Sizing 6m or 7m Naish Pivot (or 7m RPM)

[Shredmaster General]

Is 6m Naish Pivot too big a gap from 9m Slingshot Rally GT? I hear the Pivot is pretty powerful and people often size down, but haven't been able to find the wind range anywhere on line.

I'm 85kg beginner/intermediate looking for a 6m or 7m freeride kite. I'm into general freeriding, jumping and dabbling in waves. I'm progressing pretty well but I'm still pretty new to it all and am still only on a twin tip. I have a 9m Slingshot Rally GT and want something smaller. Slingshot says the range of this is 14-26 knots. I've been ok in a few knots stronger than this...maybe 28 knots or so. I found a good deal on a 6m Pivot (2020). Alternatively, I also found a deal on a 7m RPM (2019). I know it's a totally different kite but seems like it is still pretty versatile and good fun. So these are my top two options at the moment. Would be interested to hear an opinion from someone who knows these kites, whether either of these would work for me or I should keep looking. Cheers!

[leeuwen]

Depends a bit on wat you are looking for.
I would say at your weight a 6m is good for a wave board but not for jumping/riding on a twintip.
You probably need 30+ to not struggle to get upwind on a regular sized board.
Personally I think a beginner should not be out in 30+
Even small mistakes can mess you up, having a smaller sized kite might give a false sense of security/safety.
A 6m will still pull you downwind at the wind speed if in a deathloop or something like that. At 35 kn that’s about 60km/hour.

So if you want to get into big air on windy days you will actually want a bigger kite for jumping then a 6m.
At least once you get the skills to kill the kite power by keeping the kite low and edging hard.
For comparison: At 75kg I use my 8m XR6 up to 40 knots. Probably more is doable but it just get to annoyingly gusty when over 40 here.
These kites might have a bit less top end but I would not go below 7m and even that’s debatable unless you want to go out in 40+ winds.

[jonysan]

At 85kg, get the 7m Pivot, I'm 75 kg, and use the 7m from around late 20's/30 knots and upwards. for you, the 6m wouldn't get a lot of use.

[tautologies]

Yeah I would suggest the 7 pivot. You should be able to find some good ones. Here is my thoughts on kites tht will save you trying to fit your quiver to the 1% days. As important as I think it is to have the kite ready for the super windy days, there are usually just fewer of them, most days on a spot will follow a normal curve which leads people to buy the kite on either side of the most common day, which is unfortunate because having the exact right kite is so much better. So always get the 90% kite first. The one that is perfect for most of the days, then get the smaller kite, which is what you are doing now. If you make the gap too big, you are going to be lit and then underpowered. The thing is that the spot you are at probably has more of that wind that hits the gap a bit than the too lit on the smaller kite, therefore get the kite with not too much gap, and just resign to the fact that when the wind goes nuts, you might either have to get one more or just leave that day be. Find out if this is the case at your spot.

Now all (sorry) that said, you can probably get away with the 6. I do not know the RPM well enough, but you'll probably also get a lot more use of a 7 pivot...which by the way, is a killer kite. I don't know where you are located, but I found a 7 pivot in about 10 seconds: https://boardsportscalifornia.com/produ ... ish-pivot/
Also, props for your username. LOL.

[Shredmaster General]

Thanks guys, these responses are really helpful and have pretty much solved my dilemma. Sounds like the 6m Pivot is no good for me at the moment, especially while I'm still on the twin tip and not looking for crazy strong winds. But 7m sounds ideal. I appreciate the warning about the stronger winds @leeuwen. To be honest I was thinking that getting a smaller kite could be good from a safety perspective as I've been a bit overpowered on the 9m a few times recently, and it's really hard to stay on the beach when there are a bunch of people out on 7m and 8m kites. And @jonysan and @tautologies thanks too. It sounds like I would end up either underpowered or overpowered most of the time - better to aim for the sweet spot and miss out on the rare days that are too strong (probably good days to avoid anyway as @leeuwen points out!) I'm not in the US unfortunately @tautologies, that looks like a great price for the Pivot otherwise. You should snap it up haha!