its not just the fact that you dont have a potential large floating object to help you get back if something goes wrong, itsthe simple fact that the likelyhood of not being able to relaunch is way higher, and if you live anywhere where there are always waves, you can forget it.
yup with foilboards, there really is no need for overpriced flying sleeping bags any more. Sure there is going to be a crew of trust funders, young sponsored riders, and affluent middle to old aged men into paying to reduce the competition by buying these classist products, but reality is.. kiteboarding offers huge performance even with the cheapest equipment.
that is why the whole olympic thing is such a joke.. go on about affordability, youth participation,and 3rd world participation, then choose flying sleeping bags that sink in the water that few in the world can afford in the first world let alone the 3rd world.. youth forget it.
fact is, you could put any young ripper on this equipiment and they would smoke the older riders in a short time, but due to the $ they do not get the opportunity.
this is why sports like skateboarding have been chased by the ioc.. youth participation is huge - due mostly to low cost of entry.. then in kiteboard racing you just have to show up for olympic qualification and make it around the course and you are qualified.. joke sport.
sailing tries to steal kiteboarding and turn it into sailing.. makes it classist in regards to costs , a sport that has suffered due to the high cost of entry... the exact same reason!
20 million skateboarders in the world, 90% youth... 18 million
youth kiteboarders 10 000+ times less, even well known countries were advertising for youth olympic participants "no racing experience required" dangerous...
there is an insta clip of a french dude on a paraglider, er i mean ram air doing an air in front of a castle wall and stay up there for minutes paragliding i mean kiting. interesting clip but just sooo dull... dont go there
"and if you live anywhere where there are always waves, you can forget it." - depends which kites - my fuels go down in waves and I get water behind the leading edge - game over - my flysurfers - just reverse launch and I'm up and riding.
...
And last question - Do you go out further than you can swim in because you have an inflatable kite instead of a foil kite?
.....I never ride further away than I can swim to start with - it's a rule not to break.
Perfect! Thanks for the straight forward answer. This is how everyone should view this safety issue.
Thus the conclusion is that you do not rely on an inflatable to save you, so you NEVER go out a distance you cannot swim in regardless of the type of kite you use.
I will concede that you have an easier time IF you can self rescue with an inflatable vs a foil. But there is no argument that if either a foil or an inflatable fails (safety line breakage foil or inflatable, inflatable LE explodes) and you are too far out to swim, you are dead BOTH WAYS - or desperately hoping for a rescue.
unless we are talking ripples i dont advise wave riding with a sleeping bag, for a start once waterlogged in a closeout they can sink.
u got to be able to save yourself no doubt...kite or no kite, but part of the box of tricks you have is holding the wingtips on a lei to drag you in even after you kite has been closed out on and a line snapped or whatever. another tool to make u safer
in surfing you should be able to swim in without a leash if it snaps but it isnt fun when bigger, more tools the better.. although sometimes you may need to detatch yourself from the kite completely in certain wave situations.. not an easy decision...
I’ll repeat my prediction for ram air kites in 2019:
- there will be nothing revolutionary
- Izone and Flysurfer will release yet another new versions of foil kites
- people will get excited about them for no particular reason
- other brands will keep sucking at it
- PMU will keep pouring buckets of poop on foil kites without regard for fact that they can be awesome
part of the box of tricks you have is holding the wingtips on a lei to drag you in even after you kite has been closed out on and a line snapped or whatever.
Why cannot *you* hold wingtips of a foil kite? Are you stupid or something with Surfkiternew because you both seem to think so?
This video is about launching foil kite in deep water but can *you* see something preventing *you* to use foil kite canopy to sail down wind before he lets the kite to drift and unwinding lines from bar? Just do the reverse, wind lines and bridles and sail home. On video you see him drift quite well towards beach just by launching activities when wind hits the kite.