Postby jedi1 » Thu May 27, 2021 10:26 am
I have a 18m2 Juice 2016, so I can only assume new ones got better. I don't really get comments discouraging from a big kite (whether to get a 15 or 17 will depend on your weight). If people are into foiling and find that fun in marginal winds, go for it. Not everybody wants that though and that's why we have big kites.
Regarding questions about how much wind it needs to stay up in the air. That is a tricky question, because a wise answer is always it depends. In stable conditions I would assume around 8 knots is fine. Riding will largely depend on your board. I don't have a light wind twin tip board, so in marginal conditions I use a directional. In this setup at 95-100 kg weight, I can kite in around 10 knots. I can't say definitely, but me and my friend on big kites were the only ones kiting apart from a few foilers.
On a regular twin tip it is much harder to ride upwind on a big kite, so I need a bit more wind. I would assume around 12 knots, but don't quote me on that, as it depends on stuff like tides etc. When there's more wind, it's much easier to go upwind on 18m2, so I don't quite get some comments stating the opposite.
Regarding jumping. Obviously you will not jump big in 10 knots, at least not on my setup. I don't usually use my 18m2, when I know I will be able to ride a 13m2, so there's not many of those sessions for me, when I am really powered on 18m2. Having stated that a couple of sessions ago, when I arrived at the beach the wind was kinda dying and I pumped up the 18. After I finished the task, the wind picked back up and most of the people were ok on 12-13m2 kites. They were not lit though, so it was ranging around 14-18 knots probably. I still launched my 18m2 assuming the wind would drop soon. It didn't. I had a blast though in this wind with good, high jumps. A very important thing though is good edging technique. Without that you will struggle and the kite will be controlling you. A big kite can get really powerful and you have to force it to the edge of the wind window. This is very similar to riding overpowered on a smaller kite, you need good control for that.
I would not recommend a huge kite for beginners or early intermediates.