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Three strut Hybrid C kites for foiling?

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Re: Three strut Hybrid C kites for foiling?

Postby DAnderson » Sat Oct 13, 2018 11:20 pm

The low end for me on a 12m sst is ~8kn @ ~90kg. There are lighter options, but I'm happy at the moment. Waiting for 12kn+ can be a month wait here in the summer, although that could be about the low end for a 9m.

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Re: Three strut Hybrid C kites for foiling?

Postby Macster » Sun Oct 14, 2018 3:07 am

I used the cabrinha fx 8, 10 and 12m for a while. It did ok as long as the wind was 10 knots and above. Any less and you could still go on the 12m but relaunch was very difficult in deep water.

If you can afford it, its good to get at least one foil-specific kite to match the winds you're most likely going to foil in as it makes the while experience that much better when you're on a good kite.

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Re: Three strut Hybrid C kites for foiling?

Postby kishtsang » Thu Oct 18, 2018 9:12 am

Thanks for all the input

I have some experience flying kites in very low winds. But when approaching light winds for foiling, I'm new to that. I'm just torn between buying another Hybrid C in 12m which would double as a ordinary kite for unhooking and boosting etc. or buying a one-strut kite which would be more suitable for foiling, but then again less for the other stuff. Another plus would be weight, since it's easy to just stuff it when going on a trip. I still have an old 15m Best TS 2014 which is still in decent shape but will be approaching end of life in a year or two. I'm actually looking for one kite that can replace this kite: great at unhooking and other stuff but would be more suitable for foiling and a bit lighter to travel with.

Does someone have some experience with unhooking on the LF Solo or Airush Ultra (or similar one-strut kite) or other options?

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Re: Three strut Hybrid C kites for foiling?

Postby Lokihel » Thu Oct 18, 2018 1:04 pm

kishtsang wrote:
Thu Oct 18, 2018 9:12 am
Does someone have some experience with unhooking on the LF Solo or Airush Ultra (or similar one-strut kite) or other options?
I think it just won't be worth your time. All C-kites advertise how stiff they are. Just about all of them have 5 struts.
The 3 strut hybrids are already a compromise.


The problem I find with foiling with a 12m 3-strut hybrid C is to get it to hang in the air when it is really light. The kite is just not designed to do that.
I have a 12m Dice which I can hold down in a lot of wind if I really need to. The problem is that it tends to drop out of the sky when the wind gets too light. But if you can get it fly, it usually means you can go foiling. Your angles will just be rubbish.

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Re: Three strut Hybrid C kites for foiling?

Postby SimonP » Thu Oct 18, 2018 6:51 pm

I use a 12m Switch Helium and it flies in less wind than I can foil in, around 6 knots. I use a small 120cm board though, so need a good gust to get up.

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Re: Three strut Hybrid C kites for foiling?

Postby bragnouff » Thu Oct 18, 2018 9:47 pm

I use a 12m Zeeko Notus Air. I bought that with light wind foiling in mind, but I've used it on many sessions on TT and surfboards where it behaved very well. I'm pretty happy about that level of compromise. in the 6 months I've had it, I haven't dropped it in the water yet while foiling... Seems to hang in the air pretty well.

On the other hand, I don't like riding it in its top range on a TT, and would rather switch down to a 9m

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Re: Three strut Hybrid C kites for foiling?

Postby caps » Fri Oct 19, 2018 12:56 am

Any 3 strut kite works for 10+ kts. If you want to excell at under 10 kts, you need a one or no strut kite or foil kite. Otherwise, prepare for regular swim practice.


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