Single strut kite in strong wind

[Si_DB]

I find my Alpha’s amazing on the foil but really boring on the twin tip. I can get some decent jump height when I’m on the twin tip and my Rebels but not much on the single strut. Given the choice I’d rather ride my 7m 5 strut in higher winds, they eat the gusts and are super stable.

Simon

[Slappysan]

I'll bite. What do you have?

I'm 165 lbs / 75 kg and I ride my surfboard most of the time but occasionally my finless skim (when I hydrofoil I use Peak 4s, not my LEIs).
My quiver is:

17m OR Flite: 8-20 knots
12m Slingshot Ghost: 12-22 knots
9m LF Solo v2: 15-28 knots
6.5m LF Solo v2: 18-35 knots
4.5m LF Solo v2: 25-50 knots

You can see the 6.5m in powered conditions in this vlog

[nothing2seehere]

My Ultra v2 9m goes from 13-15kn on HF

to 30-35 kn with 10-15m jumps on TT and flat water.

Tool for the job. I usually jump higher than any other kiters on my local. But thats because Im 60kg

Of course a single strut does not work for heavy riders. They need a different tool.

To be fair, people never tried Ultra, so they judge all 1 struts on different products. Which is, of course, wrong. It only means it did not work for them. Simple as that.

That's impressive range on the airush ultra! I'm heavier and can hydrofoil from 10 knots but I felt it was approaching the top end at 25 knots on a twin tip. With good timing I could get a bit of height on the ultra but I found that compared to a 5 strut kite, the hangtime was much less so the landings weren't as nice.

[RadDrDuke]

My Ultra v2 9m goes from 13-15kn on HF

to 30-35 kn with 10-15m jumps on TT and flat water.

Tool for the job. I usually jump higher than any other kiters on my local. But thats because Im 60kg

Of course a single strut does not work for heavy riders. They need a different tool.

To be fair, people never tried Ultra, so they judge all 1 struts on different products. Which is, of course, wrong. It only means it did not work for them. Simple as that.

I'm in same exact boat except I can go down to 8knots on hydrofoil on my 9m ultra! But top-end is great too! Highly recommend the 9m Airush Ultra, I've had V1 and V2 and they are similar in greatness.

[alpaia]

I tried the ozone alpha 10m it felt close to a 3 strut kite as it is rigid and does not flutter,
but it flies deeper in the wind window.
Maybe due to its large leading edge and compact ratio with square tips.
I love my 12m gong unik in low end, but as soon as the wind picks up i switch to 10m pivot.
To me single strut kites are best in low end even if decent in high end and improved over the years.

[Soli]

Will it work? Sure, but it is kind of the opposite of what most of these kites are made for.

For me it depends on a) how good the deal is b) how often will you ride under these conditions c) what your plans are in terms of progression.

If you get a great deal for a kite you won’t use much anyway then it doesn’t matter that much that the kite isn’t perfect for that kind of riding. Then again why would anyone sell you a kite far below market value?

Thanks for the insight!
After reading all of your comments, I've decided to change my 9m one for an 8m one, leaving me with an 8m and a 12m ones, which should cover all the wind range I am able to kite in currently.
As for the price, she bought it as a testing material from a school, in perfect conditions. She's selling it a bit below what she got it for.

[Havre]

Will it work? Sure, but it is kind of the opposite of what most of these kites are made for.

For me it depends on a) how good the deal is b) how often will you ride under these conditions c) what your plans are in terms of progression.

If you get a great deal for a kite you won’t use much anyway then it doesn’t matter that much that the kite isn’t perfect for that kind of riding. Then again why would anyone sell you a kite far below market value?

Thanks for the insight!
After reading all of your comments, I've decided to change my 9m one for an 8m one, leaving me with an 8m and a 12m ones, which should cover all the wind range I am able to kite in currently.
As for the price, she bought it as a testing material from a school, in perfect conditions. She's selling it a bit below what she got it for.

My pleasure.

A friend of mine - more or less the same weight as you used to have 8-12 when she was kiting (unfortunately she stopped). It works pretty well. Quite common for girls and/or fairly light riders to have 8-11 as their quiver. An 8 might be a bit too much for some of the more "extreme" days, but how often does that happen?

I have been to Tarifa, Cape Town, Brazil etc. and only 1-2 have I been overpowered with my 9m (also once in a storm in Norway, but it was basically unkitable due to the gust anyway). I am 100kg+- so it is a bit different, but I think you should be quite OK with an 8 generally speaking. And it saves you quite a lot of money having 2 instead of 3 kites (if not this time due to the good price you would get so longer term when you start to renew your kites).