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HQ Neo 3 ,anyone with direct experience ? (closed cell foil)

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Hawaiis
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Re: HQ Neo 3 ,anyone with direct experience ? (closed cell f

Postby Hawaiis » Sun Sep 06, 2015 12:04 pm

There is a reason why most schools don't use foil kites, there is one extra dimension: keeping the air pressure in the foil to hold its shape. It is much easier to learn on a LEI first.

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Re: HQ Neo 3 ,anyone with direct experience ? (closed cell f

Postby balugh » Mon Sep 07, 2015 7:09 pm

Hawaiis wrote:There is a reason why most schools don't use foil kites, there is one extra dimension: keeping the air pressure in the foil to hold its shape. It is much easier to learn on a LEI first.
Not sure that's accurate in my experience...depends on what you mean by shape. Most foils stay pretty well formed in light winds but they're not rigid shapes like LEI kites so I would not expect them to. Swings and roundabouts as stated earlier in this thread. The corollary is that foils don't Hindenburg in marginal winds like semi rigid LEIs so can be really good in those conditions. I've no experience with the NEO 3 but i expect it's reasonable as the other products are pretty good. Would it be good for a learner...? Maybe if the rider is going to be multi surface...snow / land / water. Foils are much better on land / snow than LEIs and much better at survivng inevitable crashes...and who wants to stand around blowing up a kite when it's -20C. For a dedicated water kite there's probably better out there than the NEO 3...but I wouldn't say it's less safe...just different.

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Re: HQ Neo 3 ,anyone with direct experience ? (closed cell f

Postby jannik » Mon Sep 07, 2015 7:57 pm

Saferider wrote:
jannik wrote: I can mention things about a foil that I find safer than an lei and vice versa but you gotta know the ups and downs
Would you elaborate, pls ?
In very gusty conditions you need to know how to avoid the foil loosing pressure, drifting back, and power up again. This can happen when you want to park the kite at the edge of the window. As you often want this at shore it can get a bit exciting when gusty. Of cause beginners shouldn't launch at such spots at all.

People often do not know how help you with your foil at the spot.

If you dump your foil and do not know what you are doing you can actually fill it with water. I know from experience....

On the up side you actually have a softer ride in gusty conditions.
A foil is a bit slower and less powerfull when the kite is not at speed. This gives the beginner more reaction time.
The foil will deform on impact which I believe will, along with a less powerfull turn, give greater chance to get out of a death loop situation.
A foill will stay in the air in much lower wind when a normal LEI would drop.
Self launch/land can in many situations be easier but in other situations more risky. Of cause not something the beginner should do.

But anyway, I'll still stick with "a safe kite is a kite you know". I did get a few exciting memories when learning to use a foil and then again when I went back to LEIs a few more because I did things like I would on a foil.


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