about high aspect upwind or performance, I mean that old Peter Lynn arc kite would be fine, all I want is a foil kite that can stay up in the air in next to no wind and handle gusty conditions. I've demoed the ozone chronos, flysurfer 2, 3 and 4, HQ Manta, Zeekai and own a few Pansh Aurora foils, that's my experience with foil kites.

Recommendations? Maybe the Ozone Access, that beginner kite from Ozone?

[rogue_kiteboarder]

Ozone Hyperlink, it is a lower aspect than the Chrono or R1 so it handles gusts a bit better.

[plasma180]

Ozone Hyperlink is really great in gusty conditions, my first choice.

[Matteo V]

I would vote no on the hyperlink, not as stable as a Chrono II. The Blizzard is better. The best is an Access. Flysurfer peak is pretty good too, just not great at jumping.

Wait on the Hyperlink until they fix the stability issues in the next version or two.

That said, the Access is designed PRIMARILY FOR stability. You could beat it with a Chrono II if you are really good with the kite and have mad skills with foils. The biggest vote for going with the Access is that you can hand one to someone with no feel for foil kites, and they take to them like no other kite on the market. There is almost no learning curve from tubies to foils with the access. Ozone nailed that design for it's ease of usability.

Beware of Ozone's first offering in a new model. Their R&D leans more to the "D" side, while the customer gets stuck doing the "R" side of it for Ozone. In the end, this does produce some great kites and innovations. In the beginning, you get a kite that is not what you thought it would be.

[andylc]

Interesting on the Hyperlink as stability seems to be a common strength quoted for this. As far as the Chrono V2 goes I couldn't imagine a more stable kite, the only thing I would choose would be faster turning and maybe a bit more depower.

[knotwindy]

As far as the Chrono V2 goes I couldn't imagine a more stable kite, the only thing I would choose would be faster turning and maybe a bit more depower.

Which is the Hyperlink to me. Just my opinion.

[geron]

Hello, I have never used a foil kite and wonder about the wind range of foils compared with best tube kites (in terms of wind range). I understand they can stay on the air with less wind but; once both can float, can a foil handle more wind?

[Windigo1]

Check out the Pansh Genesis it's a low aspect kite similar to an Ozone Access but closed cell. It the most stable foil kite I have ever seen in gusty wind it's rock solid. At 200$ for the 12M it's a steal.

[geron]

The Pulsion Air 18m looks very eficient here but I wonder how high wind speed it could handle (and also gusty conditions)?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OaZk7f7Hauo

[jakemoore]

Hyperlink flies very far forward. Its possible to front stall it for example by sheeting out too far if its deep in the window. I love the kite for its performance and power for size. Not so sure about big gusts especially if there is a change in direction.