Best Kite for Downwinders - Recomendations

[bigtone667]

Will your downwinder include riding waves?
Are the conditions onshore, cross shore, cross on, cross off?

Conditions side onshore with small waves and choppyy.

Find a kite that drifts and helps maintain line tension for steering control.

You will spend a lot of time with the kite having very little power as the wind is directly behind you and the drift will be quite important to maintaining steering control and keeping the kite out the water.

[Starsky]

twin tip or surfboard?

On a surfboard your generally riding waves and better off with a kite that shuts off, drifts and turns well with low line tension. Thats different from riding slightly off the wind line tensioned while playing your edge and looking to boost.

Drift is a real low line tension trait. Requires super efficient glide like a foil or a wave to ride in order to be any fun. Most C kites don't drift that well, to ride waves, you have to fly them. They do ride off the wind really well. Unhook and you can control kite position in the window with your edge right between powerful and light in your hands. You can really learn to load and pop unhooked on a downwinder! Many wave kites would be such a disappointment with a TT. There are most def allrounders like pivot or rally that do it all well enough, but not quite as well as a specialist. A small C kite can be loads of fun on a surfboard, but for most conditions a wave kite is a lot better.

[Bille]

I do 200 km downwinders in my summers each time i go . I use freestyle kites (trigger) that they fly fast to the wind window (zenith) and i would like them to sit more back, because that i prefer to be well powered for downwinders. I should have a better feeling with a pure wave kite ? is that correct?

200-km ; That's Awesome dude !!!

Maybe you could put a goPro on , and let us all watch Ya on our computer, with our
morning coffee some time ?

Bille

[plummet]

Yeah as other have said. Choose the kite for your riding style not the fact that you are down winding.
That said, lower aspect is definitely easier, typically faster turning and better and running down wind with slacker lines.

[Tio]

Yeah as other have said. Choose the kite for your riding style not the fact that you are down winding.
That said, lower aspect is definitely easier, typically faster turning and better and running down wind with slacker lines.

Thanks!