There should be foil kites in King of the Air, the reason being foil kites jump higher due to their being a more efficient wing. There's a problem with most foil kites which taco and get wingtip wraps in high wind, which can't be completely solved but at least partly solved with work by the manufacturers. This however is mostly a problem on the customer side. Customers don't like the idea of going out in 30 knot with a foil and knowing they might have to swim back with a laundry bag of water when a wave eats is. If a wave eats your tube kite you do a full release and it washes up on shore. If customers wanted a foil that jumps higher than a tube kite in 30 knots, kite manufacturers would make us one. So far, nah we don't want it. So for now at least King of the Air is dominated by tube kites.
Tube vs Softkite - an epic battle?
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edt
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Re: Tube vs Softkite - an epic battle?
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grigorib
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Re: Tube vs Softkite - an epic battle?
I have a stack of old magazines with pictures of huge LEIs and racers on formula directionals. Who would have guessed it was about to change...
Well, race is nice to watch as much as golf - pretty picture, beautiful nature, perfect to have it running in the background.
As of KOA - kind of weird watching guys jump not on what they’d perform the best, but on gear they were paid to ride and not to ride anything else. Paid. Nice picture too though. Let them ride whatever, who cares about details.
Last edited by grigorib on Wed Jul 11, 2018 9:56 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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TomW
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Re: Tube vs Softkite - an epic battle?
Super interesting.
I've been flying tube kites 16 years, last two years on Hydrofoil.
But I started to get tired of the flapping and jerky behaviour on the Hydrofoil due to too much lift when up and flying on Hf. Only in narrow range of wind will tube kite not need to be depowered to avoid flapping. ( I'm referring to my North Monos).
This year I bought a Ozone Hyperlink and immediately enjoyed the no flapping and smooth power delivery, wider wind range and smoother overall behaviour.
I'm not racing, just freeride.
I wonder why this advantage is not mentioned. For me it's a major advantage.
The information provided helps me understand the price difference.
What I'd like to see then is a tube kite that doesn't flap around when it's depowered.
I've been flying tube kites 16 years, last two years on Hydrofoil.
But I started to get tired of the flapping and jerky behaviour on the Hydrofoil due to too much lift when up and flying on Hf. Only in narrow range of wind will tube kite not need to be depowered to avoid flapping. ( I'm referring to my North Monos).
This year I bought a Ozone Hyperlink and immediately enjoyed the no flapping and smooth power delivery, wider wind range and smoother overall behaviour.
I'm not racing, just freeride.
I wonder why this advantage is not mentioned. For me it's a major advantage.
The information provided helps me understand the price difference.
What I'd like to see then is a tube kite that doesn't flap around when it's depowered.
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airsail
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Re: Tube vs Softkite - an epic battle?
Same with me TomW, I bought a race foil and the flapping of the single strut kites was a pain, and worse limited the top speed of a fast foil. I have since bought an Ozone Edge as an experiment, not as much flapping and a higher speed but as you go through 40kph it is noticeable.
I'm with you, the foil kites are smoother, quicker and the edge won't relaunch in the light stuff. I have a 12 mtr foil but it isn't the fastest on the water, looking at upgrading it to a Soul, as I'm being taken further offshore in light winds and these seem to be the go as a kite that doesn't get waterlogged when dropped.
I'm with you, the foil kites are smoother, quicker and the edge won't relaunch in the light stuff. I have a 12 mtr foil but it isn't the fastest on the water, looking at upgrading it to a Soul, as I'm being taken further offshore in light winds and these seem to be the go as a kite that doesn't get waterlogged when dropped.
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BOEMIX
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Re: Tube vs Softkite - an epic battle?
PMU is death or on vacation?
I miss the copy & paste trash used to throw at that kind of threads
I miss the copy & paste trash used to throw at that kind of threads
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grigorib
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Re: Tube vs Softkite - an epic battle?
TomW, airsail - you do see that both of you mentioned flapping in “single strut kite” context, right?
If you take a 3-5 struts kite or take a smaller size so you ride it properly powered you won’t feel the kite behaving like a trash bag in the wind.
But if a foil kite solved it for both of you and your launch spots allow you to rig/launch/land kite keeping it dry and clean then hey, why not I guess...
If you take a 3-5 struts kite or take a smaller size so you ride it properly powered you won’t feel the kite behaving like a trash bag in the wind.
But if a foil kite solved it for both of you and your launch spots allow you to rig/launch/land kite keeping it dry and clean then hey, why not I guess...
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foilholio
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Re: Tube vs Softkite - an epic battle?
OMG what a pile of rubbish article. Littered with incorrect assumptions posed as explanations. Rubbish.
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PullStrings
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Re: Tube vs Softkite - an epic battle?
You are on the wrong kites ....4% versus 96%....you lose
Your kite is soft
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knotwindy
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Re: Tube vs Softkite - an epic battle?
Wait, are you saying that certain kite shapes are better for certain kinds of riding?
WOW, who would’ve thought!?!
WOW, who would’ve thought!?!