Unhooked wave kiter - need new kite

[Silver Bullet]

Hi - Traditionally, I have been surfing waves while been flying 9,7,5 airush generators (c-kites) on old school pulley bar with regular surfboard, generally unstrapped.

Have had a few years off .....a trip has come up to wave-kite and am interested to get into new kite combo that can be flown around unhooked for lengthy waves with typical c-kite pull and turning. However, I really need the upwind ability of a more modern kite, I slogged with those generators while friends ripped upwind ahead of me to get more waves.

Can anyone please recommend a manufacturer and model that's leading the pack in this area right now? Unhooked flying with power thru kite turning is important.

anyone who flies like this out there that has some good kite advice for me please?

thanks in advance, silver bullet

[LTD WaterSports]

One kite comes to mind and that's the F-One Bandit. C kite fast great up wind ability and honestly the best wave kite not known for being a wave kite.

http://ltdwatersports.com/shop/f-one-bandit-b8/

[Starsky]

Are you planning to use a pulley bar? I would think that is half the reason for limited upwind. If you wanna stick with a pulley bar, any C kite will work great.

Not a lot of unhooked wave riding going on these days.

[Silver Bullet]

No, I'll probably go stock bar setup. I'm getting older and its pretty demanding dealing with gusts using those pulley bars. I loved the setup with the pulley bars when on the wave. the rest of the time, not so much.....starsky, I remember your name on the forum from many years ago,,, that is a great question to clarify my info request, you know what you are talking about, many thanks.

I still can't bear to surf the wave with a kite hooked to me belly...sb

[BWD]

keep the generators and deal, don't think another c will do more upwind.
OR
branch out.
Try modern wave kites. they can do things the old kites could not. Have an open mind. If you want to unhook, you can but not so much of a need to. I think you can still kind of do that style with them but the power is going to come as they shoot across the window, rather than in the arc of the kite's turn.

I have flown reactors, fuels, ozone c4s and still like them but in waves I fly BRM clouds. Amazing drift, great upwind, fast turning, but not the C kite jerk through the turns. Still get out the fuel for chop blasting and occasional flat water riding. In real waves, it's nice to have a kite that will drift and not need nursing or as much preplanning, more spontaneous riding. The cloud drift is so good, you feel a lot more freedom on a wave, even a crummy wave. Plus if you crash, the kite probably will not. It just sticks to the sky. It steers fast, really fast but sheet out on the bar (sorry, got to be hooked in for that ) and it becomes super stable in the sky.

But that's just me, there are a bunch of other wave kites that are good, from ozone, cabrinha, the bandit, maybe the new slingshot one... Try some!

[Mxwllms]

My 2008ish generator 7.5 was my favorite unhooked wave kite of all time! The key characteristics making it my favorite were that it flew forward in the window making it easy to manage the power while unhooked (made it go upwind really well for me on a normal bar and small kite as well.) , and it was nice and fast. As an unhooked wave rider you probably ride like I do, always whipping the kite around so you don't need good drift and the generators certainly didn't have it. Some modern C kites have been slowed down and made to fly deeper in the window to suit wake style riding and have lost some of there fun in the waves. I wouldn't recomend a bridaled kite because the feeling is so different when you are used to an old C and the wave specific kites I have tried lacked power in the turns. I ride Naish Torches because when set with the front pigtails closest to the leading edge they still have the right characteristics for unhooked wave riding and they are very fast and are similar to the generators with better depower and more stability. Slingshot Fuels sit a little deeper in the window but are excellent unhooked wave kites too and have the added convenience of 4 lines. I recommend you give both of them a try.

[Starsky]

Thanks man. What he said ^^^^^^ about generators, torches and fuels all ring true, though I wouldn't want a fuel bigger than a 7 in waves unless you want to ride it 5 line. I ride mine 5 line and often cleat off a bit of 5th to pull em forward. Great for unhooking in waves or ripping upwind. All of that takes some setting up. Your probably looking for a simpler stock solution rather than going through a bunch of tweaks before trip time.

If unhooking on the wave is priority, go torch. They will do it all set up stock. They have some killer deals on older models too.

http://www.naishusa.com/c/outlet-kitebo ... ted_post=1

All the cool kids have moved away from unhooked wave riding. No more harness hooks. It's all long throw minimalist rope slider set ups. They are awesome for less than ideal conditions. In steady wind..... I'm with you, unhooking on a wave is bliss.

[Bletti]

Silver bullet,

I can fully recommend the Switch Element 4 in waves and it's about half the price of than the other brands.

Felix Pivec is one of the main guys at Switch and he's big into unhooked wave riding! If you send switch an email (info@switchkites.com), Felix will get back to you and give you great advice

[Flyfish]

All the cool kids have moved away from unhooked wave riding. No more harness hooks. It's all long throw minimalist rope slider set ups. They are awesome for less than ideal conditions. In steady wind..... I'm with you, unhooking on a wave is bliss.

I used to wave ride unhooked as well. But I got tired of it not working out all the time and I went to a slider. Not quite the same as a perfect unhooked wave, but WAY better than normal harness hook but still have all the benefits of being hooked.
Don't rule out sliders.

[Bushflyr]

Ditto. I've been riding since the dark ages of the Wipika and Naish AR3.5. There is no reason to unhook for wave riding anymore. Slider is the only way to fly.