Page 1 of 1

Quiver question (newbie)

Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2017 2:13 am
by 2000f
Kites are expensive, so I'm sure many kiters have fewer kites than they'd like to have. Are there tricks that folks use to help use a larger kite than they should? Maybe wearing a weighted vest or maybe a smaller board, or something to use up the extra pull?

Have kite designers ever made adjustable kites that can be altered depending on the wind conditions?

I'm sure these are just dumb beginner questions. If you know of any good info that's covered this stuff please steer me towards it. :wink:

Re: Quiver question (newbie)

Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2017 2:32 am
by FLandOBX
Hey, 2000f. No question is a "dumb beginner question", at least not for most of us.

Using different size boards will definitely widen the range of your kites. For example, if you have three boards (a small high wind board, a medium "go-to" board, and a large light wind board or a surfboard), you can easily make a 2-kite quiver work. If the wind picks up, you simply switch to a smaller board, but keep using the same kite. With a small board, you can hold down a much larger kite than you can with a large board.

On the other hand, if you only have one board, you'll need 3-4 kites to cover most wind ranges. Keep in mind that buying a bunch of boards is cheaper than buying a bunch of kites. I used a 2-kite quiver for years......but I always had 3-4 boards.

As far as "adjustable kites" are concerned, all current bar/line systems have a depower strap or line that lets you change the position (the pitch) of your kite in the air, either tilting it backwards to add more power or tilting it forward to lessen power. So, in that sense, all recent model kites are "adjustable", and the kite's usable range is thereby increased.

It'd be nice if someone would engineer a "modular" kite with removable panels so that you could quickly change from a 17m kite to a 6m kite, but I don't think it's been done yet. Maybe a project for some creative mind out there????

Re: Quiver question (newbie)

Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2017 3:51 pm
by 2000f
Thanks for the explanation. Makes sense to have a few boards & a few kites to cover different conditions. The boards are probably easier to alter than the kites. Maybe somebody should consider designing modular boards? Like leaves in the dining-room table. Hey I'll call the guys on Shark Tank. ;)

Re: Quiver question (newbie)

Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2017 4:57 pm
by Mossy 757
2000f wrote:Thanks for the explanation. Makes sense to have a few boards & a few kites to cover different conditions. The boards are probably easier to alter than the kites. Maybe somebody should consider designing modular boards? Like leaves in the dining-room table. Hey I'll call the guys on Shark Tank. ;)
All kidding aside, there is such a thing as a highly modular board...any of the foil boards that can be turned into displacement boards with the addition or removal of fins!

If you had a surf-style board (like a Space Pickle) that could be either a foil board OR a strapless surfboard plus a nice twin-tip that's good in high wind, something like an OR Mako, you'd be able to go out in most conditions with just 1 or 2 kites.

Foil board + 10m inflatable = 8-22 knots
Space Pickle (foil board without the foil, add surf fins) + 10m inflatable = 14-25 knots
Ocean Rodeo Mako + 10m inflatable = 17-30 knots
**depending on body weight, line length, skill, etc.**

If you added a very large foil kite to that quiver, you could kite pretty much every day. If you then added a 7m inflatable, you have a 3 kite, 2.5 board quiver that would allow you to kite 95% of the windy days at your local.

Re: Quiver question (newbie)

Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2017 6:59 pm
by 2000f
Mossy 757 wrote:
2000f wrote:Thanks for the explanation. Makes sense to have a few boards & a few kites to cover different conditions. The boards are probably easier to alter than the kites. Maybe somebody should consider designing modular boards? Like leaves in the dining-room table. Hey I'll call the guys on Shark Tank. ;)
All kidding aside, there is such a thing as a highly modular board...any of the foil boards that can be turned into displacement boards with the addition or removal of fins!

If you had a surf-style board (like a Space Pickle) that could be either a foil board OR a strapless surfboard plus a nice twin-tip that's good in high wind, something like an OR Mako, you'd be able to go out in most conditions with just 1 or 2 kites.

Foil board + 10m inflatable = 8-22 knots
Space Pickle (foil board without the foil, add surf fins) + 10m inflatable = 14-25 knots
Ocean Rodeo Mako + 10m inflatable = 17-30 knots
If you added a very large foil kite to that quiver, you could kite pretty much every day. If you then added a 7m inflatable, you have a 3 kite, 2.5 board quiver that would allow you to kite 95% of the windy days at your local.

That sure gives me a lot of info to chew on (and Google). :thumb:

**depending on body weight, line length, skill, etc.** Like everything else in life, I'm sure "skill" is the major factor.

I'm a glassblower and also into riding enduro motorcycles. Over the years I've learned a lot of tricks of the trades, that earlier had been taught were "rules" not to break. Experience lets you push the many of the boundaries.

Re: Quiver question (newbie)

Posted: Sun Feb 19, 2017 1:32 am
by windrider1
Different boards do make somewhat of a difference but they are not a complete solution. Ultimately u will need 3 kites to cover maximum windrange. you can get 2 used foil kites and a cheap small lei. Leis go very cheap nowadays and there are deals to be had on used foil kites if u look around . So a good quiver might be a used 15 or 18m foil for light wind days , a 12 m foil and a cheap used 8m lei. Now those sizes will depend on wind speed where u live offcourse but generally those 3 sizes make a good quiver on the east coast of the usa. You would be covered from 8 to 30 knts with 1 board. Or u can go with 2 boards a big one and a small one and go with a 12m foil kite and a 8m lei. that will have u covered from 12 to 30knts .