Looping 9m Core XR dangerous?

[Raynski]

I weigh around 200lb so my smallest kite i bought was a 9m, i am at a point where i jump consistently above 20-25 feet and i have good tension in my lines at takeoff.

So i want to start looping the kite, however people have told me its dangerous to loop the 9m xr because it wont catch me in time due to its slow turning speed. I value my knees and ankles, but I dont have the money to go buy another kite. Does anyone here loop a 9m xr without too much issues?
Is the scaremongering warranted?

I fly 22m lines btw

[Sun]

Can you do transition loops yet? Say riding left foot forward, can you do a small jump (3-6 feet), pull hard on right hand, loop the kite a full rotation, and land riding to the right? If not, work on those before even attempting aerial loops. If you can, then your question is relevant.

But from what I gather, 9m XR is borderline for scary to loop unless you are 30+ feet.

[SolarSet]

I weight about the same and had XR 8 and 11, tried to learn loops on XR but I got discouraged because of their turning speed. 11m was awful I was shitting myself even while downlooping it on water during turn where 8m was much better but I didn’t managed to even master heliloops on that size, simply because when there was a conditions for 8m for me it was too windy to typically try something ‘new’.

Now with 3 strut all around kite looping kite is like it should be, I can downloop transition with 13m kite, making learning safe and fun. Had only an hours on 10m but it loops like a dream.

My new allround 3 strut kites marginally jump lower and have less hang time but for their advantage on speed I’m more than happy with such a trade off

[sarc]

Try a longer bar if you are not already using 50-55cm and you may be amazed by the difference.

[Raynski]

I weight about the same and had XR 8 and 11, tried to learn loops on XR but I got discouraged because of their turning speed. 11m was awful I was shitting myself even while downlooping it on water during turn where 8m was much better but I didn’t managed to even master heliloops on that size, simply because when there was a conditions for 8m for me it was too windy to typically try something ‘new’.

Now with 3 strut all around kite looping kite is like it should be, I can downloop transition with 13m kite, making learning safe and fun. Had only an hours on 10m but it loops like a dream.

My new allround 3 strut kites marginally jump lower and have less hang time but for their advantage on speed I’m more than happy with such a trade off

Thats unfortunate and very discouraging to hear, its what i feared and heard other people say, i was hoping some people here might have mastered looping a 9m XR somehow. i dont have any money for a new kite and im really happy with the xr at the moment.

[Raynski]

Try a longer bar if you are not already using 50-55cm and you may be amazed by the difference.

That big of a difference?
Are you looping a 9m?

[Faxie]

I don't see the problem. Just start with some pussyloops in 20 knots to get used to committing, the amount and direction of pull, timing and your body position. Also sheet out after the loop. XR isn't fast but it also isn't that slow.

[SolarSet]

Thats unfortunate and very discouraging to hear, its what i feared and heard other people say, i was hoping some people here might have mastered looping a 9m XR somehow. i dont have any money for a new kite and im really happy with the xr at the moment.

Don’t take all what I say literally as I’m a big pussy when it comes to learning new tricks, took me about 2 years from first water starts to learn basics backroll. Now in fifth year of riding I’m on kite loop stage and landing 10m jumps is a bit tricky without helilooping kite and it feels and look amazing to kiteloop even from 4-6m jumps.
Kiteloops are almost essential in foiling which is something which is why I prefer allround kites

Someone told me something that I somehow observed myself, when jumping on XR you need a vertical jump to heliloop kite otherwise if kite is in front of you when trying to soft landing it will yank you forward instead of softening landing.

When looping any kite to make it most safe is to make sure to pull bar all the way in and then loop kite, this will make kite loop quickest providing least pull.

Another stage is to push bar away quickly ( so it recovers to zenit quicker) and pulling it again for final soft landing I’m not in that stage yet and won’t be this year probably.

Start from downlooping kite while on water to change direction (pulling front hand) this will give you a good idea how XR is pulling, than small jump with downloop. To
make pull light let you can move kite to 11/13 o’clock and kite will almost provide no pull downwind. You can do these with just enough wind that you can go upwind which is for 9m about 22kts.

[leeuwen]

It is not super clear to me what kind of loops you want to do.
If you want to do powered kite loops 9m might be problematic.
However, doing heliloops should be no problem.
I even heli looped the 17m XR5….

[cor]

Is the scaremongering warranted?

No. Stop talking to people or finding excuses not to do it. Equipment is secondary. You can loop any 9M tube. All what matters when looping is the timing which is literally in your hands.

Start with some minor jumps in the 1-2m range in around 15-20 knots and loop the kite. Get a feeling for the pull until you are comfortable. If you manage the timing right, it will even catch you. If you don´t, you will only fall from 1-2m. Don´t worry, because your window of opportunity will become bigger once you go higher. What you want to learn here is the pull of the loop and to get the kite up to 12 in front of you (and not to the left or right).

Then, take it to the 7-9m jump range in 20-25 knots. Make sure that you reach this height consistently. Make sure that you are comfortable. Then, just do it. Loop the kite just before the apex. Commit to it. Do not let go. When the kite goes up again, sheet out (THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART! DO NOT FORGET THIS OR THE KITE WON`T CATCH YOU!). Land softly with your board pointed downwind and if necessary, bring the kite forward with another loop.