Wave Kiting – doubt about specific quiver vs. technique

[Bushflyr]

To echo what was said above wave kiting in low winds doesn't work. Your planing speed for your weight on board x and wave y is a constant. If you need a 12m to get going you're just going to run down the kite as soon as you get on the wave. Since you're surfing faster than the wind speed no amount of drift is going to help you.

Once you get into winds where you can use a 9m you can work the wave by aggressively looping the kite but it takes effort and you'll still slack the lines pretty regularly.

Wave kiting really gets good in 7m wind. That's when you can start letting the kite drift and surfing the wave without having to do a ton of looping to move the kite back.

[topmick]

I have just picked up a 12m Cloud, these kites drift really well in 12 knots.

[jasonwave]

My local conditions are similar. I have had 11m Neo, 10 m Noise Pro and 12 m BRM Cloud. The Neo did everything quite well, the Noise Pro was smooth and drifted well. But when the wind is light the Cloud is a joy. Not the best upwind, but it turns faster, drifts great and packs down smaller than my 8m. When its onshore and light, a board with less rocker is just as helpfull as the right kite - I use the BWS Drifter, fast acceleration, great upwind, nice turns. When its really light, FOne Fish, which is almost a skimboard. With the Cloud 12m that combination works in silly soft winds, its so fast it creates its own apparent wind and shoots upwind.

Go as a big size as you can when onshore, the more kite power you have the better for keeping speed and control and getting out, and upwind. That was advice from Ian Alldredge. Your sessions will be shorter as you tire faster, but more action packed.

[juandesooka]

Get your hands on a wave specific kite with maximum drift. I suspect you will be pleasantly surprised what it does ... pull you into the wave, then just sits there drifting waiting for instructions while you surf it, then re-engage when you want to kick out. I use BWS, but now all brands have a wave kite or a hybrid wave/freeride. Cloud is good too, though for me its issues were upwind performance and bar pressure.

For me, I find light wind is just as fun as or maybe more ... less kite power, more pure surfing. High wind is fun for different reasons, but I find the issue becomes controlling speed and power, not letting it overwhelm the wave surfing aspect (e.g., kiting on and around waves vs surfing waves with a kite ... two very different styles).

Directly onshore winds are a problem though!

[Slappysan]

A light kite that can drift will be ideal if you can afford it in your quiver but it is possible to ride on shore wind with a traditional kite. What you have to do is loop it like crazy, I'll do 3 loops one way then 3 the other direction when riding on shore wind as low at 14 knots with my 10m.

[longwhitecloud]

just ride anything, same goes for freestyle, just look at youtube from 10 years ago - killing it waveriding on slingshot fuels..

the best wave riding is downwind - there is your depower right there

best not a kite that falls out the sky too easily tho ie weight balanced to hindenberg if it lulls.. most companies have sorted thi sissue out now tho


but surfboard strapless freestyle - that is a different matter -i think it is way harder with less depower for many tricks - eg strapless front rolls with no grab - so you can go down with gravity to stay with teh board sometimes...

[plummet]

As others have said. 12 knots down the line surfing is not going to happen effectively. Wind speed is too low. Kite is too big. Even if you manage to drift a big kite down the line you will then grovel for ages or do the walk of shame back upwind.

Will a wave kite help in these light winds. NO. They suck going upwind. Yourl be walking and that is shit.

Your better off to switch to riding the wave up wind up the line. Use the power if the wave to get upwind and ride the wave.

Cross off is the best angle to hope for light wind down the line wave riding. High aspect kites work not too badly down the line in cross off conditions and then they crank back upwind well.

So.... Keep your rebel use it to crank upwind and ride waves upwind in light wind. think about a wave kite for when the wind hits 18+ knots. Thats when the drifting ability of the wave kite will come into its own and the higher aspectedness of your rebel will limit you if you want drift style down the line wave riding.

[lobodomar]

If you need a 12m to get going you're just going to run down the kite as soon as you get on the wave. Since you're surfing faster than the wind speed no amount of drift is going to help you.

Without downlooping this is true for onshore and many degrees of side-on, but for sideshore and even some degrees of side-on the Cloud will work just fine, unless your turns are as wide as a dance floor.

do the walk of shame back upwind.

If it comes to that, you gotta do what you gotta do. And another nice thing about strutless is that the luffing of the canopy when really sheeted-out makes the walk a bit easier.

riding the wave up wind up the line

surfupwind.jpg (145.45 KiB) Viewed 1306 times

Thanks but no thanks

[shinn007]

Wave kiting with a Nugget...hmm..Tried other boards?
I too own a Nugget and like it a lot but for wave kiting it's just not that great. I only use the nugget when the wind is too little for my (real) surfboard.

[plummet]

do the walk of shame back upwind.

If it comes to that, you gotta do what you gotta do. And another nice thing about strutless is that the luffing of the canopy when really sheeted-out makes the walk a bit easier.

riding the wave up wind up the line

surfupwind.jpg

Thanks but no thanks

hehe. That's whats awesome about kiting. One mans shit is anothers glory.

I will take up the line any day over down the line and walk of shame.