Pumpy! Welcome back!

nayy wrote: ↑

Tue Jul 21, 2020 10:12 pm

I did not pull a kite full of water on the shore... of course this would damage a kite...

I knew these kites were fragile... really took care of it ...

No need to pull it on the shore to make the damage, it's enough to pull the kite in the water without rolling and packing it.

One of the things you need to be very careful of..... pulling a foil kite onto shore when it is a bag of water. The weight is deceiving and significant and puts tremendous strain on seams. This is for sure the reason of the damage. There are several videos about packing up a foil kite in deep water...

Sonic 3 actually IS a fantastic freeride kite, once you understand it's quite racey (non comparable to the classic sheet in and go pump). Never tested a Sonic 2, but if you are freeriding only and looking for a good used kite consider also a Soul.

I agree with Nothing2seehere. It's far better, if possibile, to immediately spot your board and go on looking back at it now and then while you're body dragging upwind. Much easier to find it than body dragging first and trying to find the board later.

XR 6 absolutely. It has the perfect sheet in and go behaviour that is perfect for begineers and early intermediates. Also, it's a strong kite, does not suffer too much if you sometimes tomahawk it in the first days. A carbon board is not a must but can be viewed as an investment for the future: you ...

Faxie wrote: ↑

Tue Jun 30, 2020 12:28 pm

Short answer: It's because of the V height. You can try shortening the compstick lines by 4m or so.

Right. XRs need a V height bar, both for riding and for safety.

My two cents: I owned both the XR LW 17 and the 15. Not much difference in very light wind, maybe a knot. In the upper division instead, the 17 was quickly hard to manage, while with the 15 I can ride in 18-20 knots (MAX) without big problems. With the 17, at about 15 I had to go back and downsize. ...

Speeds are great kites, I like them more than the Souls. Personal taste, but they have that "real" foil feeling that I can't feel with the Soul. I tested a Soul very few times, so I can't speak with a real experience. Anyway with the Speed 15 in low winds you can't go wrong, great kite imo.

It's not my direct experience anyway, I reported what I heard on the beach. I tested the 12 twice but for my taste it was to much "pump", never flown another size.