Almost every kiter has found themselves in the same situation, where they want to be able to get out riding in lighter winds. Some might argue that foils are better, and that they have a bad reputation for no reason. You would think that if they're that much better without drawbacks then they could ...

Plummet is right, you want to be able to get away from it sometimes and getting back into the binding would be hard, and have to be done after you fell on every transition for quite a while. Do you ride a surfboard at all or just a twin tip? If you don't ride a surfboard I would suggest you work out...

If it is a typical 2 line foil kite then the safety release will not be the same as on an LEI. The kite does not flag, it stays half powered and looping, at least the ones I flew previously. So don;t try to set up a safety release on this, it will not really be the same as an LEI. I would be surpris...

August may not be as good as July on average but you could easily hit a solid week of wind. Don't give up on it, but watch the forecast. As others said a huge heat wave in Portland can be a problem. The best source for a forecast is this https://thegorgeismygym.com/forecast/

I have a 10m OR Flite from 2017 that I got for foiling. I have used it a couple times non-foiling, once on snow with a snowboard and once with a twintip and have found it boosts way higher than I expected. It's definitely worth a try if you can get your hands on one.

Peter

Did your buddy get into the wind shadow and have to swim due to his old gear? Or did he just kite into the wrong spot? Sometimes we see someone who makes more bad judgments than others. I'm not sure a new kite can fix that. Sure it might be better, but it may not make all the difference.

Peter

Yes, as someone who often uses a GPS and still do both sports, the speeds are quite similar. On certain gear in certain conditions I think either can be faster.

Peter

Because the post above cast some doubt, I will add to the 2007 vote. I'm 100% sure this is a 2007 or 2008 at a glance, and if it does not have the a/b/c rear line attachment points then its a 2007. Generally it was a solid flying well built kite. Sure, for 10x as much you might get a newer better ki...

I spent some winters riding foils in the 2000 to 2006 years, and LEIs on the water. The foils were old school ones with no depower (F-One Shadow). I found that the 7m Shadow pulled like a 12m LEI. The 9m was more like a 14m LEI with depower. Guys riding the Flexifoil Blades back in the day probably ...

One kite bladders wiping with rubbing alcohol first greatly improves the bond with aquaseal. You might try wiping your repairs down with alcohol too.