Postby pitbulldoug » Wed Sep 20, 2017 5:31 am
Well finally took the plunge and purchased a new 12m HL foil kite,been kiting 15 yrs with LEIs and never thought Id see the day Id fly a foil kite so my prelim review here might be a bit biased here.Im a lg rider 225lb using the HL for foiling with mhl 2017 150 wing and 36" mast great foil BTW especially for big riders.This is just my prelim take of the kite "the good" is was very light probably 8-12mph almost glassy and I was foiling nicely which was cool as not quite sure with old naish 12m trip (which the foil HL replaced) I would of been that powered in that wind? I ride no straps at all with convert 6'0" surfboard so water starting compared to lei was a tad tricky at first as the HL is pretty slow turner comparably so had to make a adjustment in my dance step to get up going as much easier with quicker kite strapless starts.bar pressure is fairly similar to my lei boxers at the moment so no real change there.Now for flying jibing in that light of wind was downlooping only time which i pretty much do always anyway,but with the HL you have to really initiate your DL turn with kite real high as the radius of the downloop is quite bigger with a foil but got accustomed to DL the HL real quick couple of changes in timing compared to my boxers but highly doable.really like the steady consistant pull of the HL foil,but have to get used to the slower turning thats for sure compared to a lei.For my first session on a foil kite really had a pretty decent successful session,however lots to get used to with foil kite thats for sure.The bad well they market it as a simplified bridal compared to the chrono OMG hate to see the chrono bridal!If your used to lei the bridal can be a daunting PITA! they say to pack down with bar/lines attached,but hard to to teach old dog new tricks as i always like rinsing my bars with fresh water after my sessions and so i like to disconnect my lines,however I get the gest of it it that if you disconnect your lines with those bridals your pretty likely in for hell of a rats nest which aint fun.launnching and landing are interesting too compared to lei,had to hot launch downwind as wind was light not exactly my preference,at least I'm heavy which helps.keep in mind this my maiden voyage and just got get used to it,but anyone have any tips on managing the bridals on packdown etc would gladly like to hear,checked many videos too but just seems like such a pain with them,but hopefully i will get used to it shortly as i can't stand undoing rats nest before or after kiting just got to get a good system I suppose,but my first session flying wise was pretty fun just the managing of the bridal lines and packing it down for easy clean set up on next session got me a tad concerned.looking forward to next session on it to get it more wired thats for sure.One thing i know is i don't think i would ever consider a foil kite in heavier wind conditions,for a variety of reasons.This is just my light wind foil weapon at the moment will see time will tell.will update my experience with my new HL after a few more sessions.