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12m Peak 2 Kite - first impression

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fernmanus
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12m Peak 2 Kite - first impression

Postby fernmanus » Sat Dec 20, 2014 8:03 am

I had the opportunity to fly the Peak 2 for the first time today. Last year, one of my specific requests was a kite larger than a 9m. Sure, I would love to see a size larger than the 12, but I have to say that the 12 is going to please a lot of riders (I still think a 16 would be sweet for the lightest of days).

The surface was 4 - 6" of new with a soft base underneath. I rode a 179 3BB board. The wind was in the mid-teens with gusts in the upper teens. I weigh 170 LBS. I buy my own gear and I do not own a shop nor am I affliated with any brand.

The new Infinity light bar has some nice upgrades over last year's bar. A cleated depower has been added (that works great) and a stopper ball. My first gripe is that the bar appears to be substantially heavier than last year's model, ( I have not thrown it on a scale yet). Second, the ball on the depower is pretty small for gloved fingers, my guess is that the designer was flying this kite in warm weather. However, that is easily remedied by buying a larger ball at a marine products store.

Setup and take down are crazy fast. Think less than 10 minutes for BOTH setup and takedown. I could probably do it even faster if I was not walking in a foot of snow. No pre-inflation is necessary. Throw out the kite put a little snow on the trailing edge, unwind lines, connect safety and hook-in, pull center lines and you are riding. The kite performs beautifully. The most significant improvement for me is the decrease in bar pressure. The kite also flutters less and I quickly discovered that if the wind is fairly constant that you can pull the stopper ball down and eliminate almost all of the wing-tip flutter. Of course, that is not an option on a gusty day. Jumping was also greatly improved. I was not powered up enough to jump high, but it was good for some 10' high boosts. I tried a little gliding and I was able to do some low level glides.

You may ask how it compares to other kites. It definitely does not have the low-end grunt of the Speed 4 Lotus 18 or 21, doe not match the 15 for that matter. Power is more similar to the 12m Speed 4 Lotus (similar to a 14 or 15m LEI) or a 12m Ozone Chrono. However, it is not going to give you the boost and hangtime of those kites. The advantage of the Peak 2 is super fast setup and takedown, light weight, and small pack size. This is a kite for an alpine tour or perhaps, when your time is very limited. Take down is insanely fast. Drop to the safety and the kite just sits there in a clump. Plus, I think like the Peak 1, it is going to be great for beginners.

Flysurfer delivered on the Peak 2. It is not just a Peak 1 with some new graphics and a fancy bar. They took a great design, refined and improved it.

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Armin Harich
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Re: 12m Peak 2 Kite - first impression

Postby Armin Harich » Sat Dec 20, 2014 1:53 pm

Thank you, for your first impression. The reason, why we don't add a bigger ball to the depowerrope, is that we want to keep the risk of tangling around something as small as possible.

We look forward for your feedback of the next sessions!

Thank you, Armin

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Re: 12m Peak 2 Kite - first impression

Postby Lesha » Thu Apr 16, 2015 7:15 pm

Nice review! I have Peak2 9m and surprized how it pulls me (70kg) in low wind on a mountainboard.
But I agree with you that Peak 16m should be sweet for the lowest winds. Actually I'd like to have Peak ,not sure which size it should be, that equals for low winds with FS 21m if it's possible. Maybe it has to be Peak 21m :?:

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Armin Harich
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Re: 12m Peak 2 Kite - first impression

Postby Armin Harich » Thu Apr 16, 2015 9:46 pm

Turning speed of a even bigger peak would be too slow, that we think it makes sense.
How is your experience, after flying the Peak2 12 if you imagine to have to even bigger?

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Re: 12m Peak 2 Kite - first impression

Postby FrontRangeJeff » Tue Apr 21, 2015 2:40 pm

I just added a Peak 2 12 meter of my own and I had a frustrated post from a few days ago that I've since deleted. I like the kite - great low wind option for land or snow for me but I was frustrated with some tip tucking tuning issues on my brand new kite. I tried a couple of tweaks recommended, 1 solved 90%ish and the second during testing was actually frightening...so I sort of torched the kite.

I undid the second tweak and am mostly happy with the kite. I'd second fernmanus's assessments...also FS is as always being very helpful in getting my fine tuning issues resolved.

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Re: 12m Peak 2 Kite - first impression

Postby Gjertson » Fri Apr 24, 2015 3:15 pm

FrontRangeJeff wrote:I just added a Peak 2 12 meter of my own and I had a frustrated post from a few days ago that I've since deleted. I like the kite - great low wind option for land or snow for me but I was frustrated with some tip tucking tuning issues on my brand new kite. I tried a couple of tweaks recommended, 1 solved 90%ish and the second during testing was actually frightening...so I sort of torched the kite.

I undid the second tweak and am mostly happy with the kite. I'd second fernmanus's assessments...also FS is as always being very helpful in getting my fine tuning issues resolved.
Would you be able to expand on what the tweaks were and what the specific results were?
Thanks,

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Re: 12m Peak 2 Kite - first impression

Postby FrontRangeJeff » Fri Apr 24, 2015 6:14 pm

Sorry - should have given more info originally.

My kite over the first three sessions different parks different wind (so ruled out turbulence/shadows) had quite frequent "fits" where one or both tips curl / collapse towards the center. On another forum I belong to these tip collapses were brought up and shortening b mixer and putting a wrap on bridle c11 around the LCL was recommended. I first shortened my b mixers both by about 3/4 inch or so.

Tried both a snow followed by a land board session and it helped a ton! Still had a handful of events so added the C11...was really bad....all sorts of collapses with no real pattern...undid that mod and mostly like the kite. Sounds to me that maybe each Peak 2 is completely different with what works best to tune. Frustrating but I am getting additional help to resolve my remaining occurrences so I'm not unhappy. Its a good kite I'd upgrade to great once I get these tuning issues resolved.

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Re: 12m Peak 2 Kite - first impression

Postby Lesha » Mon May 11, 2015 8:10 pm

Armin Harich wrote:Turning speed of a even bigger peak would be too slow, that we think it makes sense.
How is your experience, after flying the Peak2 12 if you imagine to have to even bigger?
Personally for me if the Peak will be bigger (15 - 16m) is fine. Too slow - no problem if it becomes more powerfull and pulls more but has to be stable in the gusts. If all this works as I wish , I would be happy to have 15-16 m Peak :D

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Re: 12m Peak 2 Kite - first impression

Postby fernmanus » Wed Jun 24, 2015 5:42 am

Me too, I would like to see a bigger Peak.

My wish list for the Peak 3:
1. Add a 16.
2. Better Range, more top-end.
3. Lighter Bar, the new infinity 3 race bar with regular lines would be ideal.

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Re: 12m Peak 2 Kite - first impression

Postby igraham » Mon Jan 23, 2017 1:02 am

For anyone who stumbles on this old thread, I'm attaching some suggestions from Flysurfer that relate most to the earliest Peak2s. You should only play with the B mixer if the first adjustment doesn't help.


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