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Inexpensive Snowkite Suggestions

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KiterDon
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Inexpensive Snowkite Suggestions

Postby KiterDon » Tue Nov 22, 2016 5:09 pm

Hello Snowkiters.

With winter just around the corner I am looking to expand my snowkite quiver. Currently I own 7 and 12 meter Pansch Blaze 2 kites and a 7.5 HQ Apex. All these kites perform adequately but my partner is now also riding so we need some more kites so that we can both ride together. I am also looking for higher performance kites that may jump better than my present quiver. In addition I am looking for a high-wind kite that will work when the 7 meter kites are overpowered.

I can't justify sinking a lot of money into snowkites at this point in time so want to stick to kites at the lower end of the price range. Pansch is obviously cheap especially with their pre-Christmas half-price sale. Does anyone have recommendations in their product line that might fit my needs? I do NOT own a 5-line bar.

Are there any other alternative brands and models which you might recommend?

Thanks for your thoughts!

Don

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edt
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Re: Inexpensive Snowkite Suggestions

Postby edt » Tue Nov 22, 2016 6:24 pm

I kite frozen inland lakes and in general don't use my foil kites for winter kiting. I do have a few foil kites but I usually use them on the water not the snow. Because I'm in gusty conditions I find the tube kites perform better, not as prone to collapse. Is there any reason in particular that you don't want to use your water kites on the snow? When it's -10 or -20 you do want to store the kite inside and not in the car so it's easy to insert the plugs in the valves when you pump up, also be a little careful removing the plugs as they are brittle in those low temperature.

windrider1
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Re: Inexpensive Snowkite Suggestions

Postby windrider1 » Tue Nov 22, 2016 8:44 pm

HQ kites makes very good kites at slighly lower prices than others in the same quality and category. or u can look on ebay most high performance foils like flysurfer and ozone go very cheap these days on there. stay away from the race kites like the chrono snd sonic however as they may be too much to handel for cruising around. the speed series from flysurfer is very good for what you are looking for or the HQ montana series of kites. . easy to handle but lots of lift and performance packed in. I wouldn't recomment an LEI on land too much to deal with especially the pumping up , launching and landing in the cold ull be the last one to set up and pack down.

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Re: Inexpensive Snowkite Suggestions

Postby socommk23 » Tue Nov 22, 2016 9:50 pm

Pansh blaze 3!

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Re: Inexpensive Snowkite Suggestions

Postby windrider1 » Wed Nov 23, 2016 1:59 am

I wont recommend pansh, its a hit and miss . their kites have a very bad reputation with most of them coming with various issues from the factory making them unflyable or faulty. I havnt had a 100% working pansh kite and I have owned 4 throughout the years. Some will come on here saying how great they are but that's the minority most people have some problem or the other with their depower kites. some even have membership discounts and bonus deals with pansh to pimp their faulty kites but they will never reveal that.

socommk23
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Re: Inexpensive Snowkite Suggestions

Postby socommk23 » Wed Nov 23, 2016 8:31 am

windrider1 wrote:I wont recommend pansh, its a hit and miss . their kites have a very bad reputation with most of them coming with various issues from the factory making them unflyable or faulty. I havnt had a 100% working pansh kite and I have owned 4 throughout the years. Some will come on here saying how great they are but that's the minority most people have some problem or the other with their depower kites. some even have membership discounts and bonus deals with pansh to pimp their faulty kites but they will never reveal that.
I wouldn't Base an opinion of a brand on one person and his "4" kites.

I personally have had 13 pansh kites and only issues with one of them (8m aurora 1) that I was able to sort out.
Their newer kites are getting better. I should have a blaze 3 soon to fly and review.

But then you already have some of the older pansh kites. The blaze 3 should be far better than the 2.

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Re: Inexpensive Snowkite Suggestions

Postby matthepp » Wed Nov 23, 2016 3:20 pm

I'm with edt on this one. Unless it's below zero F, pump it up. There are many many previous threads about this topic.

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Re: Inexpensive Snowkite Suggestions

Postby Craz Z » Wed Nov 23, 2016 8:06 pm

windrider1 wrote: I wouldn't recomment an LEI on land too much to deal with especially the pumping up , launching and landing in the cold ull be the last one to set up and pack down.
With the new high inflation valves and the wonderful WMFG pump I'd say thats not true in the slightest. Their is no logistical advantages of a foil kite over a tube on snow. There are some cases where deep back country and long winded adventure snowkiting would pose some slight advantages but for the 99% of snowkiters a tube is just fine.

Setup and take down is even sometimes longer on a foil. One bad take off or bowtie is a 20-30 minute exercise. In strong winds getting them reeled in can be daunting and sometimes can make a mess out of lines and bridles taking time to sort it out later. (not typical but does happen.) Not to mention center line twists that prematurely wear lines out if there isn't a swivel.

I've also flown in super cold temperatures and never had a problem with regular valves splitting or cracking however the cold can make you rush and be harder on things then when its more temperate I believe the new high inflation valves eliminated this issue. (just don't cross thread which is actually hard to do)

You can leave the lines attached on a tube making one trip to hook up. Landing is a cinch with a quality 100% depower bar (no minifiths) They also have reverse launch capability on snow. They don't bowtie which can make your trips in the deep snow very exhausting. I've seen as many as 3-4 trips in deep snow on a bowtie and can usually take 2 people to sort out especially if the wind is decent.

The only caveat is that if your not a self sufficient kiter that doesn't get out much or have the skills to solo kite with a tube then by all means a foil is a good start for snowkiting. You will discover some quirks that are unique to foils like, the bowtie, the leaf falling out of the sky with violent reinflation (gusty conditions usually) and inverts wingtip collapse some of which can also happen on a tube but if actively piloting is much more drastically reduced (eg inverts and reinflation)

Cost wise unless you go for a closed cell foil which tends to be on the pricy side of things if you buy right the cost is similar or the same. I would look to the used market to see if foils are the right fit.

Foils can be fun just as tubes are and yes years ago foils were the go to snowmachine but things have changed and the playing field is now even between the two types of kites and has been for many years now. Pilot experience and innovation on the last 5-6 years of tubes have eliminated the hard to die myth that foils are for snow and tubes are for water.

I would only consider Ozone, Flysurfer, and some exotics like elf (sorry havent seen them in the US) I believe hq has problably improved, but some of the earlier models where complete trash with weird setups (too many knot settings and a backstalling non tuned kite. They are certainly affordable tho. If this isn't the case anymore I apologize as I gave up on foils long ago, but still enjoy flying with those that do and watching some of the follies that drove me away from them :D

Regardless of what you choose snowkiting is awesome and your gonna have the time of your life staying away from the crowded downhill resorts if you live near one. There is nothing like climbing a hill or mountain faster then you can ski down one. :thumb:

windrider1
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Re: Inexpensive Snowkite Suggestions

Postby windrider1 » Wed Nov 23, 2016 9:16 pm

craz sorry but id have to disagree with most of wht u said. what you described are not the everyday experience of a foil kite flier. sorry. most guys i knw just go dwn to the local spot unroll their kite and lines and start their session. i dont knw where u get the idea tht foik kites are prone to bowties have endles bridle tangles and are unstable . those are just not true. sorry . i can tell u dont fly foils at all. as someone who has flown all differet types of kites throughout the years I can tell u its still nothing faster to set up and just plain easier to use on land than a foil kite versus an lei and its also eaiser to launch, relaunch, land and so on. As far as handling some may prefer the handling of an LEI vs a foil but for ease of use, setup time packdwn time and lightwind ability an LEI cant compete.

Craz Z wrote:
windrider1 wrote: I wouldn't recomment an LEI on land too much to deal with especially the pumping up , launching and landing in the cold ull be the last one to set up and pack down.
With the new high inflation valves and the wonderful WMFG pump I'd say thats not true in the slightest. Their is no logistical advantages of a foil kite over a tube on snow. There are some cases where deep back country and long winded adventure snowkiting would pose some slight advantages but for the 99% of snowkiters a tube is just fine.

Setup and take down is even sometimes longer on a foil. One bad take off or bowtie is a 20-30 minute exercise. In strong winds getting them reeled in can be daunting and sometimes can make a mess out of lines and bridles taking time to sort it out later. (not typical but does happen.) Not to mention center line twists that prematurely wear lines out if there isn't a swivel.

I've also flown in super cold temperatures and never had a problem with regular valves splitting or cracking however the cold can make you rush and be harder on things then when its more temperate I believe the new high inflation valves eliminated this issue. (just don't cross thread which is actually hard to do)

You can leave the lines attached on a tube making one trip to hook up. Landing is a cinch with a quality 100% depower bar (no minifiths) They also have reverse launch capability on snow. They don't bowtie which can make your trips in the deep snow very exhausting. I've seen as many as 3-4 trips in deep snow on a bowtie and can usually take 2 people to sort out especially if the wind is decent.

The only caveat is that if your not a self sufficient kiter that doesn't get out much or have the skills to solo kite with a tube then by all means a foil is a good start for snowkiting. You will discover some quirks that are unique to foils like, the bowtie, the leaf falling out of the sky with violent reinflation (gusty conditions usually) and inverts wingtip collapse some of which can also happen on a tube but if actively piloting is much more drastically reduced (eg inverts and reinflation)

Cost wise unless you go for a closed cell foil which tends to be on the pricy side of things if you buy right the cost is similar or the same. I would look to the used market to see if foils are the right fit.

Foils can be fun just as tubes are and yes years ago foils were the go to snowmachine but things have changed and the playing field is now even between the two types of kites and has been for many years now. Pilot experience and innovation on the last 5-6 years of tubes have eliminated the hard to die myth that foils are for snow and tubes are for water.

I would only consider Ozone, Flysurfer, and some exotics like elf (sorry havent seen them in the US) I believe hq has problably improved, but some of the earlier models where complete trash with weird setups (too many knot settings and a backstalling non tuned kite. They are certainly affordable tho. If this isn't the case anymore I apologize as I gave up on foils long ago, but still enjoy flying with those that do and watching some of the follies that drove me away from them :D

Regardless of what you choose snowkiting is awesome and your gonna have the time of your life staying away from the crowded downhill resorts if you live near one. There is nothing like climbing a hill or mountain faster then you can ski down one. :thumb:
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socommk23
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Style: Keeping the kite dry....hopefully
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Re: Inexpensive Snowkite Suggestions

Postby socommk23 » Wed Nov 23, 2016 10:46 pm

^ what he said


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